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Unpublished Letters to The Daily Telegraph #10
Must I Repeat Myself...?: Unpublished Letters to the Daily Telegraph
TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Now in its tenth year, this anniversary edition of the best-selling series is a review of the year made up of the wry and astute observations of the unpublished Telegraph letter writers.
In a year in which even the most seasoned commentators have struggled to keep pace with the news cycle, letter writers to The Daily Telegraph have once again provided their refreshing take on events. Readers of the Telegraph Letters Page will be fondly aware of the eclectic combination of learned wisdom, wistful nostalgia and robust good sense that characterise its correspondence.
But what of the 95% of the paper’s huge postbag that never sees the light of day? Some of the best letters inevitably arrive too late for the 24/7 news cycle, or don’t quite fit with the rest of the day’s selection. Others are just a little too whimsical, or indeed too risqué, to publish in a serious newspaper. And more than a few are completely and utterly (and wonderfully) mad. Thankfully Iain Hollingshead is on-hand to give the authors of the best unpublished letters the stage they so richly deserve. Baffled, furious, defiant, mischievous, they inveigh and speculate on every subject under the sun, from the rubbish on television these days to the venality of our MPs.
With an agenda as enticing as ever the tenth book in the bestselling Unpublished Letters series will prove, once again, that the Telegraph’s readers have an astute sense of what really matters.
Now in its tenth year, this anniversary edition of the best-selling series is a review of the year made up of the wry and astute observations of the unpublished Telegraph letter writers.
In a year in which even the most seasoned commentators have struggled to keep pace with the news cycle, letter writers to The Daily Telegraph have once again provided their refreshing take on events. Readers of the Telegraph Letters Page will be fondly aware of the eclectic combination of learned wisdom, wistful nostalgia and robust good sense that characterise its correspondence.
But what of the 95% of the paper’s huge postbag that never sees the light of day? Some of the best letters inevitably arrive too late for the 24/7 news cycle, or don’t quite fit with the rest of the day’s selection. Others are just a little too whimsical, or indeed too risqué, to publish in a serious newspaper. And more than a few are completely and utterly (and wonderfully) mad. Thankfully Iain Hollingshead is on-hand to give the authors of the best unpublished letters the stage they so richly deserve. Baffled, furious, defiant, mischievous, they inveigh and speculate on every subject under the sun, from the rubbish on television these days to the venality of our MPs.
With an agenda as enticing as ever the tenth book in the bestselling Unpublished Letters series will prove, once again, that the Telegraph’s readers have an astute sense of what really matters.
- GenresHumorNonfiction
205 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 2, 2018
2 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
About the author
Iain Hollingshead
21 books14 followersIain writes feature articles for a range of publications, The Daily Telegraph in particular. Until recently, he also wrote a regular column called Loose Ends in Saturday's Guardian. He has taken part in a number of radio shows, including BBC Radio 4's Today programme and You and Yours.
His father is a GP and his mother is a surgeon. He has one elder brother. He went to Eton from 1993-98. Iain graduated from Cambridge University in 2003 with a first class degree in History. He worked for a year in Westminster - at Vote 2004 and the private office of Michael Howard - before pursuing a full-time career as a journalist. Vote 2004 was described in the Sunday Telegraph as the "most successful political campaign of all time". Iain was runner-up in the Guardian Student Media Awards as Columnist of the Year. While at university he also founded and edited The Cambridge Slapper - a popular satirical magazine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Ho...
His father is a GP and his mother is a surgeon. He has one elder brother. He went to Eton from 1993-98. Iain graduated from Cambridge University in 2003 with a first class degree in History. He worked for a year in Westminster - at Vote 2004 and the private office of Michael Howard - before pursuing a full-time career as a journalist. Vote 2004 was described in the Sunday Telegraph as the "most successful political campaign of all time". Iain was runner-up in the Guardian Student Media Awards as Columnist of the Year. While at university he also founded and edited The Cambridge Slapper - a popular satirical magazine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iain_Ho...
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 4, 2023
Gosh I must say I learnt a lot about UK just by reading this book. It covers so much … here are the sections
Introduction
Family life and tribulations
Westminster’s Village idiots
Home thoughts on abroad
The use and abuse of language
That’s entertainment
Good and bad sports
The roads much travelled
Royal blushes
Dear Daily Telegraph
P.S.
Some of these short letters are tongue in cheek eg British humour others made me laugh out loud! All in all it kept me amused during a couple of bad days especially after my flu vaccine yesterday.
One that stood out was an Optometrist asking a patient if they used their glasses for driving? The response was ‘only when I don’t know where I’m going’ now that’s scary! Another I could relate to was the man whose wife took out their car and used the Sat Nav. She managed to change miles to kilometres, language to German and even her home to a completely unrelated destination. He said he’d have words with her if he could find her! I’m guessing she did make it home.
Another gem was an ENT nursing student told to had out suppositories only to be found she put them in the patients ears. They were promptly removed and issued in the proper orifice.
It’s just the ‘stuff upper lip’ type of letter you’d export from those middle classes who’d read this paper but there’s so much in it about the dealing of Brexit too. I did learn a lot but there’s 14 in this series so I’m not sure if I’d get through them all but I’ve one more from the library.
Introduction
Family life and tribulations
Westminster’s Village idiots
Home thoughts on abroad
The use and abuse of language
That’s entertainment
Good and bad sports
The roads much travelled
Royal blushes
Dear Daily Telegraph
P.S.
Some of these short letters are tongue in cheek eg British humour others made me laugh out loud! All in all it kept me amused during a couple of bad days especially after my flu vaccine yesterday.
One that stood out was an Optometrist asking a patient if they used their glasses for driving? The response was ‘only when I don’t know where I’m going’ now that’s scary! Another I could relate to was the man whose wife took out their car and used the Sat Nav. She managed to change miles to kilometres, language to German and even her home to a completely unrelated destination. He said he’d have words with her if he could find her! I’m guessing she did make it home.
Another gem was an ENT nursing student told to had out suppositories only to be found she put them in the patients ears. They were promptly removed and issued in the proper orifice.
It’s just the ‘stuff upper lip’ type of letter you’d export from those middle classes who’d read this paper but there’s so much in it about the dealing of Brexit too. I did learn a lot but there’s 14 in this series so I’m not sure if I’d get through them all but I’ve one more from the library.
December 26, 2018
It’s often-times quite pretentious but what is to be expected from the people writing in to the daily telegraph?
A lot of the entries are hilarious, some I seem to think are the humour of people who think they’re hilarious but are probably just hermits who haven’t heard a real joke in the past 40 years.
Or people who are stuck in the 60’s and don’t want to move forward with the rest of us.
A quote from the book that I found funny:
SIR – When our daughter was going through the “terrible twos”, I asked our vicar if he could administer a “booster” baptism, as the first one hadn’t taken. Sadly, he thought I was being serious.”
Excerpt From
Must I Repeat Myself...?
A lot of the entries are hilarious, some I seem to think are the humour of people who think they’re hilarious but are probably just hermits who haven’t heard a real joke in the past 40 years.
Or people who are stuck in the 60’s and don’t want to move forward with the rest of us.
A quote from the book that I found funny:
SIR – When our daughter was going through the “terrible twos”, I asked our vicar if he could administer a “booster” baptism, as the first one hadn’t taken. Sadly, he thought I was being serious.”
Excerpt From
Must I Repeat Myself...?
March 3, 2019
Where else can you get letters not fit enough to publish in the daily paper be so good as to require publishing elsewhere? It makes me want to write a letter to the paper hoping not that it gets into the daily paper but makes it into the coveted annual edition!
About this edition, Iain is retiring and handing over the reins to Kate Moore. I do hope that she keeps things up much as Iain has. The letters, meant for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, cover a range of issues from sports, politics, the weather, celebrity, and the paper itself. Some are very clever. Some are laugh out loud funny. A
Most are intelligent. All are worth reading. Iain has done a splendid job curating once again. I leave you with an example.
SIR – I was born in 1930 and my only sibling, my brother, was born in 1913. Did my mother have the longest headache known to medical science or did my father get his memory back? Joe Hill, St Agnes, Cornwall
About this edition, Iain is retiring and handing over the reins to Kate Moore. I do hope that she keeps things up much as Iain has. The letters, meant for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, cover a range of issues from sports, politics, the weather, celebrity, and the paper itself. Some are very clever. Some are laugh out loud funny. A
Most are intelligent. All are worth reading. Iain has done a splendid job curating once again. I leave you with an example.
SIR – I was born in 1930 and my only sibling, my brother, was born in 1913. Did my mother have the longest headache known to medical science or did my father get his memory back? Joe Hill, St Agnes, Cornwall
August 21, 2021
I like having a glimpse at one's life, not the full detail, just a glimpse. That why I like podcasts like Risk! or The Mortified Podcast.
Letter is a different medium, a less emotional way to conduct idea and feeling but I feel somehow more intimate. Definitely more than having your weird stories spoken out loud in front of hundred of people. That why I choose this book before trying on some other letter-collection ones.
About the content, simply: short dry classic old Brit humour. There are some ups and downs that I can't grasp but I think it mostly because I'm not British or live in the UK. Yeah the politics part was confusing af to me.
4 stars for I'm not a reader of the Telegraph.
Will I try on other collection of letters books? Yes.
Letter is a different medium, a less emotional way to conduct idea and feeling but I feel somehow more intimate. Definitely more than having your weird stories spoken out loud in front of hundred of people. That why I choose this book before trying on some other letter-collection ones.
About the content, simply: short dry classic old Brit humour. There are some ups and downs that I can't grasp but I think it mostly because I'm not British or live in the UK. Yeah the politics part was confusing af to me.
4 stars for I'm not a reader of the Telegraph.
Will I try on other collection of letters books? Yes.
January 16, 2024
Tiptoeing through the books received as Christmas presents...
All I can say about this book is to quote Paul Simon (from You can call me Al) "I don't find this stuff amusing anymore".
#reasons not to read The Telegraph
All I can say about this book is to quote Paul Simon (from You can call me Al) "I don't find this stuff amusing anymore".
#reasons not to read The Telegraph
September 19, 2018
Exactly what you expect from these books of unpublished letters to the Daily Telegraph, covering current events and the letter writers personal lives. Made me laugh out loud.
January 23, 2019
Bit of fun - light reading at night when you don't want to overtax your brain. The Brits are a funny mob, really.
February 5, 2019
Just what you need to lift your spirits. Some of the excerpts are humorous, some witty, so I say long live the English sense of humour!
August 4, 2019
While working. This is a great book to keep you kind busy when you only have 5 minute breaks. Some of the letters were a bit.... But over all this book was highly amusing
May 5, 2024
What a delightful set. Makes me wonder: Are published letters equally hilarious?
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews