In this informative & amusing book newly revised & updated Simon Hoggart provides a highly personal selection of 100 exciting & eclectic wines that are invariably good value (including 10 new ones). Life's Too Short to Drink Bad Wine is aimed at the amateur wine lover prepared occasionally to spend a little more than supermarket prices to get something special. Simon eschews pretentious 'wine-speak' yet describes his encounters with each of them so wittily you will be sure to remember them. Whether or not you have the pleasure of drinking all of the featured wines you will certainly enjoy every page. The wines are arranged alphabetically with entries interspersed with interesting features varying from how to read a wine label or on how to buy wine to an account of the Judgment of Paris when Californian wines beat the French in a blind tasting. From the 100 Simon has selected he has awarded ten of them Top 10 status. At the back of the book is an extensive source list of wine makers distributors & merchants with complete details including websites for ease of ordering. ...

A brutal killer is on the loose! Darksides mean streets are getting meaner. Theres a vicious killer abroad & Jonathan & Carnegie arent even close to catching him. But when Jonathan discovers his mother was investigating a similar crime on the day she disappeared the trail leads uncomfortably close to home. Soon he finds himself embroiled in the boroughs most dangerous secret
- & its most dangerous family.
...

I was to stand trial for my life. I was twenty-two years old. I had been married for ten weeks & a widow for six. In the summer of 1914 the Empress Alexandra a magnificent ocean liner suffers a mysterious explosion on its voyage from London to New York City. On board are Henry Winter a rich banker & his young new wife Grace. Somehow Henry manages to secure a place in a lifeboat for Grace. But the survivors quickly realize it is over capacity & could sink at any moment. For any to live some must die. As the castaways battle the elements & each other Grace watches & waits. She is a woman who has learned the value of patience
- her journey to a life of glittering privilege has been far from straightforward. Now she knows it is in jeopardy & her very survival is at stake. Over the course of three perilous weeks the passengers on the lifeboat plot scheme gossip & console one another while sitting inches apart. Their deepest beliefs about goodness humanity & God are tested to the limit as they begin to discover what they will do in order to survive. The Lifeboat is a page-turning story of moral dilemmas & also the moving & haunting story of Grace a woman as unforgettable & complicated as the story she recounts.
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I was to stand trial for my life. I was twenty-two years old. I had been married for ten weeks & a widow for six. It is 1914 & Europe is on the brink of war. When a magnificent ocean liner suffers a mysterious explosion en route to New York City Henry Winter manages to secure a place in a lifeboat for his new wife Grace. But the survivors quickly realize the boat is over capacity & could sink at any moment. For any to live some must die. Over the course of three perilous weeks the passengers on the lifeboat plot scheme gossip & console one another while sitting inches apart. Their deepest beliefs are tested to the limit as they begin to discover what they will do in order to survive. ...

The RNLI is one of the best known maritime rescue organisations in the world. It receives no financial support from the British government & is supported entirely by public donations. Edward Wake-Walker the RNLIs former director of public relations tells the story of the Institution from its beginnings during the reign of Queen Victoria to the hi-tech rescue maritime organisation it has become in the 21st Century. He describes how it all began; the early lifeboats
- pulling & sailing; early lifeboat heroes
- what it took to be a volunteer in the 19th century some famous coxswains; early rescues & disasters; motorised lifeboats; the arrival of speed
- inshore & all-weather craft; the modern fleet; the modern volunteer crewmember; new areas for the RNLI
- mudflats (hovercraft) rivers beaches prevention of accidents; partners in rescue
- Coast Guard Royal Navy RAF etc; & concludes with a survivors story.




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A SERIES OF KILLINGS Three men sleeping rough on London's mean streets have been found brutally murdered
- each victim kicked to
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Unlike some jockeys Tony Byrne has never taken a bung & never ridden a dishonest race. All the same his career is heading for the rocks dragged down by weight problems & woman trouble
- & too many slow horses. In comparison Freddy Montague has never been fussy about sticking to the rules either on the racetrack or in bed with another mans wife. & if theres money on offer to fix races Freddys guaranteed to be first on the gravy train. Unfortunately for both men the guarantees run out once Freddys train comes off the rails. Thats when the gravy turns to blood...
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Kat Kavanagh is not in love. She has lots of friends an ordinary job & she never ever thinks about her past. This is Kats story. None of it is true. Milo Mc Intyre loves his mam the peanut-butter-&-banana muffins at the Funky Banana caf? & the lifesaving class he does after school. He never thinks about his future until the day it changes forever. This is Milos story. All of it is true. & then there is the other story. The one with a twist of fate which somehow brings together a boy from Brighton & a woman in Dublin & uncovers the truth once & for all. This is the story thats just about to begin.. . ...

This is a beautiful board book with over 60 flaps. It provides friendly charming answers to challenging questions that young children love to ask. Bold question word headings (Who? Why? Where? etc.) bring together an eclectic mix of subject areas making it the perfect book to dip into. The illustrations are both entertaining & informative & the text is written simply & clearly with an added touch of humour. ...

This is a stylish picture word book with flaps to lift to encourage word & picture association. Each themed page has plenty of flaps to lift with the word of an object or animal underneath. Smaller flaps at the bottom show the same word with an accompanying delicately illustrated picture. The themes include the park on the farm at the seaside noisy words & words at home. ...