Book excerpt: Anton Rippon is a Derby boy, born and bred. He is also one of the city's best-known writers and personalities, with a string of highly acclaimed books to his name. For the past eight years, he has written a popular weekly column in the Derby Telegraph in which he takes a whimsical, often sideways, look at life in Derby, both the serious side and the frivolous. In the process he captures perfectly the essence of this sturdy Midlands city.Sometimes commenting on current events, sometimes looking at the dafter side of life, often taking a trip down Memory Lane to illustrate a point, Anton has the rare ability to weave a story that both entertains and informs the people of his hometown.Now, in A Derby View, he has drawn together many of those columns, as well as new writing. The result is a book that will delight Derbeians young and old.