Brian Scovell

This light-hearted book is not wholly about the perils of trying to park but it has a strong theme about cricket and football, and it is also a memoir as a veteran sports writer for the Daily Mail. I write about 350 or more personalities I've interviewed or known about. My hero was Denis Compton. I used to listen to a portable radio in hospital aged 11 about his dynamic batting after WW2. Another hero was the great all-round cricketer, Lord Learie Constantine, whom I wrote his articles in the Daily Sketch. He was the first Afro-Caribbean to be a Lord and as a barrister he broke the colour bar in the High Court when he won damages of five guineas, also gave advice for the Race Relations Acts. No-one has done more for diversity than this remarkable, lovable man - and today's generation haven't heard of him, sadly. We are campaigning for a statue of him in the Parliament Estate to add to the three black statues there compared to nearly 300 white statues in the borough of Westminster.

In his time working for the Daily Sketch and Daily Mail, Brian Scovell probably reported on more Test matches and more international football matches than any other English sports writer. This fascinating, amusing and finally very moving memoir is filled with hundreds of anecdotes and insights into top sports personalities and other public figures. And he has Goering to thank for the way his life has turned out. Following a German bombing raid on the Isle of Wight when he was a child, Brian spent two years in hospital listening to match commentaries on the radio and reading the leading sports writer of the day, Tom Phillips. While in that hospital bed, Brian decided on his future career. Thank You, Hermann Goering contains dozens of previously untold stories about, among others, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Princess Diana, Brian Lara, Enoch Powell and Alan Sugar.

In his time working for the Daily Sketch and Daily Mail, Brian Scovell probably reported on more Test matches and more international football matches than any other English sports writer. This fascinating, amusing, and finally very moving memoir is filled with hundreds of anecdotes and insights into top sports personalities and other public figures. Thank You, Hermann Goering contains dozens of previously untold stories about, among others, Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Princess Diana, Brian Lara, Enoch Powell, and Alan Sugar. Following a German bombing raid on the Isle of Wight when he was a child, Brian spent two years in hospital listening to match commentaries on the radio and reading the leading sports writer of the day, Tom Phillips. So he has Goering to thank for the way his life turned out. His mother wanted him to be a banker, but in that hospital bed, Brian decided to go to Fleet Street. It was an ambition he realised fifteen years later. Ted Dexter called him 'Scoop' and his talent for journalism sometimes took him out of the sports world: he writes memorably about the secret meeting between Goering and Lord Jellicoe at St Lawrence, and reveals the truth about the German attack on a secret radar installation in the Isle of Wight. One of the book's central stories is Brian's love affair with his beautiful wife Audrey, an artist who died in 2000 and continues to inspire his writing. As he contends with the boozy Cobbold brothers, weathers spats with fellow journalists, and travels the world (meeting Pope John Paul II and Reverend Canaan Banana on the way) she remains his chief allegiance, even more important than newsprint and sport.

In the 1990s Brian Lara established himself as the best batsman in the world, with a 375 against England, a 501 for Warwickshire and a 400 not out in Antigua among his world records. At 37, he is still the dominant force in the West Indies side going into 2007, but it seems likely that the forthcoming World Cup and tours of India and England will form his international swansong. But this is not simply a story of runs and of world records. Three times the captain of West Indies, rows, strike action and threats to walk out have ensured a turbulent career and a continuing struggle with officialdom. His wayward love life has also added colour to the story of a man who is essentially a gentle, respectful character with a Corinthian approach to cricket. This is the complete account of one of the true greats of world cricket.

Jim Laker will always be remembered for his bowling in the Test match at Old Trafford in 1956, when he took 19 Australian wickets for 90, 9 for 37 in the first innings and 10 for 53 in the second. No other bowler has taken more than seventeen wickets in a first-class match, let alone in a Test match. This book looks back on the life of the man.

From the early days of Winterbottom to the controversial appointment and performance of a non-national in Goran-Eriksson, the England hotseat has always attracted an incredible level of interest from Press and fans. This book looks at almost all of the incumbents of the position of England coach. It also features a photographic section.

Documenting the England football managers

Nephews of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, John Cavendish Cobbold and Patrick Mark Cobbold were both chairman of Ipswich Town FC during the club's most successful and high-profile years.