An Audience with an Elephant should appeal to any travel writing fan who has enjoyed Tony Hawks' quest to play tennis with the Moldovans & Pete Mc Carthy's bar
- but here is no manufactured, factitious wackiness: rather a quest for genuine, magnificent eccentricity
- & all without ever leaving Britain. Rogers' travels take him to Great Yarmouth, to find the only giant tortoise that is also a living veteran of Gallipoli; to Stalybridge (to travel on the ghost railway train that runs in one direction only); & even to Buckingham Palace, on an out-of-the-blue commission to write speeches for the Prince of Wales. This is a book about the sheer idiosyncratic oddity of Britain: 80-year-old triathletes; compulsive exam-takers; the last tramp in Wales; & other unusual encounters.

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Topographic survey of France at 1:25, 000 in IGN`s excellent TOP25 / Série Bleue series. All the maps are GPS compatible, with a 1km UTM grid plus latitude & longitude lines at 5’ intervals. Contours are at 5m intervals except for mountainous areas where the maps have contours at 10m intervals, vividly enhanced by hill shading & graphics for rocky terrain. Colouring with graphics indicates different types of vegetation or land use (deciduous or coniferous forests, moors, orchards, vineyards, etc). PLEASE NOTE: coverage of France at this scale is currently being revised – the format & the presentation of each title are indicated by the letters at the end of its Sheet Reference number (e.g. 0416ET, 3531ETR, 1923SB, etc.)MAPS WITH FULL TOURIST OVERPRINT & AN ENGLISH MAP LEGEND: all TOP25 maps & the SB editions of Série Bleue have an overprint highlighting waymarked walking trails including long-distance GR routes &, where appropriate, ski routes. Symbols indicate campsites, gîtes d’etape, refuges, equestrian centres & other recreational facilities or sites, tourist information centres, cultural heritage, etc. Towns & locations of particular interest are highlighted.- ET or OT = single-sided TOP25 map covering approx. 29x 21 km / 18x 13 miles.- ETR or OTR = waterproof & tear resistant TOP25 map covering the same area as the corresponding ET or OT number, but double-sided, printed on a smaller size sheet with a good overlap between the sides.- SB = Série Bleue map with full tourist overprint; these maps, first introduced in summer 2014, each cover approx. 29x 24km / 18x 15 miles.SÉRIE BLEUE maps with numbers ending in E (Est) or O (Ouest): most editions now indicate the GR routes, but do not show any other tourist information. Map legend is in French only. Each map covers approx. 14x 20km / 9x 12 miles. ...

Documentary-maker Aoyama hasn`t dated anyone in the seven years since the death of his beloved wife, Ryoko. Now even his teenage son Shige has suggested he think about remarrying. So when his best friend Yoshikawa comes up with a plan to hold fake film auditions so that Aoyama can choose a new bride, he decides to go along with the idea. Of the thousands who apply, Aoyama only has eyes for Yamasaki Asami, a young, beautiful, delicate & talented ballerina with a turbulent past. But there is more to her than Aoyama, blinded by his infatuation, can see, & by the time he discovers the terrifying truth it may be too late Ryu Murakami delivers his most subtle & disturbing novel yet, confirming him as Japan`s master of the psycho-thriller. ...

Join Audrey Gordon, voted three times Britain's sternest chef, as she travels to the heart of Italy & shares the recipes, produce & memories of her Tuscan summer. Visit traditional farmhouses, local trattorias & sample the stunning range of local produce on offer as Audrey shares the sights, sounds & occasionally, smells, of regional Italy. Then sample these delights at home with the range of delicious & easy to make recipes that Audrey, inspired by Italian traditions, has created for the home cook. This book is not directed at celebrity super chefs or haute cuisine high flyers dazzling diners in their Michelin starred restaurants. It's written for you, the ordinary cook, stuck at home with insufficient bench space & a set of chipped mixing bowls. My fervent hope is that it will inspire you, give you the confidence to believe that you can be a wonderful cook or, at very least, an adequate one. This book is meant as a guide, not a set of strict instructions you may only deviate from at your peril! There's no need to slavishly follow my every measurement & step. Does a violinist playing Beethoven not occasionally add a few notes? Or an aircraft pilot about to take off sometimes skip a pre-flight safety check or two? Of course! & so should you. I'm a no nonsense chef. If a recipe calls for squash & I think thinly sliced zucchini will work just as well (not to mention add a peppery crunch) then I'll just do it. That's what cooking should be about. Going with one's impulses & to hell with the consequences! That said, I've had years of practice & I simply can't be held responsible for any inevitable disappointment that might arise from your attempts at improvisation. If you are a novice in the kitchen I'd strongly urge you to follow my recipes closely. &, no matter how experienced you might be, please pay careful attention to each instruction. You'd be amazed at the number of people who read gently simmer' & then proceed to simmer gently', or who think that there's no real difference between chopping tomatoes roughly & chopping them coarsely. At the end of each chapter I've left a page or two for notes. If you think you've got something to add that hasn't already been covered perfectly well then feel free to defile the book. But I suggest you think twice before doing so. Finally, this book is not meant to be a monologue. I want you to imagine I'm there in the kitchen with you, helping, guiding, prodding &
- only occasionally
- wrapping your knuckles with the handle of an egg whisk. XXX Audrey

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The National Audubon Society Birds Desk Calendar 2013, by Workman Publishing features hundreds of truly exceptional colour photographs of birds in their natural habitat around the world. The calendar offers a page-day view, apart from the weekends, & each leaf shows a different picture & date on each side. The date is printed in clear large captions & the bird pictured is accompanied by both its Latin & English name. The National Audubon Society Desk Calendar with its marvellous photographs is a natural gallery perfect for any desk. ...

A peaceful spring vista on Echo Lake, Minnesota. The brilliant fall colours of aspens in the Wasatch Mountains. Sunrise over sandstone rocks at Red Rock Canyon. & Alaska's Takhinsha Mountains white with snow. A tribute to the glory & diversity of North America's wilderness, Audubon Nature highlights a dozen gorgeous landscapes in vibrant full colour. This is America the beautiful, from sea (to desert to mountain to forest to wetland) to shining sea. ...

Auerbach i.d.OPf. in a series of GPS compatible recreational editions of the Bavarian topographic survey at 1:25, 000, with waymarked hiking trails & cycling routes, campsites & youth hostels, etc. Coverage

Includes:: Betzenstein, Velden, Plech, Neuhaus a.d. Pegnitz, Königstein, Kirchensittenbach. Contours used in this map vary between 5 to 20m according to the terrain, with 20m interval predominantly used for hilly areas. Varied colouring show different types of landscape: woods, vineyards, fields etc. Maps in this series feature extensive overprint highlighting local & long-distance footpaths & cycle routes, including King Ludwig Way or different variants of the Way of St James, indicating their waymarking. Symbols highlight different types of accommodation (campsites, youth hostels, refuges, etc), sport & recreational facilities, various places of interest, etc. The maps have a 1-km UTM grid. Map legend & all the text are in German only. To see other titles in this series please click on the series link.

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Augher, Clogher & Aughnacloy in 1902 in the Alan Godfrey Edition of historical Ordnance Survey mapping at one inch to one mile. The map covers much of southern Co. Tyrone, including the little towns of Caledon, together with an expanse of rural north Co. Monaghan. There are also small segments of Counties Fermanagh & Armagh. Coverage stretches from Carryclogher eastward to Tynan, & from Ballygawley southward to Middletown. Features include a substantial stretch of the Clogher Valley Railway, a small stretch of the Great Northern Railway, Tynan Abbey, Slieve Beagh, Favor Royal, Fort Singleton, Caledon House & Glaslough House. On the reverse are three detailed town plans at a scale of 18 inches to the mile, covering Aughnacloy, including Main Street with houses either side neatly delineated, Corn Market, St James Church, St Mary`s RC church, Jackson Institute, station with engine shed; Augher, with creamery, station & Clogher Valley Railway, St Mark`s church, flax mill, Augher Castle; plus Clogher with St Macartin`s Cathedral, Clogher Park House, Fair Green etc. About Alan Godfrey Editions of OS 1” to 1 mile maps of Ireland: The maps provide an invaluable overview of a wider area, typically 18 x 12 miles (29 x 19kms approx.), & offer historical mapping for small villages not covered by the more detailed series for which the Godfrey Editions are better known. All the maps include historical notes & all, unless indicated in the individual description, also include a large scale map of a small town or village in the area. ...

ADAC, Germany's equivalent of the British Automobile Association publishes an extensive series of street plans which provide detailed high-quality mapping of all the major towns & cities, including their outer suburbs. The plans name all the individual streets & indicate all the main landmarks & public buildings. All public transport facilities are shown: buses, trams, underground & overland rail lines. One way streets & car parks are indicated. Plans of larger cities include an enlargement for the city centre. The plans also show the administrative & postal divisions & have an extensive street index which, where appropriate, shows individual postal codes for each street. On the reverse, each plan has a road map at 1:100, 000, covering a very wide area around the city. Map legend

Includes:: English.

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Augsburg on a topographic map at 1:200, 000 from the Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie, Germany’s federal mapping agency. The map covers an area of Approx. 100 x 90km. This map is belongs to a series of 58 topographic maps from Bundesamt für Kartographie und Geodäsie, the federal cartographic agency of Germany responsible for topographic mapping at 1:200, 000 & maps at smaller scales (the more detailed topographic & leisure maps are prepared & published by the survey organizations of the individual states). Cartography is from the 200K topographic survey & the maps have very elegant, modern look whilst retaining the traditional German presentation of names of smaller towns & villages in italics. Contours are at 12, 5m intervals, enhanced by relief shading, with colouring for woodlands, moors, marches, vineyards & hop plantations. Waterways & rivers are also described in detail, with currents, waterfalls, dams, & jetties clearly marked. Road network, graded into five types, highlights in colour national & regional roads; no driving distances are marked Railway network is also shown in detail, with stations, goods only lines, etc. The maps show administrative boundaries of states & counties, & have a UTM grid plus margin ticks for latitude & longitude at 2’ intervals. Map legend is in German only. PLEASE NOTE: maps in this series provide an excellent presentation of the areas covered by them, with plenty of place names & detailed representation of the road network, & will appeal to anyone who likes quality cartography, but they are not necessarily the best option for holiday & business travel. To see other titles in this series please click on the series link. ...