There's nothing much left to feel good about these days if you're British but one of the few things where we all agree that we're still a world leader is our defining sense of humour Thematically covering every subject imaginable from God to dogs this collection is the seminal gathering of our national wit & a picture of who we are as a nation
- a monument to our monumental silliness ' An Englishman even if he is alone forms an orderly queue of one' George Mikes Jane Austen Jo Brand Craig Brown Winston Churchill Alan Clark Jeremy Clarkson Billy Connolly Peter Cook Tommy Cooper Stephen Fry AA Gill Boris Johnson Samuel Johnson Maureen Lipman Spike Milligan Eric Morecambe William Shakespeare George Bernard Shaw Frank Skinner Sue Townsend Peter Ustinov Queen Victoria Oscar Wilde PG Wodehouse Victoria Wood & many more
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Visit 50 of the world&s most fascinating buildings from the Houses of Parliament to the Sydney Opera House on this stunning ...

A stunning debut picture book about a bunnies' baking competition-and the wolf who enters! 32 pages Snowdon Ellie ...

THE NEW QUESTIONTen years after the worldwide bestseller Good to Great Jim Collins returns with another groundbreaking work this time to ask Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty even chaos & others do not? Based on nine years of research buttressed by rigorous analysis & infused with engaging stories Collins & his colleague Morten Hansen enumerate the principles for building a truly great enterprise in unpredictable tumultuous & fast-moving times THE NEW STUDY Great by Choice distinguishes itself from Collins's prior work by its focus not just on performance but also on the type of unstable environments faced by leaders today With a team of more than twenty researchers Collins & Hansen studied companies that rose to greatness
- beating their industry indexes by a minimum of ten times over fifteen years
- in environments characterized by big forces & rapid shifts that leaders could not predict or control The research team then contrasted these "10X companies" to a carefully selected set of comparison companies that failed to achieve greatness in similarly extreme environments THE NEW FINDINGSThe study results were full of provocative surprises Such as The best leaders were not more risk taking more visionary & more creative than the comparisons; they were more disciplined more empirical & more paranoid Innovation by itself turns out not to be the trump card in a chaotic & uncertain world; more important is the ability to scale innovation to blend creativity with discipline Following the belief that leading in a "fast world" always requires "fast decisions" & "fast action" is a good way to get killed The great companies changed less in reaction to a radically changing world than the comparison companies The authors challenge conventional wisdom with thought-provoking sticky & supremely practical concepts They include 10 Xers; the 20 Mile March; Fire Bullets then Cannonballs; Leading above the Death Line; Zoom Out Then Zoom In; & the SMa C Recipe Finally in the last chapter Collins & Hansen present their most provocative & original analysis defining quantifying & studying the role of luck The great companies & the leaders who built them were not luckier than the comparisons but they did get a higher Return on Luck This book is classic Collins contrarian data driven & uplifting He & Hansen show convincingly that even in a chaotic & uncertain world greatness happens by choice not by chance

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Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play This seven part documentary travelogue series follows much loved thespians Timothy West & his wife Prunella Scales as they navigate some of the most breath-taking stretches of canal in Britain & France Each episode tells the history of a different canal network Along the way Tim & Prunella will meet the local characters who live work or just enjoy the canals & witness first-hand how canal life has changed over the years

Includes:: the episodes Kennet & Avon Veteran actors Timothy West & Prunella Scales celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary by heading to the West Country to travel along a canal close to their hearts the fully restored Kennet & Avon which they helped restore 40 years ago Pru&s increasing forgetfulness due to her dementia doesn&t stop them enjoying the sights characters & wildlife along a picturesque the 21-mile stretch of water from Bath to Devizes Rochdale Tim & Pru tackle the Rochdale Canal
- a waterway that was a main artery for the textile industry at the height of the Industrial Revolution They begin in Sowerby Bridge West Yorkshire & head west through Mytholmroyd before journeying up over the Pennines to the canal summit more than 600ft above sea level Llangollen Tim & Pru head to Llangollen Denbighshire where they spent their honeymoon Reminiscing over how their relationship has survived & thrived over the past 50 years the pair take in the picturesque sights of the Vale of Llangollen & the Montgomery Canal before travelling on a horse-drawn barge up the Horseshoe Falls Canal du Nivernais Tim & Pru conclude their odyssey in the Burgundy region of France where they travel along the Canal du Nivernais which passes through towns & villages steeped in history They visit the market town of Chablis to help with the annual grape harvest & the medieval city of Auxerre before reflecting on what the journey has meant to them as a married couple Oxford Timothy West & Prunella Scales embark on another waterway adventure starting in the romantic city of Oxford where they began their courtship many years ago They follow the gentle contours of the Oxford Canal through the Cherwell Valley where they meet novelist Philip Pullman & are joined by their son fellow actor Samuel West Tim & Pru follow in the footsteps of author Tom Rolt whose vivid account of his journey down this canal in 1939 ignited a campaign that went on to save Britain&s canals from extinction Canal du Midi Built nearly a century before the British canal system the Canal du Midi in the south of France has been designated a world heritage site Tim & Pru explore a picturesque stretch as is it meanders toward the Mediterranean They visit the town of Beziers & the Malpas Tunnel
- Europe&s first navigable canal tunnel
- & taste the delights of lamb&s brain fritters & a brandy that is almost 200 years old Forth & Clyde & Union Canals In a coast-to-coast adventure from Edinburgh to Glasgow Tim & Pru travel along the Forth & Clyde Canal & the Union Canal taking in Scotland&s highest aqueduct & longest canal tunnel as well some striking examples of 21st-century engineering & monumental sculptures




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This beautifully illustrated book explores the world's most celebrated historical city maps in stunning detail Follow the history ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Steered by his 1913 & Bradshaw&s Continental Railway Guide& Michael Portillo journeys through a prosperous pre-war Europe of emperors & kings pomp & elegance A continent whose industrialists factories & mines had created wealth whose scientists & engineers were discovering & constructing the marvellous & whose artists were challenging old ways whilst intellectuals plotted revolution This early 20th century handbook opened up an exotic world to the Edwardian tourist; from glittering cosmopolitan cities dramatic Alpine landscapes to warm sparkling seas & picturesque villages Following in their footsteps Michael visits the towns cities & villages listed by his Bradshaw&s guide Travelling from station to station he stays in the recommended hotels explores the magnificent sights samples local traditions takes in many of the continent s most spectacular rail routes & visits some of the central locations in the unfolding Great War story Across 4 discs in total Series 1 comprises 5 episodes London to Monte Carlo Hungary to Austria Berlin to the Rhein Switzerland Amsterdam to Northern France Series 2 comprises 6 episodes Madrid to Gibraltar Turin to Venice Dresden to Kiel Copenhagen to Oslo Prague to Munich Bordeaux to Bilbao ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play In 1913 Europe was criss-crossed by a network of railways stretching from Finland in the North to Constantinople in the East & Cadiz in the West all of them described in Bradshaw&s Continental Railway Guide & General Handbook This comprehensive guidebook opened up an exotic world of foreign travel to the Edwardian British tourist glittering cosmopolitan cities dramatic Alpine landscapes warm sparkling seas & picturesque villages Building on the success of Great British Railway Journeys & the first series of Great Continental Railway Journeys Michael Portillo embarks on a further 6 journeys across Europe Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw&s Guide he will travel from station to station visiting the towns & villages described by the Guide following the suggested itineraries staying in the recommended hotels exploring the sights sampling local traditions while telling the story of Europe in 1913 The 6 episodes are Madrid to Gibraltar Turin to Venice Dresden to Kiel Copenhagen to Oslo Prague to Munich Bordeaux to Bilbao In this series Michael returns to his native Spain to discover what the intrepid tourists of the Belle Epoque experienced on their travels through the fading Spanish empire He travels South from Madrid & finishes with tales of British espionage on the Rock of Gibraltar The second journey takes Michael from the former political capital of Italy Turin to Casanova&s capital of romance Venice Continuing to follow his Bradshaw&s in the third journey Michael explores Germany & learns how tourists in the early 20th century would have been visiting quite a new country which they admired & envied but also feared Michael then travels north into Scandinavia & discovers the royal roots of those Edwardian travellers& close dynastic ties with the kingdoms of Denmark & Norway He also visits the final resting place of George Bradshaw in Oslo For his fourth journey Michael explores the stunning art nouveau architecture of Prague then travels through the Czech Republic crossing into Bavaria arriving in Munich & discovers an early 20th century pioneer who laid the foundations for the city&s pre-eminence in science & technology today In his fi nal journey Michael sets off to sample the delights of the French & Spanish Atlantic coast heading first to Bordeaux & finishing in Bilbao in the Spanish Basque country Actors Michael Portillo Certificate Exempt from Classification Year 2014 Languages English Duration 6 hours (approx) ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Michael Portillo embarks on six memorable railway journeys across Europe armed only with his 1913 Bradshaw&s Guide & sporting his trademark colourful jackets! On his travels Michael visits towns & villages along the way exploring the sights & sampling local traditions while telling the story of what happened in continental Europe in 1913 when everything changed just before the world went to war TRANSYLVANIA TO THE BLACK SEAMichael travels to Romania where he encounters bloodsucking vampires & wild brown bears before visiting a fairytale castle with mod cons & calling in at the world&s first oil refinery ZERMATT TO GENEVAMichael is caught up in a war zone with the Red Cross & rescued from an avalanche by a St Bernard puppy; he also takes to the skies & tries his hand at watchmaking TANGIER TO MARRAKECHMichael leaves Europe behind to take in the sights smells & tastes of north Africa ending his journey with a traditional Berber breakfast in the foothills of the Atlas mountains GENOA TO THE BRENNER PASSMichael discovers how an Edwardian Briton brought &the beautiful game& to Genoa then whips up a pesto Genovese before making his way to the spectacular Brenner Pass RIGA TO TAMPEREMichael journeys from the icy Baltic Sea to the tranquillity of a Finnish lake En route he encounters medieval knights & enjoys a soak in a hot tub by the light of the midnight sun ROTTERDAM TO UTRECHTMichael roots around the world&s largest flower auction operates a crane in Europe&s largest container port & investigates Europe&s most famous red-light district! ...

Tracklist Want You Around (Chunky)I Went Swimming North Street From The Creators Of Love Actually Complicated Everyone's A Little Bit Weird Lost In You Kind Of Like Tread Lightly I Know Nothing By The Sea ...