22 Aug 2015

MY LIFE ~ A COACH TRIP ADVENTURE.


MY LIFE ~ A COACH TRIP ADVENTURE by BRENDAN SHEERIN.

BACK COVER BLURB:Brendan Sheerin is the ever-smiling and very lovable tour guide on Channel 4's hit teatime travel show Coach Trip, and his wonderfully funny and evocative life story is full of the charming stories you would expect from this natural storyteller. Part nostalgic memoir, part travelogue from behind-the-scenes on Coach Trip, it is as entertaining and funny as the man himself and a great treat for his many fans.

FIRST SENTENCE {Chapter 1: The Land Of The Leprechauns}: My dear friend John Hoy calls me an Irish Yorkshireman or a Yorkshire Irishman, depending on which way you look at it. 

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 74}: I had been to Class, a fashionable shop in Lower Briggate, to buy some new cream-coloured Oxford bags and a flowered shirt with matching tie. This I wore with a pair of two-inch brown platform shoes, which I may add were all the rage when I was seventeen in January 1977, crowning my outfit with a bottle-green velvet jacket that my mum had bought me from Richmond's the tailors.

SOURCE: A charity shop buy.

MY THOUGHTS: Whilst not generally a big fan of the biography/auto biography I do sometimes dabble if I have a particular liking of/interest in the individual as I do of Brendan Sheerin and his tv series, Coach Trip.

Seemingly every bit as lovable as the tour guide I have come to love, Brendan obviously hasn't let his 'celeb' status go to his head if this refreshingly down-to-earth biography is anything to go by.

Whether charting his early days looking back at his Irish roots; his childhood summers spent on his families farm, his time as an altar boy, his coming out as a Gay man, his experiences as an international tour guide and, latterly, the host of Coach Trip Brendan's zest for life and wonderful sense of humour comes across in his every word. 

And yet it isn't all laughter. At times incredibly poignant, I actually found myself in tears as the author related his relationship with and eventual loss of his beloved partner.

A must read for all fans. I'm hoping there will be another book which fleshes out his middle years, details of which could be a bit sketchy.


8 comments:

Gina said...

Curious pick but I too dabble in this genre from time to time. That's quite an outfit he out together there...good thing the platforms were "in". ^-^ Thanks for the share!

Suko said...

Tracy, I'm glad you enjoyed this memoir. Thanks for bringing this book to my attention.

Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer said...

Nice that it had some depth and wasn't all humor.

Kelly said...

Not being familiar with the subject of this memoir, I don't see this as one for me...but I did love your memorable moment. As a teenage of the 70s myself, I can totally picture the description!

Natasha said...

Oh I used to watch the TV series a few years back and there were some funny moments, but I can imagine a life on the road must be interesting in any form, I'd love to be able to travel and explore more of the world! Great review, as always! - Tasha

Brian Joseph said...

I have never seen the television show, but such shows can be entertaining and informative.

Though I am skeptical of serious autobiographies this sounds like a fun book.

brandileigh2003 said...

The humor and poignant pieces sounds like it works together nicely

Literary Feline said...

I only occasionally read memoirs. I am learning that when I do, I prefer the audiobook versions. I am not familiar with the author or his show, but this does sound like something I might like.