‘Sparkling with wit, humour and pathos’

 It’s rare that a travel memoir can so enthral me that I whiz through in a few days and then wish I’d read more slowly to savour it. It’s also rare that such a memoir celebrates and explores the quiet, off-the-beat parts of my own country, during the off-season when the glorious British weather (sarcasm alert) makes both travel and sight-seeing less appealing than staying home by the fire. Yet Roz Morris has done it. There are a couple of chapters that explore “abroad” but most of the book is set in the UK, and during the cold, dreary and normally uninviting autumn and winter seasons. Morris makes it sparkle with wit, humour and no small degree of pathos.

The chapter ‘You are not Morgana and I am not Merlin’ made me guffaw on several occasions, because I know the area and the sort of people quite well.; it may well be my favourite chapter. ‘Eve of destruction’ made my eyes a bit watery and ‘Strictly Faking it’, had me laughing out loud.

All in all, a very entertaining and diverting read.