Fatigued by bloated big-game football and bored of a samey big cities, Daniel Gray went in search of small town Scotland and its teams. At the time when the Scottish club game is drifting towards its lowest ebb once more, Stramash singularly falls to wring its hands and address the state of the game, preferring instead to focus on Bobby Mann's waistline. Part travelogue, part history and part mistakenly spilling ketchup on the face of a small child, Stramash takes an uplifting look at the ...

A history of how fanzines redefined football and amplified supporters' voices.When the matchday many were treated as the hooligan few, football supporters didn't react with violence or vandalism, but with typewriters, staple guns and Tippex. The fanzine movement of the 1980s transformed a bleak time into a hopeful one, *re-*humanising spectators in the process.Producing DIY zines and selling them outside football grounds from Middlesborough to Torquay, supp...

An evocative celebration of the seventh day in all its rich varietyClosed shops and roast dinners. Bulky newspapers and the hum of lawnmowers. Strolls to nowhere in particular and visiting snoozing grandparents. Television theme tunes cueing bath time and a sudden dread of the looming week ahead…Through an assortment of rituals and activities, Sundays came to be the unique day in our week – whether tedious, pleasant or somewhere in-between. But have they ch...

FEATURED IN THE SCOTSMAN'S SPORT BOOKS OF 2020A collection of lyrical sweet-nothings whispered to late goals, local radio commentators, referees falling over and 47 other reminders of why we love football.Despite its flaws and excesses, modern football is still sprinkled with simple yet beguiling delights. In his previous book Saturday, 3pm, Daniel Gray captured many of them. Now he is back with a further 50 short essays o...

A Scotsman and an Englishman, a camera and a notebook...McCredie's lens and Gray's words search out everyday Scotland - a Scotland of flaking pub signs and sneaky fags outside the bingo, Italian cafes and proper fitba grounds. A nation of beautiful, haggard normality.

Shortlisted for Debut Food Book of the Year at the Fortnum and Mason Food and Drink Awards 2024 Guild of Food Writers 2024 Finalist, Food Book of the Year‘A lyrical, amiable and educational celebration of what may be our greatest achievement: the chippy.’ Stuart MaconieStep inside and unwrap this deliciously entertaining look at Britain’s national dish.There is a corner of every town and city in Britain where the air is tangy with v...

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023 - FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR**'Powerful and poignant' Henry Winter'Empathetic and poignant … the game's answer to A Journal of the Plague Year' Harry Pearson**'The Durham City midfielder wore the resigned look of a man trying to find a jar of harissa in Farmfoods. Up front for Jarrow, a centre-forward darted around ...

The postman and the primary teacher, the midwife and the musician. Workers in shops, workers at sea. Solidarity with the Columbian farmer and the Palestinian fireman… Modern trade unionists in Scotland perform roles in every imaginable location and are drawn from all backgrounds. They campaign to win on issues facing the colleague next to them or a comrade thousands of miles away. 'Mon the Workers tells their stories in their own words. It is a celebration of 125 years of the STUC, and a c...

Daniel Gray is about to turn thirty. Like any sane person, his response is to travel to Luton, Crewe and Hinckley. After a decade's exile in Scotland, he sets out to reacquaint himself with England via what he considers its greatest asset: football.Watching teams from the Championship (or Division Two as any right-minded person calls it) to the South West Peninsula Premier, and aimlessly walking around towns from Carlisle to Newquay, Gray paints a curious landscape forgotten by man...

'A paean to football before the days of big money and soulless stadia.' - The iGoalkeepers in trousers, proper division names, turf patterns, pixelated scoreboards and, of course, Saturday evening pink newspapers... They were the gritty stardust that made football sparkle.Here, 50 such wonders are drawn together with evocative charm before they slip from memory forever. Dedicating a chapter to each wonder, Daniel Gray's pieces read more like love l...

Overpaid players. Sunday lunchtime kick-offs. Absurd ticket prices. Non-black boots. Football's menu of ills is long. Where has the joy gone? Why do we bother? Saturday, 3pm offers a glorious antidote. It is here to remind you that football can still sing to your heart.Warm, heartfelt and witty, here are fifty short essays of prose poetry dedicated to what is good in the game. These are not wallowing nostalgia; they are things that remain sweet an...

From the award-winning creators of Come Over to My House comes this light-hearted picture book about accessibility and disability, and two kids who are inspired to build a better world.Carla and Sam want to play together, but there's nowhere in their neighbourhood that's accessible to them both! That is, until Carla and Sam put their heads together to dream up a place where all kids can play together, and a wonderful new space is born.This fun, chi...