When I was a kid I watched a lot of football. I’m from a family that likes football, both my parents, my Grandad and my brother were all pretty keen and we went to a lot of football matches. I wasn’t as keen, but to the rest of the world, my I quite like football translates to ‘Nic is pretty keen on football’.

What I really miss about football is watching a game as it happens, listening on the radio or watching on TV is fine but actually watching it live is a totally different experience. I’ve always said that if I ever won the lottery, I’d have a season ticket to Chelsea and Ma would like a box at QPR (that would make the nephews behave!) because I like watching live football matches. I even enjoyed the time we went to watch the Corinthian Casuals.

All of this is a very long winded way of explaining why I picked up The Farther Corner. This is one of those books that gives you a sense of place, random facts about football, the North East, the history of both. It’s a tribute to all the people who participate in the lower (way lower) league game, it manages to explain why it’s important and what the North East has lost in the last 50 or so years. It does all that without being worthy and being really funny.

It was a delight, I took it up to Newcastle with me in May and really annoyed Ma by reading bits of it to her when I wasn’t just laughing whilst reading.

I don’t think you have to like football to read it, but if you do read it, it might make you want to go and watch a game of football!