HE’S back – the Culcheth Codger. The man who made use of the Covid 19 lockdown to write his first book and then insisted on giving it away free.
The response from readers was so good he has written another – this time without the assistance of a Pandemic.
“Still living the Dream” has a fine picture of the Codger – AKA Gordon Chesworth – wielding a cricket bat, wearing a Lancashire shirt and holding a ball which looks rather too shiny to have been hit very hard or very often.
Gordon’s first book led to me observing that he and I shared so many likes and dislikes he must be my Doppelganger. The new volume exposes the differences. True, we both hate airports, and for pretty much the same reasons. But having visited 38 countries on business and 19 on holiday he must be made of sterner stuff than me. Having seen Manchester Airport, I decided all airports were places to avoid if at all possible.
The Codger made one mistake in his first book. He drew up a list of “best-ever” guitarists and, predictably in my experience, aroused the wrath of fans whose heroes were omitted. You can argue politics, you can argue religion. But argue music at your peril – particularly guitar music. It’s a wonder he can walk the streets of Culcheth in safety!
He hasn’t learned his lesson, however, for in the new book he includes another list of guitarists and tries to explain why they didn’t make the original list. Oh dear, oh dear!
Incidentally, the Codger reveals that his favourite guitar is the Gibson Les Paul but omits Mr Paul from either list. In addition to being a pioneer of multi-track recording he was probably a better guitarist than any of those listed – without any claim to being “the best-ever.”
“Still Living the Dream” is a worthy sequel to Gordon’s first book. It is full of humour and interesting facts. I understand Gordon is again offering to give it away free and I again suggest that if he refuses to accept payment you should offer a donation to some worthy cause.
He says if he isn’t nominated for the Booker Prize this time he will jack it in. But another title, this time featuring the Codger and his guitar on the cover, could be “third time lucky.”
