Book 51 - Stuart Maconie "Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North"

Stuart Maconie "Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North" (Ebury Press)




Maconie is a columnist, radio personality and travel writer from the Northern town of Wigan.

In this book, he travels from his adopted home of London, in the South, to all places in the North. He goes to inland towns and villages along much of the Northern coast, stopping at many apparently ugly places filled with rude people. Still, he does like a couple of places and more importantly, he imparts information, like why people in Newcastle are called "Geordies" and why Liverpool and Manchester put so much effort into football rivalry.

I've read another by Maconie, Adventures on the High Teas: In Search of Middle England and liked that one a little more, probably because it included a lot more music history, but this was a good one.

Book 52 - Warren Ellis "Nina Simone's Gum: A Memoir of Things Lost and Found"

Warren Ellis "Nina Simone's Gum: A Memoir of Things Lost and Found" (Faber & Faber)





Inspiration can be highly particular. For Warren Ellis, the extraordinary musician in the band Dirty Three and long-time collaborator with Nick Cave, his musical journey may have begun on a night of clowns. He certainly followed a varied path from his Australian roots, across Europe, to eventually be in the audience when Nina Simone performed her last concert in London. It’s not surprising that Simone was one of Warren’s musical inspirations. But her gum? When he snagged it after the concert from where it had been stuck on the piano, he established a link with her that he would treasure for decades ahead. This says as much about Warren Ellis as it does about anything. But it also reveals a bit about how objects, even mundane objects, are transfigured by our associations.

This is a lovely, gentle book. It is just how his many fans think of Warren Ellis — a lovely, gentle man. He seems to be someone who throughout his life, has been compelled to travel the long road of the true artist, not fully knowing his destination other than it being at least one more step down the road. And what we find is that this too can be a good life. It’s not for everyone, but then nothing is. We can just be grateful that people like Warren are on his path.

Gently recommended to gentle souls everywhere.