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Don't Go Into Town, Tonto!
Born just prior to the outbreak of World War II and inspired by his hero, a Captain of a firefighting vessel, the author joined the Royal Navy at 15 years of age, purely to experience the life at sea as told by his hero and the great wide mysterious world depicted in the Encyclopaedia.
Hugh shares the rigours of the training ship “Ganges”, the excitement of his first war ship in the Mediterranean and several other drafts including being present at the Cyprus Emergency and the infamous Suez Crisis. This was also the time of his coming of age, the pain of unrequited love and the bewildering initiation by an older woman who should have known better.
Life as a merchant seaman followed, expanding his horizons even further, eventually merging with the diaspora of eager sunseekers to Australia in 1963. Worked in a copper mine in Queensland before the sea beckoned once more. Then south to Tasmania and enjoyed a different sea life as a lobster fisherman.
The author shared many unexpected encounters with colourful characters and events which taught him life lessons in an entertaining, humorous and honest manner.
A lusty account of a young recalcitrant, desperate to become a worthy human.
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Death by Dementia
You have two extremely active individuals, mid-60s, looking to many more years of future travel, boating, loyal companionship and retirement. How things can change! Not feeling well in one instance, forgetting what one did with the car keys in the other.
A routine unconcerned visit to the GP, subsequent referral to a specialist and in 48 hours your life is in turmoil.
“You have dementia Mrs Mclean, it’s in the early stages and in your case the CT scans have identified Alzheimer’s. No, there is presently no cure.”
We then roll the dice once more. “You have a carcinoid tumour Mr Mclean. Its metastatic and barely noticeable. However, we have made an appointment for you to see a leading professor of oncology who may put you on trial for a new form of tumour suppressant.”
It’s the two words that everyone fears dementia and cancer.
This, therefore, is a deadly personal journey dealing with the many and varied implications of dementia. In this instance it meant caring for my best friend, confidant, advisor, lover and wife of 50 years, whilst fighting my own diagnosis.
Misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, misunderstood and often denied, this killer with no conscience, now mainstream, leaves but an empty shell as a memory.
If you know anyone with dementia, have been diagnosed in the early stages of dementia or if you are caring for a person with dementia, then you should definitely read this story of love, loyalty, passion and patience. A tale of never-ending belief in the future.
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Dealing with a Head injury at Nine Years Old
After suffering a severe head injury at nine years old, Henry has embraced the difficulties of his condition. In this book, he depicts what it was like growing up between the ages of thirteen and twenty-five with a small learning disability. His quirky and bold writing style makes the reader engage their critical thinking, as they wonder whether he will win out in the end.
Unlike most memoir writers, Henry chooses not to end his story; he wonders if he will ever need an ending. Brain damage is a tricky topic and Henry certainly isn’t easy on himself. After reading his first-person account of waking up from a coma, the reader may wonder how he has been able to accomplish so much. In the end, and in the light of his parents’ support, Henry will never know how much his head Injury has really affected his life.£3.50 -
Dance in the Land of Bull Killers
In 2011, a wave of protests hit the Arab countries that had been silently living under dictatorships. Al-Buazizi ignited a spark of opposition that swept across the entire region to reach Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria. The ruling regimes responded with more oppression and extreme violence, and the demands for overthrowing these regimes escalated. While reforms were introduced in some countries, other revolutions were hijacked by radical terrorist organizations, which turned the peaceful protests into horrifying conflicts, some of which are still ongoing, like in Syria.
Today, despite war, conflict and displacement, people who initiated utterly overlooked revolutions in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Chile and others continue to create, love and dream of a better future.
This is a story of how a Syrian civil society activist met an Iraqi contemporary dancer facing displacement, war, visa restrictions and global asylum restraints. Akiles and Sirine had to work very hard to maintain a relationship that was the only coping mechanism for two people who had lost their sense of security from being safe in their homelands. Their relationship sprung up in the midst of an armed conflict, and it was extremely challenging for them to stay together due to the ongoing chaos.
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Cut with Conviction
The cheetah had been disrespectful of his grandchildren… Enough reason for a 40-kg, 1.4-metre tall Bushman grandfather to track down and kill a ferocious predator with a stabbing spear in solitary combat in the Kalahari Desert, only to suffer near fatal injuries himself--one of many such patients confronting Mr Mike Damp in this wonderful tale of the way it was in a world that now seems so impossibly faraway. A heady mix of one man's adventure through the sort of medical and cultural challenges few modern-day western physicians would ever expect to encounter. This is a story of perseverance and great dedication as well as a reflection of how man's best intentions and tireless efforts can so easily turn to dust and decay. But above all, Cut with Conviction is a love story. Of the despairing love for a continent and its people fast being reclaimed by a heart of darkness as unstoppable as the forces of nature that both nurture and destroy as it washes over the vast plains and rivers and mountains of a lost paradise. Then there is the mix of exhilarating joy and sheer terror in a flying doctor's life in Zululand, of transporting critically ill patients in all weather conditions over some of the most inhospitable terrain, often with little or no navigational aids while a fellow doctor, seated next to the patient in the cramped space of a small plane, desperately tries to keep life going with the aid of basic life-support equipment. Africa is a land of unique and rare beauty that mystifies many with its great contradictions. This story unfolds during the apparent stability of grand apartheid and the turbulent times during its collapse and aftermath. Cut with Conviction is a must-read for all who love adventure, medical issues, flying, travel and Africa.
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Cuddling with Cadavers
Back again with her hilarious antics, Laura LeBrun delves deep into important issues like why we do stupid things for love, why hoarders are worth their weight in gold, and how Asian women are taking over the world. Buckle up and hold on tight, it's a wild ride in Laura's world and there is no escape.
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Cuban, Immigrant, and Londoner
What does a certificate of naturalistion mean to an immigrant in Brexit-plagued modern Britain? How do we navigate the various identity markers we acquire through life? Which ones stand out? Which ones blend in and get forgotten? And why? How does language affect the process of adaptation to a new country? Should writing from an “English as an Additional Language (EAL)” perspective be seen through the prism of aesthetics (writing per se) or identity politics? What is masculinity in the 21st century? How big is the Afro-Cuban scene in London nowadays? Is it time the Cuban government acknowledged Virgilio Piñera’s contribution to the island’s literary canon and apologised for the way it treated the writer? What is the linguistic future of the next Latin American generation?
Throughout almost a hundred pages, I will attempt to answer these and other questions. However, if you finish the book and are left with more interrogative sentences than statements, I will feel just as satisfied. My job as a writer has been done.
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Covid-19 Life
The impact Covid-19 has had on the world was something that no one in our lifetime will forget. While living through this, I have documented my experience in this area to help this era and the next to look back and see if my experience is something the human race can benefit from. I want to share my own life with the reader, detailing what I had done daily – to show the positive and negative impacts the Covid-19 crisis had on me. This was something everyone had to go through together – united. Everyone has a different story to tell and this one is mine. If you move forward and read my story, there will be a great deal of heartbreak in my journey. Perhaps you can relate? But one thing is for sure, Covid-19 has taken a great deal of time and that reminds us to enjoy the time we have left.
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Coming Unstuck – A Year in the Life of a Failed Funk Band
‘Coming Unstuck’ is a ‘faction’. Part memoir. Part discourse on why people get stuck. And why forming a band is not necessarily the best way to get unstuck. Based on true events, the book’s front-story follows a year in the life of a London band’s attempts to claw its way up the greasy pole of the music business. Its backstory involves a journey into the dark heart of stuckness, taking in genetic theory, memetics, the history of the Border Reivers, the Liverpool Police Strike, dodgy Lourdes miracles, a Nigerian Nose-Band, and the refurbishment of the boilers in the Houses of Parliament.
Take a front-stage seat as Cyrus, Brendan, Pete, Duff, Max, Flimsy and The Guv’nor overcome unscrupulous promoters, bogus A&R reps, death-wired amplifiers, catatonic audiences, and the music critic of the Borehamwood Times in pursuit of that elusive recording contract. Only to do a Devon Loch with the winning post in sight.
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Charles Dickens: A People's Person
Charles Dickens was once described as the first global literary celebrity, and as one of the greatest humourists that England has produced. He was also a passionate advocate of justice for the poorest and most vulnerable in society, and had a lasting influence on political reform and economic justice in Britain. In this detailed but lucid book, Michelle Cottam explores the life, times, and works of Charles Dickens. By charting the course of his life, and examining the major historical forces shaping his childhood, the city of London and Britain, this book sheds new light on the meaning of his work, as well as why he continues to be such an enduring and adored writer.
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Can't Hear Yourself Think
Graham Dalby’s book opens inside Windsor Castle at the ‘Ball of The Century’ in 2000, when he drops so many names it’s hard to keep up. He then takes us through his precariously dangerous childhood from Nigeria, Singapore, and Hong Kong, where he served for a short time as a Police Inspector. The remainder of the book is Dalby’s fast-paced life of Classical Music and Jazz and Swing and is a case-book study on how to manage to quaff Champagne belonging to the rich and famous.
The style is old school Wodehouse/Waugh but the historical interpolations keep the reader in the realms of reality and fact. An incredible story of great anecdotes, laughter, and some tears – but mostly Music, Champagne and Laughter.
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Campaigning for Socialism: Memoirs of Max and Margaret Morris
Equality of educational provision became one of the objectives of the Labour Party exactly a century ago. Vigorous campaigning by the teachers’ trade unions and the Socialist Educational Association led to a period of progress in the 1960s to the early-1980s, but this was later undermined. Today the economic conditions and educational plight of British working class children are a disgrace and class divisions are greater than ever. For many years Max was a key figure in these battles and his memoirs provide a clear picture of events and the political forces involved. Readers must judge whether they provide an explanation for the lack of progress or could serve as a guide for the future.
Both Max and Margaret were active in wider socialist campaigning. Max was a party loyalist whereas Margaret only stayed within a party while in agreement with its key policies. She was a Labour Party activist and Council candidate in the 1950s but left over the failure to support CND. Re-joining later, she left over the war in Iraq. She had come to realise that First Past the Post undermines democracy.
The main targets of Margaret’s campaigning were housing problems and widening access to Higher Education. Max and Margaret shared objectives and actively assisted each other in their campaigns but did not always agree about the route forward. So their memoirs provide two perspectives on past events.
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