Review
Very funny
(Spectator )Not a writer who bombards you with tales of his triumphs, but a shrewd watcher from the wings, with some great jokes and excellent stories and insights, especially about politicians
(Sunday Telegraph )Equally engaging if at a slightly more flippant level, is Simon Hoggart's A Long Lunch. Described by its author as 'in no way a life of me', it is still the best journalistic memoir since the late Alan Watkins A Short Walk Down Fleet Street of a decade ago
(New Statesman, Books of the Year )Review
Very funny
(Spectator )Not a writer who bombards you with tales of his triumphs, but a shrewd watcher from the wings, with some great jokes and excellent stories and insights, especially about politicians
(Sunday Telegraph )Equally engaging if at a slightly more flippant level, is Simon Hoggart's A Long Lunch. Described by its author as 'in no way a life of me', it is still the best journalistic memoir since the late Alan Watkins A Short Walk Down Fleet Street of a decade ago
(New Statesman, Books of the Year )'To say this is the perfect toilet book is intended as the highest praise . . . often funny and startling'
(Independent ) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.Product Description
A host of memories from Simon Hoggart’s forty-plus years in journalism.
Simon reveals what Alan Clark said about Melvyn Bragg, what really happened at the Lady Chatterley trial, what Cherie Blair said to him and how he riposted, as well as the time John Sergeant drove a flight attendant to a fury, what happened when he mixed a drink for W. H. Auden and the day Enoch Powell met Bill Haley.
A Long Lunch is often hilarious, while also being full of wisdom and insight. Simon has long been regarded as one of our sharpest and wittiest commentators. These memories cover his years in Parliament, Northern Ireland, around the world and on Radio 4, where for twelve years he chaired the much-loved News Quiz.
From behind the scenes in Parliament, roving across America and bizarre meetings in TV studios, Simon Hoggart entertains, informs and delights.
About the Author
Born in 1946, Simon Hoggart is the eldest child of the writer and academic Richard Hoggart. After leaving Cambridge he worked for the Guardian in Northern Ireland and Westminster. He joined the Observer as US correspondent before returning to the UK to become chairman of BBC Radio 4’s News Quiz. He is now the Guardian’s political sketch writer as well writing a wine column for the Spectator.
