Maggie Smith-Bendell was born on the edge of a pea field near Bridgwater in Somerset in 1941. She & her family are Romani Gypsies & as she grew up Maggie learned the old crafts & customs of the Gypsies traditional way of life. Her family travelled the length & breadth of the countryside eking a living from the woods & hedgerows catching rabbits pheasants & wild duck. They did all manner of fieldwork for farmers including picking peas beans & hops
- & as soon as Maggie was old enough she contributed to the familys labour. Ever since they arrived in Europe centuries ago the Gypsies have been persecuted for their outsider status but the last sixty years or so have perhaps seen the greatest threats to their culture to the extent that their traditional way of life is in danger of disappearing altogether: changes in the law changes in agriculture many things have undermined the Gypsies freedom to live as they wish. In this wonderful memoir full of the language & lore of the Gypsies Maggie Smith-Bendell gives us a true insight into a way of life that has more or less vanished: driven by the seasons with an extraordinary closeness to nature she & her family faced numerous hardships including the deaths of beloved family members. As well as telling the story of her familys ups & downs in the course of their yearly journeys to the pea-fields of Somerset & the hop-gardens of Herefordshire Maggie recounts her own journey to become a prominent campaigner for Gypsy rights. An autobiography told straight from the heart Our Forgotten Years" is both moving & inspiring."
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Key Words with Peter & Jane" uses the most frequently met words in the English language as a starting point for learning to read successfully & confidently. The Key Words reading scheme is scientifically researched & world renowned. In book 6a Peter & Jane meet lots of different people in 52 new words including 'baby' 'because' 'teacher' & 'much'. Once this book has been completed the child moves on to book 6b. " The Key Words with Peter & Jane Books" work because each of the key words is introduced gradually & repeated frequently. This builds confidence in children when they recognize these key words on sight (also known as the 'look & say' method of learning). Examples of key words are: the one two he. There are 12 levels each with 3 books: a b & c. " Series a" gradually introduces new words. " Series b" provides further practise of words featured in " The 'a' Series". " Series c" links reading with writing & phonics. All the words that have been introduced in each 'a' & 'b' book are also reinforced in the 'c' books." ...

Ever since the 1920s the popular legend of the French Foreign Legion has been formed by P.C. Wrens novel BEAU GESTE
- a world of
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For all the strange worlds borne of his vast & vivid imagination Philip K. Dick was largely concerned with humanitys most achingly familiar heartaches & struggles. In Our Friends From Frolix 8 he clashes private dreams against public battles in a fast-paced & provocative tale that ultimately addresses our salvation both as individuals & a whole. Nick Appleton is a menial laborer whose life is a series of endless frustrations. Willis Gram is the despotic oligarch of a planet ruled by big-brained elites. When they both fall in love with Charlotte Boyer a feisty black marketer of revolutionary propaganda Nick seems destined for doom. But everything takes a decidedly unpredictable turn when the revolutions leader Thors Provoni returns from ten years of intergalactic hiding with a ninety-ton protoplasmic slime that is bent on creating a new world order. ...

In this beautiful collectible new volume street artist Matt Sewell offers his own unique take on 52 of our favourite British garden birds. Since its first appearance in July 2009 Matt's ' Bird of the Week' feature for the Caught by the River website has quickly become a cult hit. His pop-art watercolours are distinctive & enchanting as are his innovative descriptions which see great tits 'bossing the other birds around' the 'playful yet shy buoyancy' of bullfinches & the 'improbable' nature of the waxwing ('like a computer-generated samurai finch'). With 52 birds one for each week of the year this delightful gift book will appeal to bird watching enthusiasts children & adults & art & illustration fans alike. ...

Just over a century ago Our Island Story entranced a nations children by telling their history in stories. Short simply written chapters packed with living characters & thrilling action
- & illustrated with vivid colour pictures
- illuminate all the main events from Britains earliest days to the end of Victorias reign. & its glorious fusion of myth & legend with sober fact
- Canute & King Arthur with Cromwell & the Indian Mutiny
- is as seductive now as it ever was. I was given H.E. Marshalls Our Island Story at Christmas 1936 & Ive still got that copy. It was a direct inspiration for me in my career as a historian Antonia Fraser Daily Telegraph



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Much loved by generations of children this is a classic childrens history of Britain from the Romans to the death of Queen Victoria. First published in 1905 H E Marshalls beautifully written narrative fell out of print after decades of popularity. But one hundred years after it was first published Our Island Story" one of the most popular & inspirational books of its time has become a modern day bestseller. Galore Park Publishing in association with Civitas reissued this classic childrens history book over fifty years after it was last in print. The response from the public & the media was terrific & a staggering 20 000 copies were sold within the first week of publication. Such an incredible response to this book is unsurprising to H E Marshall fans the world over. Why not discover the delights of H E Marshall for yourself?" ...

Young children will love discovering why all these things & much more are needed in this delightful book by the author of the best-selling Dear Zoo". With lively illustrations engaging text & an amazing giant lift-the-flap pop-up fold-out finale this book is sure to become another classic." ...

Catherine Cookson is known & loved for her vibrant & earthy novels set in & around the North-East of England past & present. Her autobiography makes plain how it is she who knows her background & her characters so well. The Our Kate" of the title is not Catherine Cookson but her mother around whom the autobiography revolves. Despite her faults Kate emerges a warm & loveable human figure. " Our Kate" is an honest statement about living with hardship & poverty seen through the eyes of a highly sensitive child & woman whose zest for life & unquenchable sense of humour won through to make Catherine Cookson the warm engaging & human writer she is today." ...

It was on a Sunday night in 1928 that Billy Hopkins made his first appearance. Billy's tenement home on the outskirts of Manchester would be considered a slum today but he lived there happily with his large Catholic family hatching money-making schemes with his many friends. When war came & the Luftwaffe dominated the night sky Billy was evacuated to Blackpool. There he lived on a starvation diet while his own rations went to feed his landlady's children
- 'I might as well be in Strangeways!' But even the cruel blows that were to be dealt to the family on his return to Manchester would not destroy Billy's fighting spirit
- or his sense of humour.

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