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 Complete Response

Stanley lives life to the full--working hard, playing hard. In 2016, his life was turned upside down with a serious medical diagnosis; he had a stage 4 bowel cancer which had spread extensively to his liver and was inoperable. Many people might have given up but Stanley looked at the challenge of beating cancer with positivity. Stanley carried on working throughout the medical process ahead of him and developed his own strategy with the help of others around him and his life experiences. The plan of attack worked, which ultimately led to his survival and a complete response to treatment. No viable trace of the disease remained, a very rare 100% response. Stanley carried on living as before and is still free from cancer. The Complete Response will inspire anyone looking to overcome the unthinkable!

The Corridors of Hope

Author Eric Buhle Gumbi has penned a captivating memoir that delves into his personal encounters, both challenging and interesting, as he navigates various socio-political landscapes. The Corridors of Hope takes readers on a journey through the author’s youthful experiences, both inside and outside of the classroom.

Through his narrative, Gumbi explores the people who have supported him along the way and how they have helped to redirect him towards success. Looking back on his childhood, the author identifies moments of both rise and fall, paying particular attention to his high school and socioeconomic endeavours that have kept the ball of life rolling.

With a keen eye for detail, Gumbi brings his personal history to life, weaving a compelling story that captures the complexities of growing up in a rapidly changing world. The Corridors of Hope is a powerful memoir that offers readers an intimate look at the challenges and triumphs that have shaped the author’s life.

The Jawbone of a Carnivore

The Jawbone of a Carnivore will fill your imagination with tales of adventure, friendship, eccentric people, success and failure, as well as encounters with life and death. While I explore the adventurous life and the pathway to peace that can come from it, I do not offer instructions on how to pray. I will encourage you to believe that the way we live can become a prayer. This memoir of life on the edge of the unknown trusts that you will strike out on your own audacious exploration of the world and the spirit that surrounds it. Perhaps, through this, you will identify your pathway to peace and in so doing find yourself saying on some cold and snowy morning, “This is a prayer.”

The Story of a Provincial Armenian Woman

‘Fel’ grows up in an Armenian province. What do we know about Armenia? A small Christian nation, locked between large powers, some of which are hostile. Preserving the Armenian culture is of paramount importance, but what is “culture”? As valuable as it is to the elder, the youth seek their own new values. This story is about an extraordinary young woman who struggled between respect for her country, love for her family and her own desire to be independent, preserve her self-esteem and live her ambitions. Through her eyes, we see what tensions a teenage girl in Armenia is subject to when she follows her own emotions and preferences. She takes the reader into her world filled with dilemmas, loyalty conflicts and confrontations. When her life story unfolds the reader is dragged into the astounding turmoil that results from her choices in life. Choices that are always inspired by her emotions, her personal principles and never-ending willpower to find respect, understanding and happiness, for herself and her loved ones.

This story is certainly an inspiration.

The Unknown Confidante

The true story of a woman who lost the most precious thing in her life because of another woman. Apparently, we can forgive as much as we are able to love, but I have found this is not always true.

Today, even after so much time has passed, and although I have accepted what happened to me, I still don't understand what it was supposed to teach me. I won't get the answers that would enlighten this darkness in the time I have left on this earth. I waited a decade for one of these answers, and I will wait even my entire lifetime for the other ones.

My Friend the Horse

Alex Atock was born in Dublin in 1932 and graduated from the Veterinary College of Ireland in 1958. His love for all things equine commenced as a small child and continued throughout his life. This book will take the reader through his veterinary life, from his initial years in general practice, to veterinary officer of the Irish Turf Club, head of the Veterinary Department of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), consultant to the UAE Equestrian and Racing Federation, and, finally, consultant to World Horse Welfare. The latter took him from the elite world of thoroughbred horse racing and international equestrian sport to assisting underprivileged working equines and their owners in developing countries.Throughout his time with the FEI, Alex worked closely with the European Union and was actively involved with the conception of FEI relations with World Horse Welfare, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the International Federation of Racing Authorities.

Pandemic in Paradise

Pandemic in Paradise tells my story of pregnancy during a global pandemic. From the challenges of lockdown to the raising of my first child, I share the ups and downs of my pregnancy journey under those strange, difficult, and unique circumstances. Despite the obstacles which COVID-19 and the lockdowns presented, it is also about celebrating the gift of my son.

Random Musings of a Disorderly Mind

Have you ever woken up wondering what the day will bring? If this includes fishing around inside someone’s intestines, being sent photos of bodily fluids, or even pretending to be dead, then you may just happen to be a surgeon. If it includes retrieving arrows, knives, and other foreign bodies from various anatomical locations, then you may be a trauma surgeon. If it also includes rescuing patients from spitting monks and overdosing pharmacists, then you probably work as a doctor in Southeast Asia.

From the relative safety of a 1970s UK medical school to the extremes of modern-day Cambodia, enter the world of funny, sad, baffling, and, at times, unbelievable encounters with patients, teachers, and colleagues over five decades.

Mosul Dreaming: An Australian Psychologist in Iraq

In 2017 Diane Hanna was offered a role to provide psychological services to international surgical team, 15km from the front line during the last battle of Mosul, Iraq. The mission had provided her with a restored sense of meaning and purpose, which compelled her to return and continue working in the largest humanitarian crisis since the second world war.

In temperatures above 48 degrees celsius, she forged ahead, recruiting members of her mental health team from the camps of those displaced during the conflict. She established programs and activities, for thousands of women and children who were wounded and traumatised by ISIS. On her day off, she often sat in bed and painted those whom she met from Mosul, whilst unable to leave the guesthouse due to the ongoing dangers outside.

When funding to her mission was cut suddenly, Diane made the decision to stay in Iraq which would change her life forever. Alone, and with a life-threatening condition she was now facing a corrupt medical system, and an increasingly volatile environment. Trapped in one of them most hostile countries in the world, she would need to muster all her strength, knowledge and skills, to negotiate her way out.

Her story will astonish and inspire you. It will make you reassess what it means to serve as a humanitarian worker, and remind you that whatever happens, you must keep fighting and never give up.

Raising Seven

How would you feel if a complete stranger approached you and revealed a secret only you knew? And then said, “You need to get moving on it.” After this encounter in 2009, I knew I had to start writing my memoir and Raising Seven was born.

Our five sons came first and then there were the years of longing and praying for those evasive daughters. I did hear from God during those years that He would fulfil my heart’s desire. He just did not tell me when.

My husband, Al, passed away during the writing of our story. The memoir covers our first meeting in 1966 at the beach town in Lavallette, New Jersey, to the present.

Having seven children was not popular then, or even now. For Al and I thought, this was a blessing not a curse. With the help of scripture, faith in God, the encouragement of family and friends, those years for us became years of joy. The happiness, adventures, pitfalls and struggles of our rambunctious family of seven is the heartbeat of this book.

Reflections On El Camino

‘El Camino’ is the pilgrim’s route across northern Spain to reach the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. This was built on the site where the body of the disciple St James was buried after he was martyred in Jerusalem in 44AD. His remains lay unmarked and unknown for eight centuries until a miraculous light led a shepherd to discover the bones in a cave. A cathedral was built over the spot where the bones were found and it became one of the prime destinations for pilgrims in the medieval era. But the way to Santiago de Compostela was fraught with danger for those pilgrims, with the notoriously bad weather in the Pyrenees, warring kingdoms in the north, civil war and the ever-present danger of invasion from the Muslim Moors who controlled the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula.

This book is a long-distance trek through the countryside, culture and history of the area: from St Jean Pied de Port on the French side of the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, then onwards to the Atlantic coast of Spain, and finally to Finisterre – or ‘the end of the world’, as it was known in the times of the Roman Empire. It is a journey of over 900 kilometres. But what is the route like today for the modern pilgrim?