At the Time: Tales from a Village Offy
At the Time: Tales from a Village Offy – I’ll start by letting Michael have the first word: “If they’re talking about you, they are thinking about you. And if they can’t believe what others are saying about you, they will pop in to see for themselves!”
Michael Stenson ran a village off-licence in Holt for 28 years and used the experiences and encounters to create this very amusing book. It’s accessible, continually entertaining and a real “page-turner”. You get to the point where you can’t wait to find out what on earth is going to happen next! “Sling Your Hook”, “You’ve Ruined It” and “A Letter To Terry Wogan” are my particular favourites.
I liked the way he has divided his story into “bite-sized” chapters. This formatting makes it very easy to read and of course very cleverly makes you think “Well, I’ll just read another one before I put it down!”. A few photographs would’ve made the book even more attractive, especially to help with how Michael renovated Lilac Cottage. His descriptions are so vivid; images would have really brought his stories to life even more.
An Irreverent Sense of Humour
Michael has an irreverent sense of humour and this shines through in almost every situation. It brought a smile to my face as I read through it.
Let’s give Michael the chance to tell us a bit more: “Everyone should have the opportunity to ‘smile at a fruitcake’ every day. Over the 28 years spent establishing a small village ‘booze shop’ that quickly became known locally as ‘The Offy’ in the village of Holt in North Wales, the author was the more than grateful witness to many such occasions.
“Tales of exploding Hedgehog crisps, sarcastic motorway police officers, lifelike plastic parrots and individuals barred for being plastered. Disbelieving magistrates, old ladies and school kids, shop fittings from a chicken shed, cries of ‘Don’t I look 18?’. Shin-bruising wheel braces, never eat yellow snow, ‘It’s how much?’ and many more.
Friends and Fruitcakes
Remembering occasions that only brought a thousand memories, but also defined a time when corner shops were the hub of the community and a source of true friendship and humour. At The Time is a collection of humorous memories dedicated to those times when customers became friends and ‘fruitcakes’ seemingly came in abundance!”
He finishes by saying “It’s merely a little light reading about me making a spectacle of myself.”
Michael’s book “At The Time: Tales From A Village Offy” is available at Bellis Brothers’ Country Market in Holt, The Pharmacy in Farndon, The Tea Station in Deganwy, The Book Shop in Nantwich, The Village Stores in Aldford and Tilston.
Additionally, you can purchase it on Amazon and Kindle as a paperback and an ebook. You can order At The Time from Waterstones online, however, Michael is working on having it available off the shelf as well.
Bibliographic information
Bibliographic information- Title: At the Time: Tales from a Village Offy
- Author: Mike Stenson Publisher: Michael Terence Publishing, 2019
- ISBN: 1913289516,
- 9781913289515
- Length: 260 pages
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