John O'Farrell

Brukar du sitta i timmar och diskutera med vänner hur bästa startelvan skulle se ut i nästa fotbolls-VM? Nu är det 2022 och diskussionen är äntligen över. England har elva spelare som håller toppklass, och det till synes oslagbara laget har gått till VM-final i Qatar. Men är det inte märkligt med spelarnas nästan kusliga likheter med tidigare engelska fotbollslegendarer? Sportjournalisten Alfie Baker är något på spåren, och han blir mer och mer övertygad om att det finns en skandalös hemlighet bakom Englands fantastiska form. Alfies livsdröm är att se det egna landslaget vinna världsmästerskapet. Men om han avslöjar den chockerande sanningen skulle hans älskade England kunna skickas hem i vanära Plötsligt handlar det om mer än England mot Tyskland det är Kärlek mot Plikt, Sanning mot Lycka. Den psykiska pressen vid straffläggning är inget jämfört med detta. Det finns bara två David Beckham är John O'Farrells kärleksbrev till fotbollen en del detektivhistoria, en del sportmemoar och en stor del satir över hela den korrupta FIFA-cirkusen. Få kan skruva den som John O'Farrell.

All five series of the political satirical soap opera set in the strangely familiar village of Little Blighty - plus Christmas Specials'A comic microcosm of a country not a million miles away' Radio TimesLittle Blighty is an idyllic part of the world, with a church, a market, a small school and a pub, The Cock and Bull. Village life is pretty uneventful, though the humdrum happenings include social turmoil, economic upheaval and vicious political squabbles - all presided over by the redoubtable head of the Parish Council and Secretary of the Rotarians, Mrs Roberts.This formidable lady has been running things for nine years: despite the best efforts of the leader of the opposition, Working Men's Club chairman Mr Blandish. He's desperate for his members to present a united front against Mrs Roberts, but unfortunately they're too busy fighting amongst themselves.The doctor's surgery is overcrowded, the river's polluted, the school is fiddling the exam results and the local market's under threat from cheap imports, but nothing seems to dent Mrs Roberts' popularity - until she introduces a conveyance charge across the village bridge. Could the 'Toll Tax' finally be her downfall?Also included are three festive Specials, The Blighty Chronicles, It's A Wonderful Blight and Dead of Blight, in which the village's rich history is staged; a guardian angel visits Little Blighty; and we attend Lord and Lady Spenney's Christmas party, where we hear some bloodcurdling supernatural tales...Scripted by Spitting Image writers John O'Farrell, Mark Burton and Mike Coleman, and first broadcast in 1988, this 'everyday story of a country folk' is a pitch-perfect parody of the British political landscape in the late '80s and early '90s - and remains surprisingly topical today. It is performed by a star cast including Jo Kendall, Andrew Sachs, Nick Hancock, Michael Troughton and Alistair McGowan.Production creditsWritten by Mark Burton, John O'Farrell and Mike ColemanProduced by David Tyler and Lissa EvansPerformed by Jo Kendall, John Bluthal, Andrew Sachs, Nick Hancock, Bernadine Corrigan, Daniel Strauss, Michael Troughton, John Baddeley, Jonathan Kydd and Alistair McGowanFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 2-16 September 1988 (Series 1), 21 July-18 August 1989 (Series 2), 29 December 1989 (The Blighty Chronicles), 6 July-3 August 1990 (Series 3), 5 July-2 August 1991 (Series 4), 26 December 1991 (It's A Wonderful Blight), 10 July-7 August 1992 (Series 5), 31 December 1992 (Dead of Blight)(c)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Following his hugely popular account of the previous 2000 years, John O'Farrell now comes bang up to date with a hilarious modern history asking 'How the hell did we end up here?' An Utterly Exasperated History of Modern Britain informs, elucidates and laughs at all the bizarre events, ridiculous characters and stupid decisions that have shaped Britain's story since 1945; leaving the Twenty-First Century reader feeling fantastically smug for having the benefit of hindsight.

Brought to you by Penguin.

All across Britain, a generation of grown-up children are graduating from university, moving back in to their old bedrooms and showing their gratitude by berating their parents for their out-of-date politics.

But for proud and high-profile left-wingers Emma and Eddie Hughes, the return of their only child is a far greater challenge than they ever could have anticipated. Young Dylan had warned them there was something personal he needed to tell them, but nothing could have prepared his right-on parents for the shocking revelation he delivers. Their son is a Conservative.

With his customary warm-hearted wit and razor-sharp political satire, John O?Farrell delivers another hilarious and entertaining dissection of the zeitgeist and offers a funny and insightful antidote to our divided times.

?John O?Farrell couldn?t be unfunny if he tried? Alan Johnson
?A touch of self-deprecation and a sense of humour? John O?Farrell has these qualities in spades? Guardian
?O?Farrell is a consistently humorous writer with an acute ear for the absurdities of middle class pretension? Mail on Sunday

©2024 John O''Farrell (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Things Can Only Get Worse?: Twenty confusing years in the life of a Labour supporter written and read by John O'Farrell. '...as the Labour candidate I prepared for every possible question on the local radio Election Phone-In. What I had not prepared for was my mum ringing up to say that she agreed with John O'Farrell. On EVERYTHING.'Things Can Only Get Worse is the personal story of one political activist helping Labour progress from its 1997 landslide to the unassailable position it enjoys today. Along the way, he stood for Parliament against Theresa May but failed to step into her shoes; he was dropped from Tony and Cherie's Christmas card list after he revealed he always sent their card on to a friend from the SWP; and he campaigned for a new non-selective inner-city state school, then realised this meant he had to send his kids to a non-selective inner-city state school. The long-awaited sequel to the best-selling Things Can Only Get Better is for everyone who could use a good laugh after Brexit, Boris and Trump. A roller-coaster ride through the last two decades via the very best political jokes (excluding the ones that keep getting elected).