Jonathan & Theos childhood is one in which money is abundant but nurture is scarce. With a father who died when they were very young & a mother who starts drinking at lunchtime the brother & sister are largely left to roam around their sprawling estate in rural Wales looking after only themselves & each other. Until that is their grandmother Eve returns to the family home. Eve is a figure who is as enchanting as she is forbidding & she takes the children under her wing answering their questions about their family history that have always been ignored. Yet as they grow older they discover that much of what theyve been told is a fiction & that something very sinister lies in their past. ...

Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize & Costa Novel of the Year this international bestseller has become a reading group classic. We don't want to tell you too much about this book. It is a truly special story & we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless you need to know something so we will just say this: It is extremely funny but the African beach scene is horrific. The story starts there but the book doesn't. & it's what happens afterwards that is most important. Once you have read it you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds. ...

First published in 1944 during the darkest days of the war Lord Wavells great anthology of English poetry
- enhanced by his own
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The Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Company began to operate motor buses in the Birmingham & Black Country area in 1912 radiating their services out as far as Leicester. By the 1920s they were building their own buses & SOS was born standing for Shires Own Speci cation named after Midland Reds Chief Engineer. The advantage of this was that the company could design exactly what it wanted without having to compromise by adopting a vehicle from an outside manufacturer. These new single deckers inspired by American designs were responsible for the closure of many tramways. An important by-product of this decision to manufacture their own buses was that the company could manufacture for other BET Group operators such as the Northern General group Potteries Motor Traction & Trent Motor Traction. For these & others the company built many SOS buses the eets being seen all over England & Wales. David Harvey tells the story of the SOS buses of which five have survived into preservation. ...

Pamela Jackson nee Mitford is perhaps the least well known of the illustrious Mitford sisters & yet her story is just as captivating & more revealing. Despite shunning the bright city lights that her sisters so desperately craved she was very much involved in the activities of her extraordinary family picking up the many pieces when things went disastrously wrong
- which they so often did. Joining her sisters on many adventures including their meeting with Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany Pamela quietly observed the bizarre funny & often tragic events that took place around her. Through her eyes we are given a view of the Mitfords never seen before. Loyal to the core she possessed the constancy & kindness that underpinned the wilder exploits of the Mitford family. Indeed innocence along with courage & kindness was one of her remarkable qualities. But it was the innocence of a woman who had lived & suffered loved & lost & overcome adversity. Journalist Diana Alexander who was Pamelas friend for many years here reveals the unknown Mitford or as her lifelong admirer John Betjeman described her Gentle Pamela.
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The Trevelyan family is in grave trouble. Their private bank of Tubal & Co. is in on the verge of collapsing. Its not the first time in its three-hundred-&-forty year history but it may be the last. A sale is under way & a number of important facts need to be kept hidden not only from the public but also from Julian Trevelyan-Tubals deeply traditional father Sir Harry who is incapacitated in the family villa in Antibes. Great families great fortunes & even greater secrets collide in this gripping satirical & acutely observed story of our time. ...

Ginny & Adam Trustlove arrive on holiday in Italy torn apart by personal tragedy. Two weeks in a boathouse on the edge of peaceful Lake Orta is exactly what they need to restore their faith in life
- & each other. Twenty-four hours later the silence is broken. The Sale family have arrived at the main villa: wealthy high-flying Marty his beautiful wife Bea & their privileged confident offspring. It doesnt take long for Ginny & Adam to be drawn in especially when the teenage Pippi introduces a new friend into the circle. For there is something about Zach that has everyone instantly beguiled something that loosens old secrets
- & creates shocking new ones. & yet not one of them suspects that his arrival in their lives might be anything other than accidental.. .

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A dramatic novel of passion politics & betrayal from the author of The Other Boleyn Girl. Mary Queen of Scots fights to regain her kingdom whilst under the guard of Queen Elizabeth's trusted accomplice Bess of Hardwick. Mary is Queen of Scotland but she has been forced to flee her land & take refuge in an England that is ruled by her cousin Elizabeth. But England precarious in its Protestant state set against the mighty powers of Spain France & Rome doesn't need a charismatic Catholic figurehead at large. So Elizabeth's chief advisor Cecil devises a plan in which Mary will live under guard with his trusted accomplice: Bess of Hardwick. Bess is a self-made woman a shrewd survivor. She is newly married to her fourth & most distinguished husband the Earl of Shrewsbury. But what marriage can withstand the charms of Mary? Or the threat of rebellion that she always carries? Mary must wait in her privileged imprisonment for the return to Scotland & her infant son; but waiting is not the same as doing nothing... With her characteristic combination of superb storytelling & authentic historical background Philippa Gregory brings to life this period of great change in a riveting tale of betrayal loyalty politics & passion. ...

This lively & empowering book of wisdom & healing comes from New York Times bestselling author & psychic Sylvia Browne. It offers an unprecedented & comprehensive look at how the afterlife affects us in this life. Discover: astonishing insights into our everyday contact with guides & angels; the truth about hauntings & why we should not be afraid; how psychics can solve missing persons cases & even murders; how psychic energy can keep us healthy & improve our relationships; why we should not fear death or ageing; the afterlife & how we can all maintain contact with our loved ones; reincarnation & how we can all discover our past lives; Easy exercises to promote healing discover past lives improve relationships contact loved ones create joy & much more; must-read predictions for the 21st century ...

Airfix is synonymous with plastic model kits. The brand name has virtually become a noun occupying a special place in that lexicon of trade names alongside Hoover Sellotape Perspex & Aqua-Lung. Throughout the war years Airfix survived on government contracts for a whole range of plastic items & by virtue of Kove's tenancious apetitie for business & doing a deal. By the war's end Airfix was the market leader in plastic injection moulded combs in Britain. By the time Airfix had released its first proper construction kit a tiny model of Drake's flagship Golden Hind in 1952 the firm was well established as a leading toy br&. Indeed throughout the 1950s 60s & 70s Airfix invested heavily in developing new toys or manufacturing them under license for large US toy companies such as Hasbro. Very soon Airfix extended its activities beyond toys into games & arts & crafts & in short time famous names. Indeed so successful was Airfix at diversifying that by the 1970s the company had grown to such an extent that it had acquired other famous toy brands including Dinky Toys Tri-ang Meccano & Romper Room. With its subsidiary Crayonne Airfix even harnessed the design talents of the then Terence Conranne in attempt to elevate plastic products to the rarified atmosphere of designer chic. So there's a lot more to Airfix than many might think & this book is the first attempt to document the myriad successful lines outside of plastic kits which contributed to the company's dramatic growth before a combination of factors forced it into brief liquidation in 1981. Written by someone with a lifetime's fascination for Airfix & who has written other books about the better known construction kit side of the business The Other Airfix is a nostalgic trip down memory lane. ...