The hop has been intimately involved in social history for many centuries: it has caused controversy due to its role in the brewing process & was for centuries the centre of a social phenomenon with thousands descending on hop-producing regions during harvest. It is a branch of agriculture requiring intensive labour & great skill & this book examines its history from the earliest times to the present day describing the traditional tools of the trade the growers the pickers & all those whose versatile skills have through the centuries made the hop industry a success. ...

Emma Brown is a happy-go-lucky child content to work hard at school & to play hopscotch with her friends on the pavement outside her house in the run-down Nechells area of Birmingham. As long as everything is alright at home with her Ma & Pa her little sister Joyce & brother Sid then life is good. But after Ems mother Cynthia has her baby she just doesnt seem to be able to cope. Her life-long friend & neighbour Dot helps as much as she can but she has children of her own & no man to hand; Cynthias husband Bob too does his best but begins to feel that hes losing the wife he has loved so much; & little Em just cant find enough hours in the day to do all the washing & cleaning. Soon it seems the only thing is for Cynthia to go & stay across the city with her tyrannical older sister. With Cynthia away life only gets harder for Em. Her best friend Kate ostracizes her leaving only poor stinky Molly Fox at her side & when the Board Man comes to call wanting to know why shes not at school things are really bad. When Bob stays out later & later in the evenings always the worse for wear & spending too much time with a local very merry widow Em decides to travel across Birmingham to fetch her mother home but the mother she discovers is a far cry from the proud upright & loving figure she has known so well.. . ...

Set in the years 1914-1918 this is the third book in the Blackwood saga. For three generations members of the Blackwood family served the Royal Marines with distinction. With the outbreak of World War I at last comes Jonathan Blackwoods turn to carry the family name into battle. But as the young marines embark for the Dardanelles & a new kind of warfare it dawns on them that the days of scarlet coats & an unchanging tradition of honour & glory have gone forever. First in Gallipoli & two years later at Flanders comes their horrifying initiation into a wholescale slaughter for which no training could ever have prepared them. Caught up in the savagery of a conflict beyond any officers control Blackwoods future rests on the horizon
- the dark lip of the trench which was the last fateful sight for so many.
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The titanic war between the elemental alien hydrogues & faeros continues to sweep across the Spiral Arm extinguishing suns & destroying planets. Chairman Wenceslas & King Peter must now unify the human race with iron-fisted policies in a final bid to stand together -- or face total annihilation. But disparate civilizations are forging new alliances that threaten the old order. The Roamer & Theron clans will not yield their independence & the new Mage-Imperator Jora'h now faces a threat that no other Ildiran leader has ever seen -- a civil war that could break apart the entire Empire. ...

Just as celebrated columnist Katie Kiernan thinks life is over it suddenly arrives on her doorstep in the shape of her sister Michelle & all the intrigue Michelle brings with her. Friction resentment & old jealousies make life in their house doubly challenging as Katie struggles to cope with a rebellious teenager & Michelle longs for the man she has left behind. After a devastating betrayal Laurie Forbes is trying to rebuild her relationship with Elliot Russell when she is plunged into a whirlwind of passion that threatens to tear them apart completely. Top journalist Tom Chambers the man Michelle left behind faces the greatest challenge of his career when highly classified documents fall into his hands. Realizing how explosive the material is Tom calls upon Elliot Russell to help with the investigation & very quickly they are caught up in the deadly efforts to stop them going to print. ...

Any model railway layout can be enhanced with the effective use of scenery & accessories. Chris Ellis examines the range of ready-made scenic accessories available to modellers & also explains how to make your own scenic structures. Tips & techniques for adapting & weathering such accessories are included along with clear step-by-step instructions that explain how to create rolling hills trackside buildings & even lakes & rivers from a variety of materials whether bought from modelling shops or using discarded product packaging. The book's sections include: planning backdrops & scenic settings; building basic terrain; painting backgrounds & creating the illusion of distance & perspective; texturing vegetation foliage & trees; modelling water; depicting rocky surfaces such as cliffs scree & waterfalls; incorporating civil engineering (tunnels & bridges) & adapting Skaledale & other accessories for use in personal dioramas. A useful appendix also contains details of popular modelling materials stockists & suppliers useful reference works & other research sources. ...

The first two editions of the Hornby Magazine Yearbook published November 2008 & 2009 were a huge success. This third edition is certain to take the modelling market by storm & will be eagerly awaited by modellers nationwide. This volume follows on with this successful blend of practical features for a wide range of modelling skills. The illustrations are vital to the success of the book & this new edition is packed full of high quality photographs plans layouts to illustrate the practical nature of many of the features. Mike Wild editor of the magazine of the same name has compiled a selection of new material to complement the magazine making this an attractive end-of-year purchase for all modellers. The features will inform & guide & include how-to features fantastic images of the best layouts modelling tips articles about the history of the railways etc appropriate for all the popular scales. ...

Hornby Magazine No 1" published November 2008 was a huge success was instantly in high demand & sold out within weeks of publication. The second edition follows on with this successful blend of practical features for a wide range of modelling skills. The illustrations are vital to the success of the book & this new edition is packed full of high quality photographs plans layouts to illustrate the practical nature of many of the features. Mike Wild editor of the magazine of the same name has compiled a selection of new material to complement the magazine making this an attractive end-of-year purchase for all modellers. The features will inform & guide & include how-to features fantastic images of the best layouts modelling tips articles about the history of the railways etc appropriate for all the popular scales." ...

The Horned Viper is the second in a new series of four books set in Ancient Egypt. The Spitting Cobra the first in the series was published in August 2009. Two further instalments will be released in 2010. Each book is a well researched & atmospheric evocation of Egyptian life encased in an exciting adventure story. The boy & girl characters Hopi & Isis feature in each book & readers will be intrigued to follow their struggles for existence & adventure in Egypt circa 1150 BC. In this story The Horned Viper Isis & Hopi find themselves on the banks of the River Nile pitting their wits against dangerous servants. ...

From the master storyteller this is a startling new thriller set amidst the Danish Resistance. It is June 1941 & Denmark is under German occupation. On the rocky coast of Denmark two brothers Harald & Arne Olufsen are straining against the rigid confines imposed by their elderly parents. Meanwhile a network of MI6 spies is attempting to decipher an encrypted Luftwaffe radio signal which mentions the new Freya-Gert
- a rudimentary form of German radar equipment. Arnes relationship with Hermia Mount an MI6 analyst draws him into underground politics putting him under surveillance by the Danish security forces
- & by one man in particular who has a personal motive to see Arne fall. It is only a matter of time before the brothers paths converge in a united effortto overcome the Nazis. A disused Hornet Moth biplane is their only means of getting a vital message to the British.

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