What do you think?
Rate this book
Nobbut a Lad
One of the best-loved men in Britain, Alan Titchmarsh, brilliantly recalls his childhood in 1950s Yorkshire. Alan Titchmarsh grew up, and developed his passion for nature in the wild and beautiful landscape of Yorkshire. A real treat for his millions of fans, the ever-popular presenter vividly depicts a childhood of simple pleasures like climbing trees and fishing in streams, in a time of post-war austerity. It was not a deprived childhood, yet neither was the garden eternally rosy and Alan's colourful portrait of a bygone era brings poignant moments and others that leave you aching with laughter. Alan's sharp eye for detail brings to life various family members and their memorable quirks, as well as local characters, childhood haunts and significant events that have shaped his life.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
18 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
November 14, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. I grew up in Ilkley in the 70’s and 80’s. I left in 1990. It was a delight to read about all the places I remember. I knew quite a few of the characters. My dad had an allotment too. So many lovely memories were triggered by this delightful book.
Read
September 29, 2012A wonderfully warm, gentle, honest book. Titchmarsh has a gift for recounting the simple everyday things that defined an era. Memories of a Northern upbringing came flooding back. Brutally honest, he spills his soul generously so that we may easily recognize ourselves and understand that we are not alone.
March 11, 2022
A very warm recollection of growing up as young boy in Ilkley Yorkshire ! Quite poor financially but rich family and community !
November 26, 2013
This is the 4th Titchmarsh book I've read, and I wasn't expecting more than a gently, pleasant read. But I was agreeably surprised. Reminiscences of Titchmarsh's childhood years in Ilkley on the Yorkshire moors, these are little stories put together in no particular order and containing nothing particularly extraordinary. No, what I most appreciated in "Nobbut a Lad" was the way he describes the little things around him, painting a realistic but charming picture of the fifties in the UK that conjures up my own magical memories of a different sort of childhood. Enchanting!
February 10, 2016
Every so often I take a break from my usual diet of crime thrillers, and read a biography. This book isn't really a biog, more a series of anecdotes about the author's childhood in Yorkshire. As the daughter of a Yorkshireman who grew up not many miles from where this book is set, I loved every bit of it. I could almost hear my father again, using some of the expressions in the book.
November 6, 2023
Alan Titchmarsh’s memoir Nobbut a Lad – A Yorkshire childhood was published in 2006.
Titchmarsh is familiar to UK television viewers through his gardening and other programmes. He was born in May 1949 – so to me he is a contemporary and many of his reminiscences echo experiences I enjoyed in childhood. His novels show that he can write as well as attend to horticulture, and this endearing and at times touching book is enlivened not only with his good writing style but also with a wry sense of humour.
So this is his story – ‘Not that it was without incident or occasional tragedy. But that’s growing up. And growing up, even in the best of all possible worlds, is a confusing thing to have to do’ (p9). This definitely is not a 'misery memoir'.
He was brought up proper. ‘At all times men walked on the outside of the pavement, ladies on the inside. I still do, even though it does sometimes cause confusion when after crossing the road, the woman I am walking with discovers that I’m not where I was’ (p15). [I used to do the same. I suspect the courtesy stems from those days when roadways were plagued by puddles and the wheels of passing carriages were liable to splash pedestrians. I don’t do it with my wife Jen; I always walk on her right-hand side, it’s her good ear. So part of the time I’m the gentleman of old, at others, not!]
It was the time of steam trains. On one jaunt to London with his parents he found himself on the famous Mallard. He chatted with the driver and said ‘I want to be an engine driver’ to which the driver replied, ‘Aye, but you’re nobbut a lad.’ Alan said firmly, ‘When I grow up I mean’ (p141). His career path took a different turn, of course, like so many others who wanted to be train drivers or astronauts or even cowboys!
He lovingly describes many amusing anecdotes, sometimes against himself, and is never malicious. At one time the family had an upright piano in the parlour and Alan determined to learn to drive a car with the instrument’s help. He needed a walking stick and a flowerpot. He turned the flowerpot upside down and stuck the stick in the drainage hole in the pot; this served as the gear-lever. Then he’d use the three foot-pedals of the piano as the accelerator, clutch and brake. Until his father had enough of Alan’s revving sounds and suggested ‘Put the car in the garage and go to bed’ (p249).
‘Impressing my parents was more important to me than almost anything else. It seemed a way of repaying their confidence and the energy and effort they’d put into bringing us up during those tough years after the war’ (p325).
‘Since being a lad, I’ve had a love affair with horses – in paint and in the flesh. The works of George Stubbs and Sir Alfred Munnings thrill me like no other. Dogs command affection, cats command attention, but horses command respect’ (p271) [In his 2008 novel Folly he actually has Munnings as a character].
‘Collecting things was something we all felt driven to do; there was some kind of security in ownership of a collection, some kind of status. In leaner weeks we’d search through the dustbins at the back of the bus garage... We’d pull out cigarette packets and tear off the front and back covers so that each became a crude playing card. With these we’d play snap, and feel as rich as a king when we scooped a whole pile of them’ (p292).
‘My pocket money amounted to one shilling. It never changed for years, it seemed. It didn’t buy much, but most of it went in Woolworths on seeds, or construction kits...’ (p295).
‘The fact that I failed my eleven-plus came as no surprise to anybody, least of all me... I can recall that feeling now – the feeling of trying to knit fog. I caught up in the years that followed; but at the age of eleven it is no consolation to know that you are a late developer’ (p300).
‘I should have been better at science, bearing in mind my future, but Miss Sutcliffe – known as “the Improper Fraction” (top-heavy) – was a loud woman who frightened the life out of me. When she bawled at you, “Acids must be respected!” you felt obliged to scatter the vinegar on to your fish and chips with particular care’ (p304).
These snippets don’t do the book justice. Alan Titchmarsh has a sharp eye for detail – also evinced in his novels – and here provides the reader with vivid recall of people and times long gone, but not forgotten. Here he shows us the various local characters and teachers who became powerful influences in his early life.
Also included are photographs of his family, which many of us can relate to in the style and composition. Plus the author has inserted several line drawings to illustrate certain events and things.
Nostalgia may not be what it used to be, but it’s here in this book in spades!
Titchmarsh is familiar to UK television viewers through his gardening and other programmes. He was born in May 1949 – so to me he is a contemporary and many of his reminiscences echo experiences I enjoyed in childhood. His novels show that he can write as well as attend to horticulture, and this endearing and at times touching book is enlivened not only with his good writing style but also with a wry sense of humour.
So this is his story – ‘Not that it was without incident or occasional tragedy. But that’s growing up. And growing up, even in the best of all possible worlds, is a confusing thing to have to do’ (p9). This definitely is not a 'misery memoir'.
He was brought up proper. ‘At all times men walked on the outside of the pavement, ladies on the inside. I still do, even though it does sometimes cause confusion when after crossing the road, the woman I am walking with discovers that I’m not where I was’ (p15). [I used to do the same. I suspect the courtesy stems from those days when roadways were plagued by puddles and the wheels of passing carriages were liable to splash pedestrians. I don’t do it with my wife Jen; I always walk on her right-hand side, it’s her good ear. So part of the time I’m the gentleman of old, at others, not!]
It was the time of steam trains. On one jaunt to London with his parents he found himself on the famous Mallard. He chatted with the driver and said ‘I want to be an engine driver’ to which the driver replied, ‘Aye, but you’re nobbut a lad.’ Alan said firmly, ‘When I grow up I mean’ (p141). His career path took a different turn, of course, like so many others who wanted to be train drivers or astronauts or even cowboys!
He lovingly describes many amusing anecdotes, sometimes against himself, and is never malicious. At one time the family had an upright piano in the parlour and Alan determined to learn to drive a car with the instrument’s help. He needed a walking stick and a flowerpot. He turned the flowerpot upside down and stuck the stick in the drainage hole in the pot; this served as the gear-lever. Then he’d use the three foot-pedals of the piano as the accelerator, clutch and brake. Until his father had enough of Alan’s revving sounds and suggested ‘Put the car in the garage and go to bed’ (p249).
‘Impressing my parents was more important to me than almost anything else. It seemed a way of repaying their confidence and the energy and effort they’d put into bringing us up during those tough years after the war’ (p325).
‘Since being a lad, I’ve had a love affair with horses – in paint and in the flesh. The works of George Stubbs and Sir Alfred Munnings thrill me like no other. Dogs command affection, cats command attention, but horses command respect’ (p271) [In his 2008 novel Folly he actually has Munnings as a character].
‘Collecting things was something we all felt driven to do; there was some kind of security in ownership of a collection, some kind of status. In leaner weeks we’d search through the dustbins at the back of the bus garage... We’d pull out cigarette packets and tear off the front and back covers so that each became a crude playing card. With these we’d play snap, and feel as rich as a king when we scooped a whole pile of them’ (p292).
‘My pocket money amounted to one shilling. It never changed for years, it seemed. It didn’t buy much, but most of it went in Woolworths on seeds, or construction kits...’ (p295).
‘The fact that I failed my eleven-plus came as no surprise to anybody, least of all me... I can recall that feeling now – the feeling of trying to knit fog. I caught up in the years that followed; but at the age of eleven it is no consolation to know that you are a late developer’ (p300).
‘I should have been better at science, bearing in mind my future, but Miss Sutcliffe – known as “the Improper Fraction” (top-heavy) – was a loud woman who frightened the life out of me. When she bawled at you, “Acids must be respected!” you felt obliged to scatter the vinegar on to your fish and chips with particular care’ (p304).
These snippets don’t do the book justice. Alan Titchmarsh has a sharp eye for detail – also evinced in his novels – and here provides the reader with vivid recall of people and times long gone, but not forgotten. Here he shows us the various local characters and teachers who became powerful influences in his early life.
Also included are photographs of his family, which many of us can relate to in the style and composition. Plus the author has inserted several line drawings to illustrate certain events and things.
Nostalgia may not be what it used to be, but it’s here in this book in spades!
August 16, 2021
What a heart warming read. Alan is a genuine article.
No snobbery or hype surrounding him at all.
Just a decent ordinary bloke.
When reading this you can hear Alan reciting it to you in his soft Yorkshire accent.
And see comparisons in places and situations in his novels.
I have been a fan of Alan for a very long time and grew up watching him on the Telly with Mom and Dad from the 70's onwards. Now enjoying Love your Garden and reading his novels. This one has eluded me , obviously. But better late than never, i say.
This book is his early childhood - growing up in Ilkley and surrounding areas- growing up with the gardening bug truly flowing in his veins , and especially, his green fingers.
No snobbery or hype surrounding him at all.
Just a decent ordinary bloke.
When reading this you can hear Alan reciting it to you in his soft Yorkshire accent.
And see comparisons in places and situations in his novels.
I have been a fan of Alan for a very long time and grew up watching him on the Telly with Mom and Dad from the 70's onwards. Now enjoying Love your Garden and reading his novels. This one has eluded me , obviously. But better late than never, i say.
This book is his early childhood - growing up in Ilkley and surrounding areas- growing up with the gardening bug truly flowing in his veins , and especially, his green fingers.
July 20, 2022
I am not a huge fan of Alan Titchmarsh and I don’t watch many gardening programmes these days but I was attracted to this as it is about growing up in the 50s which I did albeit in a different county.
It was gentle, it flowed nicely and reminded me so much of my childhood. It also reminded me a lot of my late Father who was a gardener by necessity. He needed a job when the war ended and became a gardener so his family could survive and then he grew to love it and we lived off all the lovely fruit and veg and my Mum loved the flowers.
A pleasant read and all credit to him for becoming an accomplished author as well as a gardener.
It was gentle, it flowed nicely and reminded me so much of my childhood. It also reminded me a lot of my late Father who was a gardener by necessity. He needed a job when the war ended and became a gardener so his family could survive and then he grew to love it and we lived off all the lovely fruit and veg and my Mum loved the flowers.
A pleasant read and all credit to him for becoming an accomplished author as well as a gardener.
August 16, 2022
I was given this book by a work colleague and it's been on my reading pile for a while as other books took my fancy more. Eventually I got to it and read it within a week which for me shows how good it is. It's a childhood memoir by Alan Titchmarsh mainly based in his hometown of Ilkley, near Harrogate. It was such a lovely gentle read- I enjoyed it from start to finish. I really enjoyed the writing style, sentimental, nostalgic, romantic. Will now have to read his other published works.
July 10, 2019
Lovely light read and interesting to gain knowledge of where his love for gardening came from.
January 25, 2020
Loved it! An honest insight into Alan’s love as a boy!,good Interesting read.
August 19, 2025
It was an interesting review of the author’s childhood with an honest picture of his feelings.
June 22, 2021
I was not sure what to think about the book but as I read it I was astounded that some things I recognised about my own childhood and memories flooded back about things,I enjoyed the book so much I want to read other books Alan Titchmarsh has wrote.I reccomend if you want a good read of life in the 50's and a young lad this is it..
May 7, 2011
A charming book, I really enjoyed it. Alan Titchmarsh is the gardener from shows like Ground Force (shown on HGTV) and has been a garden presenter on British TV shows since he was in his late teens. He's a very down to earth guy (no pun intended) and this is one of his memoirs - less of a true autobiography, more stories of being a child in a not so well-off North Yorkshire small town. It explains how he got into gardening - not a likely profession in his home town at that time.
By the way, Nobbut a lad means 'nothing but a boy' in the Yorkshire Dales dialect.
Book club ladies - if you'd like to borrow it let me know. I own a copy and its not in the library.
By the way, Nobbut a lad means 'nothing but a boy' in the Yorkshire Dales dialect.
Book club ladies - if you'd like to borrow it let me know. I own a copy and its not in the library.
April 19, 2016
I enjoy military non fiction, love sci-fi,... but once in a while it's nice to sit back and relax with a book like this. For want of a better explanation it creates a mood similar to the James Herriot books, though in this case it's simply an account of Alan Tichmarsh's childhood, full of anecdotes and stories about growing up. Another reason that I enjoyed the book is probably because he and I are not so many years apart. As a consequence I often found myself nodding and thinking,"Yeah, I can remember that."
March 11, 2008
wishing won't make it happen, but it would be oh so lovely to have a childhood like this
reading about growing up with Grandpa Hardisty in the beautiful landscape surrounding Ilkley in Wharfedale, Yorkshire, makes it almost real
"Church attendance at matins and evensong on a Sunday brought a kind of calming routine to the end of the week. Though we were always told that Sunday was the first day of the week, it seemed more like a sedate finale."
this is a classic childhoos memoir
reading about growing up with Grandpa Hardisty in the beautiful landscape surrounding Ilkley in Wharfedale, Yorkshire, makes it almost real
"Church attendance at matins and evensong on a Sunday brought a kind of calming routine to the end of the week. Though we were always told that Sunday was the first day of the week, it seemed more like a sedate finale."
this is a classic childhoos memoir
August 6, 2015
A collection of short recollections of Alan Titchmarsh's childhood, particularly his contented years with family in their Yorkshire home. He writes modestly about his role, his experiences and their influence on his life as an adult.
He writes as an author who is shy, unassuming, honest and clearly reflective. The prose is easy to follow and enriched by many Yorkshire idioms of language, all for the better education of the reader :)
He writes as an author who is shy, unassuming, honest and clearly reflective. The prose is easy to follow and enriched by many Yorkshire idioms of language, all for the better education of the reader :)
Read
October 31, 2012Not an over inspiring story......could relate to some things but it shows that he got hos hoity toityness from his mother....she had ideas above her station.....Titchmarsh reckons hes proud of his yorkshire heritage so why does he hide it behind a "posh accent". Not the best autobiogrsphy by a long chalk.
May 3, 2016
I started this last year but then it got hidden away and was re-discovered as I packed to go to Tenerife (where I released Trowel and Error last year).
It is written as various stories from Alan's youth rather than a chronological full autobiography. It is an interesting and entertaining read and much more personal than many autobiographies.
It is written as various stories from Alan's youth rather than a chronological full autobiography. It is an interesting and entertaining read and much more personal than many autobiographies.
April 1, 2009
Enjoyable collection of tales from Titchmarsh's childhood, which was pleasant and made me smile. Reminded me of things people said or did in my own childhood (although I'm not as old as him! honest). genuine affection for the Yorkshire ways and turn of phrase.
April 9, 2009
Anyone born in the North of England will love this book and be able to relate to all of Alan's funny tales of his childhood. I loved it and it took me back!!
October 11, 2010
I found that I could really identify with Alan as a lad - once I had picked this book up I found myself reading it at every opportunity until I finished it. Really enjoyable.
June 2, 2012
A charming autobiography from a television gardener and talk show host.
January 27, 2013
A lovely gentle read from a lovely gentle man.
May 22, 2013
Nice recollections from childhood. A book where it is easy to read short fragments. Not a gripping read, but a warm one.
June 3, 2013
Harder work than the fiction obviously, but the lad done good!
May 20, 2014
This 2nd book of memoirs is an interesting read but not as good as his first.
June 9, 2011
A good self-indulgent warm read. I enyoyed it .
Want to read
May 21, 2012Riehle Reading Group May 2012
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews