London 1844, & a shy young woman has arrived to take up a new position in the grandeur of No. 50, Wimpole Street. Subtly & compellingly, Lady's Maid gives voice to Elizabeth Wilson's untold story, her complex relationship with her mistress, Elizabeth Barrett, & her dramatic role in the most famous elopement in history. ...

A flirtatious, confident & rebellious teenager is transformed into an understandably confused & frightened dog by a tramp with magical powers. Sandra has a lot of growing up to do, quickly, to survive as a scrounging stray in a competitive & rough dog ...

Ladybird lives on a large green leaf, but one day she hears a hungry snail munching its way towards her home! So she sets off to find a new place to live. She crawls under a stone, peeps inside a flower pot, slips into the garden shed & even takes a dip in a watering can! & at last she finds the perfect spot.

Little ones will love following the winding word path & sliding Ladybird through the slot in each picture as she searches the garden for a new home.

...

John, a teenager, struggles with loneliness & alienation in Ferguslie Park, a rough housing scheme in 1950's Scotl&. At school he makes friends with Laff, a Ferguslie boy who shares his dream of escape. Their friendship becomes a fortress against the mockery they face at school & the menace of ' Feegie'
- & their dreams are only heightened when rock'n roll, jukeboxes & Teddy Boys erupt like a splash of technicolour into their monochrome lives. They yearn for sex, dream of romance, discover jealousy, get into fights... When tragedy intervenes, John is in danger of 'settling for less'
- giving up on their youthful dream. But Laff's influence persists

...

Gail Porter burst on to our TV screens in the late 90s presenting The Movie Chart Show, Alive & Kicking & ...

On a promontory jutting out into the Atlantic wind stands the Home run by Brother Benedict, where boys are taught a little of God & a lot of fear. To Michael Lamb, one of the youngest brothers, the regime is without hope, & when he inherits a small legacy he defies his elders & runs away, taking with him a twelve-year-old boy, Owen Kane. Radio Eireann call it a kidnapping. For Michael the act is the beginning of Owen's salvation. Posing as father & son, they concentrate on discovering the happiness that is so unfamiliar to them both. But as the outside world closes in around them
- as time, money & opportunity run out
- Michael finds himself moving towards a solution that is as uncompromising as it is inspired by love.

...

On a promontory jutting out into the Atlantic wind stands the Home run by Brother Benedict, where boys are taught a little of God & a lot of fear. To Michael Lamb, one of the youngest brothers, the regime is without hope, & when he inherits a small legacy he defies his elders & runs away, taking with him a twelve-year-old boy, Owen Kane. Radio Eireann call it a kidnapping. For Michael the act is the beginning of Owen's salvation. Posing as father & son, they concentrate on discovering the happiness that is so unfamiliar to them both. But as the outside world closes in around them
- as time, money & opportunity run out
- Michael finds himself moving towards a solution that is as uncompromising as it is inspired by love.

...

The world of the railways weaves a spell over many people. In this engaging book railway expert Anthony Lambert presents some of the best stories. From the early days come tales of financial skulduggery & worries that sparks from locomotives might ignite sheep's fleeces. But as the railway transformed the modern world, attitudes changed, & railways were opened to great rejoicing & even religious blessing. The perennial appeal of the steam locomotive generated a pride amongst railwaymen & a fascination among the public. The romantic aspects of the railway were soon celebrated
- & not just the unexpected engagement that came from a snowbound train in the Highlands or the sexual shenanigans of the Orient Express. Here are stories of railway travel, from the palatial carriages of tsars & maharajahs to the open trucks of the 'lower orders', mishaps & faux pas, & tales of how ticket inspectors used to have to hold on to the outside of carriages while clipping tickets.

From tales of lonely stations & signal-boxes in Scotl&, to the unlucky engineer eaten by a lion in a carriage in Kenya, Lambert casts his net across railways worldwide to gather the most entertaining material. There are stories here that would enliven even a cheerless commute on the 18.01, & remind you that our railways really were
- & occasionally still are
- full of derring-do, romance & character.




...

The world of the railways weaves a spell over many people. In this engaging book railway expert Anthony Lambert presents some of the best stories. From the early days come tales of financial skulduggery & worries that sparks from locomotives might ignite sheep's fleeces. But as the railway transformed the modern world, attitudes changed, & railways were opened to great rejoicing & even religious blessing. The perennial appeal of the steam locomotive generated a pride amongst railwaymen & a fascination among the public. The romantic aspects of the railway were soon celebrated
- & not just the unexpected engagement that came from a snowbound train in the Highlands or the sexual shenanigans of the Orient Express. Here are stories of railway travel, from the palatial carriages of tsars & maharajahs to the open trucks of the 'lower orders', mishaps & faux pas, & tales of how ticket inspectors used to have to hold on to the outside of carriages while clipping tickets.

From tales of lonely stations & signal-boxes in Scotl&, to the unlucky engineer eaten by a lion in a carriage in Kenya, Lambert casts his net across railways worldwide to gather the most entertaining material. There are stories here that would enliven even a cheerless commute on the 18.01, & remind you that our railways really were
- & occasionally still are
- full of derring-do, romance & character.




...

For far too long, the County of Lancashire has languished under the grimy pall of smoke, muck, mills & mines; enveloped in outdated condescension & smothered by the easy dismissals that put down the north of England as just 'up there' & 'grim'. Thank you very much, George Orwell, Monty Python & every London cabbie. But Lancashire is not 'up there'. It is actually situated in the centre of the British Isles &, far from being grim, Lancs is in fact a place of wit & wonder, romance & surprise; a land of exotic influence whose people have ever looked outward to sophistications & influences beyond frontiers & seas. Indeed, French writer Honore de Balzac recognised these affinities & yearnings in the Lancashire people when he had one of his characters declare that ' Lancashire is the County where women die of love'. Mock if you like, but then think about it: where is the magnificent thoroughfare that inspired the boulevards of Paris? Where did they go to film Brief Encounter, arguably the most romantic British film ever? Which city informed the great vision of C. G. Jung? Where did the young Shakespeare dream & draw his inspired imaginings? Where do you think Britain's only bullfighter, the doughty El Ingles, is from? Where will the new Las Vegas be? Join Charles Nevin, Fleet Street journalist & humorist, as he returns to his roots & reveals all this & more in Where Women Die of Love. Discover the true Camelot & the beauty that is Rugby League. Ponder over Cotton & Gandhi & Engels, & mull over the reason why Britain's greatest comics, from Laurel to Coogan........ ...