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Belles and Whistles
- Journeys Through Time on Britain's Trains
- Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Categories: History, Europe
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Portillo's Hidden History of Britain presents a compelling and wonderfully evocative history of Britain through the stories of its 'lost' or abandoned buildings. The chapters will cover a variety of historical themes: Crime and Punishment, Health and Medicine, Defence and Warfare, Manufacturing Industry, Transport and Communication, and Entertainment and Leisure. Using a combination of his own investigations and archive research, plus memories and quotations from the contributors he interviewed for the series, Michael will explain what the buildings were used for and by whom.
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Very enjoyable romp along The Thames
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Britain's best-loved comic genius Stephen Fry turns his celebrated wit and insight to unearthing the real America as he travels across the continent in his black taxicab. Stephen's account of his adventures is filled with his unique humour, insight and warmth in this audiobook that accompanies his journey for the BBC1 series.
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Buck up, Stephen
- By Hannah on 08-11-20
Summary
In the heroic days of rail travel, you could dine on kippers and champagne aboard the Brighton Belle, smoke a postprandial cigar as the Golden Arrow approached Paris or be shaved by the Flying Scotsman's onboard barber. Everyone from schoolboys to socialites knew of these glamorous trains.
Andrew Martin recreates famous train journeys by travelling aboard their nearest modern-day equivalents, describing the disappearance of the extravagance and luxury.
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What listeners say about Belles and Whistles
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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- Trevor Mitchell
- 19-10-16
A good book marred by irritations in the narration
What made the experience of listening to Belles and Whistles the most enjoyable?
The evocation of the luxury trains of the past and the interesting and informative descriptions of some modern services - especially the sleeper trains - which I have always wanted to travel on but never have. The author has made me realise that I'm probably not missing out on as much luxury as I'd imagined.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Belles and Whistles?
Sadly it was the shock and puzzlement at hearing the narrator's pronunciation of Gresley as 'Greesley'.
What didn’t you like about Gordon Griffin’s performance?
The letters ECML serve as an abbreviation for East Coast Main Line in print; however in an audio book their constant repetition saves no time and is an irritation. Even worse is the ponderous spelling out of WCML, which actually takes longer to say than 'West Coast Main Line' and one may wonder why this didn't occur to the narrator. But most annoying of all was Mr Griffin's insistence on pronouncing Sir Nigel Gresley's name as 'Greesley'!
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I did, I winced with pain every time I heard Gresley pronounced as 'Greesley'. This is repeated throughout the chapter on the Flying Scotsman and spoils it.
2 people found this helpful
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- Rose
- 21-02-19
Please mind the gap
I gather that this book has received mixed reviews. I liked it though I really did. Listening to the idyllic luxury travels through the past made me think that going anywhere by train must have been the best thing ever. What I really liked though is the fact that Mr. Martin likes Glasgow Central station. So do I even the assisted travel biggies that can be heard wherever you go on the station. A really nice read though the ending when it came was unexpected. One to read again I think.