The Gran Tour: Travels with my Elders

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

'Both moving and hilarious' - Spectator, Books of the Year

'A tale of gloriously eccentric British pensioners. Aitken rivals Alan Bennett in the ear he has for an eavesdropped remark ... boy, can he write.' - Daily Mail, Book of the Week

FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE ACCLAIMED A CHIP SHOP IN POZNAN

One millennial, six coach trips, one big generation gap.

When Ben Aitken learnt that his gran had enjoyed a four-night holiday including four three-course dinners, four cooked breakfasts, four games of bingo, a pair of excursions, sixteen pints of lager and luxury return coach travel, all for a hundred pounds, he thought, that's the life, and signed himself up. Six times over.

Good value aside, what Ben was really after was the company of his elders - those with more chapters under their belt, with the wisdom granted by experience, the candour gifted by time, and the hard-earned ability to live each day like it's nearly their last.

A series of coach holidays ensued - from Scarborough to St Ives, Killarney to Lake Como - during which Ben attempts to shake off his thirty-something blues by getting old as soon as possible.

Reviews

'Bill Bryson revisited. And not a pale imitation. The style is the same but by using the vehicle - literally as well as metaphorically - of a series of coach trips for elders makes it instantly relatable, a throw back to the very British holidays of old and, strangely, inspirational.' - Jackie, NetGalley

Author Bio

Ben Aitken was born under Thatcher, grew to six foot then stopped, and is an Aquarius. He is the author of Dear Bill Bryson: Footnotes from a Small Island (2015) and A Chip Shop in Poznan: My Unlikely Year in Poland (2019), 'one of the funniest books of the year' (Paul Ross, talkRadio).