Pipe Dreams
Secret Diaries of a Neighbourhood Plumber
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Ad Lib Publishers Ltd
Published:2nd Mar '23
£9.99
Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.
Over more than twenty years working as a plumber, Nick has shared thousands of mugs of tea with hundreds of fascinating people. Here he gives his plumber’s-eye view of society in a series of entertaining, amusing and outrageous beneath-the-kitchen-sink dramas.
While fixing pipes, Nick was also looking for characters to write about. In his toolbox, in addition to spanners, he had a notebook, which wasn’t just for jotting down measurements. And ‘the secret plumber’ has some great stories to tell, about people who might just be your friends, family or neighbours.
There’s the frankly terrifying high-court judge, whose wife calls the shots; the divorcing woman, using him to help her build a rather bizarre botox business; and all the wonderful people he meets when his number is posted on Grindr as an LGBTQ+-friendly plumber.
This book is Tales of the Unexpected – in overalls. It shows London as it really is: one of the most diverse places on the planet, ranging from downright dangerous to preposterously posh. To Nick, London is a melting pot, filled with an extraordinary variety of fascinating people, who have one thing in common – they all need a plumber!
'Original, funny, thought-provoking and heart-warming – this book’s got the lot. A must read for 2023.'
* Lucy Searle, Editor-in-Chief of Homes & Gardens *'Close Encounters of the Plumbing Kind – a royal flush, it made me laugh out loud.’
* Dame Joyce Plotnikoff *‘What a delight! Nick’s clients, workmates and family are hilariously and movingly depicted . . . One is left, tantalisingly, with the urge to know what happens next. Can’t wait for the sequel!'
* Haydn Bendall, music producer *‘Warm, funny and insightful, Nicholas James is the quiet interloper into the lives of others. A modern-day Dickens, his dry wit, and brilliant eye for detail, captures a menagerie of characters, taking us behind the shower curtain and into their bathrooms and drama of their lives, with hilarious and at times heartbreaking effect. Weaving his own life and that of his Merry Band of Misfits who work with him, you can’t help but fall in love with him and them. This is a book about friendship, about fatherhood, about marriage, about the people in this city and how a fixed pipe or new tap are the quiet heroic acts of a happy domestic life. I will never look at my plumber in the same way again’
* Abi Morgan, screenwriter & author of This Is Not a Pity Memoir *'Nick’s knack for observation and plumbing is on full display in this wonderfully eclectic, funny and laugh out loud book.
From hand painted antique French bidets, gimp masks, printed penises, to put upon stressed out house wives, vintage wine collections and a rather interesting accounting system.
It’s all here, Pipe Dreams is a wild, ‘hold on tight’, thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining and highly recommended read.
You’ll most certainly see your plumber differently from now on.'
* David Berridge, author of Inside Parkhurst *‘Charming . . . quite the page-turner’
* Heating, Ventilating & Plumbing MagaziISBN: 9781802470932
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
256 pages