The Yorkshire Vet: On the talk trail with his latest book...

I’m back on the book trail again. Recently, my ninth book came out. Any spare time I have has been filled with radio interviews, signings and events to help promote its arrival in bookshops, and even a trip to London to appear on The Jeremy Vine Show. Visiting local, independent bookshops is one thing, but national telly is another experience altogether. I haven’t been on this programme for a few years but it’s always exciting because the discussion and chat is live. There is no opportunity for retakes or editing and I have to be on-point, discursive and relevant. None of these are my usual characteristics, which added to the tension I started to feel as soon as I’d agreed to attend. But, over recent years, I’ve come to accept the challenge of moving to the very edge of my comfort zone. “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much room,” someone once said.
By Julian Norton
Published 29th Jun 2024, 06:00 BST

It’s plain to see, I’ve become rather obsessed by writing in recent years. I fell in love with the process. The recollection of past stories and experiences from the back of my mind has been like perusing an old photo album. Describing and recording them, first on my laptop and then in print has been an experience that I could have barely imagined possible; seeing my name on a cover is always a thrill. My grinning face, usually as I clutch an animal is, for me, less appealing. My last two books were aimed at children, with wonderful drawings by the talented Jo Weaver. The best bit about this was the fact that neither of these books featured me on the front!

The latest book is called Ruminations of a Yorkshire Vet, because it is a collection of reflections, thoughts and comments from the final stages of my time as a full-blown mixed practice vet between 2018 and 2020- there were plenty of ruminants! My mini book tour started at White Rose Book Café in Thirsk, before heading to two more independent shops in Nidderdale and Wharfedale the next day. Malton was next on the list. In Thirsk, where you would think the novelty of local vets writing books might be wearing off, I still had a busy event. There were two highlights. Firstly, my old friend Betty had shared a lift from her care home and queued up patiently. When I spotted her and waved, I could see her wiping tears away. I’d treated her dogs some years ago and we’ve stayed friends ever since and we’d shared some happy times.

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Next in the line was a couple engaged to be married. Andrea brought with her a copy of the first book of mine that she had owned. She’d bought it in her native Czech Republic and this book was the only one that’s been translated into a foreign language. My publishers had sent me a copy when it came out, several years ago, and it amused me no end. One chapter referred to a friend who was a greyhound trainer called Malcolm. He was funny, larger than life itself and fed his dogs on as much steak and pies as he could get his hands on. In the book, I compared him to Les Dawson- the resemblance was strong. When I received the translated book, with words constructed from an altogether different alphabet, I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw, near the bottom of page thirty-one, the incongruous words Les Dawson. I knew full well that almost nobody in the Czech Republic would know who this was or what it meant. I related the story to Andrea and her fiancé before she explained, “It’s partly down to you that we are getting married. I met my husband-to-be on-line. By chance, he was from Thirsk. I’d seen you on telly and read your books. I thought, ‘if he’s from Thirsk, he must be alright’, so we met up. The rest is history.”

Related topics:ThirskLondonCzech RepublicMalton

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