Squeezing the Orange

Squeezing the Orange
Henry Blofeld

The quintessentially English cricket commentator, writer, oenophile, bon viveur, collector and national treasure, fondly known as “Blowers”, tells his riveting life story.Born in Norfolk and educated at Eton and Cambridge, Henry Calthorpe Blofeld OBE, nicknamed “Blowers” by the late Brian Johnston, is best known as a cricket commentator for Test Match Special on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. His distinctively rich, cut glass voice and his vividly eccentric observations of life on and off the pitch, have made him a household name, not only in Britain but around the world, wherever cricket is played. Blowers has been close the the heart of the game for over fifty years and his career has taken him to the far corners of the earth. This autobiography, stuffed to the gunwhales with delicious anecdotes, brings his astonishingly colourful story bang up to date.

About the Book (#ulink_341f8aa1-13da-53bc-aba6-8292b904ad80)

Nicknamed “Blowers” by the late Brian Johnston, Henry Calthorpe Blofeld is one of the best known and best loved sports’ journalists of all time. With his trademark bow-tie, his unmistakeably fruity tones and his delightfully idiosyncratic observations, both on and off the cricket field, Blowers has become a national institution.

He joined the legendary Test Match Special team in 1972. During his career as a journalist and a commentator, he has travelled extensively to the many parts of the world where cricket is played.

Although beset by illness (including major heart surgery in 1999), Henry Blofeld’s philosophy on life is a simple one: live every day as though it were your last and squeeze every last drop out of every waking moment. Even now, at the age of seventy-four, he continues to play by his own rules.

In Squeezing the Orange Blowers looks back affectionately on his childhood and his colourful career with all the wit and good humour which is the hallmark of this remarkable and quintessential Englishman.

About the Author (#ulink_c7991e84-3e1f-51ad-ba4c-8637a113ce75)

A consummate showman, raconteur, collector, gourmet and connoisseur of fine wines, Henry Blofeld was born in Norfolk and educated at Eton and Cambridge. He is the author of several books including The Packer Affair, My Dear Old Thing: Talking Cricket and A Thirst for Life. For the past few years he has been touring all over the UK with his one-man show, An Evening with Blowers, as well as many other public speaking engagements. He was awarded an OBE in 2003.

HENRY BLOFELD

Squeezing the Orange

Copyright (#ulink_36a73dac-1897-59dd-917c-d3400b9a77dd)

Harper

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by Blue Door 2013

Copyright © Henry Blofeld 2013

Cover photograph © Colin Thomas 2013

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2013

Henry Blofeld asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007506392

Ebook Edition © September 2013 ISBN: 9780007506415

Version: 2015-12-17

For Valeria, whose love, interest, humour and enthusiasm has made all the difference.

CONTENTS

Cover (#ube5675dd-8e08-5e1f-8ef6-528e8fe415fe)

About the Book (#ue795cef7-33f8-5e7e-bbfc-b799eec641c8)

About the Author (#ub52a7ce4-d9cb-5528-aeec-ed6b32924eb3)

Title Page (#ud4b9929d-7a58-5c5f-af80-70561fb7778b)

Copyright (#u5b5dd2d0-b98a-5c35-871e-56f2cbd56172)

Dedication (#u4c97cb22-3b6e-5ff0-a402-c3554093bf8b)

Preface (#u52a7e243-c284-5e0f-9a88-819a12f2f364)

1. Grizel and Shelling Peas (#ucc538b7e-4a59-59be-8e48-146df8ab7f56)

2. A Wodehousian Education (#u6bff724a-b6b8-5386-9bc9-47e9b0167313)

3. The French Women’s Institute (#uca490897-b889-5c2f-bb7e-8c51917968ff)

4. Queen Charlotte and a Milk Train (#ua7109f0d-f282-57b5-8d5a-436ad4e03ca5)

5. Mad Dogs and Honeymoons (#u1f8f5242-555a-525e-a2c4-ad1e580360ad)

6. Slum Dogs and Maharajahs (#litres_trial_promo)

7. A Lie at the Blue Mountain End (#litres_trial_promo)

8. Mugabe at the Pavilion End (#litres_trial_promo)

9. A Modest Dinner at Alresford (#litres_trial_promo)

10. The Traffic Cop in Faisalabad (#litres_trial_promo)

11. A Heavenly Rejection (#litres_trial_promo)

12. The Man in the Stocking Mask (#litres_trial_promo)

13. Norfolk at the Albert Hall (#litres_trial_promo)