I learned from this little lot that if one has read The Diary of a Nobody, then one can derive pleasure from even the most pedestrian life story, as there’s always an unintentional chuckle to be had. The former racing driver Nigel Mansell’s Staying on Track (Simon & Schuster, £20) delighted me with its Pooterish charms, from bullied boyhood :
One time I was due to race for England abroad. The school announced the exciting news in assembly one morning… that afternoon I was attacked viciously with a cricket bat in the playground. I thought the other children would be proud of me. How wrong can you be?
— to triumphant adulthood, bashing himself up for pleasure and profit:
Let me tell you about the time I told a priest to get lost. Yes, you’d think that’s not one of my finest moments, not least because I am not a fan of swearing and I have a lot of respect for the church.
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