25 Wonderful Things No.10

For me, one of the odd things about growing up has been realising just what I missed the first time around.

Saturday 10th December

I consider myself fortunate that when a lad, my local library stocked a quantity of Asterix books. I also consider myself fortunate that my parents indulged my cravings for more, and I was eventually in possession of a healthy shelf-full of Goscinny and Uderzo classics.

So what did I miss out on?

Returning to these joyous and wonderful books as an adult, I am constantly amazed by the level of sophistication they possess, and the translations by Derek Hockridge and Anthea Bell add further layers of subtle verbal humour to an already heady mix.

Thirty odd years later, I'm still just starting to get some of the jokes....