There was a lot that we kept from my mother. My dad would say to me as a teenager Dont tell your mother". We couldnt face the disapproval. Sue Johnston always seemed to be disappointing her mother. As a girl she never stayed clean & tidy like her cousins. As she grew older she spent all her piano lesson money on drinks for her mates down the pub & when she discovered the Cavern she was never at home. The final straw was when Sue left her steady job at a St Helens factory to try her hand at that unsteadiest of jobs: acting. Yet when Sue was bringing up her own child alone her mother was always there to help. & playing her much-loved characters Sheila Grant & Barbara Royle
- although her mum wouldnt say she was proud as such she certainly seemed to approve. & in her mothers final months it was Sue she needed by her side. The relationship with your mother is perhaps the most precious & fraught of any womans life. When she began writing Sue set out to record all the big things & all the small things. Everything I wanted to tell my mother but felt I never could. The result is a warm poignant & often very funny memoir by one of Britains favourite actresses."
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' There was a lot that we kept from my mother. My dad would say to me as a teenager Don't tell your mother." We couldn't face the disapproval.' Sue Johnston always seemed to be disappointing her mother. As a girl she never stayed clean & tidy like her cousins. As she grew older she spent all her piano lesson money on drinks for her mates down the pub & when she discovered The Cavern she was never at home. The final straw was when Sue left her steady job at a St Helen's factory to try her hand at that unsteadiest of jobs: acting. Yet when Sue was bringing up her own child alone her mother was always there to help. & playing her much-loved characters Sheila Grant in Waking the Dead & Barbara in The Royle Family- although her mum wouldn't say she was proud as such she certainly seemed to approve. & in her mother's final months it was Sue she needed by her side. The relationship with your mother is perhaps the most precious & fraught of any woman's life. When she began writing Sue set out to record 'all the big things & all the small things. Everything I wanted to tell my mother but felt I never could'. The result is a warm poignant & often very funny memoir by one of Britain's favourite actresses." ...

In Things I Learned from Knitting" (whether I wanted to or not) Pearl Mc-Phee examines age-old aphorisms in light of knitting. From " Hope Springs Eternal" to "A Friend In Need Is A Friend Indeed" & " Birds Of A Feather Flock Together " Pearl-Mc Phee casts a fresh off-beat light on these sayings. Presented in quick punchy takes each entry in this book calls out to be read aloud & shared with anyone who enjoys playing with yarn & needles. Pearl-Mc Phees observations are hilarious; the situations she describes strike a familiar "not you too?" feeling in the heart of anyone who knits. Interspersed throughout the book are her notes on the things that " Knitting is still trying to teach me..." That no matter how well you knit looking at your work too closely isnt helpful. Its like kissing with your eyes open. Nobody looks good that close up." ...

My beautiful girls. If youve read this youll know it contains some
- not all but some
- of the things I want my daughters to

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This is a series of beautifully designed entertaining & colourful dot to dot books for young children. All pictures can be completed using the numbers 1 to 10 so these books are suitable for children who are just beginning to count & recognise numbers. It offers a fun & rewarding way for children to practise important first skills such as number sequencing number & colour recognition & pen control. ...

HERE ARE MANY MANY THINGS THAT NOBODY KNOWS.. . Why are so many giraffes gay? Has human evolution stopped? Where did our alphabet come from? Can robots become self-aware? Can lobsters recognize other lobsters by sight? What goes on inside a black hole? Are cell phones bad for us? Why cant we remember anything from our earliest years? Full of the mysteries of life the universe & everything The Things that Nobody Knows is a fascinating & unputdownable exploration of the limits of human knowledge of our planet its history & culture & the universe beyond."" ...

How does one young man survive the deaths of his entire family & manage to make something worthwhile of his life? In Things The Grandchildren Should Know Mark Oliver Everett tells the story of what it's like to grow up the insecure son of a genius in a wacky Virginia Ice Storm-like family. Left to run wild with his sister his father off in some parallel universe of his own invention Everett's upbringing was 'ridiculous sometimes tragic & always unsteady'. But somehow he manages to not only survive his crazy upbringing & ensuing tragedies; he makes something of his life striking out on a journey to find himself by channelling his experiences into his eventually critically acclaimed music with the Eels. But it's not an easy path. Told with surprising candour Things The Grandchildren Should Know is an inspiring & remarkable story full of hope humour & wry wisdom. ...

A sequence of stories about the Vietnam War this book also has the unity of a novel with recurring characters & interwoven strands of plot & theme. It aims to summarize America's involvement in Vietnam & her coming to terms with that experience in the years that followed. ...

Retirement is not the end of your working years but rather the start of something new. With more time on your hands than ever before filling your days may seem harder than you expected & can leave you wondering exactly what do I do now? This book provides a wide range of upbeat suggestions on ways to luxuriate in your new-found time. Whether it is learning a new language taking up a new hobby or simply spending more time with friends & family this book is packed with inspirational ideas. It aims to encourage readers to make the most of their retirement to appreciate the extra time they have to spend pursuing activities they enjoy & exploring new ones. As well as a force for encouraging you to make the most of every opportunity this book will make suggestions for how to come to terms with yourself your friends & your family in this new phase of your life. ...

Make all the days in your life count. This is the real thing not a trial run so grab life by the horns! Now that youre 50 you have the experience & wisdom to accomplish anything you set your mind to. Whether its learning to salsa indulging your skin in a bath of donkeys milk or sand surfing in Brazil throw caution to the wind & go for it. You might just enjoy it! ...