No-one had ever commended Bill Bryson’s books to me before a few weeks ago when I started complaining about walking. When I subsequently asked people what they thought of his books, everyone confessed to owning some of his work and enjoying it. Someone even lent me one – ‘Notes From a Small Island’ – his reflections on wandering around Britain. It was hopefully not one of his best, but is certainly amusing and insightful when he pauses from criticizing architecture, or from repeating himself. At one stage he even writes at the end of one of his passages on architectural commentary, “But enough of this tedious bleating.”
Bryson’s writing did remind me that there are some quirky and enjoyable things about Britain, that are worth sampling before departing its shores for a while. So I went cycling round some nearby quaint villages, and joined the local Bingo club.