My shite new books - "SUPER - old, odd, interesting, obscure and abandoned filling stations". - NOW WITH FREE STUFF

[motorpunk]

As some of you might know, I write for a few magazines now and then, and occasionally make stuff for YouTube and telly. I'm not very good at it, it's not my day job, but I enjoy it. 

I have just published a series of books about old, odd, interesting, obscure and abandoned filling stations from around the UK. There are c.350 places in total, some you may have seen before, many will be new. There's been a fantastic contribution from various people in making this happen, including a couple of pics from shiters, and I dare not think how many miles I clocked up visiting and researching these places myself. Originally there was to be one book covering the lot, but it would have been nearly 900 pages long and would have had to sell for £80+ to cover the printing cost. So I broke it down into regions, as below. The first one (Midlands & North of England) went live on Amazon yesterday, I expect the rest to be live next week.  

 

The Motorpunk logo isn't printed on the book cover, that's a watermark off my website. 

If the thought of abandoned Yugo dealerships, garages where hookers once hung out with royals,  remote petrol pumps on windswept islands, toxic Smurfs, old signage like the Murco 'cat bum' logo, and not one but two pictures of a rotting Porsche 924 takes your fancy, then you can order here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMr+Rich+Duisberg&s=date-desc-rank&qid=1603271172&text=Mr+Rich+Duisberg&ref=sr_st_date-desc-rank

As with all self-published things, there's no marketing budget, no advertising, and I am relying on word of mouth online for folks to find these books. If you'd kindly give it a mention anywhere you lurk online (FB, for example, which I'm not on) I would really appreciate it.

(Thanks ChaserRacer for letting me start this thread).

 

Like it? Spotted a typo? Think I've wasted months of my life on this thing? 

 

 

[somewhatfoolish]

Well that's sorted a christmas present for my brother.

[SiC]

Is there any background story on the fuel station near Cheddar on the front cover of the South West one? I'm intrigued to know it's history/story. If not, @PhilA / @BeEP possibly would know!

I'm waiting for the South West to go online before I buy and then the rest can go on my Amazon wishlist for Xmas.

The Encarta/Britannica encyclopedia of Old and Broken Petrol Pumps. 

[BeEP]

16 minutes ago, SiC said:

Is there any background story on the fuel station near Cheddar on the front cover of the South West one? I'm intrigued to know it's history/story. If not, @PhilA / @BeEP possibly would know!

I don't; although I've been to/through Cheddar many times my Somerset knowledge doesn't really stretch that far.  A good friend was born just down the road from there though, so I've sent him the question.

[barrett]

Looks interesting, and a subject close to many of our hearts I'm sure, but I sincerely hope those aren't the finished covers???? The text on the rear is totally illegible!

I hope your mysterious Sussex garage is the one at Redford? I've never stop to look but it seems like there is mountains of old shit in the bushes... there's a good one at Partridge Green, too, which you may or may not have found

[motorpunk]

20 minutes ago, barrett said:

Looks interesting, and a subject close to many of our hearts I'm sure, but I sincerely hope those aren't the finished covers???? The text on the rear is totally illegible!

I hope your mysterious Sussex garage is the one at Redford? I've never stop to look but it seems like there is mountains of old shit in the bushes... there's a good one at Partridge Green, too, which you may or may not have found

Thanks, I hadn't realised they looked so bad on screen, I appreciate you mentioning it. They're a screenshot of a picture, of Amazon's self-publish page - the finished stuff looks great. Not coffee-table quality, but pretty good all the same.

Redford - yup. Spent some time there with my camera. Partridge green - prettys? 

[PhilA]

2 hours ago, SiC said:

Is there any background story on the fuel station near Cheddar on the front cover of the South West one? I'm intrigued to know it's history/story. If not, @PhilA / @BeEP possibly would know!

I'm waiting for the South West to go online before I buy and then the rest can go on my Amazon wishlist for Xmas.

The Encarta/Britannica encyclopedia of Old and Broken Petrol Pumps. 

It looks familiar but I can't mentally place where it is any more.

[egg]

I'll get Mrs Egg to put the South East one on my Xmas list!

[SiC]

2 hours ago, PhilA said:

It looks familiar but I can't mentally place where it is any more.

On the road to Cheddar when you've gone through Burrington. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/G9snQy4bKQuJTZMk7

 

[PhilA]

Oh, the old Jet station up in the hills. 

 

That's been closed for years, it was open as a garage for a while but then the house changed hands after looking very derelict for the longest time. 

(That's not Cheddar; it's nearly at Yoxter, on the road down to Compton Martin. If you'd said that, I'd have known it immediately...!

My memory of that place is that it was always surrounded by tall trees, the house was always green and looking very uncared for.

There were always a few old trucks parked up on the left side of the lot which never moved. 

I'm not sure if they had anything to do with the big country estate on the other side of the street.

[loserone]

The question is, has anybody found the filling station near Hazell's wood where Danny grew up with his Dad?  Or did he sell out in the end?

[bunglebus]

Pic stolen from @Fabergé Greggs, near me at Blackmoor

Still can't decide if it's abandoned or just really run down

[Cavcraft]

I reckon that's going to be brilliant, will order one L8R.

[motorpunk]

9 hours ago, loserone said:

The question is, has anybody found the filling station near Hazell's wood where Danny grew up with his Dad?  Or did he sell out in the end?

Shhhh. That’s in the book, South East edition which goes on sale next week.

[motorpunk]

7 minutes ago, Cavcraft said:

I reckon that's going to be brilliant, will order one L8R.

That’s great. Thanks so much.

[loserone]

Just now, motorpunk said:

Shhhh. That’s in the book, South East edition which goes on sale next week.

If you're not kidding I'm going to end up with the lot.

[motorpunk]

5 minutes ago, loserone said:

If you're not kidding I'm going to end up with the lot.

I am not kidding. You’re referring to a children’s book, right? The garage mentioned is in the book.

[lesapandre]

Super idea. Very interesting. France has some great ones too...this is an old garage in Gace - where new by-passes have come loads of garages have closed in recent years.

This was one of four petrol stations in this small town on the former RN138.  Three others still limp on but long since by-passed. Cheap supermarket petrol is doing them all in.

[motorpunk]

1 hour ago, lesapandre said:

Super idea. Very interesting. France has some great ones too...this is an old garage in Gace - where new by-passes have come loads of garages have closed in recent years.

This was one of four petrol stations in this small town on the former RN138.  Three others still limp on but long since by-passed. Cheap supermarket petrol is doing them all in.

Thanks. I have a few from my travels in France and know there are loads of interesting places there. 

 

I have a few from Ireland (North and the Republic), too. All for the future. 

[lesapandre]

Australia seems to do a few good ones too...

[doubleyeller]

2 hours ago, bunglebus said:

Pic stolen from @Fabergé Greggs, near me at Blackmoor

Still can't decide if it's abandoned or just really run down

All UK branded canopies looked like that even when nearly new. Obviously shit quality paint or attracted the dirt too easily. Check out Shelley Bank service station in West Yorkshire for comparison.

Strangeangel lives down that way, there's quite a few abandoned or still serving independent little service stations to see. KirkBurton and Star garage in Shelley come to mind. There was also a single pump at Denby Dale outside a hag's cottage on the back road to Dunkirk Inn. Still there in the early 2000s, she would refuse to serve motorbikes as it was too small a sale to be bothered! Be amazed if that (or her) are still around, but maybe the pump is still festering on the pavement!

[motorpunk]

Wonderful to be getting messages off folks who have now received their copy of the Midlands & North edition. 

Wales edition had 50 locations, now has 70, I am in a drunken writing frenzy and tonights typing includes the following words ; Curly Jones, sheep, Great Wall, Murco, Lixwm and Hillman Imp. I am determined to get the Wales edition off to the proof reader by midnight, and then to print on Monday.  Then I am faced with doing the South West edition (pretty and compact edition but research needs double checking which is a faff) or South East (tons and tons and tons of pics and I am quite disorganised and confused by place names). 

Buy my stuff here if you're as weird as me; https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08LGMR1PX/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=super+rich+duisberg&qid=1603271110&s=books&sr=1-1

I am delighted no-one has asked for a digital copy for which they'd only want to pay 50p and would leave a narky two star review on Amazon anyway about picture formatting which is down to the fucking cheapskates trying to view it on some ancient Chinese Kindle knock-off they bought at a car boot. I like print. It smells nice. It's heavy. You can read it on the bog. You can leave it on a coffee table and pretend you know some super-cool Author (ignoring the fact he's a half-cut idiot from Melton Mowbray who smells of diesel and fibre glass). 

[SiC]

2 hours ago, motorpunk said:

I am determined to get the Wales edition off to the proof reader by midnight, and then to print on Monday.  Then I am faced with doing the South West edition (pretty and compact edition but research needs double checking which is a faff) or South East (tons and tons and tons of pics and I am quite disorganised and confused by place names). 

I didn't realise when you said the others will be available next week, that you hadn't actually finished them. And I thought I left things to the last minute! 😂

[lesapandre]

Is book production that quick and easy these days? How do you set this up?

Proof reeding is quiet a art - having prodoced many documints myselF.

[Dirk Diggler]

I'll have to buy a copy of that; don't know if you've seen this guy's Irish work, he's a well known motorbike racing photographer with a love for old petrol stations

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/great-gas-a-history-of-modern-ireland-in-old-petrol-stations-1.4154107

[SiC]

Another potentially interesting one that's between Gloucester and Bristol on the old A38. Looks like it's had a facelift recently but quite a colourful design and quite removed from your usual Shell, Esso, etc type. I don't know if they still do sell it, but I got some actual four star petrol from here about 2 years ago. 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/pP6rDS75MwWBz2w78

 

[somewhatfoolish]

On 10/22/2020 at 10:22 AM, lesapandre said:

Australia seems to do a few good ones too...

@motorpunk; does the T&S budget stretch to Oz?  

[motorpunk]

On 10/25/2020 at 1:42 PM, somewhatfoolish said:

@motorpunk; does the T&S budget stretch to Oz?  

I wish. I could use some sunshine.

Wales edition with the proofreader. South East England almost ready to send. Day job has turned to shit. I wish A few more folks would buy these shite books, writing is one of the few things I enjoy lately.

[spartacus]

Just ordered a copy, review to follow!

[motorpunk]

23 minutes ago, spartacus said:

Just ordered a copy, review to follow!

Thank you! I really, really hope you like it. My style of writing is 45% factual, 18% blather, 7% sexygoodtimes, 11% other and 29% ican'tdomaths.

70 locations in the Wales edition, 117 in the South East England edition, both with the proofreader now. Next up, South West, then Scotland. My brain hurts.