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Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

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He is frequently confused with Tony Hawk, largely because the latter's video game franchise uses the possessive apostrophe ("Tony Hawk's"). By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. There’s no real advice or directions, but there are more descriptions of places he’s seen, rather than people. In a country where almost everyone is focused on surviving the next day, that is probably not surprising.

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Playing the Moldovans at Tennis

I originally bought it as a gift for my daughter about eight years ago knowing I would eventually get to read it. The story follows English comedian to Moldova, Northern Ireland and Israel as he tries to win a bet with his friend Arthur. The book was published in 2000, but things have not changed a lot and Moldova is still the poorest country in Europe.

An obscure drunken bet seen through to the end, it's funny with a few wonderfully pragmatic experiences of Moldova thrown in. What follows is the hilarious report of Tony's adventures mainly in Moldova, with a visit in Northern Ireland (where the football team has a match that would give Tony the opportunity to challenge some players he hadn't met yet. Tony is still traveling regularly to Moldova and is doing additional fundraising for the good cause. Today I am writing a few lines about a rather humorous book by the British comedian Tony Hawks: Playing the Moldovans at Tennis.

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis by Tony Hawks | Goodreads

since I don't have the recollection of a second year, I am going to stay with: read twice, once in 2007 in German, once in 2019 in English. Whilst not flowing quite as well as “…Fridge”, it’s still a very easy book to read, as it’s told in a relaxed, almost conversational, style and you can almost hear Tony’s voice in your head, relating the events to you. If the streaming had stopped half way through (it didn't, it worked well), I am not sure I would have felt any need to find it again to see the end. As anyone that succeeds with making a living out of something he doesn't have a clue about, he does not try to behave like he is an expert, he chooses a subject most other people don't have a clue about either and of course it does not hurt that he has a great humor and a lot of good spirit. Cu siguranță că acum nu este așa „faptul că un actor de comedie din Anglia a venit în Moldova ca să încerce să-i bată la tenis pe fotbaliștii din echipa națională a Moldovei nu este o știre de presă”.He then must follow the National team to their match in Northern Ireland to try to play 3 players he missed while in Moldova and then to Israel to meet the final player. Hawks' style is funny and readable, but for his, at the time, 38 years, also feels rather naive in relation to his experiences in this former Soviet Republic. Despite the rarity of visitors, he receives an apathetic welcome as his mission provokes little more than weak smiles. It's probably a good idea to not try our patience and cut to the chase there though, and then the setup at the end adds a perfect bit of drama, should anyone fancy making this into a film! Still riding the wave of books on guerilla tourism and gonzo journalism, Hawks was ahead of the curve with his Round Ireland with a Fridge from 2000 as well as this book which was published shortly after, in 2001, though set, mostly, in 1998.

Playing The Moldovans At Tennis - Film - British Comedy Guide Playing The Moldovans At Tennis - Film - British Comedy Guide

Suffice to say that, yes, at the end of the book someone does end up naked and singing outside a South London Woolworths. Misiunea sa bizară e să găsească membrii echipei naționale de fotbal şi să-i convingă să joace tenis cu el. So, the bizarre quest is simply: tracking down the country's football team, challenging them one by one to play tennis with him - and win! Though it was written some time in the end of 90's as I undersand, and things are much better here now (at least we have lights in the streets now! Although this book is done on a fairly silly bet--whether he can beat the entire Moldovan soccer team at tennis--it does provide a unique look at Moldova and Transnistria which got out from under the Soviet thumb in the 1990s only to be once again up for grabs by Russia it seems.And with the loser of the bet agreeing to strip naked on Balham High Road and sing the Moldovan national anthem, this one was just too good to resist. Tony's experiences in Moldova are quite interesting; his attempts to contact the players and teams to set up the tennis matches, his feelings about Moldova, his thoughts on the lovely family with which he stays while in Moldova.

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis by Tony Hawks | Waterstones

And so it is, a pointless argument with a friend concludes in a bet - that Tony can't beat all eleven members of the Moldovan soccer team at tennis. Adapted from the best-selling book of the same name, Playing the Moldovans at Tennis is the true story of an Englishman's lesson that real victory is found in the most unexpected places. The bizarre quest ultimately has little to do with tennis or football, but instead turns into an extraordinary journey involving the Moldovan underworld, gypsies, chronic power shortages, near kidnap, and a surprisingly tender relationship with his host family. of the royalties of this book go into a fund that supports a local children's health centre in Chisinau, the Tony Hawks Centre.

Much like in “Round Ireland With a Fridge”, “Playing the Moldovans at Tennis” is more about the people he meets and how he goes about doing what he has to do, rather than the places he goes.

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