This is the third book in my boxed set of Just William stories. I think this book is the best one so far, she really seems to have got into her stride with her William character, the stories just keep getting funnier. Well they tickle my funny bone anyway.
In this one William gets a free ticket to go for a trip on a charabanc and gets squashed in between two very fat fellow passengers, that’s an experience I’ve had, only it was a bus. He tells a woman that his parents neglect him because they’re both boozers and the woman confronts William’s parents.
He sells Ginger’s three and a half year old twin cousins as slaves for a shilling, is conned out of his clothes by a tramp and much much more, causing general mayhem in the entire neighbourhood, wherever he happens to be.
William even manages to sneak out to see a circus with his grandfather, who is being treated as if he is simple when he just wants to have a bit of fun back in his life. Mind you their choice of fun wouldn’t suit me because they’re both enamoured of the circus clowns. As far as I’m concerened clowns are the stuff of nightmares – as are circuses. I think I must have been the first child to put my foot down at the end of the 1960s and refuse to go on a school trip to the circus, quite possibly the only child ever to do that. Me, strange – never!!
Anyway, such fun!
Otherwise I’ve been reading Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay which I was asked if I would like to review. Yes please said I as I’ve always been fascinated by Russia/USSR and I’ll be blogging about that one on February 15th.
I had to renew The Odd Women by George Gissing which I got from the library as I didn’t have time to finish it – or even start it for that matter.
What did I do today?
We went to The Royal Highland Centre at Ingliston near Edinburgh because there was an antiques fair there this weekend. It was absolutely heaving/hoaching with people, the busiest I’ve ever seen it and they were also filming Bargain Hunt so we had to do some camera dodging. Tim Wotsisface was wearing some fairly subdued clothes for once.
I must read a Just William book again! When I was a kid there was a TV series about his adventures. I really enjoyed that!
Must look out for the Bargain Hunt Ingliston episode! Did you find anything worthwhile yourselves?
Evee,
The books are a good laugh anyway. We’ve always managed to dodge the cameras when they’ve been at Ingliston so hopefully you won’t see us! We were really just going for something different to do and we know quite a few people who take stalls, so we have a bit of a chat. I wasn’t intending to buy anything but ended up with yet another 1930s vase and a 1930s green kitchen storage jar to match two others I have, so I was pleased about that. Really I’m not supposed to be buying any more ‘stuff’ as I have far too much already!