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Rebels 79: The Iconoclast, the Prophet, the Commando and the Bleeding Heart
Some people just own it. What is it? Transcendent charisma and the ability to articulate the unsung. In the 1970s, four musicians blurred the lines between the sacred and the profane. Come journey from Lagos and Kingston to New York City and London to live inside the raw imagination of that decade.
£11.99 -
Saving Grace
Saving Grace explores a century-old mystery about shame and madness in one Queensland family. Told with prim reluctance that her great aunty, Grace Baynes, went insane when her fiancé married her younger sister, the author seeks to know the truth. What really happened to Grace and why? Dramatically told just as Erica discovered it piece by piece, the family story she reconstructs is as engrossing as it is edifying. The narrative blends evidence taken from historical and medical records with contemporary psychiatric opinion to produce a compelling account of vulnerability and unconditional love in the life of Grace Clement Baynes. A woman lost to her family. A woman lost to herself.
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Sue Lynn
This is the story of the intertwined lives of two individuals and, for a very special time in their lives, a most remarkable cat called Sophie. Johnathon was the all-action man with an insatiable curiosity, travel lust and adventures in all areas of life. By some unwritten law it seemed he was constantly encountering threats to his very existence of one nature or another, or you might say he was rather accident prone! Whilst he became somewhat blasé about his “near death” encounters, other quite exceptional occurrences defied all explanation.
If Johnathon was the go-getting action man then Sue Lynn was quite the opposite. Shy, caring, and of a modest disposition she was quite fearful of the world in many ways. There was a total innocence about her. Quiet and unassuming with concerns over her identity Sue Lynn lived in a very different world in more ways than one.
Fate, it seemed, was always destined to bring them within close proximity, only to whisk them away again. That said, the juxtaposition between two such substantially different characters would always potentially be as conflicting as it might prove entertaining.
In time, as events unfold, Sue Lynn becomes all the more confident, and Johnathon will surely find himself overshadowed. In the midst of the most extraordinary revelations, and as fulfilling and exciting a life as Johnathon had experienced, nothing could come close to the extraordinary climax to Sue Lynn’s story in a million years.£12.99 -
The Mystery of Operation Alphabet
For many years my knowledge of my grandfather, John Thomas Merrikin, was very limited.
All I knew of him was that he came from Amber Hill, Lincolnshire, and was for many years a police officer in Leicester. At the beginning of WW2, my grandfather was called up into the Naval Reserve first of all on HMS Devonshire, and then Stoker First Class on HMS Acasta.
8th June 1940, grandad John Thomas Merrikin died in the Norwegian fjords after the Scharnhorst, and Gneisenau blew up HMS Acasta, and as they sank into the cruel freezing cold sea Nick Carter launched a torpedo at the Scharnhorst and damaged her quite badly.
It wasn’t until I joined the GLARAC (Glorious, Ardent, Acasta) Association in 2008 that I realised that HMS Ardent, and HMS Aircraft Carrier Glorious, were also bombed by the two German battleships – both the pride of Nazi Germany. The two British destroyers were accompanying HMS Glorious on convoy. I also became aware of a huge conspiracy as to why 1531 servicemen were killed, and only 43 servicemen survived without Admiralty intervention.
During the lockdown of 2020-2021, I decided to do some of my own research on the worst British naval catastrophe of WW2, and I began to write The Mystery Of Operation Alphabet to bring to life 8th June 1940. I did this by putting photographs on as many names of the war dead and survivors as possible to bring them to life too. I also wrote down stories from books and articles of what happened to the war dead and survivors in their own words, and also of their loved ones, rather than writing using my own words, as I wanted the servicemen to have their own voice.
The Mystery of Operation Alphabet has endless photos of the different ships, lists of the war dead, and also I have written down as many explanations and conspiracy theories as possible as to why the three ships were blown up and 1531 men were killed. I did this by bringing to light the opinions and theories of Admiralty, naval historians, government officials, and members of the GLARAC Association so you can make up your own minds as to what happened.
One of my main aims is to bring to light the bravery of commanders Barker and Glasfurd of HMS Ardent, and HMS Acasta, plus Nick Carter, leading seaman of HMS Acasta, the man who shot the Scharnhorst, to hopefully get the government to give these men military honour and recognition for what they did on 8th June 1940. Amazingly, even the commanders of the German battleships saluted the British ships HMS Glorious, HMS Ardent and especially HMS Acasta as they sunk in the Norwegian fjords to honour their bravery.
Last but not least, I would like to uncover why the government has kept the ships’ records under lock and key since 1940, and why they aren’t going to be made public until 2040/41.
So why not read this interesting and intriguing book to find out more?
Elaine Merrikin Trimlett Glover.
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The Ghost Within
This enlightening book, The Ghost Within, explains some of the questions man has been looking for. There are clear and precise examples – some of which are hypothetical and others based on personal experiences. Also, there are simple and more complex explanations to which you will find how the flesh and the double-sided sword of the spirit are connected. Dermoth Alexander Henry, known as the ‘Scribe’, takes us on a journey of how the Creator also has a plan for our inner man and woman.
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Understanding Illness
This book is part memoir and part case studies drawn from the author’s working life as a medical student, general practitioner, counsellor and psychoanalytical psychotherapist—a career made even more difficult than usual by ill health. Kidney disease started in her 20s, sight loss in her 30s, so that she was unable to carry on with clinical medicine and had to retrain as a psychotherapist, and heart disease in her 40s. In spite of all that, she battled on with great determination and humour, and became a loved and respected member of staff in a great teaching hospital. She worked extremely hard on ‘my book’, as she always called it, and finished it just two months before her final illness started.
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Our Mothers
This book contains a collection of stories written by a group of friends who met during school and university days. Rarely celebrated, these short stories are about their mothers. While these women were from different backgrounds and some were born, or lived their early lives, in different countries, they shared some things in common. They were British by either birth or ancestry. They were middle class and they were young mothers during the latter part of World War 2, or shortly thereafter. They lived in Canberra during the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s – longer in some cases – and contributed to the social life of the growing city in a variety of ways.
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Prove It All Night
Can there be anything more uplifting than a great rock concert?
A concert where words like brilliant, fantastic, superb, amazing and incredible can never do it justice. They don’t even come close.
If you are blessed to have seen that one special gig that actually changed your life, a gig that you wished had never come to an end, then maybe, just maybe, you’ve been in the presence of greatness.
A night to remember that will never fade from your memory, however long you live. It’s as fresh today as it was all those years ago. It was a rock and roll epiphany.
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Sermons and Addresses
When a respected scholar with a career at three major American universities moves to a position as principal of an important institution in UK, there is likely to be considerable interest in what he has to say not only to his students, but to many others as well. The two most important formats for such communication were the sermon and the academic lecture. Historically, the sermon has been an extremely important form of communication, first as verbal communication to a specific group of listeners, and then as a written text made available to many more readers. Marc Saperstein was a member of Beth Shalom Reform Congregation in Cambridge, where religious services were directed and sermons delivered not by the rabbi of the synagogue – which never had a rabbi – but by members of the congregation. During the five years from 2006-2011, Marc Saperstein delivered 29 sermons in Beth Shalom. He also was asked to deliver sermons at 15 other congregations. The texts of these sermons are now accessible in the book.
£16.99 -
Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll – Memoir of a Police Doctor
I can claim to have enjoyed a satisfying and fulfilling medical career. British General Practice was the jewel in the NHS crown and I was a Family Doctor during its heyday before the Government decided to take control and tell the doctors how to do their job, demoralize the profession and seriously compromise patient care, destroying the respect between patients and their doctors and turning a vocation into a chore. I was fortunate that I began my career at the right time and got out at the right time. My almost thirty years working with the local police force was hard work but once I’d seen a few corpses and gained the respect of the local constabulary I enjoyed the work immensely even if I was so often denied a good night’s sleep. The case load varied from the gruesome to the amusing but looking back it was never boring.
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll – Memoir of a Police Doctor is an account of my experience as a Forensic Physician – a facet of the rich tapestry of medical practice that Joe Public never realized existed.
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The Great Survivor: The Amazing Escapes of James VI of Scotland and I of England
The Great Survivor: The Amazing Escapes of James VI of Scotland and I of England was written largely because of the little known story of the Laird of Drumquhassle found in a family history published privately in 1875.
Mary McGrigor reveals the story of how a lonely little boy, deprived of all natural affection, became the sagacious genius who steered the countries of his kingdom safely through European conflicts to years of prosperity hitherto unknown. James I and VI, even before his birth, became a prime target for assassins and somehow, miraculously, defied them all to become the 'wisest fool in Christendom', successfully playing off his enemies to achieve his aims. Despite his eccentricity and some of his uncouth ways, he emerges as a man of clear perspective, succeeding against all odds.
McGrigor chronicles the life and times of this remarkable, strange yet at times lovable king through a tumultuous era.
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The Ten-Dollar Dream
The story of a dream – moving to another country and building a successful life – and how it came to fruition.
Aksana Palevich moved abroad in her early twenties, carrying only a dream, some clothes and ten dollars in her pocket. However, this isn’t just a story of struggle, but of dream-like success built out of 48 lessons learnt along the way. The Ten-Dollar Dream is a guide for anyone who thinks their circumstances can prevent their ambition, no dream is too big.
From a book review by featheredquill.com:
The Ten-Dollar Dream is undoubtedly an uplifting story of the author’s perseverance and dedication in her pursuit of a happy and fulfilled life, with lessons sprinkled throughout the chapters. Coming from a world of communism in Belarus, where everyone is equal and told what to do, Aksana took a huge risk at a young age by moving to a country that was foreign both in language and in political ideologies. Readers will enjoy and be inspired by the author’s stories of her struggles and achievements while learning pertinent skills to achieve their own success.
£8.99