Once upon a time in the West ... Country

355 pages

English language

Published Dec. 31, 2015

ISBN:: 978-1-4447-9477-9
OCLC Number:: 905931579

(1 review)

Waking in the middle of the night whilst on holiday, Tony Hawks declares an epiphany to his barely conscious partner Fran. Fed up of living in a city where the only contact with his neighbours in three years was a dispute over a boundary fence, his mind has been made up and it's time for a change - of postcode. At the age of 53, Tony is finally ready to renounce his London lifestyle and head for the countryside, and to his enormous surprise, Fran agrees. [This] tells the story of how a series of events lead Tony and Fran to uproot their city lives for a rural alternative in deepest Devon. Full of Tony's trademark mixture of humour, hope, adventure and absurdity, this book will chart their journey as they adapt from the relative ease of city life to the vagaries of a village community. But between organic gardening …

Waking in the middle of the night whilst on holiday, Tony Hawks declares an epiphany to his barely conscious partner Fran. Fed up of living in a city where the only contact with his neighbours in three years was a dispute over a boundary fence, his mind has been made up and it's time for a change - of postcode. At the age of 53, Tony is finally ready to renounce his London lifestyle and head for the countryside, and to his enormous surprise, Fran agrees. [This] tells the story of how a series of events lead Tony and Fran to uproot their city lives for a rural alternative in deepest Devon. Full of Tony's trademark mixture of humour, hope, adventure and absurdity, this book will chart their journey as they adapt from the relative ease of city life to the vagaries of a village community. But between organic gardening courses, attending village meetings and the impending birth of his first child, Tony still has time for one last adventure, cycling coast to coast with a mini pig called Titch. Full of eclectic characters - including the best neighbour in the world - Once Upon a Time in the West ... Country is the heartwarming and hilarious tale of Tony Hawks' new life in the country.

2 editions

Stephanie Jane reviewed Once upon a time in the West ... Country by Tony Hawks

A fun read

4 stars

I blogged about Once Upon A Time In The West ... Country on Stephanie Jane on Thursday, choosing it as my next Books From The Backlog read. This reminded me of my enthusiasm in originally choosing Hawks' memoir last year. I hoped his humour would be the perfect foil for our current dismal weather and I also thought it would be a good literary palate cleanser after the intensity of Demian by Hermann Hesse! So I queue jumped it and started reading pretty much straight away. Both things turned out to be true - and the sun is now shining too! Perhaps not as 'hilarious' as other Hawks memoirs I have read, Once Upon A Time is fun nonetheless. It covers three main events: Tony and his partner, Fran, relocating from London to rural Devon; Tony cycling from coast to coast across Devon with an adorable miniature pig; and Fran's …

I blogged about Once Upon A Time In The West ... Country on Stephanie Jane on Thursday, choosing it as my next Books From The Backlog read. This reminded me of my enthusiasm in originally choosing Hawks' memoir last year. I hoped his humour would be the perfect foil for our current dismal weather and I also thought it would be a good literary palate cleanser after the intensity of Demian by Hermann Hesse! So I queue jumped it and started reading pretty much straight away. Both things turned out to be true - and the sun is now shining too! Perhaps not as 'hilarious' as other Hawks memoirs I have read, Once Upon A Time is fun nonetheless. It covers three main events: Tony and his partner, Fran, relocating from London to rural Devon; Tony cycling from coast to coast across Devon with an adorable miniature pig; and Fran's pregnancy and giving birth to their child. As such, the book felt bitty - more like three short books than one full memoir, however it is light enough to carry this.

I noticed, at the risk of alienating any Devonian readers I might have, that Tony and Fran appreciated Devon far more than Dave and I did after our move there. Perhaps their not picking Torbay might have had something to do with it! Personally I would quite happily never set foot in the county again, but then I did recognise a number of places Tony visited as part of his epic pig-carrying cycle that we too had enjoyed visiting. If you're looking for a quick, light read that might just inspire you to pump up your bicycle tyres (or move to Devon!) this book could be the perfect choice. There's a strong message about taking time to appreciate our immediate surroundings, and a little preaching from Hawks who appears (then) to be a recent convert to serious environmentalism. There's also lime and coconut cake, and a day out on a vintage tractor - what more could you need!

Subjects

Social life and customs
Homes and haunts
Description and travel
Homes
Travel
Manners and customs

Places

Devon
England
Devon (England)