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The Big Blue Jobbie: The Caging of a Well-Padded Scotswoman
A witty, heart-warming and humorous account of family life during lockdown.
Over 200 five-star Amazon reviews with comments
“Excellent debut - laugh out loud in places tale of the trials and tribulations of a well-endowed lady coping with coronavirus challenges, children and canines - and it turns out that her long-suffering husband is a real gem! Highly recommended!”
“Love this book. It’s the funniest laugh out loud book I’ve read in years and, as it’s set during 2020 with the first year of the coronavirus pandemic that’s no mean feat.”
“This reads like the witty ramblings of a very best friend. Rarely do I laugh out loud but I did many times throughout.”
“Absolutely bloomin’ brilliant! Mrs V has the ability to view life through a lens that sees the humour in every situation.”
“Loved this! Snort out loud, never mind laugh out loud! Heart-warming, totally relatable.”
In March 2020 the Prime Minister told Mrs V to shield for 12 weeks. Then for a bit longer. And just a little bit longer. No cuddles, no snogging, no tasting other people’s cocktails to see if they were nicer than hers; pick a spot and stay put.
This was bad news for everyone, except possibly the ice cream industry. Mrs V immediately laid claim to the dining room and created her little slice of self-isolation.
From her perch in Covid Corner, she blogged about the daily ups and downs of family life in lockdown, keeping her readers laughing as the world got weirder.
This book is a compilation of those posts, along with lots of extra bits and commentary.
Like Mrs V, it’s slightly unconventional, quirky, full of warmth (both the loving and the menopausal kind) and has a filthy sense of humour.
Over 200 five-star Amazon reviews with comments
“Excellent debut - laugh out loud in places tale of the trials and tribulations of a well-endowed lady coping with coronavirus challenges, children and canines - and it turns out that her long-suffering husband is a real gem! Highly recommended!”
“Love this book. It’s the funniest laugh out loud book I’ve read in years and, as it’s set during 2020 with the first year of the coronavirus pandemic that’s no mean feat.”
“This reads like the witty ramblings of a very best friend. Rarely do I laugh out loud but I did many times throughout.”
“Absolutely bloomin’ brilliant! Mrs V has the ability to view life through a lens that sees the humour in every situation.”
“Loved this! Snort out loud, never mind laugh out loud! Heart-warming, totally relatable.”
In March 2020 the Prime Minister told Mrs V to shield for 12 weeks. Then for a bit longer. And just a little bit longer. No cuddles, no snogging, no tasting other people’s cocktails to see if they were nicer than hers; pick a spot and stay put.
This was bad news for everyone, except possibly the ice cream industry. Mrs V immediately laid claim to the dining room and created her little slice of self-isolation.
From her perch in Covid Corner, she blogged about the daily ups and downs of family life in lockdown, keeping her readers laughing as the world got weirder.
This book is a compilation of those posts, along with lots of extra bits and commentary.
Like Mrs V, it’s slightly unconventional, quirky, full of warmth (both the loving and the menopausal kind) and has a filthy sense of humour.
- GenresBook ClubNonfictionHumor
313 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 11, 2020
249 people are currently reading
147 people want to read
About the author
Yvonne Vincent
38 books81 followersAs a child, I loved reading. I spent my life with my nose in a book and, when finally forced back into the real world, I wrote poetry and stories. My hero was Pam Ayres and all I wanted to be when I grew up was a librarian, so that I could be around books all the time.
Of course, life takes you on different paths. Somehow, writing poems and stories got lost along the way. I was too busy partying in London through my twenties then being a mum through my thirties and forties. But on an August morning in 2018, at the tender age of forty-eight, I decided to create a blog on Facebook. Ten minutes later, Growing Old Disgracefully was born and the love of writing came flooding back. Encouraged by my lovely readers, I finally got off my lazy behind, put fingers to keyboard and wrote my first book, The Big Blue Jobbie, then another, and another.
Once more, I have a head full of stories and I can’t wait to tell them to you.
Of course, life takes you on different paths. Somehow, writing poems and stories got lost along the way. I was too busy partying in London through my twenties then being a mum through my thirties and forties. But on an August morning in 2018, at the tender age of forty-eight, I decided to create a blog on Facebook. Ten minutes later, Growing Old Disgracefully was born and the love of writing came flooding back. Encouraged by my lovely readers, I finally got off my lazy behind, put fingers to keyboard and wrote my first book, The Big Blue Jobbie, then another, and another.
Once more, I have a head full of stories and I can’t wait to tell them to you.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
March 4, 2022
This book was always in my recommend list on Amazon and so many had mentioned how it was a laugh out loud read.
So looking for a little pick me up, I thought I’d give it a go.
If I’d been a quitter I wouldn’t have finished it, but I never leave a book unfinished.
It’s basically just ramblings through covid, certainly wouldn’t class it as a story!
Very repetitive just like covid and it got boring very quickly.
I’m sure the author is probably a witty person and good company in person but the material just didn’t translate well in a book!
So looking for a little pick me up, I thought I’d give it a go.
If I’d been a quitter I wouldn’t have finished it, but I never leave a book unfinished.
It’s basically just ramblings through covid, certainly wouldn’t class it as a story!
Very repetitive just like covid and it got boring very quickly.
I’m sure the author is probably a witty person and good company in person but the material just didn’t translate well in a book!
June 18, 2021
I loved this. I'd laughed out loud several times during the first few pages alone. Mrs V is hilarious and shameless but she clearly loves her Mr V, her two warring Cherubs and the wee hairy boys. She also loves wine, chocolate, men in kilts and shiny things from Costco. I'd love to hang out with her.
The book came about as a result of her having to shelter due to Covid-19. Undaunted she popped on her PJs, moved into 'Covid Corner' in the dining room (along with the household alcohol stock, Mr V's Jaffa Cakes (which kept accidentally falling into her mouth!) and Wee Hairy Vegas) and compiled this book from a mixture of her previous blogs and new material. It is the funniest book I've read since The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37 3/4.
As a bonus, this book could also not be more perfect for anybody who ever plays the '....In My Pants' game with the book they're reading!
The book came about as a result of her having to shelter due to Covid-19. Undaunted she popped on her PJs, moved into 'Covid Corner' in the dining room (along with the household alcohol stock, Mr V's Jaffa Cakes (which kept accidentally falling into her mouth!) and Wee Hairy Vegas) and compiled this book from a mixture of her previous blogs and new material. It is the funniest book I've read since The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37 3/4.
As a bonus, this book could also not be more perfect for anybody who ever plays the '....In My Pants' game with the book they're reading!
July 4, 2021
Laugh out loud funny
Giblets through a polo. Read the book and you'll know what I mean. Well worth a read. Laugh out loud funny.
Giblets through a polo. Read the book and you'll know what I mean. Well worth a read. Laugh out loud funny.
January 25, 2021
Not especially funny, although there were a few very good bits about the dogs ('wee hairy boys'). There's nothing particularly bad or off-putting about the humorous observations of the writer describing several months under COVID self-isolation. And yet, I had to make myself finish it. I think in the end it is too dismally similar to those items you find in the gift section of bookstores, which always have printed slogans like 'it's wine o'clock!'. Funny one or two times but in a lengthy novel gets very wearying.
July 15, 2021
Laugh out loud.
I haven’t laughed so much in a long time. Brilliant. Just ordered book 2 hope it’s as funny. Thank you
I haven’t laughed so much in a long time. Brilliant. Just ordered book 2 hope it’s as funny. Thank you
August 5, 2024
Brilliant!
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I am quite new to the FB writings of Yvonne as Growing Old Disgracefully so this was a very interesting and fun read...I've gone backwards really..I started with all the fiction books and then came to this one.
I remember 2020 and what it was like, and how different it was for people in different situations but this is quite an eye opener as I didn't personally know anyone who had to shield at the time. Other than the various other FB posts anyway.
Yvonne has a wonderful wit and a fantastic sense of fun and humour but at the same time, I felt bad for her and her family for what they had to go through. Yvonne shows great courage in being able to write to entertain others while facing some personal issues and a great deal of anxieties.
Thanks Yvonne, for being you ❤
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I am quite new to the FB writings of Yvonne as Growing Old Disgracefully so this was a very interesting and fun read...I've gone backwards really..I started with all the fiction books and then came to this one.
I remember 2020 and what it was like, and how different it was for people in different situations but this is quite an eye opener as I didn't personally know anyone who had to shield at the time. Other than the various other FB posts anyway.
Yvonne has a wonderful wit and a fantastic sense of fun and humour but at the same time, I felt bad for her and her family for what they had to go through. Yvonne shows great courage in being able to write to entertain others while facing some personal issues and a great deal of anxieties.
Thanks Yvonne, for being you ❤
February 25, 2022
I didn’t know Mrs V. and her Growing Old Disgracefully blog before picking up the book. It was a Prime Reading freebie and I was looking for something lighthearted. There were a few laugh out loud moments and some poignant reminders of the lockdown rules we endured - I’d forgotten the bit when we were allowed to meet one other person for exercise! It’s an amalgamation of posts from her time shielding, alongside some narration (no, Mr V. doesn’t really have piles) and bits that didn’t make the cut for the blog. Quick, easy read.
March 28, 2022
Definitely some laugh out loud moments here.
This was a refreshing reflection on the weirdest six months (this book only covers until August 2020) that the world has experienced in a while. Keeping it light, with vignettes from earlier (more normal) times, provided an arguably more enjoyable experience of lockdown and self-isolation than could have been expected.
I wish Mrs V (and Mr V, and the Cherubs) all the best - it was fun to visit their world for a while, but I too am precious about my Jaffa Cakes and don't feel like sharing.
This was a refreshing reflection on the weirdest six months (this book only covers until August 2020) that the world has experienced in a while. Keeping it light, with vignettes from earlier (more normal) times, provided an arguably more enjoyable experience of lockdown and self-isolation than could have been expected.
I wish Mrs V (and Mr V, and the Cherubs) all the best - it was fun to visit their world for a while, but I too am precious about my Jaffa Cakes and don't feel like sharing.
October 25, 2021
Having read and enjoyed The Losers Club by this author, I was so happy to find this book, which I believe predates The Losers Club. I loved the humour of this book too. It is written with such humanity, and some real pearls of wisdom too. The author has such a witty take on life, during a very difficult time for everyone. She has a sense of the absurd and takes a childlike delight in small victories, mainly to do with cakes! Simply delightful! Can’t wait to read #2…..
June 12, 2022
Absolutely brilliant
Loved everything in this book, great to read about a normal family with all the eccentricities of each member.
Laughed my way through, sarcasm and haughty bits, amazing writing, thank you for bringing a big smile to my face.
Highly recommend, if you do not find it amusing then there is something seriously wrong in your life and you need to embrace what this wonderful writer and her family have and people watch to see what you are missing 😂😄
Loved everything in this book, great to read about a normal family with all the eccentricities of each member.
Laughed my way through, sarcasm and haughty bits, amazing writing, thank you for bringing a big smile to my face.
Highly recommend, if you do not find it amusing then there is something seriously wrong in your life and you need to embrace what this wonderful writer and her family have and people watch to see what you are missing 😂😄
June 16, 2022
Laugh out loud book
Loved the happiness shining through the worst of times, even with the reality of lockdown, shielding, keeping the family safe and sane, all with huge quantities of ice cream, wine and chocolate
Reading late at night it was very painful to contain silent laughter, also not recommended reading whilst eating cornflakes!
A very enjoyable read, now buying the paper edition to share with friends
Loved the happiness shining through the worst of times, even with the reality of lockdown, shielding, keeping the family safe and sane, all with huge quantities of ice cream, wine and chocolate
Reading late at night it was very painful to contain silent laughter, also not recommended reading whilst eating cornflakes!
A very enjoyable read, now buying the paper edition to share with friends
August 18, 2025
The funniest thing I've listened to in ages, although the other half did several times think that I had finally lost the sandwiches from my picnic. Although I should knock a star off for the choking episode with a chocolate digestive, and the fact I now need to wash my desk mat as it's now splashed with the tea that I both accidentally inhaled and spat out all over it.
Another great book Mrs V now I'm away to track down book 2 😁
Another great book Mrs V now I'm away to track down book 2 😁
February 27, 2025
3.75 stars
I liked this, it’s a collection of her blog posts from the start of the first Covid lockdown until August of 2020 plus other bits and pieces.
Did make me chuckle and also remind us of how weird that period was. She put together this book during that period so didn’t know more lockdowns were to come - hence there is now a Big Blue Jobbie 2 which is going to have to go on my list!
📖🚫📖
I liked this, it’s a collection of her blog posts from the start of the first Covid lockdown until August of 2020 plus other bits and pieces.
Did make me chuckle and also remind us of how weird that period was. She put together this book during that period so didn’t know more lockdowns were to come - hence there is now a Big Blue Jobbie 2 which is going to have to go on my list!
📖🚫📖
September 19, 2020
Laugh out loud (and often snort out loud) heartwarming and cosy, light reading but uplifting and worth every page, hopefully another book will follow, i reached 50 this year and have had similar lockdown experiences. Recommended
January 18, 2022
The big blue Jobbie
Like lockdown just a bit too.long .some funny moments of which we could all relate. Repetitive but I assume that is the point as lockdown was indeed. Worth a read
Like lockdown just a bit too.long .some funny moments of which we could all relate. Repetitive but I assume that is the point as lockdown was indeed. Worth a read
January 27, 2022
A light diversion with a sort of sweet undercurrent. This sometimes made me laugh out loud at the absurdities of domestic life that all can relate to. For an American, some of the British terms were hard to figure out but her use of them lends the book some charm.
February 6, 2022
Nice light read...
Perfectly readable.... Very warm, honest and readable view of family life in 2020! Kept reading bits to my husband that struck a cord (of which there were many).
Perfectly readable.... Very warm, honest and readable view of family life in 2020! Kept reading bits to my husband that struck a cord (of which there were many).
February 18, 2022
Excellently funny and a bit real
An absolutely funny and realistic account of lockdown for people who had to shield and those of us who didn't. I bought the sequel as I enjoyed it so much
An absolutely funny and realistic account of lockdown for people who had to shield and those of us who didn't. I bought the sequel as I enjoyed it so much
February 24, 2022
I absolutely loved this book!! So much so, that I read Yvonne’s other 3 books over the following week. Be careful reading it on public transport as there are too many laugh out loud moments to mention. If you love the ‘Peter and Jane��� page on FB, you’ll love this x
February 25, 2022
This was such a good and funny read. I absolutely loved it and can’t wait to get started on the second one. It was such a true account of life during Covid - one of the strangest times to experience. Well done Mrs V.
March 8, 2022
Looking on the Bright Side
Relatable, uplifting diary of the first UK covid lockdown. Clever use of wry, self-deprecating humour presents a positive experience in a dauntingly difficult situation.
Relatable, uplifting diary of the first UK covid lockdown. Clever use of wry, self-deprecating humour presents a positive experience in a dauntingly difficult situation.
November 26, 2022
I like the authors sense of humour and at first enjoyed the book but it just went on for too long and became boring. It probably works well as something to read if posted online once or twice a week.
November 15, 2023
A life in the covid time
A witty hilarious read about family life in a horrible situation . Covid destroyed so many lives and we all had our ways of coping.I was sceptical about reading this book but it has been an excellent read.
A witty hilarious read about family life in a horrible situation . Covid destroyed so many lives and we all had our ways of coping.I was sceptical about reading this book but it has been an excellent read.
August 16, 2020
The Big Blue Jobbie
As a fan of the blog, Growing old Disgracefully, I really enjoyed this read. Very funny and spot on with her observations, laugh out loud funny!
As a fan of the blog, Growing old Disgracefully, I really enjoyed this read. Very funny and spot on with her observations, laugh out loud funny!
October 22, 2020
Superb
Laughed so much. More more more PLEASE laughed out loud so much devastated to have finished it more soon please
Laughed so much. More more more PLEASE laughed out loud so much devastated to have finished it more soon please
December 23, 2020
Seriously funny stuff!
Laugh out loud funny. So relatable, please get on with the next book, minus the virus hopefully! Ten out of ten!
Laugh out loud funny. So relatable, please get on with the next book, minus the virus hopefully! Ten out of ten!
January 1, 2021
Howled with laughter,nearly needed a tena lady for parts,a jolly good read
February 22, 2021
Hilarious funny book, if you want a wee laugh in these strange times
May 16, 2021
Loved it. Could not put down so funny but relatable. Special in this difficult time
June 20, 2021
Made me snort with laughter
A Witty wonderful take on life during the pandemic from the well padded shielding scotswoman and her hairy boys plus family
A Witty wonderful take on life during the pandemic from the well padded shielding scotswoman and her hairy boys plus family
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews