Celtic Star Books.

[Frank Owen]

A wee shout out for Celtic Star Books. I ordered the Willie Fernie book from them as it's one I wanted to add to my Celtic bookcase; in actual fact I meant to order it months ago, but didn't get round to it.
Anyway, I finally got round to it a about a week or so ago. My impatience got the better of me as I was looking to take the book with me on a short break, so, I dropped them an email, not to complain, just by way of enquiry.
Both David and Matt responded promptly to my wee note.
As it happens, there was a minor hiccup, nothing major, just a gremlin.

The book arrived today, and, just as a token of good faith, they have also sent me the book on Alec McNair, written by the late David Potter.... free!

I think they should change their name. How does Celtic Five Star Books sound? A brilliant gesture from them.

Very much appreciated.

 

[Bridie Bhoy]

These guys are fantastic. You'll love the Alec McNair book as well. Enjoy your break.

 

[Frank Owen]

Storm Floris isn't all bad: I've just closed the curtains and blinds; shut out the chaos and let her blow herself to exhaustion......and finished Willie Fernie's biography

If I'm being honest I bought this book for a couple of personal, maybe even selfish reasons. Don't get me wrong, I'm no different to anyone else, I suffer from that incurable chronic Celtic addiction that can only be satisfied by talking, reading, or listening to Celtic talk.

I can't truthfully say I have vivid memories of watching Willie grace The Hoops. My Celtic journey started in 1958, the year Willie was sold to Middlesbrough. Apparently the transfer fee covered to cost of our new skyscraper floodlights installed in 1959.

The co-authors, the late great David Potter and John McCue, have indeed gifted us with a truly grand old read. It's as though I was actually sitting in the company of two very knowledgeable Celtic historians, which I suppose I was, ( kind of ) regaling me with tales of those almost mythical times. Times riddled with inconsistency. Sublime to ridiculous, highs and lows, ecstasy to agony.
And all from a group of undoubtedly talented players.

That's where the first reason for buying the book came from. You see, I well remember listening to my older brothers talk in glowing terms about such players as Collins, Peacock, Tully, Evans, McPhail, Stein etc. I don't have any memory of seeing them....but it feels like I should have.

The other reason is that I actually got to know Willie; don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we were Bosom Buddies, but as we were both Glasgow hackney drivers our paths crossed fairly often. We were also near neighbours living on the Southside of the city. On occasion I would meet Willie on one of the ranks at the end of our shift and we'd talk Celtic, football, and sometimes life in general. I like to think he showed me at least a degree of trust. First and foremost, I have to say he genuinely was the consummate gentleman.

Can you imagine any of todays players retiring from football and having to drive a cab to earn a Living? Especially one as talented as Willie Fernie.

I had to have a wee chuckle when reading through some of the games of that period, as was, and still is, the custom, the name of the referee was also given. One name cropped up with regularity.....Mr Charles Faultless!..

A terrific read. Treasured memories. And a wonderful addition to my celtic bookcase.

 

[Bridie Bhoy]

I loved David Potter. As you say, it was like he was sitting beside you telling anecdotes and reciting facts in such a natural friendly way. I first encountered his work when I read his book on Wee Troupie about a Forfar lad who played for Forfar Athletic, Dundee, Everton (he assisted many of Dixie Deans goals) and was capped 5 times for Scotland - I found out later that he was related to a pal from school (also called Troupie). David wrote a few books on Forfar, who were his hometown club, as well as on cricket.

At the same time I also bought his book on Willie Maley which was a great read of the early days of Celtic and probably the man most responsible for the success of Celtic FC.

David will be sadly missed, but he also unearthed a lot of incredible stories which would have been lost to history, but now fans will speak about them for many years to come. As a fanbase we are blessed to have so many fantastic club historians sharing the rich stories from our archives.

A recurring theme of the old Celtic legends seems to be how nice they were and very generous with their time. So many were down to earth and "the perfect gentleman", who loved nothing more than speaking fitba and Celtic with so much enthusiasm. I hope the current and future generations of players continue this beautiful trend.

 

[Winning Captains]

David Potter's final book - Celtic in the Eighties - has arrived back from the printers ahead of next Friday's official launch date. Over the next few nights Danny McGrain will be signing all the pre-ordered copies then we'll get them in the post straight away, and we're also including a copy of David's book on Alec McNair for everyone who has already ordered.

Celtic in the Eighties is a brilliant read and I'm delighted to say that it's been our biggest seller at the pre-order stage ever, which means we'll be able to pass a tidy sum onto David's widow Rosemary.

David submitted the manuscript a few weeks before his passing - and we wanted to wait a little while before releasing it. It's going to be worth the wait.

The signed copy (by Danny McGrain) will stop shortly as we have very few copies left from the number Danny has agreed to sign. The legendary former Celtic captain has also written a really lovely foreword and there's also a lovely message of thanks from Rosemary Potter on behalf of the family to Celtic FC and the Celtic supporters for the kindness shown after David's passing.

You can order at celticstarbooks.com/shop

 

[Winning Captains]

Here's a first look at the book, hardback, high quality production as always!

Incidentally there's by sheer coincidence a Rangers in the 1980s book out at the moment too (for any lurkers)..