All manner of curious creatures & amazing models can be made from these unique wax coated strings. Once warmed briefly by the heat from your hands, the strings become pliable & sticky, so they can be squeezed together, bent & twisted into lots of different three-dimensional shapes. The string is provided in a variety of colours & four domed polystyrene shapes are included to make a base for insects & animals. With the addition of googly eyes, lots of appealing characters can be made by following the detailed instructions. ...

The Storm Kettle is an astonishingly efficient & ecologically acceptable means of making a pot of tea. Invented in Ireland around a hundred years ago, it has given faithful service in situations as diverse as the Somme trenches, countless sporting riverbanks & moors, remote beaches, camp-sites, mountains, jungles, barbecues, & even recently, Bosnia. It is made entirely of aluminium & stands 38cm tall. The water (1.5 litres or just under 3 pints) goes NOT in the centre of the kettle, but inside its hollow walls. A few twigs or pieces of dried grass are placed in the base, the hole is turned towards the wind & the thing is lit. The funnelling effect concentrates the heat against the inside walls of the kettle, & within just a few minutes the water is boiling. If in the meanwhile more fuel is needed, it is simply dropped in through the top. It comes boxed with full instructions. ...

Even the title fails to prepare you for just how extraordinary some of the featured pubs are. The Crooked House Pub has subsided 4', so now the drinks slide slowly uphill, whilst in one pub in Somerset your beer will stick to the wall completely unsupported. Toe wrestling, snail-racing & skittles played with cheese are all available if you know where to go. So are human skulls, ghosts, bees, trees & a host of other oddities & eccentricities which can be marvelled at while you enjoy a swift pint or three; but you may have to leave one shoe with the barmaid as a deposit on the glass. Completely fascinating! Can you think of anyone who wouldn't like this (15x 21)cm book? ...

The stretchy, bright yellow cube of ' Swiss cheese' contains a pair of similarly elastic, cheerful little white mice. The cheese features a variety of craters, through which the mice can be squeezed & threaded, for hours of tactile pleasure. The mice have a cheeky, frolicsome posture which makes them very comical
- already a favourite of ours.
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Highly pliable rubbery-creatures with a sucker on each limb. Amusing poses are made by stretching them to many times their original length & then sticking them in position. Double sided suckers allow them to stick to windows, mirrors, fridges & other smooth surfaces. ...