July 30, 1966. Bobby Moore is lifting the Jules Rimet trophy, Denis Law is playing golf, & a young boy in Edinburgh is being taught the most important lesson of his life: no matter who England are playing, you support the other lot. If the opposition have a dodgy human rights record, or are cruel to wasps, or can't even be located on a large-format map
- too bad. You support the other lot.

Forty years on, & Aidan Smith has done a pretty good job of supporting the other lot. But these days he should be old enough, & ugly enough, to be above petty, playground-formed sporting squabbles. Besides, the World Cup is coming, Scotland haven't made it, & he's about to marry an Englishwoman. Maybe it's a sign. But can a Scotsman ever cheer for ' Ingerland'?

In Union Jock, Aidan Smith investigates the age-old Engl&-Scotland emnity, both on & off the football field. The Scots may have suffered at the hands of the Auld Enemy for centuries
- Braveheart, Culloden, Jimmy Hill calling David Narey's goal a 'toe-poke' (against Brazil in the 1982 World Cup, top right-hand corner)
- but now they're a nation on the rise, with a spanking new parliament to prove it. But what do the fans, players, politicians, & Sassenach invaders really think about their English neighbours? Would supporting England be a denial of their Scottishness?

Join Aidan Smith on his quest to put an end to centuries of not-so-friendly rivalry. That's if the Scots don't get him first. Or the English.








...

July 30, 1966. Bobby Moore is lifting the Jules Rimet trophy, Denis Law is playing golf, & a young boy in Edinburgh is being taught the most important lesson of his life: no matter who England are playing, you support the other lot. If the opposition have a dodgy human rights record, or are cruel to wasps, or can't even be located on a large-format map
- too bad. You support the other lot.

Forty years on, & Aidan Smith has done a pretty good job of supporting the other lot. But these days he should be old enough, & ugly enough, to be above petty, playground-formed sporting squabbles. Besides, the World Cup is coming, Scotland haven't made it, & he's about to marry an Englishwoman. Maybe it's a sign. But can a Scotsman ever cheer for ' Ingerland'?

In Union Jock, Aidan Smith investigates the age-old Engl&-Scotland emnity, both on & off the football field. The Scots may have suffered at the hands of the Auld Enemy for centuries
- Braveheart, Culloden, Jimmy Hill calling David Narey's goal a 'toe-poke' (against Brazil in the 1982 World Cup, top right-hand corner)
- but now they're a nation on the rise, with a spanking new parliament to prove it. But what do the fans, players, politicians, & Sassenach invaders really think about their English neighbours? Would supporting England be a denial of their Scottishness?

Join Aidan Smith on his quest to put an end to centuries of not-so-friendly rivalry. That's if the Scots don't get him first. Or the English.








...

Going to college or university can be a daunting experience. There are so many new experiences to try, so many new responsibilities to handle. What you really need is a best friend who'll show you the ropes, hold your hand & make sure you get to your lectures on time... This book, unfortunately, isn't that friend.

This book, even more unfortunately, is more akin to the kind of mate who doesn't get up till half past two, nicks your food from the fridge & when you're both well wasted at some awful party you've gate crashed convinces you that Malibu, cider & Worcestershire sauce is a real cocktail. Frankly, if you have even the slightest ambition to emerge from your time in 'higher' education with any kind of qualification whatsoever, it's best that you stop reading now.

If however, you insist on perusing the wisdom contained within this thoroughly disreputable tome, then please note that the author accepts no responsibility for the fact that you'll get a crap qualification, your parents will disown you & your subsequent career will go nowhere. But all that lies way off in the future. So let's talk about Freshers Week...'



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Hazel loves sex. It is her hobby & her passion. Every fortnight she meets up with the well-bred & impeccably mannered Alistair. Then there is Nick, the young IT lad at work, who has taken to following Hazel around like a lost puppy. Her greatest preoccupation, however, concerns the mysterious Number Six ...

Everybody thinks it's easy to fight. They go in a pub & beat up three of four blokes, stamp on them. But the average pub fight lasts ten seconds. When you get in the ring, you're cold. You're not mad. Your body is playing terrible tricks on you. Being in the ring is the hardest thing you'll ever do. Unlicensed fighting is the raw flipside of boxing. A few men make what they call easy money, but for many the unlicensed game becomes a nightmare of pain & fear. Watching fights that run the gamut from 'backroom jobs'
- encounters of uncut street violence
- to fully promoted cards with referees & judges, THE UNLICENSED: RANDOM NOTES FROM BOXING'S UNDREBELLY journeys into the margins of contemporary Britain to strip this world bare for the first time. From the remarkable John Barnwell, a veteran of 30 years of brutal contest around the world, to the fearsome & undefeated Billy Heaney, the street-fighting champion they call ' The Galway Bull', & many more, Jon Hoteen shares the lives & times of these hard men as they confide their vivid & extraordinary stories. In parts bleak, funny, shocking & uncompromising, THE UNLICENSED is above all unflinchingly honest about this secret underside of the fight game.

...

Unmitigated England is a personal view of an England lost & an England found. Accompanied by a wry & often very funny commentary this is a remarkable visual record of very English passions, touching on everything from films to guidebooks, household brands to railway stations, traditional shops to very particular kinds of pubs.

Peter Ashley draws on his collections of photographs & images to show both how this country once looked & how what is left is coming increasingly under threat, a truly unique & thought-provoking book.

...