Roy Hattersley

Buster became famous after defending himself against a goose, which belonged to the Queen, in St James's Park. He discusses this in his diaries along with a dog's joy at owning a human.

England is the most varied of countries; within its borders, life changes mile on mile. Roy Hattersley takes us on a journey around the English countryside. He celebrates crumbling churches and serene Victorian architecture, magnificent hills and wind-whipped coast, and above all, the quirky good humour and resilience of England's denizens.

All the pleasures and pangs of northern working-class childhood are magnificently evoked as Roy Hattersley takes us through the hardships of the Thirties and the Blitz; and into the 1940s remembering the 11-plus examination and Grammar School. He recounts a ten-year feud with the next-door neighbours and tells us of his unwavering devotion to Sheffield Wednesday.