Between the Stops: The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus: the long-awaited memoir from the star of QI and The Great British Bake Off
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-10 08:51:03
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Sandi Toksvig
- ISBN：0349006407
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Between the Stops is a sort of a memoir， my sort。 It's about a bus trip really， because it's my view from the Number 12 bus （mostly top deck， the seat at the front on the right）， a double-decker that plies its way from Dulwich， in South East London where I was living， to where I sometimes work at the BBC in the heart of the capital。 It's not a sensible way to write a memoir at all， probably， but it's the way things pop into your head as you travel， so it's my way。From London facts including where to find the blue plaque for Una Marson， 'the first black woman programme maker at the BBC'， to discovering the best Spanish coffee under Southwick railway arches; from a brief history of lady gangsters at Elephant and Castle to memories of climbing Mount Sinai and， at the request of a fellow traveller， reading aloud the Ten Commandments; from the story behind Pissarro's painting of Dulwich Station to performing in Footlights with Emma Thompson; from painful memories of being sent to Coventry at a British boarding school to thinking about how Wombells Travelling Circus of 1864 haunts Peckham Rye and anecdotes about Prince Charles， Monica Lewinsky and Grayson Perry; from Bake-Off antics to stories of a real and lasting friendship with John McCarthy， to the importance of family and the daunting navigation of the Zambezi River in her father's canoe; this Sandi Toksvig-style memoir is， as one would expect and hope， packed full of surprise。
A funny and moving trip through memories， musings and the many delights on the number 12 route， Between the Stops is also an inspiration to us all to get off our phones， to look up and to talk to each other because as Sandi says: 'some of the greatest trips lie on our own doorstep'。
A funny and moving trip through memories， musings and the many delights on the number 12 route， Between the Stops is also an inspiration to us all to get off our phones， to look up and to talk to each other because as Sandi says: 'some of the greatest trips lie on our own doorstep'。
Reviews
Sue
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Loved this book。 The ending seemed a bit abrupt though， but maybe it was just the last stop。She didn’t have an easy life but it was certainly varied。 Long may it continue。
Laura
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Wonderful memoir。 Funny， sad， educational and hopeful。 Love Sandi Toksvig。
Annie Walker
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A very clever book。 Enticing and educational at the same time。
Shelly LeBlanc
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I loved this book and read it hearing Sandi’s voice in my head。 The read was informative， quirky， random and a bit slow as I enjoyed stopping often to look up pictures or more information on those Sandi was describing。
Jo
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I have read most of Sandi’s books and loved them all。 One of my favourite personalities。 I feel I know quite a bit about her - my sister in law was once hugged by S - but I learned more reading this。 Just the right mix of autobiography， London history and interesting facts。 I used to live in dulwich and know the bus journey well。 I think I will get the audible too as I love her voice。
Simone Harper
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Some of this would have been better if I was familiar with the area however was lovely book written as if she was speaking to me
Mairi Byatt
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Utterly stunning， weeping as I write this！ Loved it so much I joined the party！ Always felt a hideous guilt that my first vote ever I gave to Thatcher！ Because I was so excited for a woman to be PM！ Spent my life deciding what I was？ Definitely a woman， definitely left wing， and a true believer that Scotland would be a better company if we were aligned with our Scandinavian neighbours than our Tory leaders in London！ I first joined the SNP and admire our FM， then joined the Scottish Greens， alwa Utterly stunning， weeping as I write this！ Loved it so much I joined the party！ Always felt a hideous guilt that my first vote ever I gave to Thatcher！ Because I was so excited for a woman to be PM！ Spent my life deciding what I was？ Definitely a woman， definitely left wing， and a true believer that Scotland would be a better company if we were aligned with our Scandinavian neighbours than our Tory leaders in London！ I first joined the SNP and admire our FM， then joined the Scottish Greens， always loved them！ But there was the female bit of me missing！ Finally I feel whole！ If they need any help in Scotland？ Please get in touch？ Mx 。。。more
Zoe Obstkuchen
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A journey can be like a conversation， a bit of back and forth and surprising bits you’ll remember for years。 I could hear Sandi’s voice in my head as I read this and I always think of her voice as comforting。 There was an aspect I found surprising and saddening， the amount of prejudice she has experienced simply from her being a lesbian。 Foolishly I had thought （or at least I would have had I given it any thought at all） that a wonderful national institution such as her would have been accepted A journey can be like a conversation， a bit of back and forth and surprising bits you’ll remember for years。 I could hear Sandi’s voice in my head as I read this and I always think of her voice as comforting。 There was an aspect I found surprising and saddening， the amount of prejudice she has experienced simply from her being a lesbian。 Foolishly I had thought （or at least I would have had I given it any thought at all） that a wonderful national institution such as her would have been accepted just for being who they were。 Silly me。 。。。more
Rachael Sibley
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Fascinating I loved reading this book。 Sandi’s memoirs were in-dispersed with historic nuggets of London as seen from the top deck of the number 12 bus。 What an interesting life， what an interesting woman， what an interesting book。
Wendy Rose
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Between the stops - Sandi Toksvig - R （65 of 106） 23 8 21I adore her anyway and could hear her in my head as I read。 She combines autobiography with social commentary and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the London she passes through on her daily commute on the no 12 bus。 Dry， witty， intelligent。 An incredible life and a real laugh out loud book。
Elaine
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Good to know the workings of a mind about the same age of me。 And to find out a little of the more quirky side to London's history。 Ive looked at the womens equality party website; Lots of beautiful ladies head up the team （suggestion; perhaps employ some ordinary girls to the team to be more inclusive）。 Good to know the workings of a mind about the same age of me。 And to find out a little of the more quirky side to London's history。 Ive looked at the womens equality party website; Lots of beautiful ladies head up the team （suggestion; perhaps employ some ordinary girls to the team to be more inclusive）。 。。。more
Rob Frampton
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I once started a review of a James Acaster book by saying， "I like James Acaster， but。。。"， and I'm going to do the same here。。。I like Sandi Toksvig， but this book really is a bit of a mess。 While it's laudable to try something a bit different for this quasi-memoir （place， people and things seen from the top of the bus on her journey to work prompt thoughts， reminiscences and musings）， in practice the result is a morass of anecdotes （many of which you'll have heard before） and disconnected passag I once started a review of a James Acaster book by saying， "I like James Acaster， but。。。"， and I'm going to do the same here。。。I like Sandi Toksvig， but this book really is a bit of a mess。 While it's laudable to try something a bit different for this quasi-memoir （place， people and things seen from the top of the bus on her journey to work prompt thoughts， reminiscences and musings）， in practice the result is a morass of anecdotes （many of which you'll have heard before） and disconnected passages which are less stream of consciousness and more I-want-to-say-this-so-I'll-say-it-here。 While pretty much everything she says is interesting/funny/poignant in and of itself， packed together here it all becomes a bit。。。 overwhelming。While my love for Sandi the person is undimmed， Sandi the writer probably needs a better editor。 。。。more
Pranava
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Like you would expect of the QI host， it's Quite Interesting。 She stays true to character in her memoir pieced together with anecdotes from across the world。 But the route of bus #12 isn't enough to hold it all together。 Like you would expect of the QI host， it's Quite Interesting。 She stays true to character in her memoir pieced together with anecdotes from across the world。 But the route of bus #12 isn't enough to hold it all together。 。。。more
Tolkien InMySleep
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By turn charming and political， Sandi's journey to work by bus inspires tales of local history， gender politics and showbiz anecdotes By turn charming and political， Sandi's journey to work by bus inspires tales of local history， gender politics and showbiz anecdotes 。。。more
Old Mabel
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I laughed out loud a few times。 Lent to me by a friend who highly recommended it， but it was a little bit dry to me。 There were some really funny moments and a lots of quirky facts about London which is probably great if you love London or live there。I always know when a book isn't quite hitting the spot as I keep checking to see how many more pages there are， sometimes I also do this when I don't want a book to end， but this wasn't one of those times。 I laughed out loud a few times。 Lent to me by a friend who highly recommended it， but it was a little bit dry to me。 There were some really funny moments and a lots of quirky facts about London which is probably great if you love London or live there。I always know when a book isn't quite hitting the spot as I keep checking to see how many more pages there are， sometimes I also do this when I don't want a book to end， but this wasn't one of those times。 。。。more
Linda
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I liked this book - it was very different to other biographies combining a fantastic knowledge of London and a great compassion of people whilst at the same time learning about Sandi's life with some very funny quips。 Sometimes the information of London was just a little too much and may be of more interest to people living there。 To understand her comedy touches， I think you would have had to see and appreciate her as a comedian before knowing her in her present TV roles。 I liked this book - it was very different to other biographies combining a fantastic knowledge of London and a great compassion of people whilst at the same time learning about Sandi's life with some very funny quips。 Sometimes the information of London was just a little too much and may be of more interest to people living there。 To understand her comedy touches， I think you would have had to see and appreciate her as a comedian before knowing her in her present TV roles。 。。。more
Hannah D
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Hilarious， informative， charming， thought-provoking and downright wonderful: exactly like Sandi herself。
Marie
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Absolutely lovely。 Basically， a memoir crossed with a feminist’s （proper） history of London。 And delightful as an audiobook read by the author。 Loved it。
Andrea Rudge
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I loved this book！ It's a great mixture of snippets about her life， career， opinions and random historical facts about the bits of London which she sees from the top of the number 12 bus。 It jumps about all over the place but I thoroughly enjoyed it - I hadn't realised what an interesting early life she'd had。 There are sad parts and anecdotes about the misogyny and homophobia she has experienced， but， as you would expect， there is also humour throughout。 I hope there will be a follow-up！ I loved this book！ It's a great mixture of snippets about her life， career， opinions and random historical facts about the bits of London which she sees from the top of the number 12 bus。 It jumps about all over the place but I thoroughly enjoyed it - I hadn't realised what an interesting early life she'd had。 There are sad parts and anecdotes about the misogyny and homophobia she has experienced， but， as you would expect， there is also humour throughout。 I hope there will be a follow-up！ 。。。more
Meryl Falvey
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I loved this book。 I enjoy watching and listening to Sandi on TV and radio。 I could hear her voice whilst reading。 So many interesting and funny details。 It made me want to travel on the No 12 bus。 Shame I live in rural Suffolk！ Looking forward to seeing Sandi live next year。 Thank you for a very amusing read
emmabbooks
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Funny， informative and sometimes shocking Laughs， shocks and plenty of “quite interesting” facts and anecdotes。 I loved every moment of this audiobook！Sandi often takes the No。 12 bus from her home in Dulwich （South East London） to Central London， and this memoir intersperses her recollections of her own fascinating life， with the history of the places and street names she passes whilst on the bus。 Even if the reader/listener is not familiar with South East London – which I have a passing knowle Funny， informative and sometimes shocking Laughs， shocks and plenty of “quite interesting” facts and anecdotes。 I loved every moment of this audiobook！Sandi often takes the No。 12 bus from her home in Dulwich （South East London） to Central London， and this memoir intersperses her recollections of her own fascinating life， with the history of the places and street names she passes whilst on the bus。 Even if the reader/listener is not familiar with South East London – which I have a passing knowledge of， they will be fascinated by the interesting historical facts Sandi recounts stories of people， working establishments and London life。 In addition she gives snippets of information about the lives of her fellow passengers， and， of course， there is plenty of fascinating detail about her life。 Sandi celebrates the love she and her wife share and tells some startling stories of how same sex relationships were reviled in the not so distant past。 She tells of her love of her father， and how his somewhat unconventional parenting skills helped form her。 She talks of those she has worked alongside， and has many hilariously funny anecdotes to tell of her life in theatre， and also some poignant memories。Ok – so I was a fan of Sandi Toksvig before I listened to this audio book， but whilst listening to this book its content has started many conversations between myself and my husband。 We have discussed Sandi’s point of view on so many things – art， religion， children， travel， the BBC， history， social changes， everyday folk and so on 。 I can only imagine that the No。 12 bus is going to become a regular haunt of Sandi Toksvig fans – but be sure to read this book before you step aboard， so that you are fully aware of the unwritten etiquette of bus travel！ 。。。more
Dreena Collins
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Thoroughly enjoyed this unusual autobiography。 It was full of personal anecdotes laced with reflections on history and culture。 Moving in places and humorous in others。
Carol_h1
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A great read。 You journey through London and her life through her everyday life and memories。
Janine Urquhart
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Sandi Toksvig is a talented writer and performer so I was curious to see how she would approach her memoir/autobiography。The Preface sets out her plan， in that she is going to sit on a bus and write down whatever thoughts come into her mind about her life。 The resulting book is a meandering journey on many different levels - the immediacy of the bus journey with her companions onboard， the history of the places in London that the bus passes and， of course， ST's life。Topics jump about in a chaoti Sandi Toksvig is a talented writer and performer so I was curious to see how she would approach her memoir/autobiography。The Preface sets out her plan， in that she is going to sit on a bus and write down whatever thoughts come into her mind about her life。 The resulting book is a meandering journey on many different levels - the immediacy of the bus journey with her companions onboard， the history of the places in London that the bus passes and， of course， ST's life。Topics jump about in a chaotic way and though the confusion a sense of the author emerges。 It starts feeling like a rewarding conversation with an intelligent friend during which she shares some of the fascinating things she knows。 About half way through I started to get bored and began to feel flooded with information without learning enough about the author。 I did get to know about ST's life but wanted more about her motivations and emotionsST has a gentle and humanitarian approach to the world which makes her political point hit hard。 She often finishes a particularly light hearted section with a political comment which uses the contrast as emphasis。 This works generally but feels quite a basic technique。I tried very hard to love this book but was prevented by the way ST jumps around all the time。 I really wanted her to slow down and tell a complete story in one go （the Israel trip？ the Sudanese trip？ Being at boarding school？）I read this book over a few days as I do with most books and didn't find it as rewarding as I hoped。 It is very fragmented so maybe it would be better to read it a chapter at a time so allowing time for the information to settle before moving onto the next。 。。。more
Jeremy Peirson
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3。5/5。 I felt it was a bit jumbled。 I'd have appreciated a more focused description of the route， or a proper autobiography。 But Sandi writes well， so I've rounded up to a 4。 3。5/5。 I felt it was a bit jumbled。 I'd have appreciated a more focused description of the route， or a proper autobiography。 But Sandi writes well， so I've rounded up to a 4。 。。。more
Margaret
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A good few chuckles， but found a lot of the historic information although quite interesting， at times got a bit overwhelming。 Stuck with it to the end as I don't like to give up on any read， but could have given up three quarters of the way through。 A good few chuckles， but found a lot of the historic information although quite interesting， at times got a bit overwhelming。 Stuck with it to the end as I don't like to give up on any read， but could have given up three quarters of the way through。 。。。more
Greg
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A very entertaining read and at times educational。 Full of quite interesting facts （pun intended）。
Sarah Sanders
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She is such a fab person， a British icon （although she’s from Denmark）， like Attenborough and Fry， everyone loves them。
Sarah Athey
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I have long been a fan and her book did not disappoint。 Fascinating facts and a very thought provoking life story， she is clearly a very talented woman。
Jacqui
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