A delicious slice of Johnners

Following Brian Johnston's death in 1994, Prime Minister John Major appeared to speak for the nation when he remarked that 'Summers will never be the same'. To an Englishman's ears, the sound of leather against willow will always be closely associated with the cheerful tones of Johnners' voice. But there was so much more in his life. From the high jinks of Eton and Oxford he graduated to being a city gent in the family coffee business. Later, as Technical Adjutant in the Grenadier Guards, he contributed to the war effort with his very own 'Dad's Army'. Once demobbed in 1945, he began a broadcasting career that introduced him to a gaggle of British eccentrics from places visited in Down Your Way, and eventually took him to the cramped, cosy and chaotic cricket commentators' box where gaffes, terrible jokes and gales of laughter were never far away. Along the way there was a marriage to 'a very attractive blonde' and five children. Lovingly edited by his eldest son, Barry, this is a wonderfully enjoyable compendium of three of Johnners' best loved books, the autobiographies It's Been a Lot of Fun and It's a Funny Game, and Rain Stops Play.