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In 1971, Andy Blackford was voted Man Least Likely to Make Thirty by his fellow students.
He was born in Middlesbrough without incurring serious injury. He spent much of his childhood in a hut near Whitby. When he was nine, His father built him a small boat and encouraged him to row it out to sea.
Leaving Oxford with a useless degree, Andy disappointed nearly everyone by joining a rock band.
The band disappointed the record-buying public and his friend, the editor and writer Susan Hill, encouraged him to write. Accrual World is probably the world?s first and last accountancy novel.
There followed books on implausibly disparate subjects including the R&B band, The Animals, and a history of the discotheque. Meanwhile, he amassed an impressive portfolio of failed careers, including music publisher and professional skateboarder, before being invited to write columns for Runners World and Diver magazines.
His journalism took on a practical dimension when he ran the infamous Marathon des Sables, wrestled sharks in the Andaman Sea and rode a stallion across the Moroccan Sahara.
He won the Independent/Scholastic Children?s Story of the Year prize and has since produced twenty books for young people. However, his main qualification for immortality remains the ad campaign for Um Bongo.
Until recently, he worked as a prison chaplain, teaching Buddhist meditation and Dharma in the East of England.
Reunited with John Foggin, his high school English teacher and by now a much-admired poet, they agreed to write a poem each, every week for a year. The result, Gap Year, won the Sentinel Poetry Book Prize in 2014.
Since then, Andy has produced four solo collections.
In 2021 he created The Stand-Up Tragedy Tour, combining poetry and anecdotes to entertain audiences with his many obsessions.
Licensed Cafe.
By day our Cafe serves delicious home-cooked food, Fairly Traded coffee & tea and homemade cakes & pastries. All with a nod to local and ethical sourcing. We cater for Vegetarians, Vegans and dietary issues, just ask if you need anything not catered for on our menus. We also have a Delicatessen serving our own home-cooked food daily.
On Sunday to Thursday evenings we host the best acoustic music in the City, specialising in Folk, Roots and Americana.
On Friday and Saturday evenings the Cafe is available for private functions, weddings and parties, please call or email for more details.
Opening times shown don't include music events / comedy, most of which are ticketed.
17 York Road,
Kings Heath,
Birmingham,
West Midlands,
England,
B14 7SA.
0121 443 4725
Sorry, This Event is in the past!
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