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Do Not Pass Go: From the Old Kent Road to Mayfair by Tim Moore

Do Not Pass Go: From the Old Kent Road to Mayfair

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Do Not Pass Go: From the Old Kent Road to Mayfair by Tim Moore

In the wonderful world of Monopoly it still only cost to buy a house in Islington, you can move around London with the shake of a dice and even park your car for free. In Do Not Pass Go Tim Moore, belying his reputation as a player who always paid that fine rather than take a Chance, fearlessly tackles the real thing and along the way tells the story of a game and the city that frames it.

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And, solving all the mysteries you'll have pondered whilst languishing in jail and many other you certainly wouldn't, Tim Moore reveals how Pall Mall got its name, which three addresses you won't find in your A-Z and why the sorry cul-de-sac that is Vine Street has a special place in the heart of Britain's most successful Monopoly champion.

The stirring travelogue of one man's erratic progress around those 28 streets, stations and utilities, Do Not Pass Go is also an epic and lovingly researched history of London's wayward progress in the 66 years since the launch of the world's most popular board game. We will send you an SMS containing a verification code.

It delves into interesting history behind all the M board squares. A bit crude in places, but a good entertaining read. I always thought the London based board was the original, how wrong you can be. GeoffSC May 31, Highly entertaining and suprisingly informative ride around the London of the s Monopoly board. An original angle on a unique slice of London's rich and varied history. I like Moore's sense of humour.

It's the kind of book you consciously start slowing down on towards the end as you don't want it to end too soon! Polaris- Jan 26, An enjoyable and quirky book. I liked the way he imagined what the people who chose the streets for the London-based Monopoly board were doing in and the comparisons with 'then and now'. Engagingly written although occasionally the wordplays get a little irritating , never too 'anoraky'. History of the board game Monopoly.

In this work, Tim Moore fearlessly tackles the real thing and along the way tells the story of a game and the city that frames it. Home Groups Talk Zeitgeist. I Agree This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and if not signed in for advertising. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms. Do not pass go: Members Reviews Popularity Average rating Mentions 7 42, 3.

Sampling the rags and the riches he stays in a hotel in Mayfair and one in the Old Kent Road, enjoys quality time with Dr Crippen in Pentonville Prison and even winds up at the wrong end of the Water Works pipe. And, solving all the mysteries you'll have pondered whilst languishing in jail and many other you certainly wouldn't, Tim Moore reveals how Pall Mall got its name, which three addresses you won't find in your A-Z and why the sorry cul-de-sac that is Vine Street has a special place in the heart of Britain's most successful Monopoly champion.

The stirring travelogue of one man's erratic progress around those 28 streets, stations and utilities, Do Not Pass Go is also an epic and lovingly researched history of London's wayward progress in the 66 years since the launch of the world's most popular board game Paperback , pages. Published October 2nd by Vintage first published To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

To ask other readers questions about Do Not Pass Go , please sign up. Lists with This Book. May 05, Gillian rated it it was amazing Shelves: Great if you like Monopoly, London, history and humour. Aug 24, Bryony rated it it was amazing. A great read but would love to see a revised version with illustrations to save me looking places up online every 5 minutes!!!! A modern-day romp through the properties on the British and Australian version of Monopoly.

I loved the tour through the Old Kent Road to Mayfair. Despite never really expecting to, I've long enjoyed Tony Hawks' books. The humour and invention with which he manages to make a travelogue into something that is part challenge and part joke is wonderful to read and a lot of fun to boot.

He's dragged me off to places I've never been and always made sure I'd enjoy the ride. Tim Moore, on the other hand, plans to take me somewhere I have been before. He's planning a trip around the Monopoly board and the London streets they are named after. I've p Despite never really expecting to, I've long enjoyed Tony Hawks' books. I've played Monopoly many times, although I'd never say it's my favourite game and, as a Londoner myself, I've walked on many of the streets featured, if only because I had a reason to be there.

But I've never been to a street purely because I'd seen it on the Monopoly Board and I certainly wouldn't claim to be obsessed with the game.

After discussing his own history with the game and the fascination of many with London, Moore starts his Monopoly tour hundreds of miles outside London, in Leeds. For this is where the origins of Monopoly in the UK begin, at the headquarters of John Waddington, who first bought the UK rights to the game and set about publishing a version with London streets, rather than American ones.

Moore follows the journey that Norman Watson and Marjorie Phillips of Waddington's would have taken into London to work out the names of their streets. Like them, and many travellers from Leeds since, he arrived at King's Cross. Let the game and tour begin. Moore's next roll is an eight, which takes him on to Whitehall. From here, the course of the book is set, as Moore travels from square to square or, more accurately from coloured set to set, investigating the history of the streets and the people that live and work on them.

Not missing a trick, he also takes us on side steps through the non-street squares, visiting a prison, a water works, the electric company and the stations and also managing to test whether "Free Parking" is actually possible within the limits of Monopoly London. Apart from a few interesting diversions, however, the majority of Moore's tour takes much the same form.

He goes somewhere and talks about the past of the streets or the area. Whilst occasionally fascinating, most of this is terribly dull. Indeed, most of the past he comments upon seems to have been taken from a limited number of sources: It is only when Moore breaks from his journey around the board that things get a little more interesting and amusing. In fairness, what seems to let Moore down is that Monopoly London is rather dull. It takes in virtually none of London's major tourist attractions, instead covering the major shopping areas, some residential but mostly business and entertainment areas.

This last wouldn't be so bad if what Moore actually did was look into the entertainment. Instead, it seems that all he does is look at the buildings from the outside and bemoan their past. Moore's writing isn't the best, either. He seems to be quite smug about the whole thing, as if he's imparting knowledge that no-one else has.

It doesn't seem to occur to him that there isn't anyone else who cares enough to have gone looking for it before him. There are some snippets of fascination, but even these seem to be presented with that same smug expression. The declaration on the book's cover that Moore is "a rare comic talent" seems to be misleading as well. His comic talent appears only rarely and when it does, it's often at the expense of someone else, rather than something genuinely funny.

Again, there are exceptions to this, with the "Free Parking" chapter being perhaps the best of them, but there's little to make you laugh aloud. Much like Keith Lowe's "Tunnel Vision", the whole book feels like a wasted opportunity. It's a wonderful idea, both for fans of Monopoly and London alike, but there feels as if there could be so much more behind it. Admittedly history was never my favourite subject and it may be that someone with more of an interest in the past than I may get more from this book than I have.

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Sampling both rags and riches, the author stays in hotels in Mayfair and in the Old Kent Road; reveals how Pall Mall got its name; and which three addresses you won't find in your A-Z. A book that tells the story of London since the thirties through the 28 streets, stations and utililties of the Monopoly board. He was also briefly a journalist for the Teletext computer games magazine Digitiser, under the pseudonym Mr Hairs, alongside Mr Biffo aka comedy and sitcom writer Paul Rose. Buy it now - Add to Watch list Added to your Watch list. In fairness, what seems to let Moore down is that Monopoly London is rather dull. Highly entertaining and suprisingly informative ride around the London of the s Monopoly board. It delves into interesting history behind all the M board squares.

But Moore's meandering journey around London lacks the sparkle and wit of a Tony Hawks book and contains little excitement or anticipation. Very quickly, you come to know roughly what's going to happen next, with only the where being undecided. It may be this aspect that makes the side trips seem more interesting by comparison. If you're looking for information on the history of London, you may well be better off buying a history book.

The information will be presented in no more interesting a fashion, but there will be more of what you're looking for. As a tourist guide or travelogue, "Do Not Pass Go" is next to useless, taking you to places that were, more often than to places that are.

Do Not Pass Go: From the Old Kent Road to Mayfair

If you're a fan of Tony Hawks, looking for something in a similar style but a little closer to home, as I was, I can only advise to avoid this. The differences in interest and information are enough to make Moore seem worse than he probably really is, but the whole book for me felt like a bit of a let down.

The only way this might interest you is if you're a complete Monopoly addict, which seems to be why Moore was interested in the first place. If you've wondered about the streets behind the game, but have never had the opportunity to visit, this may be of some fascination.

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For those Monopoly addicts living in or close to the city, you'd probably be better off buying a Travelcard and having a wander around on your own time. If you choose to read this instead, start with low expectations, as that's the only way you're likely to be rewarded. This review may also appear under my name at any or all of www. Nov 11, Rachel Lofthouse rated it it was ok Shelves: Though the content is well planned, researched and written, it lacked the humour of the other three books. I also found it a hard going in places and this is reflected in the time it took me to read.

Unlike Moore, who grew up in a city, I grew up in a location with beaches, parkland, woodland and coastal paths. A place where children spent most of their time outside. Monopoly was too long-winded and there was never enough time to reach the later stages of the game. Therefore, the humour references that relate to the game may have passed me by. For me, this book reflected the game by going on a little bit too long.