Lost For Words - Tapa blanda

Deric Longden's mum was a wonderfully endearing, eccentric lady whose passions ranged from pot plants and her beloved pussycats to Buttercup Syrup which she consumed in vast quantities. She also provided comfort, advice and her own particular brand of wisdom in the years when Deric was struggling after the death of his first wife, Diana. Deric's many happy memories include the vision of his mother's unmistakeable backside as she charged through Marks & Spencers; the way in which she charmed everyone she met, including the surliest of youths, and her unusual technique of selling a house which involved plying potential buyers with iced buns whilst pointing out the damp patches and dodgy electrics. Strangely, it worked. Lost For Words is a funny, poignant and ultimately heartwarming book that may well make you cry, but will certainly make you laugh.

'You know, Deric - ten minutes of this rain will do more good in half an hour than a fortnight of ordinary rain would do in a month.' Deric Longden's mother had a marvellously dotty way with words and a very private brand of logic.She was one of the most amusing and endearing characters in Diana's Story, which Deric wrote some years after his wife Diana's death.Deric's mother is the central figure in Lost for Words.Here we find her making her devastating way through Marks & Spencer, conversing with her two cats - almost as eccentric as herself - offering her inimitable comments on the fresh developments in Deric's life, and finally enduring the stroke that led eventually to her death.Sad though the ending is, Deric Longden's gift for blending pathos with rich humour once again offers us far more laughter than tears. 'A lovely read' Good Housekeeping Now the BBC Television drama Wide-Eyed & Legless, starring Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent and Thora Hird.