The original Helston Railway Preservation Society was formed at a meeting held in the Chy-an-Albany Hotel St Ives on the 18th May 2002. As the original Society was an un-incorporated association the Helston Railway Preservation Company Limited was formed on 16 February 2006 with powers to build & run a railway. This is a special not for profit company limited by guarantee. The objective of the company is to restore to running order & re-open as a heritage railway as much of the old Helston Branch Line as possible. The long term aim is to re-open a three mile section of the branch line between Nancegollan & Helston Water-ma-Trout. With the kind permission of the landowner a volunteer labour force drawn from the Companys Supporters started clearing the track bed at Trevarno Estate on Sunday 24th April 2005. Around a half mile section of the track bed has now been cleared. This latest volume in the series covering preserved lines is rather special as it covers a line that has gone from virtually zero to a working railway in a very short time. Chris Heaps knows the railway well having travelled on the line since childhood until closure by BR. Chris has sourced a remarkable collection of images from the past & the contrasting present day shots show a dramatic chenge. In parts the track bed has been obliterated but we see what the scene looked like all those years ago when the railway was in full operation. Where the revivalists have set to work the sheer hard work of these enthusiasts can be seen in the recreation of past days... ...

The true story behind the most infamous mass murder case ever & its perpetrator the notorious criminal Charles Manson. On August 9th 1969 seven people were found shot stabbed & bludgeoned to death in Los Angeles. America watched in fascinated horror as the killers were tried & convicted. But the real questions went unanswered. How did Manson make his family kill for him? What made these young men & women kill again & again with no trace of remorse? Did the murders continue even after Mansons imprisonment? No matter how much you think you know about this case this book will still shock you. ...

Sister Fidelma originally made her debut in short story form. The red-haired sharp-witted & astonishingly wise religieuse captured the hearts of many readers as she successfully tackled the most baffling of crimes in her other role as advocate of the law courts of Ireland using the ancient Brehon Law system. With its breathtaking range of settings & crimes & its fascinating insights into Celtic culture HEMLOCK AT VESPERS is guaranteed to entertain & intrigue. ...

We think the way we do because Socrates thought the way he did. His aphorism ' The unexamined life is not worth living' may have originated twenty-five centuries ago but it is a founding principle of modern life. Socrates lived & contributed to a city that nurtured key ingredients of contemporary civilisation
- democracy liberty science drama rational thought
- yet as he wrote nothing in his lifetime he himself is an enigmatic figure. The Hemlock Cup" gives Socrates the biography he deserves setting him in the context of the Eastern Mediterranean that was his home & dealing with him as he himself dealt with the world. Socrates was a soldier a lover a man of the people. He philosophised neither in grand educational establishments nor the courts of kings but in the squares & public arenas of Golden Age Athens. He lived through an age of extraordinary materialism in which a democratic culture turned to the glorification of its own city; when war was declared under the banner of democracy; & when tolerance turned into intimidation on streets once populated by the likes of Euripides Sophocles & Pericles. For seventy years he was a vigorous citizen of one of the greatest capitals on earth but then his beloved Athens turned on him condemning him to death by poison. Socrates' pursuit of personal liberty is a vibrant story that Athens did not want us to hear but which must be told. Bettany Hughes has painstakingly pieced together Socrates' life following in his footsteps across Greece & Asia Minor & examining the new archaeological discoveries that shed light on his world. In " The Hemlock Cup" she reveals the human heart of the man & relates a story that is as relevant now as it has ever been."

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The hen harrier is one of the iconic species of the bird world & its history is a mix of controversy persecution & recent patchy recovery. This book a dedicated study of the bird in N. Ireland for over two decades provides a detailed account of the life habits & prospects for the bird. The author presents much new information about the harrier in its continuing struggle to re-establish its hold despite high levels of persecution from man or predation by other species. Having spent thousands of hours over many years studying these birds he was rewarded by the discovery that this ground-nesting species was nesting in tall conifers in the forests of County Antrim
- the only country throughout their vast European range where this occurs annually. Other significant finds soon became apparent as did the discovery that red kites were nesting for the first time & marsh harriers had returned to nest for the first time in almost 200 years. The authors passion for the bird is obvious as he shares moments of excitement & sadness & he speaks frankly about the maltreatment & mismanagement of this elegant raptor over the years.
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A heart-warming story by Jill Tomlinson about a hen with as much pluck as she has cluck! Hilda is a small speckled hen. & when Hilda makes up her mind nothing can stop her. Hilda's auntie has just had a family of chicks & she's determined to visit them. But how is Hilda going to travel the five miles to her auntie's farm? Filled with gentle humour & comfort Jill Tomlinson's animal stories have been enjoyed by children who want to snuggle down with a good read for decades. This edition is stunningly illustrated by Paul Howard making The Hen Who Wouldn't Give Up an even more enjoyable story for young readers. ...

Though many books have chronicled Jimi Hendrixs brilliant but tragically brief musical career this is the first to use his own words to paint a detailed portrait of the man behind the guitar. With selections carefully chosen by one of the worlds leading Jimi Hendrix historians this work

Includes:: the most important interviews from the peak of his career 1966 to 1970. In this authoritative volume Hendrix recalls for reporters his heartbreaking childhood his concept of Electric Church Music" (intended to wash peoples souls & give them a new direction) & his wish to be remembered as not just another guitar player. While Hendrix never wrote a memoir with new transcriptions from European papers the African American press counterculture newspapers radio & TV interviews & previously unpublished court transcripts this book gives music fans the next best thing to a Hendrix autobiography."

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No one knows for sure when henna was first used for skin decorating but traces of henna have been found on mummies in Egypt & in cave painting in India dating back thousands of years. While this tradition is still widely used in India Africa the Middle East & Asia it is now gaining popularity throughout the Western world as well. It is increasingly common for henna parties to be held in the United States sometimes at weddings birthday parties & baby showers-and sometimes just for fun. Henna patterns are seen adorning pop icons like Madonna Demi Moore & Prince & henna artists are becoming an increasingly common sight at street fairs & shops as a temporary & painless alternative to tattoos. Design motifs are included from many different cultures with background information provided about the symbolism of the designs & motifs. ...

We all know the story of Henny Penny the silly chicken who thinks the sky is falling in. Well that is not the true story. No that is a misrepresentation put about by foxes. This is the true story & proves what we always knew in our hearts
- chickens are heroes!
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In 1955 Henri Cartier-Bresson published The Europeans" a portrait of the continent documenting a landscape shadowed by the war. In this book the photographer brings together images spanning the years from the late 1920s to the early 1970s. He has travelled across Europe from the Scandinavian shield to the Irish bogs in order to capture what it means to be European. Beyond nationalism & the particular characteristics of each culture & nation he has found evidence of a greater identity a likeness shared by the people & the landscape. His photographs seek to speak of the same daily ceremony of the ongoing business of living for people across Europe whether Polish priests in alb or cassock or Abruzzi peasants shrouded in the black of their cloaks & hats." ...