Cotswolds Memoir: Discovering a Beautiful Region of Britain on a Quest to Buy a 17th Century Cottage

by Diz White, Randall Montgomery (Photographer)

A laugh-out-loud, good life, house-hunting, foodie, travel-tour, meet the locals, fun memoir. A love note to the Cotswolds. See Benedict Cumberbatch's (Sherlock) Mother's quote about COTSWOLDS ...as delightful as Bill Bryson's NOTES FROM A SMALL ISLAND -Wanda Ventham- Cotswolds Resident/Actress, Sherlock, Dr. Who, Midsomer Murders. After British-born, comedy actress Diz White found herself craving Yorkshire Pudding at every meal she knew her roots were pulling her back from America to her homeland. It was time to buy a Cotswolds Cottage! Her roller-coaster, often laugh-out-loud, search doubles as a travel-tour (travel guide included) that takes in every delight of the historic sites, hog roasts, hiking the Cotswolds Way and pubwalks with her husband, often bagging the walk in favour of a slightly boozy lunch. There were highs, heartbreaks and cliff-hangers as she was charged by a bull named Chasin’ Mason, auditioned for the hind end of a horse and was trampled by thirty children while wearing a bear suit, but the fondness she developed for this region and its vivid inhabitants gave her a feeling of community missing from her busy urban existence. Will this author‘s dream become a reality? Find out in this witty love note to the Cotswolds. ‘Extremely entertaining, funny and beautifully written.’ Katie Jarvis Cotswold Life Magazine ‘As enchanting as Bill Bryson’s Notes From a Small Island. This is the ultimate, laugh-out-loud, foodie, good life, house-hunting, travel-tour, meet the locals, fun read. A love note to the Cotswolds.’ Wanda Ventham Actress and Cotswold resident, Midsomer Murders,The Lotus Eaters, Dr. Who ‘I fell about laughing at Diz White’s book, her hilarious showbiz stories woven into her hunt for a cottage are a hoot…. her writing allows you to not only imagine you are there but to feel you have embraced the heart of the Cotswolds. A great holiday read or a great read anytime.’ Debbie McGee BBC Radio Berkshire ‘It’s enchanting….very funny. Diz White paints a nostalgic and affectionate canvas.’ Steven Leigh Morris, Critic-at-Large L.A. Weekly ‘More entertaining than Under the Tuscan Sun.’ William Greenleaf, Greenleaf Literary ‘Cotswolds Memoir will hook you from the very first page. It’s well researched with good information – it has a great travel guide at the end – but is also filled with entertaining anecdotes. If you haven’t visited the Cotswolds – or even if you have - you’ll want to pack your bags and go!’ Monica B. Morris Goodnight Children Everywhere (The History Press) ‘Wakes you up to the joys on your doorstep.’ Sue Bradley, Gloucester Echo

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Memoir, British Literature, Biography Memoir, Autobiography

185 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Diz White is the author of Cotswolds Memoir :Discovering a Beautiful Region of Britain on a Quest to Buy a 17th Century Cottage (Larrabee Libraries) a travel/humor book. She divides her time between the Cotswolds and Hollywood where she also pursues a career as a comedy writer and actress. In addition, Diz is the author of Haunted Cotswolds (The History Press), The Comedy Group Book (Smith and Kraus), El Grande de Coca-Cola and Bullshot Crummond published by Samuel French Playscripts. More books Diz has written are shown on her website http://www.DizWhite.com; Diz’s acting credits include: Star Trek: Next Generation and the lead role in Bullshot the feature film, produced by ex-Beatle George Harrison’s HandMade Films, which she co-wrote.

Reviews

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book with lots of info on various Cotswold places of interest.

[C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book has become a treasure! My father was stationed at this beautiful area of England-RAF Fairford,Gloucestershire, when I was a child and of all the places he was stationed during his 26 years in the Air Force, England was one of my favorites,and I am an avid Anglophile!

This book actually made me feel as though I am traveling along with the author and her husband enjoying the beautiful scenery,tasting the wonderful food,and meeting all the fun people.

I read this book slowly and savoring every page,not because I am able to restrain myself,but because a lot has been going on lately,haha.

I most highly recommend this book for all Anglophiles especially if they have ever had the pleasure of ever living 'across the pond' in a thatched roofed cottage,as I have. You will love being taken back!

[Shirley D. Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to buy a Cotswold Cottage

The author shares her search to buy a Cotswold Cottage,where she and her husband will live part of the year. Their discoveries of the area : manors, pubs/restaurants; the disappointments and joys as their quest continued. Gourmet menus eaten at several pubs are impressive. Good descriptions of the Cotswolds.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging read. Helped to get me in the mood before my Cotswolds vacation. And now that I've been there, I can identify with the author's passion for this lovely part of Britain. How wonderful it would be to call this place home!

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me laugh out loud a lot and ache for revisiting the Cotswolds. What a wonderful place to live.

[Booknblues · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cotswolds Memoir: Discovering a Beautiful Region of Britain on a Quest to Buy a 17th Century Cottage is the story of how Diz White and her husband Randy search for and purchase a cottage in the Cotswold.

Diz is an actress, comedian and writer who resides in Los Angeles but who wants to have a cottage in the Cotswolds:

My husband joined me in my search which encompasses all my passions – I’m a foodie, a history buff, a nature lover and I love to laugh – I am a comedienne after all. I’m also a terrific lookey-loo (I can’t get enough of viewing old houses and fantasizing about how I would remodel them). I collect people as well; the more quirkily amusing and eccentric the better.

She spends a number of summers and vacations there searching and exploring the area. She and her husband are big foodies so we have wonderful descriptions of meals, if you are in for that kind of thing, which I am:

"Randy had outdone himself on the menu. It was to be a buffet, so it all had to be fork food. He had made the lightest possible salmon mousse with crème fraîche. He had used a fish mold, and the finished dish looked magnificent. For another dish he had taken boneless organic chicken thighs and marinated them in a honey mustard mixture that Tony the butcher had made up for him. He par-cooked them in the oven and finished them off on a mesquite-chip barbecue. This made them incredibly tasty and succulent, so different from the usual dried-out, wooden barbecue chicken. "

There are many descriptions of pubs, restaurants, churches and manors to see in the area. She also talks about walks which her and her husband takes and gardens they visit.

She is a comedian and she brings her humor to the book, which didn't always mesh with mine, but I could easily set this aside for all the information, I did receive.

At the end of the book is a handy visiting guide.

[Danice H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written book

As amusing as the book is, it does feel like it is on the list of money procuring schemes needed for the mortgage, in saying that, I enjoyed the cottage search and the small villages, but did find some things explained a bit too well (the hikes gor one) but then very light on other things, would have have liked a bit more description from Wisteria Cottage, even the swimming hole!

[Kathleen E. Nagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diz White writes a rollicking true story of her humorous and sometimes frustrating experiences purchasing a lovely cottage in the Cotswold region of England. If you are a foodie you will be hungry as she writes about her food experiences too. Cultural sites and gardens are listed in the back of the book. Having just returned from England from a 5 week trip, reading this book was like going home again. Wish I had read it beforehand!

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful look at the Cotswolds, tourist sites and dining.

I love this book! The author transported me to places I had never imagined. I love her passion for this beautiful part of England. The description of the food she and her husband enjoyed made me jealous. I will read this again as it is now a favorite.

[Carrie L. Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Travel and House Hunting Adventure

I enjoyed riding along as the couple walked and rode through many different areas of the Cotswolds describing everything in detail as they went! Their journey from vacationers to cottage owners, and back and forth across the pond was interesting and rewarding.

[Betty Benesi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming Tale of Modern Cotswold

Very fun book about a California couple attempting to buy a Cotswold cottage. Terrific descriptions of people and places. My only complaint was not enough illustrations or photos. I wanted to see charming. Next time invite me and I’ll do your illustrations!

[Myra L Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hunting for a cottage

Great reading about looking for a cottage in the Cotswold area in England! The author did a very good job writing about all of the many things involved in house hunting! I enjoyed the descriptions of the villages, pubs, museums and historical information!

[AngieM · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this because the Cotswolds area is so beautiful. However, it was a very slow book...hike, eat, funny newspaper article, weird acting job....repeat. I felt the author was trying out a thesaurus too much, so the writing came across as unnatural.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this visit to the Cotswolds

I enjoyed the author's love of the Cotswolds, her search for a new home and her love of place. As I am walking the Cotswold Way soon, this whetted my appetite.

[Della S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!

I’m an avid Anglophile, so this book was a must-read. It was everything I hoped it would be, and made me wish I too could live in a Cotswold cottage. I highly recommend it.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cotswold

I found the first few chapters hard to get thru but then it was more interesting. I lived in England for 12 yrs and had friends that lived in Chipping Norton so know the area which made it more enjoyable to read—I also liked the Visitor’s Guide at the end of the book.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read for anyone longing to visit England or, in my case, longing to revisit as soon as the plane leaves Heathrow.

[Stacy Hedges · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice quick read

[John T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet book about the travails of cottage-hunting in the Cotswolds. If you have an affinity for this area (or for what the author likes to eat) then this is well worth a read!

[Deborah Kukal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, fun! Made me want to move to the Cotswolds immediately – at least visit for an extended time!

[Maryfbruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

So if you like House Hunters, quirky people, delicious descriptions of meals and rural England then this book is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it—suffering through the tough parts of finding such a unique house and rejoicing when the news was good. This was just a pleasant read. I recommend it.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely one to listen to on audiobook - the author is an actor and it is fun to hear all the different accents and voices she gives the country characters she encountered in her move to England. (And it is not annoying in the least, which is sometimes the case with audiobooks read by authors or with different "voices" done poorly). Listenable and enjoyable.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read on KU.

The author recounts her (and her husband’s) efforts to find and finance a home in the Cotswolds. It was supposed to be funny, I think. I didn’t find it funny. However, if I should ever travel to the Cotswolds, it might make a good travel guide.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining, well-written book (but not for vegetarians.)

Like most avid readers, I'm a sucker for a great book cover and this is one of the most appealing I've ever seen. Because I read a lot of travel books, this has shown up as a "recommended for you" but I'm so cheap I couldn't bring myself to spend the three bucks. When it appeared as a freebie, I was on it like a duck on a June Bug.

This author threw herself into the difficult task of finding and buying a cottage in the trendy, expensive Cotswolds with the same ruthless determination that has enabled her to survive in show business. However, even an actress who has suffered the ultimate indignity of wearing a bear costume at a rich kid's party is hard-pressed to hold her own in the cut-throat hell-on-earth that is the modern English real estate industry. Think you have it bad in L.A. or New York or Peoria? Try having a bid accepted (and shelling out for legal advice and a property inspection) only to find yourself "gazumped." That's English slang for losing to a higher bidder when YOU thought the bidding was closed! (We would say, "Royally screwed," but in England that's a one-night-stand with Prince Harry.)

They finally found a beautiful place and (after many trials and tribulations) happily settled in. God knows they deserve it. The story is a good one and this author is a pip at humorous writing. Her off-the-wall tales of her strange family, bizarre show-biz experiences, and the befuddlement of dealing with the Cotswold locals are entertaining and frequently hilarious.

I'm not planning a trip to the Cotswolds and there was a bit too much detail in the travel descriptions to suit me. I'm also not a foodie and there was WAY too much about their meals. And if you're a vegetarian, I'd give it a pass. When this woman sees lambs frolicking in the field, she thinks about what part she'd eat first!

So I did a little skimming in parts, but most of it was a fine read. And if you ARE going to the Cotswolds or if you ARE a foodie, I don't think you could do better than this lively, intelligent, likable author.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Cotswolds so was thrilled to find this book. Having lived in LA also, as the author did, I was particularly taken with it. It turned out later that I even knew the lady that ran the outrageous children's parties that Diz "performed" at. On a trip to the Cotswolds with my Mum we discovered that Diz was speaking at a luncheon…..she was charming.

[Kristy W · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is proof that a poorly-written memoir can kill an interesting story. This woman spent years looking for a cottage in the Cotswolds, might be a fun topic and I love travel writing, but it reads more like a travelogue--we went here then we saw this then we ate this. Boring.

[Eileen E Cartwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it

Great read. I learned a lot about some beautiful places in Great Britian. Also the author was so entertaining. Much laughing out loud. And the food!!! I was drooling through much of it.

[Nancy McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

Interesting travel book with a lot of descriptions of food. I'm happy they got their cottage, but if I were them, I wouldn't allow their friends to ever bring their dog over again.

[Alisa Kester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic writing, but still interesting and occasionally funny.

[Aaron Kuehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Very relatable, funny and being a fan of old houses, I was captivated.