Puddings, Bullies & Squashes

BY MALCOLM TOZER SUNNYREST BOOKS £19.00 ★★★☆☆

An old Etonian? A recent Wykehamist? Remember the good old days at Edinburgh Academy?

If you have fond memories of boarding school or are a sports historian then you will find this book fascinating. Malcolm Tozer has collated the pre-rugby early codes of football from an array of public schools in the 19th century, including Edinburgh Academy where an annual fixture of a shinty-like game called Hailes (once also played at the Royal High School) is still played. If you’re a soccer fan or didn’t attend a boarding school you may be gritting your teeth. (I’d recommend you watch The English Game on Netflix instead.)

However, this microscope into the lives of the 19th-century teenage gentry is an excellent collection of historical anecdotes and factoids which will undoubtedly be of interest to the right reader. If that’s you, then prepare for a hit of nostalgia and a history lesson rolled into one.