52. A year of recipes to share with family and friends

52. guides the reader through the yearly food calendar with weekly, seasonally-inspired recipes, drawn from author David Wilshin’s years of experience in the food industry in the UK and around the world. Each recipe is accompanied by sumptuous photographs and simple, clear instructions that are accessible to all 

A B C of Indian Astrology

Dr Ravindra Sharma has been a medical surgeon all his life yet has maintained a deep and abiding interest in astrology, having learnt it from several experts in the field such as his father, uncle, maternal grandfather and many others.

Astrology is an ancient science which attempts to unravel the mystery of the ever-changing drama of human life. It largely succeeds in doing so on the basis of planetary influences.

As a beginner, when one is looking for a book about astrology, one finds that most of them are either too simple or too difficult to read and absorb. This is a unique book in English language, concise yet comprehensive, that encompasses the entire gamut of the fundamentals of astrology in an easy-to-understand style and systematic manner.

Life-long pursuit of astrology for well over six decades has enabled the author to understand and relate to the fluctuating, often unexpected, even contradictory and at times intriguing events in one’s life. It has stood by him as a dependable companion, a friendly guide and an additional dimension.

The author believes the book will prove an interesting and absorbing read, a worthy and reliable companion and an added support. It is bound to provide the reader the thrill, the excitement, the joy and the satisfaction of discovering the dynamics of events in his life.

A Bare Chronicle of Existence

On the very same day as his brother, Arnold enrolled to serve in WW1. He signed up for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves and in April 1915 set sail on HMS India. A few short months later, he found himself floating in the North Sea. This is his story and the story of the men who found themselves interned in Norway for the remainder of the war. It is a story of loneliness and love. Of conflict and of isolation. It is a story from WW1 that is rarely told but one that deserves to be.

A Bit of Good Luck

A young man slings his duffel bag over his shoulder and begins a journey of a lifetime.

In this true story, young Frank learns more in a day than all his life up to that point but, ironically, he’s left with more questions than answers! Do lobsters whistle? Are sleep and driving mutually exclusive?

Now, over 50 years later, Frank recalls that day, the highs and lows, the stops and starts and the emotional end to his odyssey. With his mission to meet up with his father at the opposite end of Ireland, this funny, yet poignant story paints a landscape that is fading over time and will leave you wondering where life’s true characters have gone. Have they really disappeared? Or are they waiting patiently, thumbs out, waiting to be picked up again?

Readers will never predict the trials and tribulations of Frank McGurk in 1960s and ’70s Ireland – neither did Frank.

Where exactly is no man’s land? Was the smuggling run ‘a washing machine too far’? And what were Frank’s true dealings with the oil sheikhs from the Middle East?

Potholes without the plot holes, A Bit of Good Luck (and other short stories) evoke a bygone era where a journey was an adventure, and the open road was an open mic for every character to stand up and take a bow.

A Book of Rather Strange Animals

From the creator of the hugely popular @StrangeAnimals on Twitter comes A Book of Rather Strange Animals – a collection of one hundred remarkable animal specimens from around the world. With fascinating descriptions of nasty feeding habits, bizarre mating rituals and shocking defence mechanisms, you will marvel at both the splendour and gruesomeness of nature.

Meet the lizard that shoots blood from its eyes, the isopod that replaces the tongues of fish, the bug that stacks the corpses of ants on its back and the amphibian that looks like a penis.

Come and discover the world’s most peculiar species!

A Boy Full of Emptiness

"Leo tells the stories of his life as though he is living them all over again; it is an extraordinary gift. Every scene comes to life: every fragrance, every bad smell, every delicious morsel of food or stinging slap becomes real.”

Pete Townshend, The Who

This book is rich with the story of a boy born in the 1940s and coming of age in Lucca, a walled town in Tuscany still retaining the feeling of a medieval community. His narrative immerses the reader into the life of funny and sensuous adventures in an Italy suspended between Fascism, the war and the economic boom of the sixties. The story ends with the author travelling to England in search of riches and fulfilment.

A Boy Named Tigger

Adoption is a wonderful opportunity to give a child a loving parental relationship to grow up in the comfort of a home and family. One hears or sees TV programmes of how successful adoption can be! A Boy Named Tigger tells the story of a little boy torn away from a loving family environment to be adopted at the age of four by a couple struggling to get back on their feet after the second world war.

He went to a mother who had a split personality and tried to control every aspect of Tigger’s life subjecting him to mental torture at times. Growing up he managed to tear himself away from his mother and start a new life, gradually clearing his mind from the unhappiness of his childhood and embarking on several successful careers. The writing of this book was the therapy he needed to eventually clear his mind.

A Broad View of Educational Perspectives

A Broad View of Educational Perspectives is for teachers and school leaders working in English as a Second Language. It is a comprehensive textbook written by Nicola Walsh, an experienced educator from Yorkshire, England. With a hands-on approach to education and a focus on what truly makes a difference in the lives of children and their families, this book is designed for teachers and school leaders working in English as a Second Language. It covers a wide range of topics, from language acquisition to classroom management, and assessment strategies to cultural considerations. The book is organized in chapters that are easy to read and understand, making it an ideal resource for educators at all levels. It offers a great way to explore and gain an understanding of the latest thinking in the field of English as a Second Language education, by choosing a topic and diving in. It is written in a simple and engaging style, with practical examples and case studies, making it an essential guide for any teacher or school leader working in this field. 

A Broken Childhood

When you have been abused, you do not know what love really means. All you know is abuse and terror.
When people do eventually show love, it is difficult to understand why.
Love does not make sense to an abused child. Did you know that?
Trust is another challenge; it is so hard to trust anybody. Having been abused myself, I found it very difficult to trust anybody, even my parents.
Not being believed was another concern – I was afraid that I would never be believed. This fear grew even more when I had to give evidence in court. Even the lawyers did not believe me until I exposed all the injuries on my head, having to remove my wig. There were over eight of them. It was shocking.
But there is hope for an abused victim. You can live again…

A Challenger's Song

A sensitive and lovingly told story mixing fact, action, letters, journals, song and oral history.
Pearson writes with a rich clarity and intelligence about his great grandfather, Charlie Collins, the boy who ran away to sea to become head stoker on the celebrated scientific expedition of the HMS Challenger (1872-76). Finding his feet as a blacksmith back in Brighton with wife Mary and family, we learn about the joys, hardships and everyday heroism of their lives within the grand sweep of 19th Century history.
Andrea Watts, writer and creative writing tutor

In 1872, HMS Challenger, powered by sail and steam, left Portsmouth for an epic voyage of ocean exploration. A Challenger’s Song combines a lifetime reimagined with a fresh account of the voyage seen through the eyes of the crew and scientists, drawing on their own letters and accounts.

‘I had read about the voyage of HMS Challenger before, but this combination of imaginative reconstruction and factual information for me shed a new light on life for those on board ... my appreciation of the men and boys whose hard work kept the Challenger going, and made possible the collection of samples which led to a transformation of our understanding of the deep oceans, was increased enormously ... The sea shanty section at the end is a nice bonus!
Angela Colling, Editor, Ocean Challenge.

A Clarinet Almanac

More than 60 years’ experience in playing the clarinet has led to a very personal and idiosyncratic review of the repertoire. From the point of view of being both a player and a programmer the author has endeavoured to find works for unusual combinations involving the clarinet. This book includes a few orchestral solos and several vocal works (both chamber and operatic), but it is focussed on chamber music and includes gems from the repertoire for the standard wind quintet. The clarinet features as a solo instrument, in duos with a surprisingly large variety of instruments and in mixed trios, quartets and so on to larger ensembles. During the course of one year the reader will be exposed to 366 works, probably some unfamiliar, by 245 different composers. The author hopes it will whet the appetites of students, teachers and concert organizers alike.

A Close Confiding Relationship and Dr. Lydgate's Enhancing Marital Intimacy Therapy Manual

This book begins with an imaginary marital assessment interview by Dr Lydgate, a flawed psychiatrist with three failed marriages. He interviews imaginary couples from the literary world of relationships like Adam and Eve and Romeo and Juliet to offer the reader insight into marital intimacy. A narrator offers a psychological view of the process. Part two offers information on how to interview couples, assess couples and treat couples by helping them disclose their ideas about relationships from their parents and past experience.