Housekeepers, Shortlegs and Flemish String: Three village sports clubs in Northumberland - Softcover

Harry Pearson

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0956655173 ISBN 13: 9780956655172

Publisher: New Writing North, 2012

Synopsis

An hilarious and informed book that celebrates the quirky corners of rural sport in Northumberland. Written by Guardian sports columnist Harry Pearson. Although this book was commissioned in response to the Olympic year, the sports clubs featured here are both literally and spiritually a long way from the lycra-clad festival of excellence that took place in east London, yet their story is just as uplifting in its own modest way as those of Sir Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and Jessica Ennis. Housekeepers, Shortlegs and Flemish String features new essays by Harry Pearson on three village sports clubs in the east, west and north of Northumberland. The choice of two of the clubs was simple, based largely on sentiment: Bomarsund Cricket Club featured in the 1975 edition of Wisden Cricketer's Almanac, the first edition of the "bible" of the summer game that the author ever bought, while The Wallace Arms was the place in Northumberland where Harry first encountered the esoteric game of quoits. Kirknewton Archers, in the far north of the county, suggested themselves because of the loveliness of the location and its proximity to Flodden the last great hurrah of the English longbow. Harry was accompanied on his visits by acclaimed photographer Julian Germain, who captured images of the clubs in their full glory. These are presented as pull-out photographs throughout the book.

About this title

About the Author

Harry Pearson is a sports columnist for the Guardian. He has written ten books on topics ranging from agricultural shows to Action Man. His first, The Far Corner: A Mazy Dribble Through North East Football, was runner-up for the 1996 William Hill Prize, his most recent, Slipless in Settle: A Slow Turn Around Northern Cricket, won the 2011 MCC Prize and the Society of Cricket Writers Prize and was the 2011 Sports Book Awards Cricket Book of the Year.

Edition details

• Publisher: New Writing North
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0956655173
• ISBN 13: 9780956655172
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 54