Mustn't Grumble

Joe Bennett left England for a holiday. Now it's time to come back. But how is the England of his memory different from the England of the motorway? The longer Joe travels, the more he wonders whether things were ever what they used to be in England. This work is a funny portrait of his homeland - part love letter, part eulogy and part diatribe.

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Fifteen years ago, Joe Bennett left England for a holiday. Now it's time to come back. But how is the England of his memory different from the England of the motorway? Identikit High Streets, imported cheeriness ('Welcome to Sunny Grimsby!'), chicken tikka poker machine pubs - things aren't what they used to be. But the longer Joe travels, the more he wonders whether things were ever what they used to be in England. Even a century ago, H. V. Morton, the nation's most celebrated eulogiser, was "In Search of England". Criss-crossing the country by varying means of transport and with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Joe Bennett delivers a dazzlingly funny and poignant portrait of his homeland - part love letter, part eulogy and part diatribe, it is a wonderful follow-up to the acclaimed "Land of Two Halves" and establishes him as one of our most engaging travel writers.