Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain
Contents:
Many bikers and hikers undertake this journey. George and Ben set off in their undies because they want to proof that there is still some goodness in Britain. That, besides the teen pregnancies, obesity and football hooligans the nation has become known for their words , there are also kind and helpful people. George and Ben knew their trip would evolve around how friendly people would be. Each chapter of Free country: George is super motivated and very strict about the rules.
Starting out with one trainer and half a pair of socks, graduating to a pair of wellies four sizes too small and six pairs of the biggest socks in existence, the pair acquire a scooter and a mini BX and are on their way! Buy it - you will not regre Absolutely brilliant! It must need some new bits. Looking for beautiful books? George Mahood's writing style almost lets the trip tell its own story. It was nice and refreshing to read about all the good natured helpers there are in the UK after everything you see and hear in the news.
I am picking it up and adding it in my TBR list! Thanks for the recco and a great take on the prompt, Tulika! That requires some serious gumption! And indeed it is stranger than fiction! I was mentally imagining the whole scenario and I had a good chuckle with just that!
Editorial Reviews. About the Author. George Mahood is an award-winning writer. Specifically, he was placed third in the Little Brington Village Fete's limerick. Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain eBook: George Mahood: www.farmersmarketmusic.com: Kindle Store.
Good take on the prompt Tulika. If they were in India, they might have lost those boxers too. Must have been tough but such books strengthen our faith in humanity. It sure seems to be an interesting book! And it requires a lot more courage than we can think of while asking all the mentioned stuff from people… let alone from strangers!
You said Bill Bryson! Although I agree with you. I could never imagine doing this myself. And what a perfect post for the prompt, you rockstar you!
Book review: “Free country: a penniless adventure the length of Britain”
These two were quite something. I remember a show like this on TV long back. Sounds like a light and interesting read. Something to break up all my depressive books, I suppose! That must be quite a travelogue! Will try to get the kindle version. A great review, Tulika. Perfect fit for the prompt too. Love travelogues and the premise of this book seems fun! I love your reviews, Tulika! I would like to read this book!
It restored my faith in humanity and George summed it up at the end of the book when he said go out there, take a walk, talk to people, nowadays we all walk with our heads down buried in a phone when we should talk to each other, perhaps the next person you walk past on a canal path might have an interesting story to share. If you like this book you may also enjoy the Merde series by Stephen Clarke Jan 02, Abbey rated it it was amazing Shelves: George's tone I know him well enough now to call him George, she said parenthetically is perfect for this book.
It's chatty, with many repeating gags "other products are available" and many asides. Starting with the simple premise that ordinary people are kind and generous to strangers, they set out from Land's End in the southwest corner of Wales and bike to John O'Groats in the tippy top north of Scotland.
Apparently this End-to-End journey is well known in the UK, but it was news to me. H George's tone I know him well enough now to call him George, she said parenthetically is perfect for this book. They had no money, no clothes, no bikes, no identification at all - just a challenge to themselves to go 1, miles in 3 weeks and accept hospitality and material assistance, but no money and no rides. They'd be harassed in no time at all by US police.
Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain
They sometimes have the appreciation-deafness of youth, accepting generosity and then bashing the mannerisms or personalities of their benefactors. I don't mind crude language - sometimes it's the only way to convey the astonishment or emotional impact of the moment - but it got a bit ridiculous. I know this is how young males talk, so I'll give them a pass. See how generous I can be? Now say thank you, boys, and don't describe me later as a moralizing prude. Speaking of young male habits, I definitely would have been begging to use a laundromat here and there.
They do tend to be a bit self-congratulatory, saying repeatedly that people were envious of their quest. I would be, too. I mean I'd be envious of their quest, not that I'd be self-congratulatory. Well, sometimes that, too, but not about this sort of challenge. I've never done anything close to this adventurous so it would be unlikely that I would inspire envy about such a thing. You know what I mean. For those who have read the book, you know I'm parodying George's writing style. I laughed out loud at their feeble attempts at dumpster diving or "freeganism.
They chose their route through back roads. I think this may have contributed significantly to their success. People who live in urban areas have been hit up for handouts so often that they tend to be less trusting of a story. Plus that, being handsome young men with winsome smiles helped, I'm sure. If I were to try this, my face would meet with many more closed-faced stares. One of my favorite things they did was to try and sleep in as many types of accommodations as possible, from a barn complete with snorting bull to a canal boat to a polytunnel a greenhouse using plastic framing.
I was disappointed by their use of "gay" as a perjorative adjective. The one time they stayed with a gay man, they seemed to have no problem with his orientation, yet they used the term, probably without thinking, to ridicule each other or anything they found vaguely unmasculine. Their experiences range from smelly to inspirational. I will long remember the Living Pizza, built by a farmer to teach kids where their food comes from.
He made a circle encompassing several acres and divided it into 12 slices, growing the ingredients for a pizza: The kids tour and then get to make their own pizzas in a wood-fired oven. What creative energy there is in this world, wherever we look.
Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain – A review | Beat About The Book
When one of their benefactors called their journey "life-affirming," I think it sums up the adventure quite nicely. This is a marvelous read. Aug 10, Michael rated it really liked it Shelves: What a great book to enjoy a couple of lazy afternoons reading. I had seen this book a number of times when looking through Amazon's list of humor books and decided that I was in the mood for an unusual travel book. I am glad that I downloaded this book to my Kindle because I truly enjoyed reading it and for the first time in a while I was disappointed when I was done reading it.
The author, George Mahood, does a great job of dividing the chapters up and letting the reader know that each chapter What a great book to enjoy a couple of lazy afternoons reading. The author, George Mahood, does a great job of dividing the chapters up and letting the reader know that each chapter covers from the starting city, or village, to the ending city, or village, and how many miles it will cover. Not being from Britain I would have liked a map that gave an idea of where in the country they were for each chapter but that is just a minor thing.
It was great to see how the people along the route were willing to offer food, clothing, bikes, rooms for the night, and most importantly beer to George and his companion Ben. It was also inspiring to read about two guys taking on a challenge that they didn't prepare for at all. Most people probably prepare months if not years for this bike ride and it was a whim for these two. That is inspiring to take a chance and toss caution to the wind once in a while because everything will work out.
Many of the chapters involve the two travelers in a dilemma of whether to stop for the night or try to carry on for another ten or twenty miles to the next stop. I had the same type of problem as I came to the end of each chapter, I do stop now or do I read just one more chapter? Usually I would carry on for two or three more chapters. At the end of each chapter there were pictures of the travelers at different sites or of the people that helped. I thought this was a nice touch to recognize the people in another form than just written word.
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- Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain – A review;
I would recommend this book for anyone that has that desire to travel, attempt a challenge, or just want to laugh while enjoying a lazy afternoon. Dec 14, Nicola rated it liked it Shelves: Free Country is a diverting little travelogue about two blokes, George and Ben, who cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats without spending any money. It's incredible and, yes, a little bit heartwarming how often people said yes to their pleas for help. And George and Ben's run-ins with the humanity of Great Britain are, for the most part, entertaining. The result is kind a poor m Free Country is a diverting little travelogue about two blokes, George and Ben, who cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats without spending any money.
The result is kind a poor man's literally: George Mahood doesn't quite have Bryson's deft touch to his writing, however. Free Country 's "comic" stylings too often feel forced and, on the whole, the book is VERY "laddish" complete with fart jokes and gay panic -- so much gay panic, omgz. I don't like to pile on self-published books, because this one is perfectly fine. But it's just a shaaaaaade less professional in terms of writing and editing than something you'd find in a bookshop.
Because my resounding feeling on this one was, "well, it cost me 99p and was therefore good value for money". If you're looking for something cheap and entertaining, go for it. View all 3 comments. Jun 28, Paula Connelly rated it it was amazing. I downloaded this book to read on the Kindle app on my iPhone whilst taking part in a long distance walk. This enabled me to have a book to read in the evenings without having to carry any extra weight.
I thought it would be light reading and perhaps mildly entertaining. It was absolutely terrific!
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- Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain – George Mahood?
When I began reading I felt slightly uncomfortable about the book's subject matter: The idea of asking people for free st I downloaded this book to read on the Kindle app on my iPhone whilst taking part in a long distance walk. The idea of asking people for free stuff seemed a bit cringe-worthy because it's something I wouldn't have the courage to do myself. My first thoughts were that people would react angrily to such requests, which is something I would find highly embarrassing, to put it mildly. I'm happy to be proven wrong. Along the way the author and his friend seem to have been mostly met with good humour and generosity, validating their belief that people are basically good.
This in itself was heart-warming and a joy to read.
I loved the author's style of writing, which was very humorous and conversational. There were some genuine laugh out loud moments along the way too. I can thoroughly recommend this book. Mar 01, Molly rated it really liked it. But, the writing was way better than I expected and I laughed out loud a lot. Anyway, a great read and very inspirational, I want to do this trek now. Though I hope it doesn't spawn a whole bunch of moocher copy cats. Mar 12, Marilee rated it really liked it Shelves: A charming bit of travel adventure fluff, written by a cheeky first time author.
The book reads like a journal and can't help but bring a smile to one's face. Sure, it could use some polish and lacks finesse, but all in all, I found myself amused by telling of the young men's adventures, misadventures and daring. Ben and George, for reasons known best to their slightly addled selves, decided to journey the breadth of the UK, from Lands End north, without spending a penny.
In fact, they had nothi A charming bit of travel adventure fluff, written by a cheeky first time author. In fact, they had nothing at all when they started, dressed only in what they call pants, we Americans would call undershorts. To bum food, clothing, bicycles, shelter and the occasional pint from people they met along the way.
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They were remarkably successful and had quite a journey, meeting some true characters along the way as well has having their faith in the inherent goodness and generosity of most people renewed. The book is illustrated with photos of themselves and the good people who assisted their goal along the way. Jun 12, Randy rated it it was amazing. I'm normally a science fiction and humorous detective novel guy, but when I saw this book advertised on one of my Amazon email list servers, I had to buy it. The other interesting part of the story is that they start in their boxer shorts only and are trusting that they can get everything they'll need including their bikes from people on the route.
They will not be paying for anything, trustin I'm normally a science fiction and humorous detective novel guy, but when I saw this book advertised on one of my Amazon email list servers, I had to buy it. They will not be paying for anything, trusting in the kindness of strangers. The book is mostly a travelog of this trip, describing much of the people and scenes they encounter in the journey. Pictures are included in the book of those who helped them along the way. The author is one of the young men who took the journey. I enjoy learning about words and expressions from England and Scotland, and there are many of these in the narration.
And in addition to the acts of kindness, there is a lot of humor or humour in the book. The interactions between George and Ben are often also funny. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. George Mahood is an award-winning writer. Specifically, he was placed third in the Little Brington Village Fete's limerick competition Under 10s category in It was the same year that Mrs Marriott's legendary fruit loaf was beaten in the WI cake contest for the first time in six years.