Alan Titchmarsh - Nobbut a Lad

review by Brian Lowen on show 31st March
The autobiography of Alan’s life as a nipper from birth through to leaving school and set in the small Yorkshire town of Ilkley at 34 Nelson Road in a row of terraced two up, two down, cottages with Alan’s room up in the attic.

Growing up in the beautiful landscape that surrounded his town in Wharfdale inspired Alan’s early passion for nature. It was his Grandpa Hardisty who – with his allotment – encouraged Alan’s first gardening skills. And it was The Girl’s Book of Ballet which proved the unlikely – and as it happened ill-advised – source of Alan’s burgeoning performing talent.

With the sharpest eye for detail and vivid recall, he brings to life the various family members, school friends, and foes, teachers and local characters who became the powerful early influences of Alan’s life.

The book brought back memories of my early life, but Alan certainly has a much better recall of his childhood than I do!

Easy reading – an honest and thoughtful account of his childhood. He wasn’t much good at school but got on well once he left and started work as an apprentice gardener at the Council nursery.

review by Brian (Biggles)

Alan Titchmarsh - The Haunting

review given live on the bookshow by Brian Lowen 1st Nov 2012 In my humble opinion, A T has progressed from the writer of frothy little stories to a producer of a really good novel. The story is excellent, believable, with good character depictions and keeps you interested the whole way through. There are really two story lines, one set in 1816 and the other in 2010 and you gradually see throughout the book how they are going to be linked in the end. The story in 1816 concerns a young 15 year old housemaid, Anne, at the Manor House, Withercombe in Hampshire who longs of becoming a lady’s maid, and when she is given the chance to escape the drudgery of her present life, she jumps at it, only for it to result in disastrous consequences. The story in 2010 involves a young 30 year old secondary school history teacher, Harry, who is coming to terms with the aftermath of an unsavoury divorce. He decides on a change of career, and a change of house. He sells his apartment and moves into a picturesque, but run down little cottage in the country. His new next door neighbour turns out to be Alex, a single mum of a seven year old daughter, who is trying to get over the death of her husband. When we learn that their two houses were the old mill and the mill cottage at Withercombe you start to see how the two stories are linked. And so we follow Harry as he gets to know Alex, in 2010 and Anne’s adventures in 1816 in alternate chapters. This continual chopping of the story from one century to another does not spoil the story but keeps all the characters fresh in your mind. A lovely book which I thoroughly enjoyed, as I have all of Alan Titchmarsh’s books. Recommended.

Alan Titchmarsh - When I was a Nipper

review by Maggie Perkovich live on show 12th July 2012
This is a book with a feel good factor. It tells the story of Alan's upbringing in a small village in Yorkshire called Ilkley in Wharfdale North Riding.as his parents were locals he is "surrounded by uncles, aunts, cousins and Grandparents" as he says. His life was the richer for it. dad was a plumber with his own works van in which the family Mum, dad Alan and sister went on outings. Mum was stay at home mum, but with interests in the brownies, she was a leader, Mother's Union,and the church. Alan and his dad sung in the church choir too.His father was a resourceful chap who built an indoor bathroom and later put in central heating.We learn of the hardships in the forties and fifties with scarcity of food and amenities, but as the author explains they all felt content with what they had. "We had breakfast dinner (not lunch) and tea, no grazing inbetween" as he puts it" Treats were for birthdays and Christmas and we were thrilled with whatever we were given ", he also tells us of his first efforts at gardening in the back garden on a dry patch, and when his seeds took root, how pleased he was!! This book spends chapters on life then with reference to holidays (Blackpool) housing limited, at school, you had to behave or else, and everyday life, which was hard but quite satisfying, and of course the Wireless was King. I did enjoy this book, brought back lots of memories for me of a time that maybe was harder but I am sure people were more content. Maggie Perkovic July 12th.

Icons of England Edited by Bill Bryson.

review written by Maggie Perkovich & read live on the bookshow 2nd October 2014
This is an interesting book featuring contributions from some of our best loved writers and
broadcasters about what they consider English icons.You get pub signs, chimney spires,
bonfires nights, seasides, country churchyards, estuaries, ancient trees and hares.
Lots of other icons also feature including Alan Titchmarsh's choice wild flowers.
Prince Charles wrote the foreword, perhaps an English icon himself?? I loved it.
Very highly recommended. Maggie Perkovic.

Alan Titchmarsh - Bring Me Home

review written and read live on the bookshow by  Brian Lowen 23rd October 2014

I do sometimes find it quite hard to realise that the chap we see on the TV talking to us about all things concerning gardening can sit down and write such good novels. Some people may think them a bit trite but I always thoroughly enjoy them and have read every one of his books. I have noticed how the stories have got better and have more depth now than his first few books. He builds up his characters well and puts them in interesting situations.

This story involves young Charlie Stuart and his friend Gordon Mackenzie who are room-mates at Egglestone Academy, a boarding school in Scotland. Charlie is the heir to Castle Sodhail which sits on an estate bordering Loch Sodhail. Charlie’s Father is the Laird and when his wife dies suddenly, Charlie returns home to help run the estate. He invites his friend Gordon, down for the holidays and he gets quite sweet on Eleanor, Charlie’s lifelong friend from the big house on the other side of the loch. Eleanor plays along because she wants to make Charlie jealous because she loves no one but him.

Meanwhile, Charlie’s Father has married another woman – Charlotte, who turns out to be a very unsavoury character who Charlie thinks has just married him for the money and the position as the wife of the Laird.  But she soon gets fed up with living in this cold, draughty and remote castle, despite having

redecorated it to her own tastes and persuades her husband to move from the castle to a house in Edinburgh where there is more social life for her to enjoy.

This means that Charlie is now the Laird, but still only in his early twenties, and having to shoulder the burden of running the estate, organising shooting and fishing parties, and looking after the holiday lets. He has the gillie to help him, Murdo, who has been working on the estate for years, and lives with his wife in a small cottage near the castle on the side of the Loch.

It would spoil the story for the reader if I went any further, but would just say that we follow Charlie through the years, and share his joys and his heartaches.

A thoroughly good tale that should appeal to most people.

Alan Titchmarsh - Rose

Review written by   Brian Lowen and read live on the bookshow 8th May 2014:

AT  is keeping up the standard with this latest book. What I would call Mills & Boon with more depth.

The subject of the title is the Grandmother of Nick Robertson, who is a free lance artist who lives and paints on the Isle of Wight. He is getting over a recent coming apart from his long term live in lover who has gone off to America with a younger man. Nick is approaching his 39^th birthday and so he throws himself into his work to try and stop himself getting too morbid.

He is content to live in seclusion in his little cottage overlooking the sea, but all that is about to change.

Nick’s Mum is worried about her Mother at the grand old age of 89 and thinks it is time she moved into a rest home. Rosie does not agree, so she arrives on Nick’s doorstep to stay for a short time while she sorts herself out. Then Nick’s sister, Sophie arrives back from trekking around South America.

Meanwhile Nick has met another artist while out painting and she is a young, attractive blond, recently separated, with a 10 year old daughter. And so we have the classic situation where boy meets girl, boy falls out with girl, boy makes it up with girl, but this time there are lots of complications involving diamonds, Nick’s wayward Father, Rosie and her new friend, Henry who owns the gallery where Nick sells his pictures. Also Rosie is

certain that she has royal blood in her veins and thinks she is related to the Russian Romanov family.

AT tells a lovely heart warming story that takes you in and keeps the interest going throughout. Very enjoyable – a good read that does not require a lot of concentration.