THERE'LL ALWAYS BE A DRAYNEF

A deftly pointed, broadly British Japery which mocks the regulation commemorative volume, the pump and circumstance that mark the reverence for antiquity, the tiptoe attitude toward titles, this is illustrated satire-wise by the author. In the long history of Drayneflate, from pre-conquest to modern times, you will find some extraordinary information together with some equally extraordinary names. Center-spot is on the Ffidgets and the Little-hamptons and their remarkable contributions to the town whose life has developed on the trackway, known at various times as Wiggling Way, the Via Hernia, and A999. There is the stupendous recreation of original man from a few shards and beads, the changing architecture, the differences progressive have brought, the cultural and artistic (mostly poetic) assets that Drayneflete has known. Thoroughly fulsome, this tours a community of its own devising in such deadpan manner it is nearly believable; the tongue in the cheek here is accompanied by a thumb to the nose and with a ear for literary recognition on the inserted parodies offers superior delight. A specialty in the quiet rather than the loud-mouth division.