Charlie Blanning: A Life in Greyhounds

Episode 4 - Recorded August 28, 2020 "If you wanted to have a great life in Greyhounds, you couldn't do much better than what Charlie has done…"John Parker Show Notes Charlie Blanning has, indeed, lived the Greyhound enthusiast’s life. His father and grandfather bred, raced and coursed Greyhounds. Charlie spent his childhood years playing with Greyhound puppies and attending races and coursing meetings. Charlie would funnel that experience into a Greyhound sport writing career, contributing to various sport publications as a coursing correspondent, starting in the 1970s. He’s spent over 40 years writing on Greyhound sport, and currently writes a monthly column for The Sporting Press, the Irish Greyhound publication. For many years, he was secretary of the National Coursing Club and keeper of the Greyhound Stud Book of England. His magnum opus on the Greyhound breed and its history — The Greyhound and the Hare — was published in 2018. His next book — Please Mister: The Golden Age of Greyhound Racing — will be published in December 2020. In this episode's interview, host John Parker and Charlie discuss the history of Greyhound coursing through the ages -- from the sport of Elizabethan nobles to the more accessible and widely popular Waterloo Cup of the 19th century. Charlie also shares some anecdotes from a childhood spent with Greyhounds. Links The Greyhound and the Hare (Facebook)