The Lord’s Taverners Sticky Wicket
Book Review from 2009
Cover
Ernie's advantage
“A specially selected Taverners’ side, summond to the wicket by their captain, Tim Rice, have taken time off from stage, screen, microphone and sports field to provide a fascinating and entertaining anthology of wit, humour and reminiscence. Contributions include favourite anecdotes, poems, songs, photographs, comments on the state of the nation, cartoons, jokes – and even a recipe and a prayer”
There you have this book in a nutshell. All the royalties of the book were donated to the Lord’s Taverners’
The book has illustrations by Willie Rushden and Bill Tidy.
It opens with a forward by Prince Phillip.
Eric and Ernie both contribute to this book. Ernie gives us 2 pages. His picture is accompanied with the caption “Short Fine Leg”. The chapter is called “I love cricket”. In it Ernie talks about his love of the game plus an interesting story about a showbiz team he and Eric put together during a summer season in Blackpool. There is also a half page picture of Ernie taking an extra wide back to the crease.
Eric gives us 5 pages. His picture is accompanied with the phrase “The Double”. The chapter is entitled “Sportsthoughts (Or A Day With The Taverners).
Eric’s piece can be read in two parts. The first part reads like a speech. It talks about his involvement in sport and events he has attended. Luton, The Lord’s Taverners and others. Like a speech there are many quick one liners. “You might bump into Ronnie Barker or trip over Ronnie Corbett”. The second part talks about a day out as a Taverner, mingling in the marquee.
As with “The Thoughts Of Trueman”, this book won’t be for the casual fan. It’s a collectors book and typical of the late 70’s books that Eric and Ernie contributed too. The book will also be of interest to cricket fans.
Along with Eric and Ernie the book also contains contributions from :
Patrick Moore, John Arlott, Leslie Thomas, Richie Benaud ,Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Frindall, Sir Charles Forte, Roy Castle, Sir Leonard Hutton, E.W. Swanton, Brian Johnston, Cardew Robinson, William Rushden, Barry Cryer, Jimmy Hill, Max Boyce, Colin Cowdry, John Snow, Mick McManus, Patrick Mower, John Cleese, Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Tony Lewis, Michael Jayston, Raymond Baxter, John Snagge, Rod Hull And Emu, Sir Donald Bradman, James Hunt, Robert Powell, Nicholas Parsons, Michael Aspel, Brian Close, Donald Pleasance, Brian Clough, Mike Brearly, Neil Durden-Smith, Judith Chalmers, Rachael Heyhoe-Flint and Tim Rice.
Plus short conributions by
Henry Cooper, Bernard Cribbins, Leslie Crowther, Lord Home Of The Hirsel, Roger De Courcey And Nookie, Dickie Henderson and Sir John Mills.
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