When I started reading "The hills are stuffed with Swedish girls" last year I would never have guessed that ten months later I'd be standing at the top of the Devil's Staircase having a natter with the author.
It's been quite a year for Richard Happer. He publishes the humorous love story of three blokes wandering the West Highland Way but before he knows it he's in the poo with Ordnance Survey. He came up with the "Justice for Jonesy" theme to defend his book and it just seemed to set my imagination on overload with madcap ideas to get more publicity so I started sending them off to Richard, posting on the blog and generally blethering about it at every opportunity - probably just a wee bit OTT and the last thing that the poor bloke expected.
It all turned out OK as OS stopped being total jobsworths and dropped their legal action and Richard had managed to get a second edition for which he decided to have an unusual signing at the top of the Devil's Staircase. Well surprise, surprise that sent me onto imagination overload again and poor Richard was getting inundated with my witterings again. It's probably at this point I realised that my behaviour was verging on the obsessive stalker.
To say that I was a wee bit apprehensive about meeting Richard was an understatement, made all the worse by my Outdoorsmagic mates who were coming along to the signing also calling me a stalker. The bloke was a star and even when confronted by 5 larger than life characters all wanting their book signed in the typically Scottish mizzle he just kept smiling. He wasn't even phased when we were all wanting photos taken. I suppose that's the breaks when you're a media slave ;-)
One of the main things that I have taken away from this experience is just how committed you have to be to make your dream happen. Richard had told me how it had taken three years to write the book and when none of the mainstream publishers were interested, it was down to him and some mates to see what they could do. It's great that it has happened and hopefully this means we will get some more adventures from Fitch, Wentworth, Macrae and Jonesy.
It's been quite a year for Richard Happer. He publishes the humorous love story of three blokes wandering the West Highland Way but before he knows it he's in the poo with Ordnance Survey. He came up with the "Justice for Jonesy" theme to defend his book and it just seemed to set my imagination on overload with madcap ideas to get more publicity so I started sending them off to Richard, posting on the blog and generally blethering about it at every opportunity - probably just a wee bit OTT and the last thing that the poor bloke expected.
It all turned out OK as OS stopped being total jobsworths and dropped their legal action and Richard had managed to get a second edition for which he decided to have an unusual signing at the top of the Devil's Staircase. Well surprise, surprise that sent me onto imagination overload again and poor Richard was getting inundated with my witterings again. It's probably at this point I realised that my behaviour was verging on the obsessive stalker.
To say that I was a wee bit apprehensive about meeting Richard was an understatement, made all the worse by my Outdoorsmagic mates who were coming along to the signing also calling me a stalker. The bloke was a star and even when confronted by 5 larger than life characters all wanting their book signed in the typically Scottish mizzle he just kept smiling. He wasn't even phased when we were all wanting photos taken. I suppose that's the breaks when you're a media slave ;-)
One of the main things that I have taken away from this experience is just how committed you have to be to make your dream happen. Richard had told me how it had taken three years to write the book and when none of the mainstream publishers were interested, it was down to him and some mates to see what they could do. It's great that it has happened and hopefully this means we will get some more adventures from Fitch, Wentworth, Macrae and Jonesy.
I met Hamish Brown last night at a book reading, he has written a book about three men walking the WHW. "Have you heard of another story about three men walking the West Highland Way, The Hills are Stuffed With Swedish Girls?" I asked. He hadn't but was intrigued, perhaps that will be another order!
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