What's so hard about pulling a sword out of a stone? The real work's already been done. You ought to make yourself useful & find the man who put the sword in the stone in the first place.' Fate is a word that springs to the lips when to call something coincidence seems mealy mouthed. Destiny is another such. But the problem with destiny is of course that she is not always careful where she points her finger. One minute you might be minding your own business on a normal if not spectacular career path the next you might be in the frame for the big job like saving the world... ...

Be a MAN in the City Watch! The City Watch needs MEN! But what its got

Includes:: Corporal Carrot (technically

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The Bible For Blokes From The Daddy Of Breakfast Radio Foreword by James Nesbitt. Christian OConnell has been a man nearly all his life. Well once he was a boy then he was a teenager then a man but you get what we mean. So who better to save manhood from devolving into one of those spineless newt things from the Guinness ad? For years women have had everyone from Germaine Greer to Bridget Jones to tell them how to be a woman & who have men had? No one. That is until now.. . For ten years Christian has dispensed wisdom & advice to millions of lucky radio listeners on every topic conceivable; but it was when he saw his wife reading & laughing at a book called How to Kill your Husband" that he realised he had to write this book. Men are confused about what it is to be a man in a world where men use moisturiser & eat sandwiches with rocket. They need help. The Men Commandments is a roadmap a compass for men (not a sat nav
- theyre evil!) With his outspoken humour & ironic take on life Christian explores male-dom; celebrating all that is great about being a man & unravelling those mysteries of masculinity that have stumped women for literally minutes. Packed full of wisdom advice trivia & cheeky banter this is the must have book for men everywhere.
Includes:: * The Man Quiz (a helpful quiz to establish real manliness) * The 78 genetic differences between men & women (work for which Christian is expecting a Nobel prize) * Manly Toilet Etiquette (real men do not speak at the urinals) * The History of Men (it says a lot about the psyche of Man that early Neanderthal paintings depict willies) * Men & their Mates (a relationship full of weird rituals abuse & unspoken rules) * The Real First XI * The Men Commandments (the ten commandments that every true man needs to know)"

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The final episode in the trilogy that began with the million-copy bestseller MAN & BOY Harry Silver is settled & happy. But can it last? Life is good for Harry Silver. He has a beautiful wife three wonderful children & a great job as producer of the cult radio show A Clip Round the Ear. But Harry is about to turn forty & his ex-wife is back in town. Soon it could be time to kiss the good life goodbye! When Harrys 15-year-old son Pat moves out Harrys perfect life seems to be falling apart. Into the chaos of Harry Silvers life stroll two old soldiers who fought alongside Harrys late father in The Battle of Monte Cassino in the spring of 1944. Will these two gallant old men help Harry to reclaim his son his family his wife & his life? & can they show Harry Silver what it really means to be a man? ...

Between 1900 & 1950 the British state amassed a huge collection of over 800 historic buildings monuments & historic sites & opened them to the public. Nothing like it had ever been seen before. Of course collections of paintings sculptures & books had been made by governments but the British created an outdoor museum of national history. This book explains why the extraordinary collecting frenzy took place. It locates it in the fragile & nostalgic atmosphere of the interwar years dominated by neo-romanticism & cultural protectionism. It dissects a government programme that established a modern state on deep historical & rural roots; in the words of the Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin heritage was the rock out of which the nations children would be hewn. The governments activities were mirrored by the establishment of dozens of voluntary bodies including the Council for the Protection of Rural England the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings & the National Trust. It was during the Second World War when the government realized that its collecting activities could not be sustained but that the National Trust could provide a vehicle for the continued collection of the nations heritage. It was the war too that extended for the first time protection to buildings that were occupied & not just ruins. The book sets all this activity for the first time in its political economic & cultural contexts painting a picture of a country traumatized by war fearful of losing what was left of its history & a government that actively set out to protect them. In the last chapter it brings the story up to date. ...

This is a book about men who love women. But it is not a collection of love stories. It is a study of the secret erotic fantasies that men have always kept hidden a taboo-shattering investigation that reveals the deepest most conflicting feelings that men have about women men & their own sexuality. Men in Love goes beyond the socio-sexual cliche of woman seen as either madonna or whore to reveal the conflict of love & rage at the centre of men's emotions & erotic desires. Based on thousands of candid responses from men ranging from their teens to their sixties Men in Love
- startling & shocking
- will change men's deepest feelings about their sexuality & make the women who care about them understand them as never before.

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After seven years presenting the hugely successful Something for the Weekend & now as frontman for the equally popular Sunday Brunch Simon Rimmer knows how to whip up delicious fun exotic & traditional food to really indulge in over the weekend. Men Love Pies Girls Like Hummus is the perfect combination of delicious modern dishes personal anecdotes & the approachable laid back voice that has made Simon so popular around the UK. With chapters including ' Tim hates coriander' 'I like Prawns but they don't like me' & 'A muckment of sauce' Simon brings his inimitable style to the table & creates a variety of dishes that will please everyone including your parents unexpected visitors your partner & your friends. ...

Its 526 BC & the empire of the Pharaohs is dying crumbling under the weight of its own antiquity. Corruption & decay cripple its cities infects its leaders & cripples its armies while across the great expanse of Sinai like jackals drawn to carrion the forces of the omnipotent king of Persia watch & wait... But all is not quite lost. For leading the fight to preserve the soul of Egypt is the Phoneician warrior Hasdrubal Barca the pharaohs deadliest killer
- possessor of a rage few men can fathom & fewer can withst&. But the defection of one of Egypts most celebrated generals the Greek mercenary Phanes to the Persians triggers a savage war that will test Barcas military skills & his humanity to the limit. But Barca is changing
- a girl who was once a slave but with a gift for healing
- tends to his wounds & as she does so eases his tortured soul & teaches him how to be truly human again. From the political wastelands of Palestine & the searing deserts east of the Nile to the streets of the ancient city of Memphis Barca & Phanes play a desperate & brutal game of cat-&-mouse that culminates in the bloodiest battle of Egypts history. In the dusty hills east of Pelusium a reckoning will unfold for there over the dead of two nations Hasdrabal Barca will face the same choice of as those great heroes of old: death & eternal fame or long life & obscurity...


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It is the age of empire of blood & conquest of boundless excitement & possibility. Striding in the footsteps of the pioneers is Zouga Ballantyne. His dream begins in the danger & drudgery of the diamond pits & ends up on the rich grasslands of Matabeleland
- but not before a king & a proud warrior nation have paid the price of history...
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Few modes of travel have the enduring appeal of steam railways. Today preserved lines locomotives & rolling stock attract not just expert enthusiasts but more casual visitors who are keen to savour the distinctive atmosphere of a lost era in transport history. Yet these relics are but one aspect of the long story of steam for they cannot reveal the human side of working life on the railways
- the experience of the railwaymen who operated the machinery of the steam age. It is this the human aspect of railway history that David Wragg has chosen as the subject of this landmark book. He has selected extracts from the personal reminiscences of railwaymen to create an allround portrait of the industry in its prime. He records their memories anecdotes & insights & he brings the routines of the steam railway vividly back to life. As this fascinating portrait of the industry reveals the men who worked on the railways during that era knew a different world from todays electric & diesel network. The railways were not simply a job for life but the job was their life. They could spend their entire careers advancing step by step through the industry from engine cleaner to fireman to driver & from working on a shunter to operating a famous named express. Fortunately for us the railwaymen of that time shared their experiences with one another through their employee magazinesand their books so they have left behind them a fascinating record of their work their attitudes & concerns. The observations eyewitness accounts operating procedures complaints anecdotes & simple descriptions of the long-lost daily routines of the steam railway are the raw material for David Wraggs remarkable book.
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