Up Long Meadow

Brindley Hosken’s farm, Withan, is a difficult, hilly patch of ground situated on the Lizard peninsula in the south of Cornwall. His land runs down to Frenchman’s Creek. One of the most peaceful, beautiful, and restful spots you are ever likely to find today.

When Brindley was asked to write a farming column for the local magazine, The Meneage Messenger, in 2007, he could not have known where it would take him. Developing a love for writing, his second book, Up Long Meadow, chronicles the history of his farming life over sixty years. As farming has changed from primarily manual, physical work to more tractor-driven he explores how, as a farmer, he has adapted to the changes that have been deemed progress.

His love of Cornwall and especially his locality on the south side of the Helford River shine through in this book, and hopefully will give the reader an understanding of the myriad of different histories and life stories that each farm and farmer have.

Up There

Touching clouds is free, priceless and absolutely exhilarating. To do this, you have to be able to fly. This is the story of a middle-class Melbourne girl, uneducated, lonely in her own family and desperate to find something worthwhile, who eventually discovers flying.

Following a flying career spanning forty years from her first lesson at the tender age of thirty-five, fifteen countries, marriage, divorce, lovers, shootings, robberies and a crazy cast of characters, Up There is a story of how transcending difficulties can lead to amazing things.

Waiting in the Wings

Completely without any professional qualifications, Brian Hutchinson had 31 different jobs during a long working life. From acrobat to special advisor to a cabinet minister; all completely unplanned through opportunity knocks! Brian (Hutch) Hutchinson: Acrobat, Musician (Sax/Clarinet), one of the youngest Justices of the Peace at Inner London Juvenile Courts, Civil Servant, Special Advisor to Cabinet Minister, Music Business Executive, Theatrical Agent, Recording Studio Partner, Record Factory MD, Director Brixton Business Centre, Board Member Brixton City Challenge, General Manager on secondment The Princess Diana Memorial Fund, Patron Macmillan Academy Teesside, Independent Assessor for Commissioner for (Ministerial) Public Appointments, Corporate Affairs Director Allied Zurich Plc, Chair UK Trustees International Fund for Animal Welfare, Former Trustee National Centre for Circus Arts. Taken out of school at 15 years old to join my Father’s troupe of acrobats on tour with Boswell’s Circus in Southern Africa; I was untrained as an acrobat and learned the basics on the two weeks’ boat journey from Southampton to Cape Town. I also played alto Sax and Clarinet in the circus band. I guess I’m an entrepreneur; it was easier in the 1950s–1970s to succeed without formal qualifications such as a university degree or even a couple of A Levels. I was also one of the youngest JPs in the Inner London Juvenile Courts thanks to advice from the Master of then Rolls and support from Lady (Elspeth) Howe.

When the Knives Rattle in the Drawer

Ryan Tanner is an average family man battling alcohol and the demons from his childhood, while struggling as a husband and a father. Drowning in a life that often makes no sense, he turns to an insightful, no-nonsense psychologist as a last resort to try and save his volatile, but altogether beautiful marriage with his beloved wife Tess. Surrounded by Ryan’s drinking, memories of their traumatic childhoods and the gut-wrenching lows of married life, When the Knives Rattle in the Drawer is a cathartic recount about understanding the damage that life can cause and searching for the strength to be the best partner and parent possible.

Set in two different worlds, the story evolves between the couple’s small-town family life and wild, alcohol fuelled nights in the inner suburbs of Sydney. After meeting at 17 years old, they have been married for 23 years and play a simple game: 20 questions, ask anything you want. They explore every aspect of trust, love, fidelity and desire before they go to the club. A club where they enter a world of primal sexual energy, a world where wild things happen.

When ‘Will’ is More Than ‘Won’t’ - Your Journey Begins

I’ve always been a dreamer, wanting more from life than it was giving me, whilst still making the best of what it did.

I never thought in my darkest moments, or wildest dreams, that one day I would, with my partner of ten years David, find myself in a Land Rover we called Lizzybus driving around the world.

If I had imagined this, it would have been nothing like the reality of it, of blistering hot desserts, snow-covered mountains, civil wars, and uprisings, with our life depending on each other and Lizzybus.

From the very first moment I stepped foot on African soil, I wrote about the reality of living two feet from your other half 24 hours a day. The intimacy, hygiene, isolation, and loneliness, so far removed from my life to this point. But slowly, without even realizing it, it became part of me, and me it, seeing only the wonder, the joy, and the privilege.

White Is Black

A patient’s journey in intensive care always starts like a tennis ball landing on top of the net, at the tipping point. Not only for the one in the bed.

Doctor Apfelstein, a specialist in the field, recounts his rise and fall; from flamboyance to custody; from the sleaziest north-east suburb of Paris where he may have killed some of his guests, to the jungle of Harley Street, and finally the flatlands of Norfolk.

He portrays the darkest recesses of his trade, the fleeting nature of life and love, and the blessings of all sorts of music: the soothing drug he needs.

When his own tennis ball lands on top of the net that separates oblivion from memories, at the tipping point, he has chosen his side. Memories. His way.

Translated from French by Brigid Purcell, PhD in European Literature, assisted by Philippe Grunstein, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London), Associate Professor of Medicine, for specific vocabulary of Respiratory Medicine and Intensive care.

Wild Colonial Boy

This autobiographical novel narrates the journey of Dan Docherty, a young Glasgow law graduate and karate black belt, who left his traditional Catholic family in 1975 to serve in the notoriously corrupt Royal Hong Kong Police.

In Hong Kong, he learned Chinese language intensively, then drill, musketry and law. A famous Tai Chi master accepted him as a disciple and trained him to become an international full contact champion.

In this book we’ll have a few beers with colourful characters like Big Don and Mountie Dave. We’ll visit exotic locales—Manila, Macao, Singapore… We’ll witness Dan in full contact competition and in street fight action. As they say in the Hong Kong Police, “If you can’t take a joke, you shouldn’t have joined.” 

A Traveller in Fujian Province, China

It is said that travel broadens the mind. This is true, but it does not happen automatically. One must make the effort to observe and appreciate. One must allow oneself to be affected and changed. During his four and a half years living in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China, Greg McEnnally endeavoured to do just that, helped enormously by the people he met – and hence this book is dedicated to them. He also read as much as he could, and this also helped him come to a greater understanding and appreciation.This book describes places: cities and towns, mountains and rivers, islands and countryside, but it also endeavours to present the people and their customs. The author found the whole experience exhilarating, informative and always interesting. It is hoped that the reader will share in this.

A Wolf in the Kitchen

A Wolf in the Kitchen is the prequel to Jim’s first book, Sled Dog Gun: Aviemore Dreaming.In 1987 Jim and Cherry bought their very first Siberian Husky… Hustler.On showing him to people for the first time, they were asked the inevitable question: “Is that a baby wolf?”A year later in the Summer of 1988 a small advert in a local paper changed their lives forever. They discovered the sport of “dog sledding.”Over the next 15 years, more dogs were bought until they had eleven.What follows is the story of these years and is both highly amusing, and often downright funny.After much perseverance, and some frustration, Jim transforms these dogs into one of the fastest teams in Great Britain.With it came recognition that he never imagined, and he and his team found fame on national radio and TV and played a part in a major movie film.A lovely easy read that is suitable for all ages.

An Inside Job

An Inside Job is a gripping story of life as a chaplain inside Lincoln prison, a local jail opened in 1872. Joy Osborne writes from the heart with sensitivity and passion. The reader is drawn into a world which is generally unknown to the public. Following theological training, Joy felt God calling her beyond the church building to work inside the prison walls with some of the country’s most prolific offenders. She shared in the lives of those shunned by society and saw beyond crimes committed to the person’s humanity. Inside the busy jail, it was often ministry on the ‘hoof’, responding to an immediate crisis. Being ready with a listening ear, advice, compassion, an offer of help and prayers when requested were just part of a busy day. The challenges of prison life are portrayed in this book and are felt by the reader as they journey with Joy on an amazing walk through the prison and beyond.

An IT Contractor Life

This book is an excursus of Max’s career in both data and analytics, in general I.T., and the heavy metal underground of Italy in the mid-80s. This dichotomy has characterised Max’s adult life, which is highlighted in the book and everything Max does with his spare time. Sometime filled with sad moments, some hilarious stories and some great advice for I.T. professionals and metal heads alike, it’s mainly the story of a man like you and me who cannot say no to anybody and has a focus and resilience that only a few possess.

Animal and Client Encounters

Qualifying as a veterinary surgeon over 50 years ago, James has seen enormous changes in his work of a general practitioner. From being a student learning from James Herriot through general practice to involvement with university life, the author has had an extremely busy life that encompassed many exciting, humorous, and quite often dangerous experiences!The elation and satisfaction of successful outcomes as well as the sadness of end-of-life scenarios are all portrayed together with the hardships and rigour of working on farms in adverse weather conditions.This is balanced by the recounting of the many, often self-deprecating, humorous episodes that made up the daily life of this vet. Although gentle fun is conveyed in the majority of the stories, it is not at the expense of nor the dignity of the clients, all of whom were greatly respected.Life was never dull and the unexpected was only ever a phone call away.