The Tramcar will Return

Electric tramways formed the backbone of most towns and cities in the first half of the twentieth century. But when they got in the way of cars, they had to go. People loved their trams, they took them to school, to work, to go shopping, to the cinema and to football matches. When the last Glasgow tram ran in 1962, a quarter of a million Glaswegians braved the pouring rain to say goodbye. Thirty years later, trams were re-invented to help combat congestion and environmental impacts of the car. Both eras are covered in this book by an engineer who witnessed the demise of the tram and its revival, playing a major role in getting trams onto the streets of Manchester in 1992. Now trams are running again in London, Edinburgh and cities in between. This is a personal story about the last tramways in Britain and the new generation of light rail systems, a term invented to avoid any confusion with old double deckers clanking down the middle of the road. It is interlaced with stories of tramways in the UK, Europe and beyond, gained when working as an international light rail consultant.

Archaeology at Two Australian Universities 1971 to 2023

This book is about the author’s time as an academic archaeologist attached to the University of New England, Armidale NSW, and the Australian National University, Canberra ACT, Australia. It continues the autobiographical account in Prelude, published in 2011 and From Cambridge to Lake Chad published in 2019. It discusses his experiences as a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Professor and Emeritus Professor. This memoir also considers the role of many other people with whom he was associated.Covering the period of 1971 to 2023, it charts the development of the field of archaeology in the Australian context.

Goodbye Mr Krupps

A vivid and entertaining account of one man’s extraordinary life, guided by a love of steam trains and an unerring vision to be an engine driver in the days when steam ruled the rails. See through the eyes of a small boy the first stirrings of this enduring passion as, in rapt fascination, he watches trains on the Hull & Barnsley main line in the 1940s, and witness the bucolic beauty of rural life, allied with the poverty and shear hard graft of farm work during the war years, when it seems his dream will be crushed by the daily grind and drudgery.Share the author’s exuberance as, having hazarded all, he succeeds in joining the London & North Eastern Railway as a lad porter, before being introduced to the hallowed world of the Locomotive Department, progressing through the ranks to finally fulfil his dream. On this journey share his exhilaration as he thunders down the main line on a locomotive pushed to its limits, spewing fire and brimstone; and witness a host of steam train escapades, adventures, and mishaps, from the farcical to tragic.Finally, travel with him to exotic Tanganyika/Tanzania in the 1960s where, during 12 years with East African Railways, he experiences the challenges of epic journeys through the heart of the sun-baked bush, breakdowns, derailments, flooded tracks, and violent mutiny, as well as the joy of driving the mighty and exemplary 30 Class, ending with the pinnacle of his career: that of becoming Locomotive Inspector.

The River Never Left Her

In present-day Zürich, an American expat, Emily Benz, buys a set of personal archives at an online auction, setting off an investigation into the life of a British woman raised in the early part of the twentieth century in China. What seemed like an innocuous tin of bonbons sold by a grandson soon turns into a can of worms that can’t be closed again, revealing family dysfunction that stretches back generations, a fairy-tale childhood, four marriages and a liaison. Emily must reconcile the woman’s adult biography with the vivid memoir of China seen through the eyes of a child. This most unexpected memoir moves between China at the turn of the last century, scandal in the high society of 1920s England, and a tenacious widow living in the Switzerland of today.

Transitions in My Life (Large Print Edition)

How does one move forward to a big and open world with many possibilities? Mary was always determined to broaden her horizons from her life in a tiny village in Guam. Mary is entrusted with a religious upbringing, and this is how she made connections to her world. You will see how the glimpses of a village girl made an abrupt and meaningful change to womanhood which gifted her a new perspective in life. Her simplicity of life took her to many milestones beyond this village.Mary’s professional aspirations empowered her to be more than a teacher role model. Mary embraced a childhood trauma from the school she attended. She relates this experience engagingly and memorably. She named it a project to herself. This task instilled her love for Second Language Teaching, making her a winner. These footsteps she walked allowed her to create adventure, to seek knowledge, to acknowledge receptivity to change and to find love.

American Coastguards, UNST & The B.P. Oily Blacks (1978)

A few stories encountered mainly in the 21st century as a result of working on construction sites. Humour, still having to deal with the good, the bad, and the nasty! 2018 saw the demise of one of the biggest players: Carillion. How many companies went into receivership like my old company? How many others in the 21st century? Was the philosophy Carillion followed replicated by the Post Office?In 2023, in his autumn statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt highlighted receiving payment times by the big companies. I can remember those immortal words: ‘spell redundant’, ‘P45, boss’. The American eagles were just laid off! Subcontractors are worth more dead than alive.

My Wartime vs. Pandemic

Everyone now knows what life is like during a Pandemic but if you have ever wondered whether living through it is better or worse than living in a World War, this little book is for you.In this contest of war versus pandemic, personal recollections illustrate what life was like in the years immediately preceding the Second World War and the changes that occurred after the outbreak of hostilities.It was not a game of two halves.  There was a lengthy interval of seventy-five years between the end of one event and the start of the other.  In both cases there were some own goals, a lot of off-sides and numerous penalties, but the referee leaves it to the reader to decide which side won, if any.

Where's My Leg?

When Flor Morgan mounts her Harley Davidson on what seems like an ordinary Wednesday, she is unaware that this will be her last ride for a decade.Flor’s journey is one for which she could never have been prepared.How does one move beyond a head-on motorway collision between a Skoda Fabia and a Harley Davidson?Who survives, and why?Flor is a survivor, a fighter. She battles not only to heal her physical wounds but also to overcome the mental and emotional scars that the path to recovery inflicts. Flor knew her recovery would be challenging, but she didn’t anticipate that the very systems meant to aid her would nearly be more lethal than the collision itself.Initially written to pave her way to healing, Flor now shares her story with the hope of helping others. She recounts her experiences as she has lived them: by finding the good and the humour in the everyday. After all, you can’t lose the plot if you’re laughing, right?

Confidentially It’s Insurance

While real-life dramas often surpass fiction in intrigue, the day-to-day operations in many professions remain largely unnoticed due to their perceived mundanity. Insurance is typically viewed as one such field. However, it’s not without its exceptions. Among the conventional ranks, a handful of field specialists find themselves in thrilling, high-stakes situations across the globe, navigating the complex world of financial coverage and advice.This book offers a biographical account of one such individual. With nearly four decades of experience, their career spans three of the Western world’s leading and most innovative financial institutions. Their journey is marked by challenges such as navigating hostilities in global hotspots, dealing with civil unrest, overcoming travel barriers imposed by border controls and local laws, all while operating under the constraints of the Official Secrets Act. This narrative sheds light on the unexpected adventures and critical roles played behind the scenes in the world of finance.

Heavy Rainbows

An extraordinarily true-life account of a left-handed forklift truck driver who, after a catastrophic life changing accident, became a right-handed professional artist. Heavy Rainbows conveys an honest, no frills autobiographical account of how a single unforeseen event completely changed the direction of Mark’s entire life, and the subsequent adventures that followed involving devastating lows and euphoric highs that are unique, engaging, and inspirational.Firsthand experiences and events that influenced Mark’s development as a person are told chronologically, culminating in a collection of artworks that convey powerful emotionally charged contemporary issues such as global warming, mental health, and animal welfare. Each chapter incorporates humour and satire, that contrast with episodes of dark, life changing experiences, offering the reader a thought-provoking unpretentious slice of reality, underpinned by art, to convey an in-depth personal story involving triumph over adversity.

Comrade Sao

‘Thursday 17 April 1975 is the day that I will never forget until the day I die. That was the day the Khmer Rouge took over Phnom Penh and overthrew the government of General Lon Nol and his Republican Party…’Thus begins Firos Iseu’s gripping memoir of his experiences during the Khmer Rouge’s brutal regime in Cambodia between April 1975 and January 1979. At the tender age of 12, Iseu – whose ‘revolutionary name’, Comrade Sao, provides the book with its title – faced the horrors of the regime’s first wave of killings, which at a stroke deprived him of his parents and elder siblings. Bearing a diverse heritage of Indian, Laotian, and Vietnamese roots, he was branded a ‘17 April’ or ‘new’ person, marking him as an outsider and second-class citizen.Comrade Sao stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, showcasing the author’s remarkable courage and resourcefulness in the face of terrifying adversity. This harrowing, unflinching and above all honest narrative sheds a necessary light on one of the darkest chapters of humanity of the past 50 years.

Me

Ron Pearson was born in Bramley, Leeds on August 12, 1924. He began writing this book on August 12, 2021, his 97^th birthday. After a childhood beset by illness, he left school at 14, and took a job packing parcels in a multiple tailoring factory, not for him. He moved on to packing parcels general muggins at an advertising agency at 50 pence a week, which he loved. His career in advertising was interrupted by a four-and-a-half-year spell in the army on ‘Special Operations’. Returning to civvy street, his career culminated in being appointed Managing Director and then Chairman of one of Yorkshire’s most respected advertising agencies. He was a local actor for almost 50 years including the renowned Bradford Alhambra and Playhouse.

There are some sad moments outnumbered by many hilarious ones. Ron’s beloved wife, Pat, died in 2017 after 66 years of happy marriage.

The list of ‘celebrities’ he has met is impressive, including Princess Margaret, Prince Charles, Hollywood’s Marlene Dietrich, George Raft, Sir Ralph Richardson, George Best, Jackie Charlton, Harry Worth, Alan Bennett etc.