My Big Fat Greek Regret

Title says it all, and oh dear do we see them staggering around the foothills of Prosperonia.

Drunken peacock, bolshy builder: actually, this makes for very encouraging reading and I must file it where I can forward it pronto to future holidaying humphrys who swan onto the wittering warm wine circuit.

Succumbing to blue skies ~ Athensplus ~ Dec 4th issue, page 20 ~ excellent terse review by 'Books & Ideas' editor Vivienne Nilan of Blue Skies by Humphrys père et fils.

It sounds exactly like every other same ol' same ol' droney anecdotal account - albeit published by the noble house of Hodder - and Nilan does not mislead us that it's anything *but* the same old sameness. But she does point out its slight saving difference of a dual narration from John and his son who 'take it in turns to tell the story, and their competing versions add nuance.'

For me, whoever came up with the cripplingly hackneyed title had no intention of BS/BO catching the eye of anyone remotely informed or likely to actually buy it, and the subtitle delivers the coup-grâce, a lazy leaden "Survivor's Tale of Housebuilding and Peacock Chasing in Greece".

Wouldn't have got away with such lameness in Eric Major's day.