You might remember that I chose that P G Tips " Card Collection Booklet" as my Worst Bird Book for Young People ..... 644-the-worst-bird-book-in-the-universe-part-2.html ... but I've dug up from the depths of my "office" a book I can't actually remember buying ... I suspect it was a hurriedly-hidden-away birthday present centuries ago from a well-meaning aunt . But this book is crap in a very different way. And peculiar. It's very old for a start ... Mcmxlvii And here's what its called ... But its secret title could well be " The Ogre of the Day ..or Ire and Work Ahead." So ..who did that? Who put those rings round those bits of the title page ? It might have been me .. but I certainly don't remember doing it. And that's not all ... Well ...let's draw a line under that aspect of the book. Why have I ranked it as "crap" ? Well, the very first chapter is crammed with public-school snooty crappy Rugger-playing gits. Yes, "Rugger." I had enough of all that when I was at school..... ..here's a few chunks of said Ch.1 to get the flavour of it ... Mike is being sent away to stay in a house in the countryside after being badly injured whilst playing the aforesaid "Rugger" ... and the old gaffer turns out to be a "well-known ornithologist" .... read on ... There was 7½ pages of all that tripe .... no wonder "the pencil-person" decided to put a different face on the whole thing. Was it me ? I wish I knew. It's certainly the sort of thing I would do. And ...just saying ... I've never encountered anybody whose eyes had " a merry twinkle" ...and if I did I would start running. And, would you believe it, there's a whopping 29 pages about nests and eggs. Or as the publishers might have done it .... XXIX . Next time ...the shooting expedition .. oh yes ! And there's a WHOLE CHAPTER where the two children get the " Latin Names" lecture. And I don't think he made a very good job of it. So there. But that's all for the future ... this post is far too long already......
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AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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