Adventures on the High Teas: In Search of Middle England

30 Jul 2009 - Waterstones (3 for 2)

A companion to his book about the North (Pies and Prejudice) which I so enjoyed, this is another excellent slice of gentle travel writing. Some genuine laugh out loud moments, some places I'd like to visit, and just a nice read (not damning with faint praise here) as he goes in search of the real Middle England, not a world of huffing, puffing Daily Mail readers, but a kind and tolerant place where people help their neighbours, take an interest, and have bizarre but gently hobbies. He got Tunbridge Wells spot-on, so I assume the rest was good too. If he's sentimental, which I think he is, it's not in a sickly sweet or annoying way, but out of a real love of some of the places and things he experiences show more during his journey. A great read. show less

Not too much depth, but a pleasant read. Maconie writes well, and is an amiable and knowledgeable companion on a bummel around diverse places and aspects of 'Middle England'. It's a bit hard to define exactly what that does or doesn't include, but why bother? that might spoil the fun of this eclectic and open-minded approach.

Maconie is a London music writer and t.v. host from Middle England, what seems to be the equivalent of the Midwest in America. On the surface, this book has him traveling to small towns and villages that tend to be overlooked in favor of places like London or Birmingham. It appears to be essays that are sometimes funny, other times, like discussing musician Nick Drake, sad. But there's a lot more here: Maconie breaks it up into chapters that concentrate on food, music, literature or the British railway, and all along he goes into interesting biographies of the famous or infamous, such as when visiting the little hometown of Thatcher.

I'm so used to reading British slang that I usually have no problem, but perhaps because Maconie is from show more the north, he sometimes uses phrases or whole sentences that stop me. Still, that's a small complaint. This isn't so much a guide book as a book that proves that history is everywhere in England. show less

Stuart Maconie is back on the road, now venturing further from the safety of his northern birthplace (which he explored in Pies and Prejudice) to investigate the myths of Middle England, home of Jane Austen, Nick Drake, David Brent, Margaret Thatcher, Fred West, Midsomer Murders, Brief Encounter and Tubular Bells. It's an easy life being a celebrity travel book writer: you get on a train, spend a day wandering round Chipping Norton or Burton-On-Trent, sample the local wares, chat to a few disgruntled passers by, make a few notes, nick a few bits from other people's books or blogs, then cobble it all together with wry humour and a little seasoning - voilà, £11-99 in Waterstones. I might resent it if Maconie wasn't a writer first and show more celeb second, if he hadn't worked his way up through the NME trenches, if he wasn't so warm and avuncular, at times even bordering on fascinating.

Read the full review at my blog show less

Some imprecision and wrong facts. Harpenden is in Herts, not Bucks. But I liked Maconie's overall positive approach to liberal and respectful values and enjoyed the music tie-ins.

I had high hopes for this one, but had to skip through a lot of the chapters as the author seemed to go on endlessly. I was not familiar with many of the names and places he mentions, since I am not British. I liked the chapters about music and literature. Definitely not Bill Bryson.

In short,a tour of Middle England by a throughly nice bloke. It is an amusing and at the same time informative tour through the central area of England,which takes in places as diverse as Bath to Grantham and Oxford to Leamington Spa. On the way Stuart Maconie talks about Motorway Service Stations,English ghost stories,food and music. He also meets and talks with the people who live in the Towns and villages covered by his book.Albeit a very personal journey,I found myself nodding in agreement with many of his very sensible comments.