There is so much to look forward to in the months ahead
- to lengthening evenings, bike rides past fields of sunflowers or wild
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Topographic survey of France at 1:25, 000 in IGN`s excellent TOP25 / Série Bleue series. All the maps are GPS compatible, with a 1km UTM grid plus latitude & longitude lines at 5’ intervals. Contours are at 5m intervals except for mountainous areas where the maps have contours at 10m intervals, vividly enhanced by hill shading & graphics for rocky terrain. Colouring with graphics indicates different types of vegetation or land use (deciduous or coniferous forests, moors, orchards, vineyards, etc). PLEASE NOTE: coverage of France at this scale is currently being revised – the format & the presentation of each title are indicated by the letters at the end of its Sheet Reference number (e.g. 0416ET, 3531ETR, 1923SB, etc.)MAPS WITH FULL TOURIST OVERPRINT & AN ENGLISH MAP LEGEND: all TOP25 maps & the SB editions of Série Bleue have an overprint highlighting waymarked walking trails including long-distance GR routes &, where appropriate, ski routes. Symbols indicate campsites, gîtes d’etape, refuges, equestrian centres & other recreational facilities or sites, tourist information centres, cultural heritage, etc. Towns & locations of particular interest are highlighted.- ET or OT = single-sided TOP25 map covering approx. 29x 21 km / 18x 13 miles.- ETR or OTR = waterproof & tear resistant TOP25 map covering the same area as the corresponding ET or OT number, but double-sided, printed on a smaller size sheet with a good overlap between the sides.- SB = Série Bleue map with full tourist overprint; these maps, first introduced in summer 2014, each cover approx. 29x 24km / 18x 15 miles.SÉRIE BLEUE maps with numbers ending in E (Est) or O (Ouest): most editions now indicate the GR routes, but do not show any other tourist information. Map legend is in French only. Each map covers approx. 14x 20km / 9x 12 miles. ...

Now in paperback, a beautifully illustrated account of of Tove Jansson`s life & art The definitive biography of one of the most unique & beloved children`s authors of the 20th century, the creator of the Moomins. Tove Jansson (1914-2001) led a long, colourful & productive life, impacting significantly the political, social & cultural history of 20th-century Finl&. & while millions of children have grown up with Little My, Snufkin, Moomintroll & the many creatures of Moominvalley, the life of Jansson
- daughter, friend & companion
- is more touching still. This book weaves together the myriad qualities of a painter, author, illustrator, scriptwriter & lyricist from fraught beginnings through fame, war & heartbreak & ultimately to a peaceful end. Dr Tuula Karjalainen is a Finnish art historian & non-fiction writer who has previously worked as a director of the Helsinki Art Museum & the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki. As the author of Tove Jansson`s biography, Karjalainen has become an expert not only on Jansson`s writing & art but also on her decades of personal correspondence & journals.

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Tow Law in 1897 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. Tow Law stands over 1, 000 feet up & developed in the mid 19th century with the growth of the Weardale Iron Co; the iron works closed in the 1880s, local ore being too expensive to extract. However, this is still a busy map with several collieries & railways. Features include the town itself, with cattle market, Dan`s Castle, Tow Law Iron Works (a smaller works run by Joseph Bond), station, St Philip & St James church, South Cornsay, Black Prince Colliery, etc. Further east the map

Includes:: West Thornley Colliery, Hedleyhope Colliery & the NER`s Hedleyhope Incline. On the reverse is a small extract of adjacent sheet 25.10 extending coverage to Inkerman, plus a directory. 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.

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Pluck has been driving all over town in his little red tow truck, looking for a home. When he finds out there`s a room going free in the Pill Building he goes straight there & moves in. Right away he makes lots of friends, including Zaza the cockroach & Dolly the pigeon. Now his adventures can begin... Blending realistic characters with the fantastic, full of adventure & humour, Tow-Truck Pluck is an unforgettably offbeat children`s classic in the vein of Roald Dahl`s The BFG, & one of the Netherlands most popular children`s books of all time. ...

After many generations, it is now Harold who runs Ard Farm. Out on the fells, he feels his father`s presence, & there is hope that he, his grandmother & his Uncle Joe will be able to take the farm forward & prosper. But their way of life is under threat: farming is undergoing huge change & increasingly harmful intervention. Towards Mellbreak is a hymn both to the landscape of Cumbria & to a disappearing world. Poetic, beautiful & tragic, it exposes the struggle to preserve traditions & beliefs in the face of change, & an assertion of the power to be found in the rituals we pass down through our families. ...

Shortlisted for a 2018 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award. After many generations, it is now, in 1971, Harold who runs Ard Farm. Out on the fells, he feels his father`s presence, & there is hope that he, his grandmother & his Uncle Joe will be able to take the farm forward & prosper. But their way of life is under threat. Farming is undergoing huge change & increasingly harmful intervention. As the years pass, & Harold has a son of his own, he strives to keep control of his l&, to make a go of it, even while forces he cannot understand are gradually destroying him... Towards Mellbreak is a hymn both to the landscape of Cumbria & to a disappearing world. Poetic, beautiful & tragic, it gives an account of the struggle to preserve traditions & beliefs in the face of change. It is a quietly bold indictment of the treatment of generations of British men, & an assertion of the power to be found in the rituals we pass down through our families. ...

Michael Frayn`s classic novel is set in the crossword & nature notes department of an obscure national newspaper during the declining years of Fleet Street, where John Dyson dreams wistfully of fame & the gentlemanly life
- until one day his great chance of glory at last arrives. Michael Frayn is the celebrated author of fifteen plays including Noises Off, Copenhagen & Afterlife. His bestselling novels include Headlong, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Spies, which won the Whitbread Best Novel Award & Skios, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. ” Still ranks with Evelyn Waugh`s Scoop as one of the funniest novels about journalists ever written.” (Sunday Times). ”A sublimely funny comedy about the ways newspapers try to put lives into words.” (Spectator).
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Towcester in 1899 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 is double-sided; he main map covers the town centre & the area westward to Costwell Farm & Green`s Norton Hall. Features include Northampton & Banbury Jct Railway with station, Workhouse, St Lawrence`s church, Hesketh Hotel, Watling Street, Grammar School, Town Hall, Bury Mount, etc. On the reverse is part of the adjacent sheet 56.07, which extends coverage eastward to include Brewery, rest of High Street, East Neston House, & part of Easton Neston with St Mary`s church. Also provided is a list of private residents from an 1898 directory. 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. ...

No building has been more intimately involved in the story of Britain than the Tower of London
- a mighty, brooding stronghold
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