Teeth In Sink, Knickers on Landing

I hope you laugh a lot and maybe cry a little and even try to understand the workings of my bipolar mind in this, my one and only book. The pages of which I recall with love, laughter and tears, the wondrous people who have helped weave the tapestry of my strange, troubled life.If you are perplexed by the wacky title, you will find the answer with Ebony, a majestic black lady of the night, who was the dearest of friends. Turn the pages and there you will find a butt-naked butcher manacled to the grooming table in a poodle parlour! Turn yet again to meet Suki AKA Gladys, an old-time (much used) working girl screaming as she climbs off a corpse who was doing his thing just moments ago.And just why did Jean Jeanie have a frothy bottom? Intrigued? Well, just turn my pages and all will be revealed.

Teenagers and How to Succeed

It doesn’t matter whether your own teenage years are a distant memory or only yesterday, you will love this book. If you have your very own living, barely functioning teenager at home, you’ll laugh until you cry. Or just cry. If you have younger children on the cusp of their teenage years, you’ll definitely be crying, as you’ll know that all the things you are reading will be happening very shortly and there is nothing you can do about it (within the bounds of the law, anyway). And if you are a teenager yourself, it’s likely you’ll laugh yourself silly because you probably think it’s about someone else.

Either way, you’ll be immersed. It’s a frank and honest account of the incidents and accidents the author’s own children got up to, with some of his own memories of teenage years. His youngest son features very heavily in the stories, as he was a constant feature whilst the book was being written, especially as he left a perfectly good job to join the circus.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll wish you never grew up and certainly wonder why you ever had children.

Ted Harrison's Rainbow Road

Jan Stirling and Ted Harrison, the celebrated Canadian painter, met in 2007 and felt an immediate connection. Jan spent more and more time with him, oblivious of their age difference, always feeling his acceptance of her quirky, candid nature. As a jazz musician, she appreciated his ability to improvise with words, without fear of making a mistake. She would suggest a subject and then write down in shorthand what he had to say. Although never edited, these improvs were called poems. They showed that even as his physical freedom diminished, he had a very rich mental life.

After Ted passed on, Jan revisited these poems, writing about her experiences with him up to her final visit in January 2015, the last day Ted was conscious. Each chapter is interspersed with Ted’s poems. The book shows an intimate side of Ted that deepens our appreciation for his life and work.

Tears of No One

This is the true story of an elite Navy medical team in a secret mission to save an isolated tribe from extinction. During the year of 2008, the Brazilian Government sent the Navy hospital ship Oswaldo Cruz to the heart of the Amazonian forest, the intent was to locate and make contact with the female leader of the Korubo tribe, and discover the reason for the massive numbers of deaths of those individuals, who were possibly infected by an unknown disease.

This book will take you into a real heart of darkness adventure, through this history, which is narrated from the standpoint of Chief Medical Officer Lieutenant Callia. You will travel aboard a Brazilian warship into uncharted rivers, will make the first contact with unknown tribes, fight river pirates and tropical diseases, survive the sinking of your boat and finally meet the mythic Korubo tribe, led by the fearless female warrior Maya, and her three husbands.

In a world deeply shaken by Covid and at the edge of a global war, this narrative takes us to a situation which proves that centenary conflicts may be solved through humanity, that science can defeat diseases, and that the love for the next one may change the world. And perhaps, at the end of this book, you may find yourself repeating the endless mantra of the Oswaldo Cruz crew members: Health wherever there is life!

Teaching in Tongren, China

Since the accession of Xi Jinping as the supreme Chinese leader, the empire has been becoming increasingly aggressive, to the point of bullying. Its so-called “Belt and Road Initiative” seems designed to lure poorer nations into a debt trap, forcing them into subservience to Chinese demands. Its huge fishing fleet is encroaching upon the legitimate fishing grounds of many other nations. It is seeking to expand its territory to include almost the entire South China Sea, Taiwan, parts of India, Japanese islands, etc. Indeed most of “China” is conquered territory. Chinese efforts to control Australia have been extraordinary.

Yet is this the whole story? This book describes just how wonderful the Chinese people can be. The students I taught at Tongren University were amongst the best I have taught anywhere. It was not hard to love them.

The town of Tongren is itself quite beautiful, surrounded by conical hills and built around the green, winding Li Jiang River.

Teaching in Fuzhou, China

English is the world’s international language. Consequently, many speakers of other languages have taken great pains to make English their second language, mainly for practical reasons rather than for love of the language itself. Practical reasons include travel, business, academic intercourse and inter-governmental communication. China recognises this need and, in consequence, the author spent more than ten years in China, finding the experience interesting, enlightening and exciting, albeit at times frustrating. It was a wonderful time. In the author’s view, it is essential that the world comes to know and understand this huge empire. This book is full of observations from within the country, which should help in presenting China, its people, customs, educational systems and way of life, its contradictions and its attractions as well as its darker side. Most importantly, it gives some insight into how the people think – and this is important. Hopefully readers learn something while enjoying the experience.

Teaching In Chongqing

Today, China is so important. We need to understand why this empire (it is not a country) acts as it does. What are its intentions? This book is not a political analysis, but simply a record of one westerner’s experiences teaching English in Chongqing. Nevertheless, being part of the daily life of ordinary people has given rise to valuable insights. Chongqing is a major city with some 17 million people: it is not a backwater and was China’s wartime capital. But it is important for another reason. The popular mayor when the author began his time there was Bo Xilai, a rival to Xi Jinping; his subsequent removal and imprisonment says a lot.

The author’s daily experiences were fascinating, a real privilege to visit such interesting places and to meet so many wonderful people. These should be shared, which is what this book does.

Teachers for Life

Most educators are remembered in passing – their legacies often confined to classroom walls and fleeting school years. But imagine a world where teachers can reconnect with their former students, not just as distant memories, but as influential figures in their lives once again. Teachers for Life introduces us to two educators who seize this very opportunity. No longer in traditional classrooms, they embark on a journey to re-engage with their past students, not to amend their earlier mistakes, but to bridge the gaps they’ve perceived since leaving their formal roles. In doing so, they impart invaluable life lessons, shaping not just minds, but hearts, proving that the influence of a dedicated teacher extends far beyond school and lasts a lifetime.

Taxi to Broadway

“Hey, did anyone tell you look like James Dean!”

It happened once in a while. I had just lit a cigarette… (can’t resist the slice of ham). Drawing into myself; playing the dead actor behind the wheel, cigarette dangling loosely from my pouting lips; angry at life… scowling at the world!

Christy Jones was no James Dean, but he could proudly tell people in his taxi that he was an actor nonetheless. And driving wasn’t the only time he could play a character.

The author of this memoir found a passion for acting and made it to Stella Adler’s Academy for Theater in the early ’60s. But to make a decent living he drove a taxi across New York for six years. Christy never had an accident, though he had plenty of narrow escapes during his six years of driving. He preferred driving at night, so he could make the rounds of agents and producers during the day. But the streets can be treacherous... and dangerous. A cab only lasts a couple of years on New York City streets. After a long time spent dropping people off at their destinations, he finally arrived at his own: Broadway.

Taxi to Broadway is a story of fleeting conversations and adventurous nocturnal driving, but in the end, it is what all great stories should be – a tale about following your passions.

Tank to Tower

Tank to Tower is the story of a young woman’s transition from childhood to womanhood, through the many facets of life. It takes the reader on that journey with the writer from the heat of the Arabian desert, the dust and flies of Western Australian farmland to lush New Zealand bush and beyond. For instance how does a young bride, fresh from the city, cope with the starkly different challenges of rural life, or from having very limited culinary skills to catering for a number of healthy appetites with several hearty meals every day?

This is the record of an interesting and everchanging life full of fascinating places and of interesting but unremarkable people living full but very normal lives.

It is a story of challenge and resilience, lack and abundance, sadness and joy, and all the other ingredients that go into building a tale of ordinary people with ordinary lives that will resonate with many, perhaps encourage a few and hopefully entertain them all.

Tangled Thoughts of Reason

Aged 21, Owen has lost all his self-worth and self-control. Addicted to crack and trying to get clean, he falls back into the same cycle again and again. Losing his mind and falling deeper into depression, he needs to make a change before he loses himself completely.

Tales from Greece: Part 1

Follow the Williams family as they explore the Greek Islands and become engrossed in the sights and sounds. Your emotions will swing from humour to sadness to hope as you become involved in the highs and lows of family life, you will laugh and cry as you watch a mother’s struggles with memories and the need to move forward with hope.