A book launch …. two old fogies ……. and an entertaining evening

Now I have never been one to take myself seriously, so the launch of each of my history books hasn't  followed the conventional path.

Andrew doing something

The first was held in a pub, the second in a library and the third via zoom.

All of which made sense as the pub was the Horse and Jockey which dates back to the late 18th century and is in a building which was constructed around 1500, while the Central Reference Library, was where a lot of the research was done for the second book, and the third which is the story of a Manchester’s children’s charity was published in the middle of the pandemic.*

And following the same logic when Peter Topping and I began producing books, we adopted the same approach with launches at the Lloyds Hotel, Chorlton and Didsbury Libraries, the old Central Railway Station, and beside the Narnia Lamp post on the village green.

So, with that in mind for our eighth book we accepted an invitation from Chorlton Voice to talk about "nothing to do in chorlton" which came out last month.**

It is a slim volume which will guide the reader through six locations where they can relax, indulge themselves in the “sweetness of nothing” while digging deep into a mix of some very silly history matched with a bit of more somber stuff.***

The locations include the Meadows and Chorltonville, the parish church yard, the village green, the Horse & Jockey, and Scotch Hill and at each we offer something designed to inform, entertain, and set the imagination going. 

Peter doing nothing

There is the story of the burial scandal, the great Chorlton Church schism and the man who stole the village green as well as the Highland visitation and a lost watercourse.

And last night at the annual meeting of the Chorlton Voice we introduced the book to the world and rapturous acclaim.

The book costs £5, is available from  www.pubbooks.co.uk and also Chorlton Bookshop.

It is small enough to slip into your pocket or bag as you travel from location to location, and equally important for anyone looking for a special present will easily fit into a Christmas stocking.

And that is all I have to say, other than you can join us and walk the book, on Sunday November 28th starting at the lych gate in front of the old parish church yard and by degree take in the village green, the Horse and Jockey and Park Brow, reckoned “to be the most lovely spot in Chorlton”.

Andrew and Peter doing nothing on Chorlton Green

The walk will cost £5, and for all those that buy a copy, the book will act as a free ticket to the Sunday walk.

Leaving me just to say that volume 2 is in preparation and will offer up stories on the lost hamlet of Martledge, the owner of a chain of cinemas, and a dreadful murder with more than a few silly tales.

Location; Chorlton-cum-Hardy

Pictures; two happy old fogies at the book launch, 2021, courtesy of Linda Topping, and Andrew and Peter doing nothing on Chorlton Green, 2021, from the collection of Peter Topping

*The Story of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester Remembering 1914-18, The Ever Open Door …. 150 Years of the Together Trust

** Hough End Hall The Story , Chorlton-cum-Hardy Churches, Chapels, Temples A Synagogue and a Mosque, Manchester Pubs City Centre, nothing to do in chorlton, Didsbury Through Time, The Pubs and Bars of Chorlton, The Quirks of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Didsbury Pubs and Bars

*** "Il dolce far niente" ….. the sweetness of doing nothing.