Michael Winner the legendary film director writer & food critic is a colourful figure who has led a remarkable life. He has a reputation for being outspoken & true to form in his autobiography he tells it like it is with sharp & insightful observations. ' Winner Takes All' begins with his unconventional childhood as a Jewish boy attending a Quaker boarding school & introduces his eccentric mother who was a compulsive gambler. Michael Winner gained his first taste of fame when aged fourteen he met the stars for a showbusiness column in twenty London local papers. At Cambridge he edited the student newspaper & became a local celebrity. The author is a natural raconteur & his anecdotes from the film industry are compelling. He recounts his early life with relish & provides fascinating accounts of his experiences directing some of the world's most famous actors & actresses including Charles Bronson Sophia Loren Joan Collins Orson Welles Marlon Brando & Anthony Hopkins. Many of them became close friends. As a food critic Michael Winner is famous for shooting from the hip. Love him or loathe him he is constantly in the public eye. His esure TV commercials
- which produced a national catchphrase ' Calm down dear!'
- have been an advertising industry phenomenon. What may come as a surprise to the reader is the gentle side that he reveals in his autobiography. He speaks with candour about his private life; he admits his fear of relationships with women & confides the heartbreaking story of the love of his life a famous female star.

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Winnie & Wolf" is the story of the extraordinary relationship between Winifred Wagner & Adolf Hitler that took place during the years 1923-40 as seen through the eyes of the secretary at the Wagner house in Bayreuth. Winifred an English girl brought up in an orphanage in East Grinstead married at the age of eighteen to the son of Germanys most controversial genius is a passionate Germanophile a Wagnerian dreamer a Teutonic patriot. In the debacle of the post-Versailles world the Wagner family hope for the coming not of a warrior a fearless Siegfried but of a Parsifal a mystic idealist a redeemer-figure. In 1923 they meet their Parsifal
- a wild-eyed Viennese opera-fanatic in a trilby hat a mac & a badly fitting suit. Hitler has already made a name for himself in some sections of German society through rabble-rousing & street corner speeches. It is Winifred though who believes she can really see his poetry. Almost at once they drop formalities & call one another Du rather than Sie. She is Winnie & he is Wolf. Like Winnie Hitler was an outsider. Like her he was haunted by the impossibility of reconciling the pursuit of love & the pursuit of power; the ultimate inevitability if you pursued power of destruction. Both had known the humiliations of poverty. Both felt angry & excluded by society. Both found each other in an unusual kinship that expressed itself through a love of opera."
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Winnie decides she needs a seaside break so she & Wilbur zoom off to the coast. Winnie makes a beeline for the sea to cool down. Wilbur makes a beeline for anywhere other than the sea
- he hates water & cant bear getting wet. Winnie is having so much fun in the water that she doesnt notice her broomstick being washed out to sea. She waves her magic wand in an attempt to get the broomstick back but it doesnt really go according to plan. The mix of magic & mayhem that follows involves a surfer & a whale & predictably its poor Wilbur who gets the worst of things...
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Those who know her know that Winnie the Witch can be a little batty to say the least. In ' Big Top Winnie' Winnie would love to have the grace of a high-wire walker only to discover her talents are more suited to clowning around; in ' Winnie's Bubble Trouble' Winnie gets (literally) carried away in her attempt escape from doing the housework; in ' Winnie Digs Deep' Winnie hunts for priceless objects in her garden but finds out that Wilbur & Jerry are her real treasures; & in ' Winnie Goes Batty' Winnie is about to rustle up some batburgers in the kitchen when she discovers that bats are actually sweet little creatures & should certainly never be on the menu! Four crazily funny stories featuring everyone's favourite witch her big black cat Wilbur & a zany supporting cast of new characters. Korky Paul's exuberant black line illustrations complement the humour slapstick & moments of real drama that run through each story. Pure magic! ...

We know that Winnie has a heart of gold. Why else would she decide to entertain her sisters uncle aunt & cousin in her own home? Why else would she want to do her bit to reduce energy consumption & help save the worlds wildlife in the process? Why else would she offer to give a frazzled mother a break & look after her fractious baby? But when it comes to the school sports day Winnie shows she can run & jump faster than anyone even if thats because shes being chased by a swarm of angry bees! Four crazily funny stories featuring everyones favourite witch her big black cat Wilbur & a zany supporting cast of new characters. Korky Pauls exuberant black line illustrations complement the humour slapstick & moments of real drama that run through each story. Pure magic! ...

Winnie is fascinated by space & she decides the time is right for a little space exploration. Wilbur is not so sure. Winnie's magical rocket is quite tricky to steer through the universe & poor Wilbur can't even bear to look. He feels a little less anxious when they land on a faraway planet & Winnie unpacks their special space picnic. The inhabitants of the planet are small with long ears & twitchy noses. They're curious & friendly but these space rabbits have rather strange eating habits
- they munch on metal! & for the space rabbits Winnie's rocket is particularly tasty. So when it is nibbled clean away Winnie has to use some quick thinking & some magic to keep the rabbits happy & to rustle up an alternative means of getting home. This glorious galactic picture book takes Winnie & Wilbur on an amazing journey into outer space. But however exciting flying saucers shooting stars & space rabbits might be Winnie's a witch who knows there's no place like home!
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Winnie the Witch is tired of winter. Shes tired of shivering in the cold & looking out at her garden covered in snow. & Wilbur is tired of frozen fur & whiskers. So Winnie uses a little magic to bring summer & sunshine to her house. But just as she settles down in her deckchair.. .hordes of people arrive. They are fed up with winter too. But with the unruly crowd comes noise & mess & chaos! Winnie grows increasingly indignant. Why should all these people spoil her summer? Winter may be cold but at least its peaceful. So Winnie summons back the snow to make her unwelcome visitors disappear. This is a great story that really conjures the contrast of frozen winter & scorching summer & the sounds of crunching through snow Christmassy themes summery birdsong. & sun-seeking revellers are just some of the wonderful additions to the narration of Winnie in Winter" on the accompanying audio CD." ...

Winnie the Witch is tired of winter. Shes tired of shivering in the cold & looking out at her garden covered in snow. & Wilbur is tired of frozen fur & whiskers. So Winnie uses a little magic to bring summer & sunshine to her house. But just as she settles down in her deckchair...hordes of people arrive. With the unruly crowd comes noise & mess & chaos. Maybe winter isnt so bad after all? ...

If you think you know Winnie the Witch think again! In Winnie & the Toof Fairy youll find out what Winnie does when she realises shes not the only one with the ability to wave a wand; in Winnies One-Witch Band she tries to match Wilburs musical talents; in Itchy Witchy Winnie takes Wilbur (and his fleas) to the pet show; & in Winnie Says Cheese Winnie & Wilbur take some supremely silly snapshots to add to their photo album. Four crazily funny stories featuring everyones favourite witch her big black cat Wilbur & a zany supporting cast of new characters. Korky Pauls exuberant black line illustrations complement the humour slapstick & moments of real drama that run through each story. Pure magic! ...

Winnie knows she needs to shape up. In Ssshh! Winnie Winnie takes part in a sponsored silence & although she cant stop herself talking her stories keep the little ordinaries completely quiet for hours on end; in Flipping Winnie Winnie enters a pancake race in the village fete with hilarious consequences; in Wheres Winnie? she cant work out how to programme her broomstick navigation system & ends up being kidnapped by aliens; & in Winnie Shapes Up she causes chaos in the local gym-when the weights become weightless & the swimmers discover theyre sharing their pool with a shark! Four crazily funny stories featuring everyones favourite witch her big black cat Wilbur & a zany supporting cast of new characters. Korky Pauls exuberant black line illustrations complement the humour slapstick & moments of real drama that run through each story. Pure magic! ...