Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

Product Information

Today I am writing a few lines about a rather humorous book by the British comedian Tony Hawks: Playing the Moldovans at Tennis. But in recent years, he’s progressed from being “funny ha-ha” to being possibly a little bit strange.

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Tony Hawks - Google Books Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Tony Hawks - Google Books

As someone who grew up with Dave Gorman’s Important Astrology Experiment, I’ve always found it interesting to read Hawks because I guess he must have been an influence on some of the people who influenced me. As leader of the trio Morris Minor and the Majors, he reached number 4 in the UK charts with the Beastie Boys parody, Stutter Rap (No Sleep Til Bedtime) in 1988. I originally bought it as a gift for my daughter about eight years ago knowing I would eventually get to read it. The whole time I was there I struggled to put my observations and feelings into word, and Hawks did it perfectly and humorously. Peter Moore is another example of similar literature, though perhaps one of the best ones is Daniel Kalder's Lost Cosmonaut: Observations of an Anti-Tourist.So, the bizarre quest is simply: tracking down the country's football team, challenging them one by one to play tennis with him - and win! As a die-harder on CIS traveling, I do my best in ready every travelouge written on the former Soviet republics - some works, some do not work and some are great.

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

A good part of the humour of the book is based on the clash of culture between an over-optimistic Englishman and a local population who seem to be a bit reserved and not particularly surprised about Tony's plan.Leonid, ziaristul sportiv care „părea să posede cunoștințe enciclopedice despre fotbalul din Moldova”.

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis - Penguin Books UK

An eccentric wager finds Tony Hawks, a man who loves an unusual challenge, bound for the little-known Eastern European state of Moldova. And with the loser of the bet agreeing to strip naked on Balham High Road and sing the Moldovan national anthem, this one was just too good to resist. Tony is still traveling regularly to Moldova and is doing additional fundraising for the good cause. In this book, he follows on from the adventure he wrote about in Round Ireland with a Fridge with a trip to Moldova in which he attempted to beat the entire Moldovan national football team at tennis. Hawks noted that his correspondents "might be able to do backside varials but they can't spell to save their lives.

He leads a diverse life and has various 'jobs', such as performing stand up comedy, appearing as a panellist on TV and radio ( Have I Got News For You, Just A Minute, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue), acting, writing, playing tennis, and making music. This would probably be interesting to read both for foreigners going to Moldova, or those who have spent some time there already, and would definitely recognize quite a lot of situations described. I wasn't really sure what the expect when picking up the book, but I found a nice easy reading, quite humorous (Mr. Overall, I'd recommend the book to someone looking for an easy read dealing with the former Soviet Union. Cu siguranță că acum nu este așa „faptul că un actor de comedie din Anglia a venit în Moldova ca să încerce să-i bată la tenis pe fotbaliștii din echipa națională a Moldovei nu este o știre de presă”.