The Pie At Night: In Search Of The North At Play by Stuart Maconie

Following on from his previous jaunt around the north of England, Pies
and Prejudice, DJ, music critic and fellow northerner Stuart Maconie
returns, this time to examine how the locals like to enjoy themselves.

It quickly becomes apparent, however, that they spend their spare time
in much the same manner as anybody else, and despite the chapters
being divided into relevant themes (sport, culture, food etc.) it’s
really just an excuse for Maconie to visit more unfairly maligned
towns and offer his musings on what he finds there.

This is no bad  thing, as he makes for a genial travel companion with a great ear for  dialogue, capturing snapshots of mysterious conversations in Hull  pubs, or friendly encounters with dog-walkers on the West Pennine Moors.

Nevertheless, he doesn’t spend long enough in any one place to
offer much in the way of insight, and his adventures pass by in an
amusing, but insubstantial, blur.