Imagine a jazz musician, improvising on a theme. Then imagine that he is able to play half a dozen instruments
- not one after
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The complete first series of Tweet of the Day, with introductions by Sir David Attenborough, Chris Packham, Kate Humble & many others. First heard every weekday morning at 5.58am on BBC Radio 4, Tweet of the Day captured the imagination of early risers & bird lovers, proving so popular that it was named Radio Programme of the Year 2014. Each episode begins with a bird call or song, followed by fascinating ornithological detail about its owner. This collection contains every edition from the first series, British Birds. The songs of over 160 birds can be heard over the course of a year, from the Cuckoo`s call in spring to the summer seaside sound of the Herring Gull, the autumn song of the Robin & the Song Thrush`s voice of hope in the depths of winter. Featuring a mix of native birds, such as the Blackbird & Tawny Owl, & migrant visitors including the Icterine Warbler & Ortolan Bunting, the series provides memorable insight into their behaviour & habits, explains their literary or folkloric associations, & tells stories of scientific or conservation success. It is presented by wildlife experts including Miranda Krestovnikoff, Steve Backshall, Michaela Strachan, Brett Westwood, Chris Watson, Martin Hughes-Games, John Aitchison & Bill Oddie, Tweet of the Day is a treat for the ears. Duration: 6 hours approx. ...

Spanning three continents & two centuries, Twelve Bar Blues is an epic tale of fate, family, friendship & jazz. At its heart is Lick Holden, a young jazz musician, who sets New Orleans on fire with his cornet at the beginning of the last century. But Lick`s passion is to find his lost step-sister & that`s a journey that leads him to a place he can call `home`. Meanwhile, at the other end of the century, we find Sylvia, an English prostitute, & Jim, a young drifter. They`re in search of Sylvia`s past, lost somewhere in the mists of the Louisiana bayou. Patrick Neate has written a story that straddles time & space, love & friendship, roots & pilgrimage & everything between. Poignant & hilarious, it will hook you
- like a favourite tune
- till the end.

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Roy Jenkins follows up Churchill with a book of a very different shape; short & semi-autobiographical, but also full of the wit & erudition which make that book such a success. Each of the twelve cities are described with a mixture of architectural interest, topographical insight, & personal anecdote. Jenkins has three British cities: Cardiff, which was the metropolis of his Monmouthshire childhood, Birmingham which he represented in Parliament for 27 years, & Glasgow, which aroused in him an enthusiasm far transcending politics. Further afield there is Paris, Brussels, where he lived for four years as President of the European Commission; Bonn, & Berlin, surveyed from its pre-war splendour, through to its architectural resurgence of the 1990s, Naples & Barcelona. From Lord Jenkins`s over a hundred visits to North America there emerge highly personal recollections of New York & a more objective view of the of Chicago. Dublin, so near to home & yet so distant, makes up the dozen. Twelve Cities is a fascinating & sparkling collection from one of our very finest writers ...

Long ago in a kingdom far away, there lived a king & his twelve beautiful princesses. Although they are locked in their room each night, every morning the princesses wake up with their slippers in rags, as if they had been dancing all night long. Who will solve the mystery of the tattered shoes & claim one of the princesses as their bride? With dazzling illustrations by acclaimed artist Alison Jay this is an enchanting retelling of a classic tale. ...

This visual feast from acclaimed illustrator Alison Jay is the perfect festive gift. On Christmas Eve, a man buys presents for the woman he loves, beginning with a partridge in a pear tree. The couple travel through town & the gifts pile up, until they get to a Christmas party so magnificent it is a little overwhelming...leading them to slip back to the quiet of home, where their partridge is waiting. ...

The Hungarian Revolution in 1956 is a story of extraordinary bravery in a fight for freedom, & of ruthless cruelty in suppressing a popular dream. A small nation, its people armed with a few rifles & petrol bombs, had the will & courage to rise up against one of the world`s superpowers. The determination of the Hungarians to resist the Russians astonished the West. People of all kinds, throughout the free world, became involved in the cause. For 12 days it looked, miraculously, as though the Soviets might be humbled. Then reality hit back. The Hungarians were brutally crushed. Their capital was devastated, thousands of people were killed & their country was occupied for a further three decades. The uprising was the defining moment of the Cold War: the USSR showed that it was determined to hold on to its European empire, but it would never do so without resistance. From the Prague Spring to Lech Walesa`s Solidarity & the fall of the Berlin Wall, the tighter the grip of the communist bloc, the more irresistible the popular demand for freedom. ...

Twelve Favourite Mountains is a selection of Wainwright’s Lakeland peaks in a pocket sized volume, with vintage Wainwright text & illustrative reproductions. The book features the following fells: Blencathra, Bowfell, Carrock, Crinkle Crags, Great Gable, Harrison Stickle, Haystacks, Pike o` Stickle, Pillar, Place Fell, Scafell, Scafell Pike. ...

Cycling`s inexorable rise in popularity continued 2014 when more than three million people lined the streets to watch the Tour de France enjoy three stages in Yorkshire & from Cambridge to London. Sir Bradley Wiggins & Chris Froome became in 2012 & 2013, respectively, the first two British riders to win the Tour, this following the incredible success of Team GBs riders in London 2012 Olympic Games, catapulting Sir Chris Hoy, Wiggins & several track stars into the limelight. In grand tours, Team Sky dominate the scene
- & a million mamils (middle aged men in lycra) can be seen on the country lanes of Britain & Europe every Sunday morning. This book is unashamedly written with love for the mamil. The mamil dreams of the romance of the great pro races such as Paris-Roubaix plus weekends away in Italy & up Mont Ventoux in France, not to mention the home-grown routes in Wales & Scotl&. He wants to walk back into work on Monday morning, cycling shoes click-clacking across the floor & announce with a flourish: ” This time yesterday morning, I was half-way up Alpe d` Huez.” Taking in 12 cycling challenges, one a month for a year, across Britain & northern & southern Europe, this beautiful book chronicles the experiences of two mamils & looks at what it takes to tackle some of the most iconic events in cycling. With breathtaking photography & lively text that conveys exactly how it feels to be by turns frozen, baked, lost, exhausted but utterly exhilarated & inspired this is a book that will resonate with any aspiring road rat.
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This collection presents twelve photographic journeys through Iran in the twenty-first century. The participating photographers have each chosen a different aspect of daily life in their country; a cafe, a bus trip, a shopping centre, a ”living martyr”, the clerics etc. This kaleidoscopic vision takes the viewer to the very heart of the variety & contradictions of a people among who nothing seems to be in its place. A mosaic of contrasts appears in behaviour & attitudes, juxtaposing a world at the same time modern & archaic. ...