PIE AT NIGHT: IN SEARCH OF THE NORTH AT PLAY (PB)

A companion to the bestselling Pies and Prejudice, this is a revealing and digressive journey and a State of the North address, delivered from barstool, terrace, dress circle and hillside. The North has always known how to get dressed up, take itself out on the town and have a good time after working hard. Stuart Maconie goes in search of what, exactly, this entails in both forgotten corners and locals' haunts. From the tapas bars of Halifax to the caravan parks of Berwick Upon Tweed, from a Westhoughton bowling green to Manchester's curry mile, via dog tracks and art galleries, dance floors and high fells, he compares the new and old North, with some surprising results.