I'm not into reading memoirs (or biographies for that matter) but it seems I've started 2021 with two (Lenny Henry's at the start of the year).
Generally I enjoy James Acaster's comedy and his Scrapes collection does have it's laughs. There isn't really much meat to the book but it's good light reading (with literal laugh out louds).
Acaster also has a distinctive style if you've seen him on screen so in reading his stories, Acaster's voice really leaps from the words on the page.
What I found genuinely hilarious was the scrapes about his time sleeping in a bush in Basingstoke - most specifically because I've done the exact same thing around 2002. Falling asleep on the train I arrived in Basingstoke on the last train and was stranded in the town.
A random guy asked me for some change, then a cigarette then started to poke my coat pockets asking where my phone was.
Just before the guy went into full mugging mode, another random guy came along, asked me "is this guy bothering you?" and he then stepped in and became my random saviour knight - at which point I tipped my way out of the situation and let the big boys sort themselves out.
Being stranded and being 1am I had to find somewhere to wait out until the first train at 6am. Thusly I found the best bush that would be most suitable for hiding my body whilst I slept those 5 hours away.
I remember my coat doing a terrible job of a blanket. I did manage to catch the 6am train back home, but fell asleep on the way back and miss my stop… again. I wasn't so quick at learning lessons!
3 Highlight(s)
People who draw dicks on their foreheads are rarely on their best behaviour.
Having a conversation with a drunk person when you are sober is like being a classroom assistant in a primary school for kids who are drunk.
As we floated around aimlessly and my skydiving instructor's eyes burned into the top of my head, one of my slip-ons began to slip off (the exact opposite of what I'd bought the slip-on for).