John Betjeman began writing for the Telegraph in 1951 & continued to do so for a quarter of a century. During that time Britain underwent profound social & cultural changes. In architecture, grand Victorian edifices were pulled down to make way for gleaming brutalist monuments to the Future. In literature, a new generation of angry young men (and women) challenged convention head on. In music, pomp & circumstance gave way to the electric guitar. & in fashion, hemlines crept up. Amongst much of the population, however, such rapid change met with disquiet: a nagging sense that the New had displaced much that was wonderful in the Old. By turns eccentric, wistful & polemical, Betjeman`s writing for the Telegraph gave voice to this unease. From contemporary reviews
- often refreshingly caustic
- of novelists such as Ian Fleming, Nancy Mitford & J.D. Salinger, through prescient warnings about the threat posed to the English skyline by office blocks, motorways & concrete lamp-standards, to elegiac paeans to Norman churches &, of course, the gothic majesty of St Pancras station, Lovely Bits of Old England collects the very best of Betjeman`s contributions to the Telegraph for the first time. Taken together they offer a eulogy for what was lost & an impassioned defence of the past in the face of progress`s relentless onward march.

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` Generous & empathetic.. . opens up postwar migration in all its richness` Sukhdev Sandhu, Guardian` Groundbreaking, sophisticated, original, open-minded.. . essential reading for anyone who wants to understand not only the transformation of British society after the war but also its character today` Piers Brendon, Literary Review` Lyrical, full of wise & original observations` David Goodhart, The Times The battered & exhausted Britain of 1945 was desperate for workers
- to rebuild, to fill the factories, to make the new NHS work. From all over the world & with many motives, thousands of individuals took the plunge. Most assumed they would spend just three or four years here, sending most of their pay back home, but instead large numbers stayed
- & transformed the country. Drawing on an amazing array of unusual & surprising sources, Clair Wills` wonderful new book brings to life the incredible diversity & strangeness of the migrant experience. She introduces us to lovers, scroungers, dancers, homeowners, teachers, drinkers, carers & many more to show the opportunities & excitement as much as the humiliation & poverty that could be part of the new arrivals` experience. Irish, Bengalis, West Indians, Poles, Maltese, Punjabis & Cypriots battled to fit into an often shocked Britain &, to their own surprise, found themselves making permanent homes. As Britain picked itself up again in the 1950s migrants set about changing life in their own image, through music, clothing, food, religion, but also fighting racism & casual & not so casual violence. Lovers & Strangers is an extremely important book, one that is full of enjoyable surprises, giving a voice to a generation who had to deal with the reality of life surrounded by `white strangers` in their new country.

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The battered & exhausted Britain of 1945 was desperate for workers
- to rebuild, to fill the factories, to make the new NHS work.
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A richly imagined & stunningly inventive literary masterpiece of love, art, & betrayal, exploring the genesis of evil, the unforeseen consequences of love, & the ultimate unreliability of storytelling itself. Paris in the 1920s shimmers with excitement, dissipation, & freedom. It is a place of intoxicating ambition, passion, art, & discontent, where louche jazz venues like the Chameleon Club draw expats, artists, libertines, & parvenus looking to indulge their true selves. It is at the Chameleon where the striking Lou Villars, an extraordinary athlete & scandalous cross-dressing lesbian, finds refuge among the club`s loyal denizens, including the rising Hungarian photographer Gabor Tsenyi, the socialite & art patron Baroness Lily de Rossignol; & the caustic American writer Lionel Maine. As the years pass, their fortunes-and the world itself-evolve. Lou falls desperately in love & finds success as a race car driver. Gabor builds his reputation with startlingly vivid & imaginative photographs, including a haunting portrait of Lou & her lover, which will resonate through all their lives. As the exuberant twenties give way to darker times, Lou experiences another metamorphosis-sparked by tumultuous events-that will warp her earnest desire for love & approval into something far more. ...

Karttakeskus’ Water touring maps are a completely new type of map series. The pre-folded maps made from waterproof & rip-proof material can fit into a small space on the boat, but when opened, they cover a wide area. In this way, the water touring map is e.g. an excellent planning tool alongside electronic navigation solutions, offering a wide overview for e.g. route planning. On the other h&, the waterproof material makes the map easy to handle in e.g. an open boat or sailing boat. Water touring maps: In land areas, the maps have been supplemented with the National Land Survey of Finland’s Topographic Database material. New map sheet division. Size 70 × 100 cm, folded 23.3 × 11.3 cm. Additional themes incl. slipways & camp fire sites & landfalls. Scale in maritime areas 1:60 000, inland waterways 1:50 000 Base map source: Finnish Transport Agency. Not for navigation use. Does not meet the requirements of an official nautical chart. ...

Map No. 10119, Lovund, in the new topographic survey of Norway at 1:50, 000 covering the country on 195 double-sided sheets & first published by Nordeca in 2011
- 2012; fully GPS compatible, indicating waymarked footpaths, campsites, tourist huts, illuminated ski runs, etc. The maps, now published by Nordeca, the successors to Statens Kartverk & its subsequent owners the Ugland Group, are printed on light, waterproof & tear-resistant synthetic paper. Each map covers an area of 62x 45 kilometres (39 x 28 miles approx.), with a 2-km overlap between the sheets. The maps have contours at 20m intervals (10m glacier contours), plus colouring & graphics to show cultivated areas, bogs, forests, etc. In addition to all the information expected of topographic mapping at this scale the maps distinguish between waymarked & unmarked footpaths & show campsites, tourist huts (serviced/self service/no supplies), country hotels & restaurants, & illuminated ski trails. The series uses EUREF89 (WGS84) datum & the maps have a 1-km UTM grid. Map legend is in Norwegian & English. Each title comes in a sturdy protective card envelope.
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We all crave warming comfort food when the weather starts to cool down
- rich & fragrant curries, succulent braises & soups,
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” If you have ever cooked a steak medium-well instead of medium-rare, a chicken that ends up dry & tasteless, a stew that`s tough or stringy or a rack of ribs that falls a little too much off the bone then this is the book that will make your life that little bit better. This book is about `slow cooking`. Not meaning that slow cooker you got as a wedding gift that you never use & takes up valuable kitchen space or some big outdoor smoker that most people just don`t have, but cooking using anything from frying pans, ovens, pots, grills & affordable outdoor barbecues. It`s also not just about tough cuts of meat but also steaks, roasts, burgers & barbecue joints as well as lots of other things you might never have dreamed of slow-cooking at low temperatures! This is a step-by-step guide to cooking low & slow & why it benefits almost everything you cook & not just big hairy barbecue chefs like me.” (Neil Rankin). ...

Low Fell in 1895 in a fascinating series of reproductions of old Ordnance Survey plans in the Alan Godfrey Editions, ideal for anyone interested in the history of their neighbourhood or family. Selected towns in Great Britain & Ireland are covered by maps showing the extent of urban development in the last decades of the 19th & early 20th century. In this title: the map covers Low Fell, on the south side of Gateshead, & much of the area now covered by the Team Valley Trading Estate. Low Fell itself is on the eastern side of the map. Coverage stretches from Kells Lane westward across the Team valley to Farnacres & Norwood, & from Saltwellpark Mansion southward to the Chow Dene. The NER main line runs north-south through the map, including Low Fell station. Features include St Helen's church, Saltwell Hall, Whinney House, Saltwell Cottage, Derwent Crook, Saltwell Side, Tileshed Wood, a stretch of the Team Colliery Wagonway, tramway. An 1894 directory of Low Fell is included. About the Alan Godfrey Editions of the 25 ...

Low Fell in 1895 in a fascinating series of reproductions of old Ordnance Survey plans in the Alan Godfrey Editions, ideal for anyone interested in the history of their neighbourhood or family. The map covers Low Fell, on the south side of Gateshead, & much of the area now covered by the Team Valley Trading Estate. Low Fell itself is on the eastern side of the map. Coverage stretches from Kells Lane westward across the Team valley to Farnacres & Norwood, & from Saltwellpark Mansion southward to the Chow Dene. The NER main line runs north-south with the Low Fell station. Features include St Helen`s church, Saltwell Hall, Whinney House, Saltwell Cottage, Derwent Crook, Saltwell Side, Tileshed Wood, a stretch of the Team Colliery Wagonway, tramway, etc. An 1894 directory of Low Fell is on the reverse. About the Alan Godfrey Editions of the 25” OS Series: Selected towns in Great Britain & Ireland are covered by maps showing the extent of urban development in the last decades of the 19th & early 20th century. The plans have been taken from the Ordnance Survey mapping & reprinted at about 15 inches to one mile (1:4, 340). On the reverse most maps have historical notes & many also include extracts from contemporary directories. Most maps cover about one mile (1.6kms) north/south, one & a half miles (2.4kms) across; adjoining sheets can be combined to provide wider coverage.FOR MORE INFORMATION & A COMPLETE LIST OF ALL AVAILABLE TITLES PLEASE CLICK ON THE SERIES LINK. ...