Knave of Spades

When Alan left school at fifteen little was expected of him. An 'O' level in art is not the most obvious passport to success, but in the ancient greenhouses of the local nursery Mrs T's little lad found his spiritual home, learning his trade and the strange ways of human nature. But the comfort and familiarity of his home in the Yorkshire Dales would soon be left behind as he journeyed south to college and then to Kew Gardens where he encountered rare plants collected by Captain Cook and a varied assortment of eccentrics in the world's most famous garden. Spells as a teacher and editor followed, until fate took a hand when he landed a job on BBC's Nationwide as their gardening presenter. His childhood dream of inheriting the mantle of gardening god Percy Thrower was beginning to come true...From the first faltering steps in radio and television, to a career in broadcasting and writing, Knave of Spades is a wonderfully warm and self-deprecatingly honest memoir. Alan Titchmarsh shows us just why he has become not only our favourite gardener, but a popular writer and broadcaster too.

ISBN 0340953047   Pages 320 ISBN13 9780340953044 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Hodder & Stoughton General Division   Weight (grammes) 570 Imprint Hodder & Stoughton Ltd   Published in London Format Hardback   Height (mm) 239 Publication date 17 Sep 2009   Width (mm) 161 DEWEY 635.092   Spine width (mm) 29 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level General

		At the Beginning ...		1
		Green Shoots		5
		Green Fingers		13
		Gardener's Boy		21
		The Men of the Soil		33
		Hearts ...		41
		... and Flowers		47
		Rules and Regulations		55
		Under Cover Work		63
		The Education of a Gardener		71
		A Season for Everything		79
		Saturday Jobs		89
		Read All About It		93
		Uprooted		101
		Look and Learn		107
		Knave of Herts		117
		Into the Smoke		127
		You Can Take the Man Out of Yorkshire ...		135
		Exceptional Botanical		141
		Round and Round the Garden		145
		To the Palm House		157
		The Emperor's Visit		163
		Court and Social		167
		On the Boards		173
		Staying On		181
		Please Sir ...		187
		The Bookworm		193
		Waiting for the Muse		203
		On Air		209
		Mum and Dad		217
		Going It Alone		227
		The Naming of Names		235
		Showtime		239
		More...

'This book is a sheer delight and the humour and wry, self-effacing descriptive energy make it a total page-turner' -- Sun 'Alan Titchmarsh talks about his career with warmth, humour and an enthusiasm that never wanes' -- Woman's Weekly

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