The Burden Within

Born into a wealthy family in England in 1942, Christopher could’ve expected a privileged life. It was not to be. At six years of age, he entered boarding school. The burden of undiagnosed dyslexia led to an aversion to schoolwork, and violent sexual abuse from a fellow boarder became the impetus for leaving school. He embarked on a life of hard manual labour, before returning to his parents’ farm, but continual frustrations between him and his father culminated in a stint of involuntary commitment. On release in 1964, he left for Australia as a ‘10 Pound Pom’.For the next ten years, he roamed Australia – working in its cities, rural towns, and outback. But a rolling stone gathers no moss. Christopher, the adventurer, insidiously became a hard-working, hard-drinking and hard-playing drifter on a downward spiral. In 1973, on a remote aboriginal settlement in the Northern Territory, new things impacted him and became the impetus for him to think he may have a future – if he survived. True stories provide insight into the tortuous journey of a lonely, insecure child and young man in England; a unique view through the eyes of an immigrant drifter in Australia; and the rollercoaster ride of reintegrating himself into mainstream society.

The Bule Diaries

The Bule Diaries.

This is a brutally honest account of expectations of living in Jakarta—an over-populated, buzzing hub of brilliantness, and it’s just sitting there waiting for you to explore it!

In case you wondered, ‘bule’ is a term to describe a white person in Indonesia. At first, I thought it meant foreigner, but it doesn’t, because I called an Indian guy ‘bule’ once and he laughed at me and promptly corrected me, “Noooo, it’s just white people, like you!”

This book has two main purposes: to tell you about my experiences and exploration throughout Indonesia thus far and to inform you of how I do what I do, what to do and what items you should bring whether you’re travelling or working here. Enjoy!

The Boy Who Refused to Die

On 17 December 2007, 13-year-old Alby Dobinson left his home to make his daily journey to school. Later that day, during his return journey, something happened that would change his life forever.

This story charts the remarkable journey undertaken by Alby and those closest to him. Life is always a mixture of good times and bad, laughter and sadness, and Alby’s story reflects this rainbow of human emotion, from suffering to euphoria.

As a biography, written in the style of a novel, this book details years of rehabilitation as family members recount their own experiences with humour, regret and acceptance, plumbing the depths of despair and soaring to the heights of joy.

The Daily Mail headline “The boy who wouldn’t die” was detested by Alby’s family. However, a small change to it illustrated Alby’s determination. He did not travel his road alone but was accompanied by his mother and stepfather, Lisa and Mark; his younger brother, Jimmy; and his grandparents. What happened to Alby had a profound effect on them all and each has their own special story, including the amusing tale of how Lisa and Mark met and the response to Mark’s declaration that he would run the London Marathon: “You’ve never done more than run for a bus!”

This is a story that will amaze and inspire. It is tinged with sadness but the overwhelming message is one of courage and the triumph of one very determined young man and his family.

The Bob Cox Story

Bob Cox was 21 years old when he killed his parents with a shotgun and was sentenced to prison under ‘the Governor’s pleasure.’ In 1976, at the age of 33, he converted to Catholicism, and three years later he was released from prison into the care of a Catholic community called Guadalupe House. He became an important member and helped care for others in this community. He eventually moved into a group home as a carer, and later into a flat on his own. He died on January 15, 2008. He wrote this account of his early life and prison experience, as well as his subsequent conversion to Catholicism, which makes for a fascinating and challenging read.

The Bitterest PLC To Swallow

If you’ve ever worked in a pub, currently work in one, or simply have an interest in the history and evolution of pubs, Neil’s book is a must-read. In this insightful and entertaining memoir, Neil shares his experiences and observations about working in local estate pubs during a time when they were the heart and soul of their respective communities.

Through humorous anecdotes and blunt opinions, Neil highlights the many challenges faced by pub owners and workers in the modern era. From policies that leave him screaming to people who make him swear, Neil pulls no punches in his assessment of the pub industry.

The book also explores the transformation of local estate pubs into modern-day branded establishments, such as curry houses and convenience stores. Neil’s revelations are sure to surprise and shock readers, and may even cause them to question the value and quality of the food and drink they pay for in these establishments.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Neil takes readers on a trip down memory lane, revisiting the fun pubs of the 80s before they became bitter PLCs. Through Neil’s vivid storytelling, readers will laugh, cringe, and even taste the history of these once-beloved establishments.

In the end, Neil offers his take on what happened to pubs and what they have become. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history and evolution of pubs, and may just make you think twice about where you choose to spend your hard-earned wages.

The Best of Health

60 years ago, being a medical student entailed some hair-raising encounters in the course of training like giving a general anaesthetic without help or instruction, simply because you were the only help available; or assisting in emergency surgery when there was nobody else available.

Distinguished doctors thronged the corridors of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Long after the war there was still a vivid memory of Burma and Libya.

Find out why an elderly theatre orderly hinted darkly at “a doctor who got to Dunkirk four days ahead of the field hospital team”. Get a new slant on the Penicillin story and read why the old NHS system in Edinburgh avoided “bed blockers”.

Here is an account of the almost explosive expansion of hospital medicine into ICUs – cardiac arrest teams, coronary care units, positive pressure ventilation, renal dialysis, etc. It was a time of medical progress and high morale.

The Battered Generation

Physical punishment at schools in Iran continued until being banned by the Ministry of Education in September 1960.

The author spent four years at “Safa” school in the north area of Tehran, in Iran from 1953 to 1957. In this book he recalls the social and educational conditions of those years, the morale and status of students and the teachers’ way of thinking. He also discusses the prevailing culture of physical punishments and the hardships the students endured along with their entertainments, recreations and access to academic facilities. He wants to show what devastating effects beatings and physical punishments have on children and what irreparable and lasting impacts they leave on the soul of children in the form of anxiety, panic and permanent fear.

The pain of being beaten and punished was not just for the students, but the ones who did it also suffered from the memory of their actions in the course of time. Some regretted their mistakes and oppressions. There were some teachers among them who were sensitive by nature and were aware that physical punishment was not right. However, the social structure of that time required the beatings.

The A to Z of Alfie Zeller

Dip into The A to Z of Alfie Zeller to find: Petty Officer Sam Zeller, who swam the Channel long before Captain Webb, in a straight line, without body grease in search of escargots; Pierre, who invented Chicken Marengo and was promoted to corporal by Napoleon; Alicia Zeller, who ran the séances at which Arthur Conan Doyle saw fairies. Meet Trooper Zeller, who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade, or would have done, if he’d been there; Zeb Zeller, whose diaries made those of Sam Pepys read like the tedious account of bowel movements which they mostly are; Herman Zeller, who put Franz Kafka on to surrealism; the Zeller who was defenestrated in Prague and fell into a rose bush; and finally meet the Zeller who, although a staunch Royalist, fought in the Parliamentary ranks at Naseby.

It is all explained somewhere and Alfie does not spare the details. If short of a few, he admits to perhaps having made them up. What, he argues, is a slightly dubious fact, if it gets in the way of the truth?

The 50-Year Secret

This is a true story of physical, mental and sexual abuse of a child by someone who you trust the most – a father. Taking place in the ’60s where this sort of crime was unheard of, let alone reported as nobody believed that it happened, this book is full of funny stories and anecdotes but also sadness as the story unfolds eventually ending up in Crown Court.

That’s Alright Mamma

Being a survivor of institutionalized abuse from the late 1950s in Ireland, author Josie Dias Wallace describes her journey after leaving a convent and embarking on a new adventure in England, UK, where she settled permanently alongside her sister Mels, RIP.

That Boogie Beat Damn Killed My Soul

I have been involved in the music business in various roles since 1961. I was bought my first guitar when I was 12 years old, on which I slogged away for a year. In 1962, I joined my first band, the Phantoms. Then the Sparticans came for me in 1963, then in 1965, I was invited to join the Nomads, who were local pop stars!

This began a life in which I would meet many of the good and great in the music industry, including a Beatle, with whom we made a record. In 1979, with my friend, old bandmate and future business partner, keyboard player John DaCosta, I decided to open a music shop – the first of many we would open in the coming years. After an epic roller coaster ride of ambition and excess, it all came crashing down for me in 1994 and I was forced to rethink my life. Today I live a complicated but thoroughly enjoyable life in Thailand, still playing the guitar and writing songs, but no longer trying to run music shops…

Thank You for My Dinner, May I Get Down Please?

The author always enjoyed a sense of freedom, whether roaming around the Somerset countryside as a child or later on, living offshore with her husband and three daughters on a boat. She considers nothing strictly ‘out of bounds’, and for seventy years no-one has stopped her in her tracks. Thank You for My Dinner really sums up the dichotomy of her life – an upbringing steeped in Victorian-based principles and the free license to go her own way, which was generous even by twenty-first century standards.

This is the story of Celia’s early life coupled with a trip down the river, never completely grown up, always looking for adventure, not anticipating danger, but keeping a sense of fun and a smile through various struggles – and surviving enough to say ‘thank you’ at the end.