Author: COURTAULD, GEORGE
Title: The Fat Bulldog Roams Again
Description: Constable. 1998. (ISBN: 9780094789906). Hardcover. Condition good. Isbn 0-09-478990-8, 0094789908. How to describe George Courtauld's sequel to The Travels of a Fat Bulldog? Readers of his first volume will need no explanations. The latest is more of the same--yet nothing like it, if you catch my drift. For those who have not yet experienced the pleasures and surprises of life with a Queen's Messenger, make yourself comfortable, you are guaranteed to enjoy the ride. This eclectic portfolio of essays describes some of Courtauld's many and varied travels delivering diplomatic bags as a trusted member of the 16-strong Queen's Messenger Corps (which celebrates its 800th birthday in 1999). Yet to think of this entertaining and enlightening volume as a travel book is missing the mark--wildly. Courtauld's eternally inquisitive mind looks beyond the veneer of everyday life, whether on an African train ride from hell, spending a night in a dungeon on the Great Wall of China, or observing street life from the window of a New York diner. Farmer, ex-businessman, and Queen's Messenger for the past 13 years, Courtauld is one of life's collectors--everything, that is, from rare plants and eccentric characters to impossible journeys and unusual exhibits. And in- between his lyrical accounts of life "on the road" he lets slip precious snippets of another life--one of odd relatives, useful lists, outrageous political views, and life on his Essex farm, unencumbered by luggage. The bulldog is back and this time he's more garrulous than ever. As a Queen's Messenger (one charged with delivering confidential messages around the globe on behalf of the British monarch) Courtauld travels around 250,000 miles each year. Ex-farmer Courtauld approaches his subject matter not so much as an adventure but as a relaxing jaunt, as though he's never far from home. He even mistakes a deaconess at Pretoria's St Albans's Cathedral for a member of the Women's Institute from his home village in Essex. Mildly witty, always observant, occasionally shocking, this is a travel monologue which takes on the world from an armchair. Used: Acceptable.

Keywords: 9780094789906


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