Between the Stops, Sandi Toksvig
Between the Stops, Sandi Toksvig
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Between the Stops
The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus: the long-awaited memoir from the star of QI and The Great British Bake Off

Author: Sandi Toksvig

Narrator: Sandi Toksvig

Unabridged: 9 hr 31 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/31/2019


Synopsis

This long-awaited memoir from one of Britain's best-loved celebrities - a writer, broadcaster, activist, comic on stage, screen and radio for nearly forty years, presenter of QI and Great British Bake Off star - is an autobiography with a difference: as only Sandi Toksvig can tell it.

'Between the Stops is a sort of a memoir, my sort. It's about a bus trip really, because it's my view from the Number 12 bus (mostly top deck, the seat at the front on the right), a double-decker that plies its way from Dulwich, in South East London, where I was living, to where I sometimes work - at the BBC, in the heart of the capital. It's not a sensible way to write a memoir at all, probably, but it's the way things pop into your head as you travel, so it's my way'.

From London facts including where to find the blue plaque for Una Marson, 'The first black woman programme maker at the BBC', to discovering the best Spanish coffee under Southwark's railway arches; from a brief history of lady gangsters at Elephant and Castle to memories of climbing Mount Sinai and, at the request of a fellow traveller, reading aloud the Ten Commandments; from the story behind Pissarro's painting of Dulwich Station to performing in Footlights with Emma Thompson; from painful memoires of being sent to Coventry while at a British boarding school to thinking about how Wombells Travelling Circus of 1864 haunts Peckham Rye;from anecdotes about meeting Prince Charles, Monica Lewinsky and Grayson Perry to Bake-Off antics; from stories of a real and lasting friendship with John McCarthy to the importance of family and the daunting navigation of the Zambezi River in her father's canoe, this Sandi Toksvig-style memoir is, as one would expect and hope, packed full of surprises.

A funny and moving trip through memories, musings and the many delights on the Number 12 route, Between the Stops is also an inspiration to us all to get off our phones, look up and to talk to each other because as Sandi says: 'some of the greatest trips lie on our own doorstep'.

About Sandi Toksvig

Sandi Toksvig was born in Denmark, brought up in Africa, then America and moved to the UK when she was fourteen. She has been on British stage, screen and radio for over forty years and was awarded an OBE for Services to Broadcasting. She is the mother of three children, married and lives deep in the woods.


Reviews

I owe Sandi Toksvig. On some of my worst days during this pandemic, I have flopped down on the sofa feeling truly grotty - then flicking through the TV options I have chanced upon the wonderfully quirky quiz programme – QI - headed by Ms Toksvig...and within minutes I am reduced to helpless laughter......more

Goodreads review by Ceecee

Sandi- a national treasure? Well, I think so! As a fellow wearer of a watch on the ‘wrong’ hand, I salute you! Sandi Toksvig is an actress, writer, a radio and television presenter of programmes such as Great British Bake Of and QI. Her mother is English and her beloved journalist Papa was Danish. S......more

I am incredibly selective about the memoirs I decide to read as many are not of interest to me, but Toksvig is a woman I have long admired for her unapologetic way she lives her life. This is a series of often moving, sometimes humorous reminiscences uniquely driven by the route she often takes on t......more


Quotes

Her writing style is as kooky and digestible as Bill Bryson's, her genius as a raconteur inherited from her Danish journalist father... Hop on this bus, grab a seat up top and prepare yourself for a fun-filled, fact-packed, memorable ride Sunday Times

Between the Stops is like browsing through a well-stocked museum of curiosities with a wise and kind guide; it's part celebration, part confession, part call to arms and wholly entertaining. Don't read it on the bus though - it will make you miss your stop Observer

The comedian, broadcaster and activist uses the meandering route of the number 12 bus, winding its way from her home in Dulwich, south-east London, to the BBC headquarters at Broadcasting House, to share a series of wonderful vignettes about her life Herald

There are fascinating gems of London history along the way, acute observations of fellow passengers, personal asides about her marriage to psychotherapist Debbie, and the odd anecdote from the world of television. It's full of wit and wisdom Radio Times

Life-affirming and addictive Sunday Express

The comedian, TV presenter and political activist narrates the events of her life by way of her bus journey... En route, she takes in her fellow passengers, the history of the city and her own fascinating, multi-site heritage Financial Times

A book of cosy accessibility. History and observation mix seamlessly as Toksvig looks at life from the top deck Sunday Times