How many times have you been with friends, and somebody new has joined the group?  Favourite stories are recounted.  Other stories you’d forgotten about, rise to the surface like the cream of the crop. And out of the blue, fresh tales are revealed.

That’s what it felt like when I was devouring Jack Scott’s latest book “Turkey the Raw Guide”.

Norwich Celebrities

When I mention I’m from Norwich, I’m usually met with a barrage of jokes about Nicholas Parsons, Delia Smith or Bernard Matthews

If you’re the right age, you’ll remember Mr. Parsons as the host of Sale of the Century, a game show that gripped the whole country on a Saturday night.

Delia Smith is a TV chef, before TV chefs were in vogue, and also an investor and most well known supporter of the local Premier division football team, the Canaries.

Lastly Bernard Matthews was a local Turkey farmer – who put Norfolk on the map by featuring in his national TV adverts, assuring us in his strong Norfolk accent that his Turkeys were “bootiful”

It won’t be long before Norwich is also well known as the adopted home of Jack Scott, nomadic expat, niche blogger and published author.

Jack and Liam have moved from Bodrum back to the UK, and Jack’s made good use of his time in rural Norfolk, by scribing his second tome, “Turkey the Raw Guide”.

Jack’s Journey

I’ve been following Jack’s literary journey since its inception. Coincidentally, we both started our Bodrum Peninsula adventures in 2008 at the infamous Hotel Istankoy. I bought a vacation home and then spent months scouring the internet for anything to do with the local area, and Jack and his partner Liam, moved from the UK to Yalikavak.

I was there at the birth of Jack’s blog, Perking the Panises, and became an avid Pansy fan. I lived vicariously through his exploits, and watched as he emerged from incognito blogger to a speakers corner scribe.

Some of his expat observations were a bit close to the bone, and in the beginning he hid his identify, but now he’s out and proud – and his often biting, but no less accurate accounts of expat life in Turkey gripped his audience and left them begging for the next edition of his exploits.

Ever since the 2011 release of his first book, Perking the Pansies, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of his next work of page-turning brilliance. The wait is over! 

Whereas Perking was his autobiographical journey of what led them to Turkey and the exploits and interactions that shaped their experience, Turkey the Raw Guide is an artful collection of his best blog content.

But, it’s not merely a series of blog posts hurriedly patched together, it’s actually a perfectly embroidered quilt of experience, recounting Jack and Liam’s Turkish adventure, edged with some sound advice and great reference material for anyone who wants to go on a similar adventure themselves.

“Turkey the Raw Guide”

For those readers who haven’t followed his blog, Turkey The Raw Guide introduces you to an insider’s account of Paradise Found; Lost; and Found again.

We follow along as Jack and Liam discover a cozy love nest for two; uncover the perils of jumping into bed with an expat community without foreplay and a courtship; and the cold hard reality known as Turkish winter.

After leaving Yalikavak, they head to the warm embrace of Bodrum, and the comfort of the Bodrum Belles, Gumbet Gals and Bitez Babes.

For those of us who have followed his blog, this book is a gentle reminder of why Jack’s so popular in the blogosphere. His blog posts aren’t one hit wonders, they’re catchy tunes you’re dying to hear again.

Even though I’ve followed Perking the Pansies since the beginning, I was one of the first people to download his new book (I think the e-reader ink was barely dry).

I devoured these Turkish tales for Christmas, and Jack; it may have been Raw, but it was bootiful, really bootiful.

Turkey the Raw Guide is a cozy chat with a friend enveloped in familiarity. It’s Jack and Liam’s story, but it’s our story too. They shared it with us, and now we’re part of the journey. Next stop… Surviving the Expats!

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Click here to find out how to Buy Turkey the Raw Guide

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Read my review of “Perking the Pansies” the Book