Our society worships at the fountain of youth. Each year we try to delay the arrival of old age using everything at our disposal from extreme exercise & botox to pilates & cosmetic dentistry. But in the process are we missing out on a distinct & extraordinarily valuable stage of life? Asking whether it is better to be forever young or to grin toothlessly & live an authentic old age Daniel Klein journeys to the Greek island of Hydra to see a different side to aging. There he draws on the lives of Octagenarian Greek locals as well as philosophers ranging from Epicurus to Sartre to discover the secrets of aging happily. A travel book a witty meditation & an optimistic guide to living well this is a delightful quirky jaunt through the terrain of old age led by a perceptive & witty modern-day sage. ...

After a thirty-year career as high profile vet columnist presenter & author Bruce Fogle
- the UKs bestselling cat & dog writer
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Henry Pulling a retired bank manager meets his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta for the first time in over fifty years at what he supposes to be his mothers funeral. Soon after she persuades Henry to abandon Southwood his dahlias & the Major next door to travel her way Brighton Paris Istanbul Paraguay. Through Aunt Augusta a veteran of Europes hotel bedrooms Henry joins a shiftless twilight society: mixing with hippies war criminals CIA men; smoking pot breaking all the currency regulations & eventually coming alive after a dull suburban life. In Travels with my Aunt Graham Greene not only gives us intoxicating entertainment but also confronts us with some of the most perplexing of human dilemmas. ...

Mary OHaras life story is something only the most inspired press agent could ever hope to concoct New York Times An aura of genius attends her something indefinable which goes straight to the heart Evening Press Dublin Mary OHara won global acclaim as a singer & harpist. Her recordings sold by their millions & in her concerts & television shows audiences worldwide were thrilled by the warmth of her personality. Yet behind this public success lay a personal tragedy. Born in the west of Ireland & educated in a convent school she became a singing star at the age of 16. She fell in love with a young America poet Richard Selig but their marriage only lasted 15 months before his tragic death. Overwhelmed by grief Mary continued to sing while searching for a convent in which to live the remainder of her life in prayer & silence. She found the answer at the strict Benedictine monastery of Stanbrook in the West Midlands. 12 years later spiritually enriched but fragile in health she emerged & restarted her career winning even wider praise on her worldwide tours. She had her own season at the London Palladium appeared on the Royal Variety Show sang at all the major concert halls in the English-speaking world & made frequent guest appearances on television chat shows. Her television shows Minstrel of the Dawn & Mary OHara & Friends drew viewers by the millions. Pressed to tell her story she wrote The Scent of the Roses (Michael Joseph 1980 Fontana paperback 1981) which quickly became a best seller. Travels with My Harp takes up the story with many amusing anecdotes from concert tours around the world but also sheds new light on her earlier years. In 1994 she decided it was time to retire from the stage. Two years later a new life of undreamed of adventure & unexpected challenges opened up when her husbands work (she remarried in 1985) took the couple first to Kenya & later Tanzania. The six years spent in Africa opened up a whole new world of rich rewarding experiences such as her work with children born with AIDS. She also discovered a new talent & the book is illustrated with a selection of her expressive sketches of African people she came to know. For over half a century Mary OHaras voice has delighted audiences all over the world & her recordings continue to sell. Her story is an inspiring tale of triumph over tragedy helped by her deep religious faith & many friendships with other performers recounted with warmth & humour in this updated version of her autobiography. Mary OHara now lives with her husband on the Aran Islands off the West coast of Ireland but still travels & lectures. ...

Covering the whole of the UK from Northern Scotland to the South Coast. The loss of many ships & men is detailed in Trawler Disasters. Fishing is Britains deadliest industry
- & many thousands have died in the pursuit of cod herring haddock mackerel & a host of other fish so that we can feast on them. Perhaps the most famous of recent disasters was the loss of the Gaul a Hull-based trawler which disappeared in the Arctic in February 1974. Its story has become one of conspiracy theory espionage & cover-up & it wasnt until the wreck was found & investigated that many of these theories were laid to rest. Patricia ODriscoll & John Nicklin tell the story of the tragic losses of a multitude of ships which were lost in the period from the end of the War until the Cod War a time when Britains bountiful seas were being opened to foreign competition after the nation joined the EEC. Fishing once employed over half a million people in the UK & its recent history is one of decline. It is still a story of tragedy as men still die & boats are still lost to the elements. Each tragedy hits a port hard with everyone feeling the loss of one of their own. From the East Coast to the West from Northern Scotland to Southern England no part of Britains coast has been immune to the loss of a fishing boat & its crew.
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What could be better than the wonderful aroma of a tray of biscuits baking away in the oven? Only the knowledge that there are lots more great ideas where they came from! From traditional American brownies lemon slice chocolate chip cookies to the perfect flapjack with syrup or honey. So easy to make so easy to eat! ...

From the master of Swedish crime fiction comes a gripping new novel. Based on a true story A Treacherous Paradise" sees Henning Mankell turn his talents for suspense to a world where power & powerlessness meet & passion is a dangerous commodity. In 1904 Hanna Lundmark escapes the brutal poverty of rural Sweden for a job as a cook onboard a steamship headed for Australia. She finds love in the form of the ship's mate whom she marries but disaster strikes when her husband is struck down almost immediately by a fatal illness. Jumping ship at the African port of Lourenco Marques Hanna decides to begin her life anew. Stumbling across what she believes to be a down-at-heel hotel Hanna becomes embroiled in a sequence of events that lead to her inheriting the most successful brothel in town. Uncomfortable with the attitudes of the white settlers Hanna is determined to befriend the prostitutes working for her & change life in the town for the better but the distrust between blacks & whites & the shadow of colonialism lead to tragedy & murder." ...

Thomas Kydd has dragged himself up in the navy from press-ganged seaman to captain of his own ship. Now he faces disgrace. After losing favour with his superiors & suffering terrible personal tragedy Kydd & his ship are sent to guard the Channel Islands from Napoleon's forces. When he is brutally betrayed off the Normandy Coast & removed from command only his old friend Renzi is willing to stick by him. Kydd is determined to clear his name but soon finds himself fighting yet another battle he seems to have no chance of winning. Can he defeat his enemies on both sides & win back the glory taken from him? ...

' There's another body on a slab Dallas. Dirty cop or not he's dead & she's responsible. She has to be shut downbefore she decides to clean house again.' Lieutenant Eve Dallas is about to come up against her most formidable criminal yet: Lieutenant Renee Oberman daughter of a New York Police legend. After eighteen years on the force Oberman is efficient decorated
- & utterly corrupt. When Eve's partner Peabody overhears a damning conversation between Oberman & one of her flunkies Peabody Eve & her husband Roarke are soon on the case. Together they must find the hard evidence needed to bring Oberman & all her dirty cops down
- knowing all the while that she will kill anyone who gets in her way.

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Will Gaveston is page boy to little Prince Edward son of King Henry VIII. When his father is accused of treason & thrown into Newgate Prison Will has to go into hiding in the back streets of London. He is befriended by a poor boy Nick Drew & together they brave imprisonment & death as they desperately try to gain pardon for Wills father. ...