A pleasantly meandering memoir from Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, in which he reminisces about his childhood in the working-class Glasgow tenements and his early career. There are a couple of false notes here—is he really the same old Billy as always, as he insists, when he makes sure you know from the get-go that he's now Sir William and that Prince Charles attends his birthday parties?—but this is still an amiable look back at life from the Big Yin. ( )

https://debbybrauer.org/#made-in-scotland-my-grand-adventures-in-a-wee-country ( )

Billy Connolly’s memoir, published to coincide with his 75th birthday, is really funny and very readable. I particularly enjoyed his mini-interviews with various people such as John Byrne—their conversation about art had me giggling. I found his reflections on getting older and the older people in his life when he was younger interesting as well. There are also plenty of photos, which I always like in my non-fiction books. I’d certainly recommend this book, even if the title did keep getting the song “Big Country” stuck in my head :) ( )

There's something about Billy Connolly that's always made him a leading light in how to cope with the highs and lows of life. Whether it's pointed instruction on learning how to swear at those awful people who knock on your door flogging their brand of religion, through to assurances that nobody, anywhere needs to wear beige, Billy is older than us, he's lived a hell of a life and he's learnt a few things along the way.

Thanks to Billy's advice, ever since hitting my 50's I've never let a loo stop go by, I've always been a fan of the correct clothes when it's cold (the truism sort of holds when it's stinking hot), and I've laughed over the years at his live shows, his TV appearances and any chance I can get. MADE IN SCOTLAND is a typical ramble around through his life, warts and all. From young boy in the tenaments of Glasgow to welder to folk musician and ultimately comedian. His wisdom and life experience shines through, his approach to life in the face of Parkinson's Disease - the whole kit and caboodle is, once again, packed full of lessons on the opportunities we all have to live a good life. And laughs, as you'd expect, many laughs.

After finishing MADE IN SCOTLAND, I'm now obsessed with pockets, I'm in 100% agreement about the importance of libraries, and I'm well aware that as we get older, things get dafter. Sure there's a bit of the same territory here that was covered in the books already written by his wife, although he admits he might have fibbed a bit on a few things in those, but doesn't matter, more from Billy is never too much. I love his take on life even more and luckily the narrator of the audio version of this book, Gordon Kennedy, had just the right accent as the icing on the cake. (By the way - make sure you read the blurb of this one.)

https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/made-scotland-billy-connolly ( )