WHATBOOK..?

…are you reading now?

I FOUND a modest green hardback book in the loft called Peace In War, by 20th-century East Anglian artist Edward Seago, which, it turned out, my dad bought in 1943!

It’s a fascinating collection of black and white plates of colour artwork (colour was too expensive and not easy to reproduce) and stories about the different subjects Seago painted when on leave from the tumult of Dunkirk, and during the Blitz in World War II.

He writes about the fear of uncertainty in an England on the cusp of monumental change and what we hold dear and why.

I’m fascinated with his story-telling in these paintings . . . and it resonates in uncertain times.

…would you take to a desert island?

THE Secret Footballer series — these are a brilliant read about the psychology of sport by an anonymous former Premier League footballer, revealing what it takes to be a winner by one who knows.

He writes so entertainingly, and the honesty is disarming and charming. Then on my desert island I’d set up goal posts and practise scoring impossible goals.

…first gave you the reading bug?

ADVENTURE stories were a big part of my childhood reading, and my mum and dad read to us regularly.

This was partly to make sure that my brother, Martin, who had Down’s Syndrome, was included in the story-telling and in the family routine.

Mum was a poetry buff, and the rhythm of the words and the inventiveness of the phrasing has always been fascinating to me. On my TV and radio shows, we used to invent all sorts of words and catchphrases, and I guess I learned all that as a youngster from the books and poetry our parents read to us.

I was a keen reader and joined the Puffin Club. We began with the Dragon In Danger series by Rosemary Manning, set in Constantine Bay in Cornwall.

Last year, I found myself going in search of this spot on a cycling adventure, looking out for a green dragon! I painted the view from the end of the bay and included some kites that looked quite dragon-ish.

Then there was the Laura Ingalls Wilder series of Little House On The Prairie. I enjoyed watching her growing older and her jealousies and relationships with family and friends.

Other favourites were Kipling’s Just So Stories, the C.S.Lewis Narnia series — I especially loved the maps that made it all look so real — and the magical Puck of Pook’s Hill, where children were introduced to characters from history to tell their own tales. Then I graduated on to Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee (pictured above).

All of these books have pictures. I want illustrations with my stories!

…left you cold?

HILLARY CLINTON’S political memoir, What Happened. It listed so many people she was clearly expected to thank. I thought: ‘Why am I reading a list of unimportant people?’

I was disappointed because I like Hillary and I wanted a clearer picture of what actually happened . . .

Timmy mallETT’S memoir Utterly Brilliant! my life’s Journey is published by SPCK at £16.99.