Kevin Jackson

A palpable hit

issue 15 February 2003

If you happen to be one of those maddeningly quick-witted or sideways-thinking readers who can spot at a glance that ‘potty train (4)’ means LOCO, that ‘Where reluctant Scotsman lives (7)’ is LOTHIAN, or even – a lovely one, this – that ‘Amundson’s forwarding address (4)’ is MUSH, the pages of Sandy Balfour’s memoir will hold few surprises. (Nor, probably, will you need to be told what its title means. Answer, for the rest of us, in the final paragraph below.) For those who find themselves wrestling with the likes of ‘canine animal’ – three letters, beginning with D – the book will be at the very least a source of mild revelation and at best a delight.

In fact, the later chapters of the book are so thoroughly diverting that it feels churlish to point out that it is founded on a pretty wobbly conceit.

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