63 London to Loweswater: A Journey through England at the End of the Twentieth Century (non-fiction, travel) Mainstream, 1999
64 Dwight Yorke: The Official Biography (non-fiction, biography) Deutsch, 1999
65 Flossie Teacake’s Holiday (fiction, children’s) Bodley Head, 2000
66 Hurry, Hurry While Stocks Last: A Sideways Look at the Economic, Social and Shopping History of Cumbria as Seen Through Local Advertisements 1850–1940 (non-fiction, social history) Bookcase, 2000
67 A Walk Around the West Indies (non-fiction, travel) Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000
68 Joe Kinnear: Still Crazy (non-fiction, biography) Deutsch, 2000
69 The Quarrymen (non-fiction, biography) Omnibus, 2001
70 The Eddie Stobart Story (non-fiction, biography) HarperCollins, 2001
71 Boots, Balls and Haircuts: An Illustrated History of Football from Then to Now (non-fiction, sport) Cassells, 2002
72 Best of Lakeland (non-fiction, travel) Dalesman, 2002
73 The Best of Wainwright: A Personal Collection (non-fiction, travel) Frances Lincoln, 2003
74 Relative Strangers: A History of Adoption and a Tale of Triplets (non-fiction, social history) Time Warner, 2003
75 *Gazza: My Story (ghosted, non-fiction, autobiography) Headline 2004
76 Strong Lad Wanted for Strong Lass: Growing up in Carlisle (non-fiction, autobiography) Bookcase, 2004
77 Hunter Davies’ Lists: An Intriguing Collection of Facts and Figures (non-fiction, reference) Cassell, 2004
78 The Fan (non-fiction, sport) Pomona, 2004
79 Mean with Money (non-fiction, collection) Pomona, 2005
80 Being Gazza: My Journey to Hell and Back (ghosted, non-fiction, autobiography) Headline, 2006
81 The Beatles, Football and Me (non-fiction, autobiography) Headline, 2006
82 Wayne Rooney: My Story So Far (non-fiction, autobiography, sport) HarperSport, 2006
83 I Love Football: A Match Made in Heaven (non-fiction, sport) Headline, 2006
84 The Bumper Book of Football (non-fiction, sport) Quercus, 2007
85 Prezza: Pulling No Punches (ghosted, non-fiction, John Prescott autobiography) Headline, 2008
86 Confessions of a Collector: Or How to Be a Part-time Treasure Hunter (non-fiction, hobbies) Quercus, 2009
87 Cold Meat and How to Disguise It: A Hundred Years of Belt Tightening (non-fiction, social history) Frances Lincoln, 2009
88 Postcards from the Edge of Football: A Social History of a British Game (non-fiction, sport) Mainstream, 2010
89 Behind the Scenes at the Museum of Baked Beans: My Search for Britain’s Maddest Museums (non-fiction) Virgin, 2010
90 Sellafield Stories: Life in Britain’s First Nuclear Plant (ed., non-fiction, history) Constable, 2012
91 The John Lennon Letters (ed., non-fiction, biography) Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012
92 The Biscuit Girls: Love, Life and Hardship in a Northern Factory (non-fiction, social history) Ebury, 2014
93 The Beatles Lyrics: The Unseen Story Behind Their Music (ed., non-fiction, music) Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2014
94 The Co-op’s Got Bananas! (non-fiction, memoir, vol. 1, 1936–60) Simon & Schuster, 2016
95 Lakeland: A Personal Journey (non-fiction, travel) Head of Zeus, 2016
96 The Beatles Book (non-fiction, encyclopaedia) Ebury, 2016
97 A Life in the Day (non-fiction, memoir, vol. 2, 1960–2017) Simon & Schuster, 2017
98 Diary of an Unknown Schoolgirl: Margaret Forster’s Diary, 1954 (ed., vol. 1 of my wife’s diaries) Chatto & Windus, 2017
INDEX
A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.
Abbey Road studio 165
About Town (magazine) 30
accents 209
Aitken, Jonathan 115
Alderton, John 128, 232
Aldridge, Alan 74–5
Alexandra, Princess 190
Amis, Kingsley 203, 204
Amis, Martin 203
Anderson shelters 51–2
Arsenal 160, 238
Asher, Jane 88, 94, 95, 119
Aspinall, Neil 106
asthma 12–14, 241
Attlee, Clement 2, 68
Auden, W. H. 105
Babycham 11
Baily, Eddie 162
Bainbridge, Beryl 234
Bakewell, Joan 197, 203, 205, 309
Baldwin, James 77
Barbados 257–8, 274
Barber, John 61–2
Barnes, Julian 203, 339
Barrett, Frank 240
Barrett Browning, Elizabeth 259, 291
Barrow, Becky 240
Bassett, John 3
Bateman, Michael 109, 211, 215
Bates, Alan 82
Beatlemania 93
Beatles 77, 92–107, 112, 122, 148, 150–1, 352
The Beatles: The Authorized Biography (Davies) 96–107, 112, 115
The Beatles Lyrics (Davies) 224
Beaton, Cecil 74
Beaumont, Hugh 61
Bee Gees 128
Bennett, Alan 3
Bequia 260–1
Bernard, Jeffrey 170
Bernstein, Sid 103
Best, George 75–6, 123
Betjeman, John 89
Beynon, Huw 268, 269, 270, 271
Beyond the Fringe (revue) 3
Biba 123–4, 142
Biggs, Ronnie 67
The Birthday Party (Pinter) 83
Black, Mary 197
Blair, Cherie 248–9
Blair, Tony 248
Blond, Anthony 89
Bloom, John 126
Bloomsbury 129
Body Charge (Davies) 129
Bolan, Marc 351
Book of British Lists (Davies) 212, 223
Bookshelf (BBC) 204–7, 208–9
Border TV 154
Born 1900 (Davies) 222, 243
Botswana 277, 279
Boxer, Mark 142
Bragg, Melvyn 309
Bredin, James 154
The Bride of Lowther Fell (Forster) 251
Brien, Alan 149
Brown, Christy 151–3
Down All the Days 152, 153
My Left Foot 152, 153
Brown, J. P. 53–4
Buchan, John 21
Buchwald, Art 326–7
by-lines 41–2
Caldbeck 176–7, 186, 210, 241, 243, 247, 251
Callil, Carmen 351
Camden Town 53
Camelot 218–19
Cameron, James 197–8
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) 198
Campbell, Alastair 249
Carey, John 51
Carlisle slang 210
Carnaby Street 123
Carrier, Dr John 164
Carter, Ernestine 141, 144
Catcher in the Rye (Salinger) 64
Century 212, 213, 216
Charles, Prince of Wales 77
cherry brandy incident 39
Charlton, Bobby 76
Chatto 339, 351
Chatwin, Bruce 170
Cheetham, Anthony 212, 213, 215, 216
Chelsea FC 160
Cheyne Row 28
children’s names 46–7
Chivers, Martin 163, 164
Christmas celebrations 305–6
Churchill, Sir Winston 67–9
class system 73–4
The Co-op’s Got Bananas! (Davies) 298–9
Cobblers Cove, Barbados 258, 274
Cockermouth 252
Collins, Canon John 198
Columbus, Christopher 223, 224, 284
columnists 230–1
Comino 114
comprehensive education
67, 178, 179–80
Concorde 256–7
Connolly, Cyril 25, 143
Cook, Peter 3, 231
Cook, Thomas 3–4
Cool Britannia 248
Cooper, Jilly 143–4, 309
Cooper, Leo 143
copy-takers 157–8
Coren, Alan 228, 231–2
Coren, Giles 232
Coren Mitchell, Victoria 232
Cornwell, David (John le Carré) 203
Coward, Noël 26, 111, 148–9, 150–1
Cowley, Jason 238
Crazy Gang 38
Cream 128
The Creighton Report (Davies) 179–80, 222
Creighton School, Muswell Hill 179–80
Crummock Water 245, 247
Cumberland News 205, 346
Cumbria Community Fund 328
Cumbria Life 240–1
Cumbria Tourist Board 215
Curtis Brown 61, 62, 97, 112
Curtis Brown, Spencer 97–8
Daily Express 16, 17, 28, 197
Daily Mail 16, 17, 28, 220, 233, 347
Daily Mirror 28, 34
Daily Sketch 16–17
Dale, Jim 82
Dames’ Delight (Forster) 62–3
Dartmouth Park United 137, 155, 203
Davies, Annabelle (sister) 181, 188–91, 285
Davies, Caitlin (daughter) 55–6, 81, 109, 124, 133, 149, 173, 178, 184, 185, 186–7, 199, 209, 210–11, 229, 244, 275–9, 334, 342, 343, 349, 352
books and journalism 277, 278–9, 281
Davies, Flora (daughter) 132, 173, 184, 185, 209, 210, 229, 244, 266, 282–3, 332, 333, 334, 343, 344, 352
documentary producer 282
Davies, Hunter
arguments with Margaret 36–7, 261–2
arthritis 267–8
asthma 12–14, 241
at Durham University 10, 18, 32, 59, 141, 205, 215
BBC Bookshelf programme 204–7, 208–9
cars 35, 36–7, 38–40, 132, 135, 250
children 46–7, 55–6
see also Davies, Caitlin; Davies, Flora; Davies, Jake
colour blindness 37
columnist 226–42
Cumbria Life 240–1
Evening Standard 234, 239
Father’s Day 228–30, 232–3
football columnist 167, 233, 237–8
Independent on Sunday 233–4
Mail on Sunday 235, 240
New Statesman 167, 237–8
Punch 228–32
sackings 234–7
Stamp News 233
Sunday Times 239–40
denial of unpleasant things 170, 187, 262–3
domestic failings 174, 296, 303–4
drinking 274
eightieth birthday 308–9
on fame 209
family joke phrases 253–4, 301
fiction,
A Very Loving Couple 129
Body Charge 129
children’s books 225
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush 64–5, 66, 82–8
I Knew Daisy Smuten 145
The Rise and Fall of Jake Sullivan 126–9, 232
fiftieth birthday 256–7
football 133, 137, 154–69, 155–6, 203, 233, 237–8
grandchildren 273, 278, 279, 282, 283, 309, 319
inferiority complex 29–30, 72, 115
interviewing style 104, 206
jaundice 108
Lakeland homes see Caldbeck; Loweswater
literary lunches 203–4
and Margaret’s death 340–5
marries Margaret 1–5
see also Forster, Margaret
memorabilia 218, 256
morning tea 254, 289–90
and mother’s death 284–5
moustache 2–3
mugging 259–60
New Year predictions 307–8, 319–20
newspaper journalism see Manchester Evening Chronicle; Sunday Graphic; Sunday Times; Sunday Times Magazine
non-fiction,
The Beatles: The Authorized Biography 96–107, 112, 115
The Beatles Lyrics 224
biographies 223–4, 251
Book of British Lists 212, 223
Born 1900 222, 243
The Class of ’66 91, 97, 98, 126, 222
The Co-op’s Got Bananas! 298–9
The Creighton Report 179–80, 222
The Glory Game 159–66, 224
The Good Guide to the Lakes 211–12, 213–16
In Search of Columbus 224
The John Lennon Letters 224
Living on the Lottery 217–22
The New London Spy 89
The Other Half 88–9, 90–1, 222
Quiz Book to the Lakes 215
Relative Strangers 222–3
The Teller of Tales: In Search of Robert Louis Stevenson 224
A Walk Round the West Indies 224, 258–9
William Wordsworth: A Biography 223
optimism 1, 156, 171
on parenthood 283
philanthropy 129–30, 180, 215, 328
property purchases 47–54, 132–3, 136, 176–7, 193–5, 244–8
publishing career 210–16
Silver Wedding 308
stamp collector 233
suspicion of experts 156
tax exile in Gozo 108–21
teaching qualification 179
thrift 4, 239–40, 268, 272, 289, 306, 350
TV documentaries 208
writing,
children’s books and stories 135, 210
corpus 225, 355–60
film script 83, 84
stage scripts 60–2
TV scripts 59, 90
walking books 176, 179
see also above columnist; fiction; non-fiction
Davies, Jake (son) 56, 81, 109, 113, 124, 133, 153, 173, 178, 184, 209, 210, 229–30, 244, 255, 279–82, 306, 334, 343, 352
legal career 281
Davies, John Hunter (father) 188, 285
Davies, Johnny (brother) 191–2, 246, 285, 351
Davies, Marion (mother) 64, 122–3, 176, 189, 192, 199–200, 284–5, 338
Davies, Marion (sister) 181, 186, 188–9, 191, 192–3, 195, 198–9, 201, 284, 285–6, 287, 316
death of 285–6
Guardian columnist 196–7, 198, 285
Davis, Allan 61
Day, Micky 13–14, 170–1, 182, 294–5
Day, Robin 28–9
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (Nichols) 81
de Percy Parry, Charles Norman 241–2
De’Ath, Wilfred 55
Delaney, Frank 204
Desert Island Discs (BBC) 352
Diana, Princess 350
Dignity in Dying 305
Dixon of Dock Green (BBC) 59
Donleavy, J. P. 26
Donner, Clive 83, 84, 86, 96
Donovan 124
Dorchester Hotel 16
Dowling, Tim 229
Down All the Days (Brown) 152, 153
Drabble, Margaret 203
Driscoll, Mary 34, 66
drug culture 73
du Maurier, Daphne 291
Durham University 10, 18, 59, 141, 205, 215
EastEnders (BBC) 34, 235, 236
Ekland, Britt 77
El Vino 27–8
‘Eleanor Rigby’ (Beatles) 95
eleven-plus 173
Elizabeth, the Queen Mother 39
Elliott, Denholm 85
Elms, Simon 206
Elton, Ben 7
Elton, Sir Geoffrey 7
Elton, Leonard Sedgwick 7–9, 37, 38
English, David 235
Epstein, Brian 96–7, 98, 106, 111, 128
Establishment 75
Evans, Barry 85, 87
Evans, Harry 100–2, 140, 141, 143, 144, 146, 147, 160
Evans, Mal 106
Evening Standard 115, 234, 239
fame 209
fashion 122–4, 125, 141, 142
Father’s Day (C
hannel 4) 232
Fawkes, Wally 233
Ferrier, Kathleen 351
Figes, Eva 203
Flask Walk 48–9
Fleming, Ian 21, 74
football 133, 137, 154–69, 203, 233, 237–8
football columnists 237–8
football reporting 157–9
Ford, Anna 91, 126
Forster, Arthur 2, 10, 176, 243–4, 251, 286–7
Forster, Margaret
at Oxford 7, 78
au pair in Bordeaux 31–2
background 2, 10, 210, 251
cancer 170–5, 180–7, 262, 264–74, 291, 292–339
children 46–7, 55–6
see also Davies, Caitlin; Davies, Flora; Davies, Jake
and Christy Brown 151–2
critical comments 104, 116, 120, 205, 230, 250, 299
death of 340–2
deference to professional opinion 156, 172, 267, 293
Desert Island Discs 352
dislike of personal comments 298, 324
domestic life 172–3, 289–90
enjoyment of lying 255
fashion 122, 124, 337
fiction,
The Bride of Lowther Fell 251
Dames’ Delight 62–3
Georgy Girl 65–6, 80–2, 86, 87
Green Dust for Dreams 32–3
Have the Men Had Enough? 200, 287
How to Measure a Cow 251, 292–3
Isa and May 291
Over 291
The Unknown Bridesmaid 291
fiftieth birthday 254–5
funeral 346, 350–3
grandchildren 273, 278, 279, 282, 283, 309, 319
HD’s arguments with 36–7, 261–2
and HD’s writing 59–60, 299
letter writing 9, 29, 152, 348
love of Lakeland 250–1, 254
love of the West Indies 261, 262
marries HD 1–5
middle-class values and tastes 2, 10
New Year predictions 307–8, 319–20
non-driver 114, 131
non-fiction,
Elizabeth Barrett Browning: A Biography 259
Good Lives 287
Hidden Lives 287
Memoirs of a Victorian Gentleman: William Makepeace Thackeray 175, 177–8
My Life in Houses 292
Precious Lives 286–7
The Rash Adventurer: The Rise and Fall of Charles Edward Stuart 132
Significant Sisters 320
obituaries 346–7
opinions, forthright 9, 10, 29, 131–2, 226
pessimism 156, 171
philanthropy 129–30
privacy and social reserve 45, 103–4, 120, 139, 152, 153, 175, 250, 251
on ‘showing off’ 104, 116, 120, 250
Silver Wedding 308
strength 335–6
teaching career 33–4, 179, 195
wit 201
writing 31, 62–4, 65–6, 100
handwritten manuscripts 32, 290
inspiration and themes 288
refusal to do promotional work 139–40, 291
research work 291
reticence about 291