Douglas Wilmer is one of the finest character actors the British theatre has ever produced. Remembered for playing Sherlock Holmes in the 60s BBC TV series many consider his to have been the definitive portrayal. In a long career beginning just after the War Wilmer conquered stage television & film appearing in many of the great epic movies including El Cid" " The Fall of the Roman Empire" & " Cleopatra". He will also be recalled for his role as Nayland Smith in the " Fu Manchu" movies. His range encompassed everything from light comedy to the classics to heavy drama. He is acknowledged as one of Britains most versatile theatre & character actors of the 50s 60s & 70s. Beginning with a RADA scholarship his spread of roles would be extraordinary & embrace everything from Shakespeare to Jason & " The Argonauts" from " The Pink Panther" to Bond movies. His circle of friends & colleagues included many of the notoriously hard-drinking hard-loving & hard-working stars of the day including Sir Laurence Olivier Richard Burton Elizabeth Taylor Christopher Lee Charlton Heston Sofia Loren Alec Guinness & Richard Harris. Whilst pursuing his career Wilmer witnessed first-hand the breakdown of Burtons marriage & the development of his relationship with Elizabeth Taylor worked with the extraordinary & mercurial Olivier & partied with Sofia Loren. Their dramas were part Wilmers life & his fascinating story is intricately interwoven with their successes & tragedies joys & heartbreaks. Beautifully written " Stage Whispers" is a wonderful memoir packed with intriguing controversial & compelling detail spiced with revealing recollections of the many thespian giants whom he encountered." ...

Contains practical information & advice both in the text & in the illustrations to help smooth the path of the simplest or most complex production. This book aims to enable even the most inexperienced amateur group to attain professional standards. The contents include directing stage management acting set design lighting costumes administration & make-up. Other areas covered include the workshop which deals with all the equipment necessary for the work of most amateur theatre companies as well as step-by-step instructions on scenery building & prop making. In addition many different types of play
- from Shakespeare to cabaret & revue
- are discussed with details of the size of cast & technical resources required. Finally the book offers advice on three major areas of theatrical activity
- festivals touring & competitions.


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Resting actress Vena Burford is far from idle: shes found work as an interior decorator refurbishing a stately home recently occupied by Hollywood bad boy Toby Frensham now taking a lead role with the RSC in nearby Stratford-upon-Avon. Not everyone loves Toby as much as she does however
- & maybe someone hates him. Vena also works part-time for her estate agent brother showing potential buyers around upmarket Warwickshire country houses. Shes done this so often she smells a rat when couples who dont fit the usual client profile begin to visit the properties. Vena is initially curious then indignant & finally alarmed. Why should these curiously unnerving characters who patently have no intention of buying demand to explore every nook & cranny of the houses? It would have been better not to ask questions. When someone starts to tail Venas car leaving some silent but deeply threatening messages its clear that a very modern crime is being played out against the idyllic background of Shakespeares picturesque county.
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In a poor district on the outskirts of Cape Town Grace lives with her adoptive mother Martha. Of mixed race Grace dreams about what her unknown natural mother might be like fantasizes about finding her & is plagued by an intense sense of dislocation. Rebelling against her adoptive mother's smothering influence Grace turns to close friend Shardonnay & her sister Crystal. In contrast Crystal is a teenage mum & has had to drop out of school bitter that her future has been decided by one mistake. Tired of being the responsible example Grace hits the nightclubs with the younger mixed-up pop-idols crazy Shardonnay. All the while though she keeps a protective eye on Crystal. Is the baby Ricardo the reason Crystal suffers black moods & anger? Or is there a deeper problem? In the wake of searing tragedy Grace finally comes to understand the qualities that make a caring & decent mother. Stained is a real page-turner. Gritty honest & hard-hitting it is packed with drama & emotion from one page to the next. Prior to being developed for the Cutting Edge series it was short-listed for the Sanlam Award for Youth Literature in South Africa. Cutting Edge is a highly contemporary fiction series for young adults. The series features fast-paced quick reads. Each book focuses on difficult topics & situations that many teenagers will have experienced first-hand or through friends. Cutting Edge is ideal for readers aged 14+ with a reading age of 12+. ...

The best stained glass windows are masterpieces of colour & narrative. They tell Biblical & didactic tales display images of saints & armorial crests memorialise the dead & enhance the devotional ambience of Englands churches & cathedrals. Roger Rosewell here traces the history of stained glass from the rare extant Anglo-Saxon works through to some major examples from the last fifty years exploring the various styles & contexts & affording the reader fascinating insights into how medieval people saw stained glass. Illustrated with a hundred breathtaking photographs & a helpful gazetteer of outstanding examples this book is indispensable reading for anyone interested in church or art history. ...

A bullet shot through the window of Weldon Sonniers house propels Dave Robicheaux back into the lives of a family hes not sure he wants to be reacquainted with.. . Weldon Sonniers CIA-influenced past has led to dangerous connections & commitments including debts to local mob boss Joey Meatballs Gouza. As Weldon puts himself in the line of fire Lyle Sonnier television evangelist & faith healer reveals to Dave a violent family history that intersects menacingly with Daves own. But overshadowing the manoeuvres of Gouzas gang is the spectre of racial politics & it is former Klansman Bobby Earl who will prove to be Dave Robicheauxs most elusive enemy. ...

The Stainmore line was the most spectacular of the trans-Pennine crossings. Memories of the magnificent viaducts at Deepdale & at Belah carrying this marvellous railway from the River Tees to the Eden Valley still remain 50 years after their destruction. The line between Barnard Castle & Tebay together with its associated branches was completed during the 1860s & remained in operation for almost a century. However from about 1960 the now familiar 'closure by stealth' tactics became painfully evident & the last passenger train ran on 20 January 1962. The transition from a fully operational route to a memory took place in an unbelievably short time. In the summer of 1961 thousands of north-eastern holidaymakers were transported by train in time-honoured fashion over the rooftop of England to Blackpool enjoying unrivalled views of Westmorland as their trains rumbled over Belah Viaduct & brushed through the woodlands at Smardale. Little did those passengers realise that less than one year later most of the track over which they were travelling would be gone & demolition would be well under way. ...

Since earliest times humanity has pondered the incomprehensible mysteries of the universe life...and the afterlife. Was there somewhere on Earth where after death mortal man could join the immortal Gods? Where was this place? By whom was it established? & does it still exist today? After years of painstaking research--combining recent archaeological discoveries with ancient texts & artifacts--noted scholar Zecharia Sitchin has identified the legendary Land of the Gods & provided astounding new revelations about the Great Pyramids the Sphinx & other mysterious monuments whose true meanings & purposes have been lost for eons. Since earliest times humanity has pondered the incomprehensible mysteries of the universe life & the afterlife. In The Stairway to Heaven the second book of Zecharia Sitchins Earth Chronicles series the author answers these fundamental questions: Was there somewhere on Earth where after death mortal man could join the immortal Gods? Where was this place? By whom was it established? & does it still exist today? The Earth Chronicles deal with the history & prehistory of Earth & humankind. Each book in the series is based upon information written on clay tablets by the ancient civilizations of the Near East. For the first time the entire Earth Chronicles series is now available in a hardcover collectors edition. ...

The overwhelming response of readers to Lorna Byrne
- regardless of religious beliefs
- is that she gives them back hope helping

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In an abandoned hotel in a California ghost town horror writer Larry & his friends make a chilling discovery. By chance they stumble across a naked woman in a coffin with a stake driven through her heart. Was she a vampire or the victim of a gruesome murder? ...