Timmy Mallett releases memoir

Cookham: Artist’s book focuses on emotional journey

Timmy Mallett and his new book, Utterly Brilliant.

A former TV entertainer who cycled 2,000km from Cookham to Spain has written a book about his life.

Wacaday star Timmy Mallett has written Utterly Brilliant, which has gone on sale today (Thursday).

The book interweaves the entertainer’s memoirs with an account of the cycle pilgrimage he did from Cookham to Santiago De Compostela just days after his brother Martin, who had Down’s syndrome, died aged 64 in 2018.

The Cookham resident had to endure some extreme conditions along the way, cycling through the ‘Beast from the East’ storms that had swept through the UK and parts of Europe during the winter.

He also brought art supplies along and did a painting almost every day of his journey, sending them back home as he went.

He said: “I wanted to raise the awareness of reaching your potential, setting yourself a target and seeing if you could see it through.”

The 320-page volume describes Timmy’s pilgrimage to the Camino De Santiago, but cuts away to other significant parts of his life, like his time on Wacaday, Mallett’s Mallet and when

Theresa May came to visit him while she was still Prime Minister to learn more about his trip.

Along the way, Timmy left Martin Mallett name tags in a variety of places as a tribute to his late brother, and inside the book is a map containing the exact location of each tag.

The map marks other significant moments and milestones in the journey, such as when his chain snapped in Blackamoor Lane before he had even cycled beyond Maidenhead.

Now the book has officially launched, Timmy will be holding his first book signing at The Little Bookshop, in Cookham High Street, on Saturday, February 8.

He said: “I am really honoured to be doing my first book signing at The Little Bookshop, because I am just thinking about the good people of my village and my town who have supported me all the way.

“I am really grateful for that.”