News
Will delves into culture – by bus
He was the star attraction at the Wolverhampton Literature Festival.
And acclaimed writer Will Self’s new radio series has a strong focus on the Black Country.
Will Self’s Great British Bus Journey sees the award-winning writer and journalist touring urban Britain using public transport.
In the BBC series Self ‘travels only by coach and bus, assessing British identity at a time of flux’.
Self visited Spon Lane in West Bromwich – described by 20th Century writer JB Priestley as ‘the worst street in England’. Priestley reviewed the street, which is now overlooked by the M5 motorway, in the 1930s.
He dubbed Spon Lane ‘Rusty Lane’, saying: “I have never seen such a picture of grimy desolation as that street offered me.
“The whole neighbourhood is mean and squalid but this particular street seemed the worst of all.’
Self next set off for Wolverhampton, where he visited the Express & Star office to interview investigations editor Rob Golledge.
He praised the paper for its high circulation and serious news agenda.
The 56-year-old dined at the city’s renowned Indian restaurant Bilash – where the infamous ‘Curry Coup’ to oust Tony Blair was hatched – before heading to The Giffard Arms for a night of entertainment.
After his evening at the venue Self described himself as being ‘suitably bashed about’ – before probing reasons behind the city’s youth unemployment.
Click here to listen to the Express & Star interview by Will Self when he visited the offices in Queen Street. The recording is from two minutes in.
