Hunter Davies

Sellafield Stories is the largest Oral History Project conducted in the UK. It was started by Jenni Lister, of Cumbria Record Office & Local Studies Library, and was funded by the BNFL.Through the personal life stories of 30 people who lived, worked and built the complex SELLAFIELDS STORIES tells the true story of the Sellafields Nuclear Plant that has been at the heart of the Nations story for the last 60 years. First set up in the aftermath of World War II to develop Britains nuclear weapons, it was not until 1957 that it was given over to nuclear power, kick starting a revolution in post war energy. Since then it has been the site of protests, controversy and debate. Today it is still the countrys biggest single industrial site employing 13,500 people.

A sequence of letters from Hunter Davies to his late wife Margaret Forster chronicling the ups and downs of his life since her death by turns confessional gossipy touching funny and bittersweet

Ken Loach might have turned all this into a powerful social film, but the avuncular Davies sprinkles in so many cheery anecdotes that the book bounces along enjoyably (Sunday Times) - Praise for VOLUME 1: THE CO-OPS GOT BANANAS! Hunter Davies childhood lived amongst the post-war dirt and grime of Carlisle was immediately hailed as a classic memoir from one of Britains foremost columnists of the past half century. The Co-ops Got Bananas! left our protagonist at the cusp of working for one of the worlds greatest newspapers The Sunday Times. In this much-anticipated sequel, Hunter now looks back across five decades of successful writing to reflect on his colourful memories of the living in London during the height of the Swinging Sixties, becoming editor of Britains first colour weekend supplement The Sunday Times magazine; where he befriended the Beatles; and reporting on (and partying with) some of the biggest names in television, film and theatre of the day. As time moved on into the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Hunter encountered the likes of Sir Michael Caine, George Best, Melvyn Bragg, Joan Bakewell, Sir Sean Connery, Cilla Black, Paul Gascoigne, and Wayne Rooney to name a few. Hunter brings the story full circle to reflect on his years spent with the love of his life the bestselling writer Margaret Forster, who sadly passed away in February 2016. This will not only be a colourful and enjoyable memoir of what it was like to be at the epicentre of Britains artistic heart, but also an emotional, heart-felt tribute to family, friends and colleagues. For those captivated by The Co-ops Got Bananas!,this sequel is a must read.

A poignant and very personal childhood memoir of growing up in Cumbria during the Second World War and into the 1950s, from columnist Hunter Davies Despite the struggle to make ends meet during the tough years of warfare in the 1940s and rationing persisting until the early 1950s, life could still be sweet. Especially if you were a young boy, playing football with your pals, saving up to go to the movies at the weekend, and being captivated by the latest escapade of Dick Barton on the radio. Chocolate might be scarce, and bananas would be a pipe dream, but you could still have fun. In an excellent social memoir from one of the UKs premier columnists over the past five decades, Hunter Davies captures this period beautifully. His memoir of growing up in post-war North of England from 1945 onwards, amid the immense damage wrought by the Second World War, and the dreariness of life on rationing, very little luxuries and an archaic educational system, should be one that will resonate with thousands of readers across Britain. In the same vein as Robert Douglass Night Song of the Last Tram and Alan Johnsons This Boy, Hunters memories of a hard life laced with glorious moments of colour and emotion will certainly strike a vein with his generation.

As long as Im alive, Ill be with her, and shell be with me. Hunter Davies on Margaret Forster.Happy Old Me is a moving yet uplifting account of one year in Hunter Davies life, navigating bereavement and finding hope in the future. On 8th February 2016, Margaret Forster lost her life to cancer of the spine. The days that followed for her husband, Hunter Davies, were carried out on autopilot: arrangements to be made, family and friends to be contacted. But how do you cope after you have lost your loved one? How do you carry on? As Hunter navigates what it means to be alone again after 55 years of marriage, coping with bereavement and being elderly (he still doesnt believe he is), he shares his wisdom and lessons he has learnt living alone again. Revealing his emotional journey over the course of one year, as well as the often ignored practical implications of becoming widowed, he learns that, ultimately, bricks and mortar may change but the memories will remain. Part memoir, part self-help, Happy Old Me is a fitting, heart-felt tribute to the love of his life and a surprisingly amusing and informative book about an age, and stage in life, which we might all reach someday. The third book in Hunter Davies much-loved memoir series, which includes The Co-Ops Got Bananas and A Life in the Day.

In this behind-the-scenes look at the most famous musical group in history, Hunter Davies gives the complete story of the Beatles. As the only authorized biographer, Davies had full access to the Fab Four as well as their help and encouragement. He spent eighteen months with them when they were at the peak of their musical genius and at the pinnacle of their popularity, and he remained friends with each of the members as they went their separate ways. This updated edition addresses recent changes in the lives of the Beatles: Paul''s marriage, George''s death, and their new books and records.

Join Hunter Davies on a celebratory stroll around Londons greatest glories its parks.We need our parks more than ever before, for our health and spirits, our bodies and souls, to keep us fit, to save us from pollution, to protect nature and wildlife; and Londoners are lucky enough to enjoy more green spaces than any other major city in the world. In London Parks, Hunter Davies illustrates their wonders by spending a year walking round his favourite parks. From his local haunt on Hampstead Heath to the capitals latest wonder, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, each one is chosen for its unique appeal. Informative and entertaining, he details their history, describes their layout and reveals hidden delights and new attractions that might otherwise be missed, such as the statue of a small brown dog in Battersea Park, a garden full of exotic plants and palm trees in south Londons Burgess Park or, for something completely unique, Ian Durys musical memorial bench in Richmond Park.Fun, thought-provoking and uplifting, London Parks is an essential companion for anyone wishing to explore the ever-green beauty of Britains capital city, whether its spotting pelicans and politicians in St Jamess Park, the birds in the London Wetland Centre or the views from Greenwich Park.

At the end of almost every day of their fifty five years of married life the publicity shy author Margaret Forster would ask the naturally gregarious and outgoing Hunter Davies to describe to her the highlights of his day in the worlds of journalism and publishing In the six years that have elapsed since Margaret s death Hunter has continued these conversations with his wife regaling her with accounts of the events and developments in his life domestic social romantic book related health related and others through a sequence of Letters to Margaret The letters are pure Hunter Davies a feast of gossipy stream of consciousness that weaves together strands of confession self mockery anecdote and touching remembrance of married happiness with Margaret Entertaining informative irreverent and indiscreet and sometimes very touching Letters to Margaret reveals an eighty seven year old Hunter still raging against the dying of the light and seeking consolation for life s frustrations and disappointments and the loneliness of widowerhood through a sustained conversation with the woman he shared his life with for more than half a century

The Isle of Wight: in the summers of the 1800s, Queen Victoria holidayed here. At music festivals in the summer of love, hundreds of thousands of people got stoned here. And, in the summer of 2020, Hunter and Claire escaped locked-down North London for a weeks holiday here. They fell in love with its sleepy charm and ended up buying a Grade 2-listed home in the elegant Victorian seaside resort of Ryde."Love in Old Age" tells the story of their first year on the island. It is a journey of discovery in a forgotten corner of England; an exploration of the attraction of meeting new people and new places in old age, and a celebration of flat sandy beaches. Filled with Davies insatiable curiosity for people and places and his irrepressible and ironic sense of humour.A wryly humorous memoir, "Love in Old Age" will delight fans of Joan Didions "The Year of Magical Thinking" and Nora Ephrons "I Remember Nothing".Hunter Davies is a prolific author, journalist and broadcaster who has written for Punch, the New Statesman, Guardian and Sunday Times. He is the author of more than 100 books, including the only authorized biography of The Beatles and biographies of Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter and Alfred Wainwright.

The classic biography of Alfred Wainwright.Alfred Wainwrights unique hand-drawn and hand-written PICTORIAL GUIDES TO THE LAKELAND FELLS have been an inspiration to walkers for over forty years. Yet despite many bestselling books and three television series, Wainwright remained an intensely private person. With full access to Alfred Wainwrights private letters and unpublished material, Hunter Davies reveals a man more passionate, witty and generous than readers of his guides have come to expect. His biography throws a new and surprising light on a man who has been an enigmatic and misunderstood person.

George Stephenson is the ultimate selfmade man: born in the pit village of Wylam, near Newcastle, and skipping any education to start work, his inventions would change the very nature of the world.From the moment he began work in the pit at the tender age of ten, he showed a natural talent for mending and inventing machines, slowly rising to become the collierys resident engineer. However, he struggled to break through the class prejudices of the time; indeed, Sir Humphrey Davy, later President of the Royal Society, considered Stephenson (then an unknown pitman) a thief and not a clever thief. This early battle was only one of many that Stephenson waged against the establishment.Even so, Stephenson went on to build the worlds first public railways, the Stockton and Darlington in 1825 and the LiverpoolManchester in 1830. Much is known of these achievements and of his famous creation, Rocket, yet little is known of the man himself. In George Stephenson a colourful portrait is painted of the self-taught and often testy Geordie, whose Victorian invention is now the backbone of every nation on the planet.

Pendant des années, Hunter Davies, avec le soutien de Yoko, est parti à la recherche des lettres de John Lennon chez les collectionneurs passionnés, dans les salles de vente, parmi les proches des Be

A lifetime of letters, collected for the first time, from the legendary The Beatles musician and songwriter John LennonJohn Lennon is one of the worlds greatest-ever song writers, creator of Help!, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Imagine and dozens more. Now, his letters have been collected and published, illuminating as never before the intimate side of a private genius.Hunter Davies, author of the only authorised biography of The Beatles, has tracked down almost three hundred of Lennons letters and postcards - to relations, friends, fans, strangers, lovers and even to the laundry. Some of the letters are tender, informative, funny, angry and abusive, and some are simply heart-breaking - from his earliest surviving thank-you note, written when he was ten, to his last scribbled autograph given on 8 December 1980, the day he was shot, aged forty.

The worlds greatest haulier a rags-to-riches tale of British entrepreneurialsim. If youve never seen an Eddie Stobart truck, youve never driven down a British motorway. This is the extraordinary story of a multi-million pound business that spawned a middle-class motorway game. Of dynastic struggles that ended in a merchandising shop opposite Carlisle cathedral. A quintessentially British tale written by the inimitable bestselling writer Hunter Davies, and with the full support of Eddie Stobart himself.

Hunter Davies, the only ever authorised biographer of the group, has produced the essential Beatles guide. Divided into four sections People, Songs, Places and Broadcast and Cinema it covers all elements of the bands history and vividly brings to live every influence that shaped them.Illustrated with material from Hunters remarkable private collection of artefacts and memorabilia, this is the definitive Beatles treasure.

Hunter Daviess first major interview was with John Masefield for The Sunday Times in 1963. In the years since, he has interviewed many of the most famous people that the late twentieth century has to offer, from James Baldwin and Orson Welles to Jack Nicholson and Salman Rushdie. in an eclectic and highly readable selection, we learn that Noel Coward enjoyed watching operations and considered himself about as decadent as a suet pudding, David Hockney dyed his hair because blonds have more fun, and Anthony Burgess had yet to touch the body of an Englishwoman. Christy Brown concedes Im just a run-of-the-mill genius, while Alan Sugar admits Im a miserable sod. The book opens with a specially written introduction in which Hunter Davies explores the art of the Celebrity Interview, and turns the tables to interview fellow practitioners, such as Lynn Barber and Angela Lambert.

Ivy, Dulcie, Barbara, Ann, Dorothy and Jean all had different reasons for applying to work at Carrs biscuits, but once they had put on their overalls and walked through the factory gates they discovered a community full of life, laughter and friendship. To those who didnt know, the biscuit factory that towered over Carlisle might look like just another slice of the industrial North, a noisy and chaotic place with workers trooping in and out at all hours. For the biscuit girls it was a place where they worked hard, but also where they gossiped, got into scrapes and made lifelong friends. Outside the factory walls there might be difficult husbands or demanding kids, and sometimes even heartbreak and tragedy, but they knew there would always be an escape from their troubles at Carrs. Some, like Barbara, only applied because she needed the extra cash, until things got a bit easier at home. Her supervisor cross examined her about who would be looking after the kids while she was at work, but let her have the job. Like many of the women who joined up temporary Barbara went on to stay at Carrs for 32 years.Beginning in the 1940s, these heartwarming and vividly-remembered stories have all been told by the women themselves to Hunter Davies.

When the first edition of The Glory Game was published in 1972, it was instantly hailed as the most insightful book about the life of a football club ever published. Hunter Davies was, and still is, the only author ever to be allowed into the inner sanctum of a top-level football team (Tottenham Hotspur) and his pen spared nothing and no one. His accuracy is sufficiently uncanny to be embarrassing, wrote Bob Wilson in the New Statesman. Brilliant, vicious, unmerciful, wrote The Sun. Davies spent a whole season with the team, training with them, visiting the players homes and witnessing the dressing-room confrontations. In the modern era of painstaking media management and tight security, no sportswriter will ever again be granted such unprecedented access. While some features of the game have changed beyond all recognition - notably the all-consuming role that money now plays - inside every club the dramas and tensions revealed by Davies remain, making the book a timeless classic and securing its position as one of the best books about football ever written.