Set in mid-1970s India A Fine Balance is a subtle & compelling narrative about four unlikely characters who come together in circumstances no one could have foreseen soon after the government declares a ' State of Internal Emergency'. It is a breathtaking achievement: panoramic yet humane intensely political yet rich with local delight; & above all compulsively readable. ...

The only woman to serve as a soldier in the First World War the Englishwoman Flora Sandes became a hero & media sensation when she fought for the Serbian Army & pursued a distinguished career in its ranks as officer. This account charts her incredible story from her tomboyish childhood in genteel Victorian England her mission to Serbia as a Red Cross volunteer & subsequent military enrolment her celebrity lecture tours of Europe her marriage to a fellow officer & her survival of a Gestapo prison during the Second World War to her final years in Suffolk. A fascinating character of her times & an inspiration to women the world over Flora Sandes is brought to life & restored to her rightful place in history by this authorized biography
- compiled with the help of her family & using hitherto unused private papers & photographs.
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If you loved A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian you'll love The Fine Colour of Rust. Single mother Loretta Boskovic may have fantasies about dumping her two kids in the orphanage & riding off on a Harley with her dream lover but her reality is life in a dusty country town called Gunapan. A self-dubbed 'old scrag' Loretta's got a big heart & a strong sense of injustice. So when Gunapan's primary school is threatened with closure & there's a whiff of corruption wafting through the corridors of the local council she stirs into action. She's short of money influence & a fully functioning car but she does have loyal friends who'll do whatever it takes to hold on to the scrap of world that is home. The Fine Colour of Rust is a wryly funny beautifully observed life-affirming novel about friendship love & fighting for things that matter. In Loretta Boskovic Paddy O' Reilly (writing as P. A. O' Reilly) has created a truly endearing heroine who gives us all permission to dream. ...

In 1955 former nightclub manageress Ruth Ellis shot dead her lover David Blakely. Following a trial that lasted less than two days she was found guilty & sentenced to death. She became the last woman to be hanged in Britain & her execution is the most notorious of hangman Albert Pierrepoint's 'duties'. Despite Ruth's infamy the story of her life has never been fully told. Often wilfully misinterpreted the reality behind the headlines was buried by an avalanche of hearsay. But now through new interviews & comprehensive research into previously unpublished sources Carol Ann Lee examines the facts without agenda or sensation. A portrait of the era & an evocation of 1950s club life in all its seedy glamour A Fine Day for a Hanging" sets Ruth's gripping story firmly in its historical context in order to tell the truth about both her timeless crime & a punishment that was very much of its time." ...

The fantastic new collection of stories from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of ' The Shipping News' & ' Brokeback Mountain'. ' Fine Just The Way It Is' marks Annie Proulx's return to the Wyoming of ' Brokeback Mountain' & the familiar cast of hardy unsentimental prairie folk. The stories are cast over centuries & capture the voices & lives of the settlers this sagebrushed & weatherworn country has known from the native Indian tribes to the modern day ranch owners & politicians & their cowboy forebears. In 'A Family Man' an old man nearing the end of his life unburdens himself of the weighty family secrets that were his father's unwelcome legacy. ' Them Old Cowboy Songs' follows Archie & Rosie a young pioneer couple & their hardships in their attempt to homestead in the exposed wintry expanses of the prairie & ' Testimony of the Donkey' finds a young international couple Marc & Caitlin struggling with much more modern concerns & confronting uncertainty as their relationship comes to its end. These are stories of desperation & hard times often marked by an inescapable sadness set in a landscape both brutal & magnificent. Enlivened by folk tales flights of fancy & details of ranch & rural work they juxtapose Wyoming's traditional character & attitudes
- confrontation of tough problems prejudice persistence in the face of difficulty
- with the more benign values of the new west. These are bold elegant & memorable pieces & once more confirm Annie Proulx as one of the most talented unique short story writers in the language.

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Fine Motor Skills" contains over 40 photocopiable activities designed to improve childrens fine motor control pencil grip & h&-eye coordination. Carefully differentiated tasks enable children to progress effectively through the varied & challenging activities which include finger-painting colouring-in following mazes & paths overdrawing & dot-to-dots. Find your way around a haunted house join the dots to complete the rocket finger paint all the colours of the rainbow & take part in many other exciting adventures! Written by the same experienced authors of the popular " Cutting Skills" book (2002; ISBN 1-85503-349-6) the activities are so enjoyable children will improve their motor control without even noticing! It

Includes:: Teachers Notes with sections on vocabulary & observation. It gives full instructions detailing the objectives & targets for each activity: Finger Painting; Colouring In; Overdrawing; Dot-to-Dot; & Mazes & Paths. It complies with the National Curriculum Key Stage 1 & Stage 2."

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The updated & expanded 2nd edition of Fine Motor Skills in Children with Down Syndrome" continues to be a popular practical guide to understanding fine motor skills in children with Down syndrome & helping them develop these skills from birth through early adolescence. The first edition won a Parent's Choice Award in 1999. The author an occupational therapist who has worked extensively with children with Down syndrome is also the parent of a teenager with Down syndrome. She offers parents & professionals dozens of easy home-and school-based activities illustrated with black & white photos which help children gradually acquire the skills they need for fine motor development. Readers learn how to incorporate work on fine motor skills into everyday activities & routines & to emphasise tasks that children can use throughout life
- play self-help printing cutting with scissors & computer use. New to this edition is a chapter on sensory processing & how the sensory system affects behaviour & learning in children with Down syndrome. Parents learn strategies that can help children handle various sensory problems so they can continue to learn daily living skills. Bruni

Includes:: new information on determining when a child is ready for 'pre-printing' activities (things a child can do to prepare for trying to print letters) & how to introduce related concepts (up & down; top & bottom; start & stop; left & right). The 2nd edition also

Includes:: more information on ways to help children learn self-help skills such as dressing using a fork & spoon & becoming potty trained. This new & enhanced edition gives parents & professionals the expertise & confidence they need to help children build fine motor abilities & become more independent. This book is useful for parents of children with Down syndrome early intervention specialists occupational & physical therapists & teachers."




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The death of a gangster draws super-spy Paul Chavasse into a breathtaking adventure on the high seas
- an unforgettable tale from
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The last of his line Jack Baron Warnefleet flees London after nearly being compromised into marrying a dreadful female. Turning his back on marriage he rides home to the estate he has not seen for years Outside his gate however Jack rescues a lady from an unmanageable horse. But Lady Clarice Altwood is no meek & mild miss. She is delectably attractive undeniably capable & completely unforgettable. It quickly becomes clear that Clarice is in danger & Jack must use every ounce of his cunning to protect this richly passionate woman...who has so quickly stolen his heart. ...

In the heart of the leafy Cotswolds a body is found. A teenage girl probably local somebodys daughter who went out one evening & didnt come back. It is not long before she is identified: fifteen-year-old Lynne Wills who habitually drank underage in The Silver Bells pub & one the night of her death was seen leaving with an unknown man. Chief Inspector Markbys friend Meredith Mitchell has been befriended by another troubled young local girl Katie Conway. On the surface Lynne & Katie have nothing in common except their age & home town. But could the insights Katie gives Meredith into her difficult family background
- an unstable aristocratic mother a doting father at the end of his tether & a scheming resident secretary
- throw some light on the other young girl? & given that forensic evidence now points to Lynne Willss murder having taken place in the Devaux family mausoleum on her murder too.. .?

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