-
Lost Souls
I grew up not knowing whether I was related to the ancestors my grandmother lived with or not. My mother repeatedly told me stories that her mother had handed down to her about an aristocratic lady who was related to us, and had eloped with a groomsman near where my mother bought a house. As I grew older the stories left me with no real sense of identity of who I was. I felt like a part of me was always missing and where did I belong? When my mother died the house was sold; a few years later my daughter moved to Galway for college, it felt right for me to move back to the area again. Ironically, I found a cottage to rent very quickly just a few fields away from where my mother’s house was. It felt like fate. I just knew that this was the right time to go on a self-discovery journey for me and my ancestors. Once the thought was in my head, it would not go away. A few days later transgenerational trauma popped into my head and disappeared again. My phone seemed to have a mind of its own and words cropped up; trapped in a timeline, karma not released, negativity building up, toxicity to the land, reason trapped there and ancestral healing. All I needed to do was to take that first step forward and then wait; the universe would let me know what to do next.
£6.99 -
Dangerous Ambitions
‘An exciting lifetime’ barely captures the extraordinary adventures of this boy-turned-86-year-old as he journeys from childhood to old age. His tales of diving throughout the wild, beautiful Pacific include terrifying encounters with large sharks, a feeding frenzy of orcas, and surviving a crush of whales. Touching stories humanize the fish and sea creatures he encountered while diving, building, and sailing his self-made ocean-going yachts along the Pacific Coast of NSW. The narrative vividly captures the region’s varied moods and beauty, from rough seas to dangerous rocks.
Sydney, with its stunning headlands, towering trees, unique wildflowers, and strings of white sand beaches, also plays a starring role. The extreme yachting opportunities of Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park and Sydney’s four natural harbours – Pittwater, Sydney Harbour, Botany Bay, and Port Hacking – are celebrated as some of the most beautiful, diverse, and unique places in the world. Growing up here during WWII, with the freedom to explore and choose his path, shaped an extraordinary life filled with unparalleled adventures.
£8.99 -
Memory Stick
Crafty, cunning and certainly clever, Memory Stick is a firework display of different literary styles and genres. Crammed with detail and facts. Just like a memory stick.
Book club readers have described this first volume of Oliver Milner’s entertaining autobiography as “William Boyd and Bill Bryson meet James Herriot and Sue Townsend.”
Structurally Memory Stick is based around 134 footnotes, taken from opensource Wiki history references, between 1961 and 1987. The story starts in wet and windy North Yorkshire. Flies to Nigeria. Flies back again. Goes back to Nigeria. Flies back again. Neil Armstrong lands on the moon. Olly goes to Wales. Takes in Norwich, ends up in London. Tames a penguin, and then…?
Just download Memory Stick, it gets rather interesting.
£10.99 -
Painting the Mosque for Christmas?
This is the story of one person. An errand boy, junior artist, car washer, cub, scout, choirboy, glass runner, wine waiter, postman, tomato plant and faggot stripper, potato picker, life guard, scout leader, canoe instructor, teacher, cattle rancher, polo player, forest and sawmill manager, head of English, logger, general manager, managing director, importer, exporter, businessman, outdoor pursuits instructor, fund raiser, headmaster, principal, CEO, school founder, advisor and appraiser, mentor, model, poet, playwright, writer and actor in the UK and many countries of Central, Southern and Western Africa through good times and bad.
The author deals sympathetically with the nostalgia of a post-war childhood in Bristol, detailing with many of the joys and problems of childhood before leaping into adulthood with entertaining narrative and dialogue.
Africa takes hold with many incidents and observations backed by humour and acute observations of post-colonial developments. Life was never dull and he has sat on crocodiles and slept with lions as well as experiencing coups and unrest where some humour can still be found. He has met royalty and personalities from a wide mixture of society and has also been a friend of presidents and heads of state – herein lies a tantalising mix of European and African life in a kaleidoscopic presentation of humour, pathos, seriousness and shrewd observation.
£32.99 -
Pony Tales and Other Irish Stories
Read tales of an Irish rural childhood, travelling the world with horses and policing London on horseback.
Born into a loving family on an Irish farm. Started to ride aged six, got bucked off too often, gave up! Started again on a different pony; got the hang of it, leading to a lifetime love for and career with horses. Represented Ireland at Pony Club and intervarsity levels. Travelled as groom with an Irish international three-day-eventer. Rode racehorses in Chantilly and Brisbane. Stock ponies and barrel racers in the Outback. Police horses in London. And there’s still so much ahead.
Fortunate. That’s what I feel…
£9.99 -
Ripping the Veil
Anglers are not always perceived to be the most rational of people. For those who get involved in rod fishing, what might start as a curiosity, gradually becomes a passion that often develops into a full-blown, all-consuming addiction. Apparently, there is no cure. Repeated scenarios of utter failure, near-drowning, broken relationships and disarming exhaustion only whet the appetite for renewed effort. No wonder the non-angling majority considers the whole venture as incomprehensible and one of insanity.
However, the angling body is no small minority. It will happily embrace the label of ‘insane’ if that is what it takes to sustain what, for those who are smitten, is no less than a lifestyle. These are the people who are driven to explore what lies beneath the water’s surface. They thrive on the thrill of revealing the secrets of a hidden world. For them, ripping the veil between air and water is not a casual option but a glorious and compulsive expression of evolutionary history – a relic strategy of survival. At least, this is their excuse.
£8.99 -
Second-Best Luck
Fancy retirement right across the globe? Learning to speak a foreign language (Australian)? Too easy; don’t be a wuss, mite! Herein, you will find travel, exploration, how not to buy a house, how to build a harpsichord; how to cope with a second hysterectomy, coronary bypass, two different and simultaneous serious cancers. No worries; she’ll be right, mite! Consider Orshtraya on differing scales; the conurbation that is Canberra; the 90-mile straight which is just a blip in the landscape driving across the Great Australian Bite, Mite; the deeply soothing silence of the outback.
Seriously, sport: this sometimes humorous volume is travelogue, retirement manual, and medical aid, all in one. It has a sporting chance of really helping anyone terrified with recent news of cancer or other really serious illness. We all need help.
£8.99 -
Secret Son of a Legend
I have only known since 2012, but I am the illegitimate child of Bobby Moore, the captain of the 1966 World Cup winning football team. I went from living an exceptionally happy and privileged childhood to one of detachment, hurt, and misery. My world was completely turned upside down and I deeply missed my former life and my family. I made the most of my life by focusing energy and attention on my education and the sports in which I participated, which helped me relieve the tension. I enjoyed my freedoms as I grew older and made a life for myself. I have never really wanted anything, but I now feel, after six decades, the need for recognition, acknowledgement, and closure in my life.
£9.99 -
Speaking Volumes
How did a fishmonger’s son from Tyneside, growing up in the 1950s with a Geordie accent, become the person who recorded over 900 audiobooks and received an MBE from the Queen in the Birthday Honours of 2017?
This ‘charming’, ‘entertaining’ and ‘heart-warming’ memoir answers that question.
Reviews:
AudioFile magazine
“…not simply a reader but an artist of the spoken word…”
“…Gordon Griffin, an entire acting company in one person…”
“Witty and moving memoir of how a working-class boy becomes THE voice of the spoken word.
Honest and vivid account plus excellent advice for those of us who work with words.” Miriam Margolyes£9.99 -
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.
£8.99 -
The Law and I
Delve into the riveting memoir of an attorney who navigated the transformative world of litigation law in private practice. Journey back to an era when senior partners donned wing collars and were addressed as clerks by their surnames, and when solicitors weren’t confined to specialisations.
Experience the spectrum of clients he represented, from navigating harrowing cases at police stations – covering everything from murders to activists challenging government departments – all the way to the House of Lords, now known as the Supreme Court.
Beyond the courtroom, he shares insights into his dealings with prisoners, including those under maximum security, managing matters from adjudications to parole requests. Simultaneously, he paints a picture of his life outside the law, tending to an 18-acre smallholding.
As he reflects on his career, the author offers a poignant commentary on the evolving landscape of legal practice, weighing in on the advancements and setbacks since his retirement. This is not just a tale of law but of resilience, adaptability, and profound change.
£7.99 -
The Life and Times of the Knights
Alfred Fredrick John Knight was born in Yeovil to his mother Amelia and father George. When Alfred was three years old, George his father left Amelia telling her that he was taking their son Alfred with him. George took Alfred and in secret eloped with his lover to Wales. Alfred was later adopted and lived with his adopted family talking to the family about emigrating to Canada. He told his family that he wanted to stay in England and try and find his birth mother.
He left home and went back to Yeovil, but there was no trace of his mother, he did manage to find his grandmother Mary, who was still alive. While looking for a job, he saw a sign which read, ‘YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU!’ Alfred then decided that he wanted to become a soldier and join the British Army. After joining up with Prince Albert’s light infantry, the Somerset Light Infantry was sent out to India to fight the rebellion.
Will Alfred ever find his birth mother?
£11.99