Andrew Norton

Hobnail Andrew Norton

Considering he was only a young man himself, Wedge's father brought him up as best as he could. Along the way he taught his boy a few rules to get by in life: never get into debt if you can avoid it; always look after your woman as best as you can; and, always, always, help your mates when they need you. But what are mates? Wedge knows: "Mates" can either be your true mates, as in the expression, "I'm meeting me mates later", or, some blokes you've only just met that very night while you were waiting for your mates to turn up, which naturally means they've just become mates. And when your true mates arrive and ask "Who're yer mates, then?" well, you may not know their names, but they'd still be your mates. As a shy, shoe-gazing bloke from an ordinary northern town, all Wedge wanted was to ride his bike, listen to music and enjoy a quiet life in the company of his beloved Gillian ... even if that did mean being dragged around town every weekend. But after a chance meeting with the charming Benny on a carpet covered footstool in a clothes shop one Saturday morning, things would slowly but surely change. Hobnail follows the story of the two mates; one a tall, insecure biker, the other, a frustrated butcher who sees more options in life than chopping up dead pigs for a living. If you ever wanted to know why blokes give each other nicknames, what a "corpo" is, why a "parmo" is such a delicacy, what lunacy can happen to make the working day a little more tolerable, and why, when given the chance, men will always gravitate to talking complete and utter bollocks, then this book will give you your answer. With more cultural references than you can shake a stick at, welcome to the unassuming world of the Hobnail. If you aren't one, you can be sure you know one.