Patrick Leigh Fermor's Mani compellingly revealed a hidden world of Southern Greece & its past. Its northern counterpart takes the reader among Sarakatsan shepherds the monasteries of Meteora & the villages of Krakora among itinerant pedlars & beggars & even tracks down at Missolonghi a pair of Byron's slippers. Roumeli is not on modern maps: it is the ancient name for the lands from the Bosphorus to the Adriatic & from Macedonia to the Gulf of Corinth. But it is the perfect evocative name for the Greece that Fermor captures in writing that carries throughout his trademark vividness of description. But what is more the pictures of people traditions & landscapes that he creates on the page are imbued with an intimate understanding of Greece & its history. ...

We are delighted to be reissuing this lovely book with new cover artwork from Ian Beck. It's a collection to relish of over thirty traditional play rhymes including such favourites as ' Incy Wincy Spider' ' This Little Pig' & ' Row Row Row Your Boat' all imaginatively illustrated by Ian Beck. Each rhyme also has clear step-by-step line drawings to follow for the actions. The rhymes have been set to music on the accompanying CD neatly packaged within the back cover flap. The musical arrangements are either based on traditional melodies or have been specially composed. This is the perfect package to introduce young children to the sheer enjoyment of joining in with action rhymes
- great for playtime & bedtime.
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One Sunday in 1988 thirteen-year-old Joe Coutts learns that his mother has been the victim of a brutal attack by a man on their North Dakota reservation. Joe's mother is traumatized & afraid. She takes to her bed & refuses to talk to anyone
- including the police; meanwhile his father a tribal judge endeavours to wrest justice from a situation that defies his keenest efforts; & young Joe's moral & emotional landscape shifts on its child's axis. Frustrated confused & nursing a complicated fury Joe sets out with his best friends Cappy Zack & Angus in search of answers that might put his mother's attacker behind bars
- & set his family's world straight again. Or so he hopes. The Round House is a powerful & deeply humane story of a young boy pitched prematurely into an unjust adult world. It confirms Louise Erdrich as one of America's most distinctive contemporary novelists.

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' You've had some pretty crazy ideas in your life Newby but this is the craziest.' Grandmother Wanda Newby was exasperated after continuous rain snow & gales that knocked from her bike. Twice. To avoid other tourists Eric Newby had decided that the depths of winter would be the very best time to explore Ireland by mountain bike. More astonishing still he managed to persuade Wanda his long-suffering wife & life-long co-traveller to accompany him
- mainly she admitted to 'keep him out of trouble'. Lashed by winter storms fuelled by Guinness & warmed by thermal underwear their panniers laden with antique books on Ireland the elderly adventurers cycle the highways & byways encountering hospitable locals swaying saints & ferocious dogs. From the shores of Donegal to the holy mountains Newby guides the reader on a tale of mishap & magic all in his own peculiar style of humour & charm relishing his never-ending curiosity of the world & his insatiable quest for adventure.
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I hereby bet Tony Hawks the sum of One Hundred Pounds that he cannot hitchhike round the circumference of Ireland with a fridge within one calendar month'. A foolhardy attempt to win a drunken bet led to Tony Hawks having one of the most unforgettable experiences of his life. Joined by his trusty travelling-companion-cum-domestic-appliance he found himself in the midst of a remarkable inspirational & at times downright silly adventure. In their month of madness Tony & his fridge surfed together; entered a batchelor festival; & one of them had sex without the other knowing. The fridge got christened & they even met the poorest king on Earth. An absurd story of an extraordinary adventure Round Ireland with a Fridge follows the fearless pair as they battle towards Dublin & a breathtaking finale that is moving uplifting & a fitting conclusion to the whole ridiculous affair. ...

Jeremy Clarkson gets really riled in Round the Bend". Whats it like to drive a car thats actively trying to kill you? This & many other burning questions trouble Jeremy Clarkson as he sets out to explore the world from the safety of four wheels. Avoiding the legions of power-crazed traffic wombles attempting to block highway & byway he: shows how the world of performance cars may be likened to Battersea Dogs Home; reveals why St Moritz may be the most bonkers town in all of the world; reminds us that Switzerland is so afraid of snow that any flakes falling on the road are immediately arrested; & argues that washing a car is a waste of time. Funny globe-trotting irreverent & sometimes downright rude " Round the Bend" is packed with curious & fascinating but otherwise hopelessly useless stories & facts about everything under the sun (and just occasionally cars). Its Jeremy Clarkson at his brilliant best. " Round the Bend" is a collection of Jeremys motoring journalism from his column in the " Sunday Times". Praise for Jeremy Clarkson: " Brilliant.. .laugh-out-loud". (" Daily Telegraph"). " Outrageously funny.. .will have you in stitches". (" Time Out"). Number-one bestseller Jeremy Clarkson writes on cars current affairs & anything else that annoys him in his sharp & funny collections. " Born To Be Riled" " Clarkson On Cars" " Dont Stop Me Now" " Driven To Distraction" " Motorworld" & "I Know You Got Soul" are also available as Penguin paperbacks; the Penguin App i Clarkson: The Book of Cars can be downloaded on the App Store. Jeremy Clarkson because his writing career on the Rotherham Advertiser. Since then he has written for the " Sun" & the Sunday Times". Today he is the tallest person working in British television & is the presenter of the hugely popular " Top Gear"." ...

When Tom Cutter hires Constantine Shaklin as an engineer in his air freight business he little realises the extraordinary gifts of his new recruit. Shaklin possesses a religious power which inspires everyone he meets to a new faith & hope for humanity. As Cutters business grows across Asia so does Shaklins fame until he is widely regarded as a unifying deity. Though he struggles to believe Shaklin is indeed divine Cutter too finds solace in his friends teachings & commits to passing on his message. ...

This charming little book was first published in 1956 when people in England were still enduring post-war restrictions on both travelling & eating. As Lesley Blanch says in her introduction to a later edition benign fate whisked me elsewhere to follow less restricted ways travelling widely & eating wildly. She said: I dont belong in England I dont belong anywhere it is rather restful
- I have met everybody & known nobody. Seductive & piquant like its author this is an appetizer for enthusiastic beginners rather than a basic cookbook. Lesley Blanchs gastronomic world tour

Includes:: eighty recipes each prefaced by an account of where they were first tasted or with some amusing anecdote.


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Classic / British English Phileas Fogg is living quietly in London. Then he makes a bet that he can travel around the world in eighty days. The result is a crazy exciting race against time across Europe Asia & America. There are many dangers along the way -- & a detective who wants to arrest him! ...

Vanessa Ratcliffe is just sixteen daughter of one of the towns richest men. & in spite of her social standing & convent education Vanessas provocative manner often draws envious eyes in her direction. Angus Cotton is a rough diamond living in filthy Ryders Row but as engineer at Affleck & Tate hes worth his weight in gold. Angus has ambitious plans for his future plans that had never included Vanessa
- until now... The Round Tower" is a beautifully imagined story of power love honour & greed & an award-winning novel from one of Britains most popular novelists."
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