Between the Stops cover art

Between the Stops

The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus

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About this listen

 This long-awaited memoir from one of Britain's best-loved celebrities - a writer, broadcaster, activist, comic on stage, screen and radio for nearly forty years, presenter of QI and Great British Bake Off star - is an autobiography with a difference: as only Sandi Toksvig can tell it.


'Between the Stops is a sort of a memoir, my sort. It's about a bus trip really, because it's my view from the Number 12 bus (mostly top deck, the seat at the front on the right), a double-decker that plies its way from Dulwich, in South East London, where I was living, to where I sometimes work - at the BBC, in the heart of the capital. It's not a sensible way to write a memoir at all, probably, but it's the way things pop into your head as you travel, so it's my way'.


From London facts including where to find the blue plaque for Una Marson, 'The first black woman programme maker at the BBC', to discovering the best Spanish coffee under Southwark's railway arches; from a brief history of lady gangsters at Elephant and Castle to memories of climbing Mount Sinai and, at the request of a fellow traveller, reading aloud the Ten Commandments; from the story behind Pissarro's painting of Dulwich Station to performing in Footlights with Emma Thompson; from painful memoires of being sent to Coventry while at a British boarding school to thinking about how Wombells Travelling Circus of 1864 haunts Peckham Rye;from anecdotes about meeting Prince Charles, Monica Lewinsky and Grayson Perry to Bake-Off antics; from stories of a real and lasting friendship with John McCarthy to the importance of family and the daunting navigation of the Zambezi River in her father's canoe, this Sandi Toksvig-style memoir is, as one would expect and hope, packed full of surprises.

A funny and moving trip through memories, musings and the many delights on the Number 12 route, Between the Stops is also an inspiration to us all to get off our phones, look up and to talk to each other because as Sandi says: 'some of the greatest trips lie on our own doorstep'.©2019 Sandi Toksvig Biographies & Memoirs Entertainment & Celebrities Women Celebrity Funny England Memoir Witty Feel-Good Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking Biography

Critic reviews

Her writing style is as kooky and digestible as Bill Bryson's, her genius as a raconteur inherited from her Danish journalist father... Hop on this bus, grab a seat up top and prepare yourself for a fun-filled, fact-packed, memorable ride
Between the Stops is like browsing through a well-stocked museum of curiosities with a wise and kind guide; it's part celebration, part confession, part call to arms and wholly entertaining. Don't read it on the bus though - it will make you miss your stop
The comedian, broadcaster and activist uses the meandering route of the number 12 bus, winding its way from her home in Dulwich, south-east London, to the BBC headquarters at Broadcasting House, to share a series of wonderful vignettes about her life
There are fascinating gems of London history along the way, acute observations of fellow passengers, personal asides about her marriage to psychotherapist Debbie, and the odd anecdote from the world of television. It's full of wit and wisdom
Life-affirming and addictive (Charlotte Heathcote)
The comedian, TV presenter and political activist narrates the events of her life by way of her bus journey... En route, she takes in her fellow passengers, the history of the city and her own fascinating, multi-site heritage (Alex Clark)
A book of cosy accessibility. History and observation mix seamlessly as Toksvig looks at life from the top deck
All stars
Most relevant
So Sandi is one of those National Treasures. She is clever, witty and her passion for facts and history drew me to this book. Her trips on the 12 are full of facts about her fellow citizens past and those sitting next to her. Her desire to advance and indeed to remember women on an equal level with men shines through as does her belief in the goodness of humanity. She has researched and indeed presented her facts with a quick and quirky but interesting way of storytelling. I read could not put it down.



Clever, full of facts and so so human.

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This is a fantastic listen. It mixes the key events in Sandi’s life with an almost QI randomness of both historical fact and fiction that is both thought provoking and at times laugh out loud funny. It was so good I listened to it all in a day.

Bravo Sandi

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Fantastic book, Sandi had kept me company on long drives and gloomy days. Beautifully produced and narrated, the only sad part was reaching the end. Brilliant concept and very funny. Sandi, you are my hero!

Love, laugh, live!

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what a great book. told by an amazing woman. who's knowledge is incredible. thank you.

fabulous

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its a good little book. it did feel like I was listening to a particularly loud lady on the top deck banging on about her life but it was full of fascinating tales and historical gems. I googled a lot because I felt sure she was making it up at times but nope... all true! loved it

the lady on the bus goes chatter chatter chatter

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