Dancing to the Beat of the Drum

Returning to her parents’ birthplace in 1994, Pamela Nomvete became a household name as Ntsiki Lukhele, “the bitch”, on a South African soap opera called Generations.

But the mirage of luxury and success in which she lived was just that, a mirage. Behind closed doors, she battled her husband’s infidelities, addiction, and spiritual confusion.

Dancing to the Beat of the Drum details the traumatic personal crisis Pamela went through as her success grew – a crisis which took everything she had worked for from

her – and how she came to re-evaluate her priorities and reconnect with the spiritual side of her life, something she had long neglected.

Death by Dementia

You have two extremely active individuals, mid-60s, looking to many more years of future travel, boating, loyal companionship and retirement. How things can change! Not feeling well in one instance, forgetting what one did with the car keys in the other.

A routine unconcerned visit to the GP, subsequent referral to a specialist and in 48 hours your life is in turmoil.

“You have dementia Mrs Mclean, it’s in the early stages and in your case the CT scans have identified Alzheimer’s. No, there is presently no cure.”

We then roll the dice once more. “You have a carcinoid tumour Mr Mclean. Its metastatic and barely noticeable. However, we have made an appointment for you to see a leading professor of oncology who may put you on trial for a new form of tumour suppressant.”

It’s the two words that everyone fears dementia and cancer.

This, therefore, is a deadly personal journey dealing with the many and varied implications of dementia. In this instance it meant caring for my best friend, confidant, advisor, lover and wife of 50 years, whilst fighting my own diagnosis.

Misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, misunderstood and often denied, this killer with no conscience, now mainstream, leaves but an empty shell as a memory.

If you know anyone with dementia, have been diagnosed in the early stages of dementia or if you are caring for a person with dementia, then you should definitely read this story of love, loyalty, passion and patience. A tale of never-ending belief in the future.

Ed’s Odyssey How I Met Buddha and the Aliens

As Ed's life took unexpected turns, he found himself on a journey towards a spiritual awakening. From his childhood in the West Country to adventures East, with challenges and triumphs over addiction, to encounters with angels, aliens, and mystical energies, Ed's story is a captivating tale of personal growth and transformation.

His experiences in the altered state and waking state, backed up by several neurological feedback sessions, made it a welcome truth, which would change his life forever. Follow Ed on his extraordinary journey as he chronicles it all in a journal, originally written, to be discovered by distant relatives in a dusty attic.

“Ed’s book bridges spiritual experience, neuroscience, and psychic phenomenon in a real-world, grounded way. I have seen Ed’s capacity to channel the psychic and it deserves the research Ed is leading” - Stuart Black, Managing Director of Brain Train UK

Fastovski's Tales of Hampstead

Imagine that Isaac Babel’s Cossacks wassail together with Runyonesque Liverpool Jews outside the plate-glass window of a Hampstead café where a Klezmer band is playing to a packed and tea-drinking congregation of jazzmen, Hasidic scholars, surrealists, old soldiers, and retired strippers; and you have the tone and temperature of this unique and unclassifiable memoir – no, not memoir, more a stream-of-consciousness novella – no, not a novella but a piece of autobiographical fiction – no, not autobiography but a picaresque drama conquered from the unreliable and fertile brain of the eponymous Fastovski.

And who is Fastovski? Is he real or invented? Is he perhaps the alter-ego of real-life jazz pianist, Klezmer swinger, big band leader and flaneur, Wallace Fields, who stares at us from the book’s frontispiece in shades, Diaghilev coat and moustache, over a cup of strong black coffee? Fastovski’s not telling and anyway, who cares.

This is a book to be devoured, disseminated, denounced, and delighted in. It belongs to all who think art and life are one and that the Arch-Savant of Canterbury, Issy Bonn, Rashid the Manic Berber Chef of NW3, and Mrs Karl Popper, have an equal claim on history. I haven’t had such a good time since I shared Sir Ralph Richardson’s motorbike with a parrot and a striking grandmother clock.

Piers Plowright
August 2008

Free Radical

A fascinating account of life in a period of great social and political change. Gabrielle Walsh discusses her personal experiences of pursuing feminism and gay rights amidst the stigma and tradition of a patriarchal society. Traversing the period from the beginning of the 1950s until the present, it is the story of an activist who also honours those who contributed to the great social and political movements aimed at freeing our world. The discussion of sexual liberation and race relations are equally thought-provoking. The anecdotes and details of family life, set against the backdrop of pivotal historical events, provides an insight into the personal inherent in every political situation. This work shares a progressive political tradition with a cheeky storytelling genre found in Anglo-Irish literature. It is exuberant, lively and amusing. Written with warmth and compassion, this work provides a platform for important conversations still necessary for our society today.

Hard Luck Motty

You will not be able to put this book down once you start!

Hard Luck Motty has been through everything you can imagine.

See if you can find someone who can top my life adventures!

The famous people I have met and spent time with: Hollywood superstars, sporting greats.

The family tragedies along the way.

The excitement and thrills.

The silliness.

The lessons I have learnt the hard way, in my working, sporting and fun life.

You need to read this book.

Have Not Charity - Volume 1: Sins and Volume 2: Virtues

Have Not Charity is a fascinating and profound investigation into deep and important concepts which have become obscure in modern times: sin and virtue. Alexandr Korol examines what motivates people in their actions, how goals and behaviours align, and how these are all affected both for good and ill both by virtue and by sin. He seeks to show that many ‘good’ deeds are in fact motivated by sin.

This is a true modern work of ethics, in the classical sense, a guide for a better life. If you have ever hoped to gain a clearer and fuller understanding of how society and life work, this book will prove invaluable.

Hippie Kushi Waking up to Life

Most people as they get older tend to forget about themselves. It seems to be a normal part of the process of life and it happens to the best of us. We forget to reach our own potential because we are far too focused on bringing up a family, working long hours to pay off the mortgage and bills, locked into the cycle of the never-ending treadmill of work and career. It is easy to lose our way and disregard our own existential well-being.

Suddenly one day thirty years later, we say to ourselves, ‘What happened to the person I used to be, what happened to my life? We used to be fun, go to parties, dance the night away at night clubs and have loads of crazy friends.’ Your social life now consists of a bottle of wine at home watching TV. Your friends are getting fewer and fewer because over the years you have focused on everybody else except yourselves.

My name is Stephen Cox, I am 55 years old and I describe myself as a modern hippie. I am spiritual, forward-thinking, a traveller of the world and a lover of life. I paint my brow with the colours of the rainbow, I wear bright multi-coloured clothes and beads and I dance with my whirly friends all through the night. I am happy! I have found hippie happiness, I have found Hippie Kushi and I would love it if you find it too.

Hottentot Venus – The Story of Saartjie Baartman

How Have I Cheated Death? A Short and Merry Life With Cystic Fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is one of the UK's most common life-threatening diseases, affecting over 10,000 people. There's currently no cure.

Not all that long ago, a CF diagnosis meant an early death. Tim Wotton is one such sufferer, who was told from an early age that he would not live beyond his 17th birthday. One of the oldest survivors of this crippling disease, How Have I Cheated Death? is a diary of his 39th year, a countdown to the illusive 40.
A story of triumph over adversity, this compelling chronicle, the first book written by a CF sufferer at 40, offers hope and inspiration, demonstrating what cannot be cured needs to be endured. Written with great honesty and humour with an enlightening Foreword by the actress Jenny Agutter, this profound account is a testament to the daily dedication required to deal with CF and recently diagnosed diabetes while managing a normal family life.

Hysterical Memories

Here is the story of a man’s life that has been riddled and ruffled with emotionally unstable personality disorder, a known mental illness. Despite spending a considerable part of his life at various rehabilitation facilities, Eugene’s life was largely marred with crazy-bound incidences. He was a convicted drug dealer with a history of violence. His case was so bad that he even attacked his dad with a claw hammer. He was everything you could think of when it came to drugs and crime. However, from the lowest depths of a mentally unstable man, Eugene rose to become one of UK’s finest chefs of all time.

I Do Not Want a Fish Finger Sandwich

Being shown the private convenience of the Queen of England in The House of Commons was not the career highlight that Viv had expected.  A dazzling profession as a Prima Ballerina had been her plan but having two legs of the same length and width would appear to be a pretty strong prerequisite for a successful livelihood in that arena, not to mention a couple of ballet lessons at least. 

What did happen along the way were a random selection of activities which were not anticipated either:

• Inter-store “It’s a Knockout” on Cable TV
• Jumping the queue at the Austria/Slovakian Border Control
• Attempted mugging in Bratislava
• A West Highland White disgrace on National TV
• Acquiring a temporary Iranian Bodyguard
• Drinking schnapps in an isolated house in Eskilstuna

LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE MAKING PLANS