Normal Family
Jul 27, 2026 · 34 min · 16 segments
Send us Fan Mail A warm welcome today to Pete Aird, who is here to talk about Henry Normal and Angela Pell's wonderful memoir, *A Normal Family…
- Speakers
Pete AirdGuest
Tara GeorgeHost
Jul 27, 2026 · 34 min · 16 segments
Send us Fan Mail A warm welcome today to Pete Aird, who is here to talk about Henry Normal and Angela Pell's wonderful memoir, *A Normal Family…
Pete AirdGuestTara GeorgeHost
Well, the, the story is that I was on holiday in Shropshire, and, uh, one particularly wet and windy day, I found myself in a Ludlow bookshop, and, uh, it was one of those, uh, bookshops which had, um, wood-paneled walls, and the books, um, were, um, giving off that smell that they do, which works its magic on you such that you just have to buy a book.
And as I was browsing, I came across one of Henry Normal's poetry books, and, uh, I picked it up and read a couple of poems and, um, enjoyed them and, uh, um, took it home with me after paying, you'd be glad to hear.
Um, and then, uh, I did a bit of research about Henry Normal, who I knew as the co-writer of, um, The Royle Family, that he wrote with Caroline Aherne and, uh, producer with some of Steve Coogan's work.
And, uh, as, um, someone who has, uh, an autistic daughter himself, um, I thought that would be an interesting read, and so it proved to be.
And I have to confess that when I picked the book up, I'd, I'd come across it before, and it was only actually, um, reading, um, a wonderful, um, review blog post that you'd written, um, that I thought, "Oh, gosh, I ought to go back to that." I think I'd sensed it existed.
And I have followed Henry Normal on social media for a few years, and I've seen him perform live on several occasions as a poet, but I hadn't joined things up.
So actually, for me, and recognizing not only the brilliant story, you know, about him and Angela and Johnny, which we're gonna come on to talk about, um, I then actually realized that he's actually, you know, a famous London TV person.
Um, and that I think is really interesting because actually when you see him perform as a poet and, and when you meet him, um, he's quite shy, he's quite self-effacing.
Um, and the idea of him sort of hobnobbing with the rich and famous, um, at the BBC just completely blew my mind.
[laughs] Well, yes, interesting people, aren't they? And Angela Pell, I think, has made films with, um- Um, the guy who played Snape in, um, in, uh, in the Harry Potter films, um-
Uh, um, but so this is, this is a story really of everyday life, although, you know, um, everyday life in people who have perhaps, um, in some respects extraordinary lives.
Well, the, the story is that I was on holiday in Shropshire, and, uh, one particularly wet and windy day, I found myself in a Ludlow bookshop, and, uh, it was one of those, uh, bookshops which had, um, wood-paneled walls, and the books, um, were, um, giving off that smell that they do, which works its magic on you such that you just have to buy a book.
And as I was browsing, I came across one of Henry Normal's poetry books, and, uh, I picked it up and read a couple of poems and, um, enjoyed them and, uh, um, took it home with me after paying, you'd be glad to hear.
Um, and then, uh, I did a bit of research about Henry Normal, who I knew as the co-writer of, um, The Royle Family, that he wrote with Caroline Aherne and, uh, producer with some of Steve Coogan's work.
And, uh, as, um, someone who has, uh, an autistic daughter himself, um, I thought that would be an interesting read, and so it proved to be.
And I have to confess that when I picked the book up, I'd, I'd come across it before, and it was only actually, um, reading, um, a wonderful, um, review blog post that you'd written, um, that I thought, "Oh, gosh, I ought to go back to that." I think I'd sensed it existed.
And I have followed Henry Normal on social media for a few years, and I've seen him perform live on several occasions as a poet, but I hadn't joined things up.
So actually, for me, and recognizing not only the brilliant story, you know, about him and Angela and Johnny, which we're gonna come on to talk about, um, I then actually realized that he's actually, you know, a famous London TV person.
Um, and that I think is really interesting because actually when you see him perform as a poet and, and when you meet him, um, he's quite shy, he's quite self-effacing.
Um, and the idea of him sort of hobnobbing with the rich and famous, um, at the BBC just completely blew my mind.
[laughs] Well, yes, interesting people, aren't they? And Angela Pell, I think, has made films with, um- Um, the guy who played Snape in, um, in, uh, in the Harry Potter films, um-
Uh, um, but so this is, this is a story really of everyday life, although, you know, um, everyday life in people who have perhaps, um, in some respects extraordinary lives.
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