Author Topic: The Friends of Harry Perkins  (Read 1386 times)

Undercover Pensioner

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The Friends of Harry Perkins
« on: Mar 26, 2019, 11:58:48 AM »

No books under "hobbies" so I have put this on here. The Friends of Harry Perkins is written by Chris Mullin, and ex MP who also wrote the much acclaimed "A Very British Coup". and is as sequel to it.  This is the synopsis on Amazon:



Brexit Britain was a gloomy place.  True, the Armageddon that some had prophesied had not occurred, but neither had economic miracle promised by the Brexiteers.  Instead there had been a long, slow decline into insularity and irrelevance.  The value of the pound had fallen steadily against the Euro, the dollar and the Yuan.  The much vaunted increase in trade with the Commonwealth had not materialised.  The Americans, too, were proving particularly obstreperous.   Even now after a nearly decade of negotiations no significant agreements had been reached. At the UN there was talk of relieving the UK of its seat on the Security Council.
Thirty-five years after the publication of A Very British Coup, former Labour MP Chris Mullin has written a compelling and timely sequel.

In a near-future, post-Brexit Britain , the fault lines forged in the white heat of the referendum have become entrenched features of British political life. Britain's standing in the world has steadily diminished as its problems have grown. Into the maelstrom steps Fred Thompson, former aide to left-wing prime minister Harry Perkins and his successor as MP for Sheffield Parkside.

As he ascends the greasy pole of British politics, Thompson must deal with corruption, the threat of the Far Right and personal tragedy. Along the way, he learns that power does not come without a personal price and that shadowy forces are at work behind the scenes...which, this time, appear to be on his side.

At once a gripping political thriller and a chilling prognostication of where we may be headed, this taut, insightful and engrossing novel is essential reading for our troubled times.

It looks to me like a must read.
The vote for Brexit was a vote to take back what we hadn't lost in order to lose what we actually have.

zoony

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #1 on: Mar 26, 2019, 05:38:40 PM »
Not for me UP. I've had enough Brexit to last several life-times already.
"Listen to the wind, it cleans the mind."

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Undercover Pensioner

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #2 on: Mar 26, 2019, 06:17:13 PM »

My sort of book zoony.  I like reading about the human interaction in a post-apocalyptic scenario (or something on a bit smaller scale  ;) ) that needs people to sort it all out.   Mind you I usually start wondering why they don't use the knowledge we already have but then, a page or two on, they are.


I wonder why we don't have a "books" section.  Quite a lot of pensioners read to relax or expand their knowledge. 
The vote for Brexit was a vote to take back what we hadn't lost in order to lose what we actually have.

Scrumpy

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #3 on: Mar 26, 2019, 07:01:16 PM »
Not my sort of reading material. However, I am reading a good book at the moment.


 The House Swap.  Rebecca Fleet.


Be careful who you let in...    Sinister and compelling.
Everything will be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright, its not the end.

stellamaris

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #4 on: Mar 26, 2019, 07:16:26 PM »
Tell us more Scrumpy.  I reluctantly started a book today, waiting for the gas engineer, and it seems to be turning into a good one.  The Preacher - it is about Glasgow in 1969-1970s era, and a murderer of course, but it is much more.  My sister lived in Perth, Dunblane and Auchterarder during that period so it all seems a bit familiar although we rarely went to Glasgow.  I love creepy books though and I have read one about a borrowed house, which was good.  I can't remember the title or author hence asking you to tell me a bit about your one.

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stellamaris

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #5 on: Mar 26, 2019, 07:18:48 PM »
Should have said: Thanks UP for a reminder about books.
Keep on chooglin' - John Fogerty
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Scrumpy

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #6 on: Mar 26, 2019, 07:27:22 PM »



Caroline and Francis receive the offer of a house swap..
On arrival , they find a house that is stark and sinister in it’s emptiness. Then Caroline begins to uncover some signs of life- signs of her life.  It seems the person they have swapped with is someone she used to know.
 But that person is now in her home...
Everything will be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright, its not the end.

stellamaris

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #7 on: Mar 26, 2019, 07:31:15 PM »
That sounds good and I definitely haven't read it. Yet.  Thanks Scrumpy.
Keep on chooglin' - John Fogerty
Pronouns: She/Her/Beautiful/Wondrous one/Dearest Heart

Traveller

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #8 on: Mar 26, 2019, 07:35:47 PM »
Not essential reading in the Lightning household.... I think I'll stick to books with pictures of pretty women.
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Diasi

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #9 on: Mar 26, 2019, 10:47:12 PM »
Not essential reading in the Lightning household.... I think I'll stick to books with pictures of pretty women.

I've never read books, although Amazon keep plaguing me with free audio book offers & reminding me I haven't downloaded any with our Prime subscription.

Firstly they're not free, they're part of the subscription & secondly if I was remotely interested in reading / listening to them, I'd have done it.

I've seen A Very British Coup when it was on the TV & it was quite good, being based, in part, on Harold Wilson's resignation before he was pushed.
Make every day count, each day is precious.
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal".  (Cassandra)

Undercover Pensioner

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #10 on: Mar 27, 2019, 08:12:29 AM »
Something lighter - a very gentle story.  The Sewing Machine.  It starts in 1911 with a strike at the Singer factory at Clydebank and quickly moves to a later time in Edinburgh.  It unpicks the lives of the owners of one particular sewing machine and the family history's.  There are strong characters - they needed to be - in a time when sewing machines might be all that kept a family together but it's about relationships the characters have with others and about their own growth. The unravelling brings the story up to date - in a surprising way.
Reply #9 on: Yesterday at 10:33:30 PM
The vote for Brexit was a vote to take back what we hadn't lost in order to lose what we actually have.

xetog

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #11 on: Mar 27, 2019, 02:28:05 PM »

UP.  I think I have written something along these lines before but I do not see anything too concerning in the description in the book you put forward.  Why do we want to be a world leader?  We have been amongst the top economies for many years, but I don't see that it has done us any good.  What is bad about being small and insignificant, it seems to me that they are the nations that come off best. Why on earth do we want to be on the Security Council or even members of this increasingly irrelevant organisation, the UN?   All these bodies to which we contribute are not interested in our opinions. simply our money.  Because we pay for  a powerful army we, for some reason I have yet to fathom, are expected to promise to defend other, weaker nations and attack those with whom we have no real quarrel.  We must be able to defend ourselves, but anything beyond that I see as a liability.  I fail to see why a smaller, more isolated Britain should be a miserable place, in fact I should think many would be happier if we had less liabilities and just took care of ourselves.  Our membership of anything rarely benefits the people of  England so perhaps a more inward looking attitude might be of considerable benefit and even dissolution of the Union could lead to a more balanced and content nation.


Mike.X
If you want to control peoples thoughts, first control their words.

Diasi

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #12 on: Mar 27, 2019, 02:45:27 PM »
UP.  I think I have written something along these lines before but I do not see anything too concerning in the description in the book you put forward.  Why do we want to be a world leader?  We have been amongst the top economies for many years, but I don't see that it has done us any good.  What is bad about being small and insignificant, it seems to me that they are the nations that come off best. Why on earth do we want to be on the Security Council or even members of this increasingly irrelevant organisation, the UN?   All these bodies to which we contribute are not interested in our opinions. simply our money.  Because we pay for  a powerful army we, for some reason I have yet to fathom, are expected to promise to defend other, weaker nations and attack those with whom we have no real quarrel.  We must be able to defend ourselves, but anything beyond that I see as a liability.  I fail to see why a smaller, more isolated Britain should be a miserable place, in fact I should think many would be happier if we had less liabilities and just took care of ourselves.  Our membership of anything rarely benefits the people of  England so perhaps a more inward looking attitude might be of considerable benefit and even dissolution of the Union could lead to a more balanced and content nation.

Mike.X

I'm unable to add anything other than to say "extremely well said".
Make every day count, each day is precious.
"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal".  (Cassandra)

Undercover Pensioner

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #13 on: Mar 27, 2019, 03:05:17 PM »
.
The vote for Brexit was a vote to take back what we hadn't lost in order to lose what we actually have.

stellamaris

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Re: The Friends of Harry Perkins
« Reply #14 on: Mar 27, 2019, 04:53:13 PM »
Are some posts missing on this thread? Including one of mine?  Hope it wasn't me who said anything that had to be censored.  Any clues?
Keep on chooglin' - John Fogerty
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