' Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler?' Not Colonel Rodney Foster, a platoon commander of the Kent Home Guard. Dad's Army, the iconic comedy series is as well-known today as it was forty years ago. But the reality of life in the Home Guard was often very different. Here, for the first time, is the full inside story of the Home Guard, the ragtag volunteer army that defended the coast of Britain from German invasion during the Second World War. Colonel Rodney Foster, who retired to Hythe in the south of England after a military career in British India, joined the Home Guard in 1940 & kept a diary every day
- a highly illegal act at the time
- & in it meticulously chronicled his service in the real Dad's Army. Living directly beneath the Battle of Britain on the Kent coast, Foster commanded a company of men in the face of constant aerial bombardment & the ever-present threat of death from above
- the Home Guard were the first barrier to Hitler's crack parachutists. Writing from the village hall, abandoned barns, churches & makeshift officers' messes, he records with a unique wit & wisdom the everyday details of family life during the war: the domestic routine dogged by air raid warnings, the antics of soldiers stationed nearby taking every chance to improve their lot, the quiet strength of a small community faced with great adversity.


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This book offers a rousing & inclusive call to arms for anyone who would identify themselves as ” English” against the forces of globalisation. We see the signs around us every day: the chain cafes & mobile phone outlets that dominate our high streets; the disappearance of knobbly carrots from our supermarket shelves; & the headlines about yet another traditional industry going to the wall. For the first time, here is a book that makes the connection between these isolated, incremental, local changes & the bigger picture of a nation whose identity is being eroded. As he travels around the country meeting farmers, fishermen, & the inhabitants of Chinatown, Paul Kingsnorth will refract the kind of conversations that are taking place in country pubs & corner shops across the land
- while reminding us that these quintessentially English institutions may soon cease to exist.
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Discover quick & tasty dishes from Nigel Slater in ” Real Fast Food”. Nigel Slater presents over 350 creative, delicious & nourishing recipes & suggestions for those who`d rather spend more of their time eating than cooking. From simple snacks to dinner-party desserts, all the dishes in Nigel Slater`s ” Real Fast Food” can be ready to eat in 30 minutes or under. ” Makes your stomach rumble.. . Easily my first choice for a simple, good, workable & readable cookery book”. (Nigella Lawson). ” Not just a cookery book for gourmets & foodies, but for real people too”. (Sophie Grigson). ” Nigel Slater offers us a decade`s worth of fresh, original cookery ideas with spoonfuls of wit”. (” Observer”). ” Designed to appeal to people who love food but don`t want to spend hours slaving away at the stove (i.e. nearly everybody in Britain)”. (” Independent on Sunday”). Nigel Slater is the ” Observer`s” food writer, writing a month column for ” Observer Food Monthly”. ” Real Fast Food” was shortlisted for the Andre Simon Award while ” The 30-Minute Cook” was nominated for both the Glenfiddich & Julia Child Awards. In 1995 he won the Glenfiddich Trophy & he has twice won the Cookery Writer of the Year Award as well as being named Media Personality of the Year in the 1996 Good Food Awards. His other bestselling books include ” Real Fast Puddings”, ” Real Food”, ” Appetite” & ” The Kitchen Diaries”. ...

Nigel Slater`s classic guide to comfort food ` Real food means big-flavoured, unpretentious cooking. Good ingredients made into something worth eating. Just nice, uncomplicated food.` Since its publication in 1998, which tied in with his first TV series, the innovative ` Real Food` has become the essential food book to have on the kitchen shelf. From Stickiest Ever Chicken Wings to Baked Goat`s Cheese & Pesto in Filo Pastry to the classic Bacon Butty, it covers Slater`s indispensable signature dishes
- the ones you wouldn`t be without for love or money. Based on Nigel Slater`s favourite foods, this classic helped to create a nation of food lovers. Nigel finds good things to make using all sorts of ingredients
- mass produced sliced white to fine Italian loaves, standard corner shop confectionery to real chocolate made from cocoa solids. These irresistible recipes are still up-to-the-minute & this gorgeous reissue edition proves that ` Real Food` is still a must-have for any cookery enthusiast.

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The Real Food of China is the definitive guide to home-style Chinese cuisine. It is inspired by the authors` personal travels to China & the realisation that what is commonly perceived as ” Chinese food” in the Western world, is only part of the story. While there is a growing appreciation of regional Chinese food in larger cities outside China, a lot of authentic regional cuisine still goes uncelebrated in Chinese restaurants around the world. The main purpose of this book is to capture the essence of simple home cooking & the wide variety of food that changes from region to region. Chapters are broken down into food categories including cold dishes, soups & hotpots, dumplings, breads & noodles, pork, chicken, fish, vegetables & desserts. Dishes include fermented foods from Shaoxing, smoked pork from Hunan, Hakka food from Meizhou, Muslim street fare from Xi`an, fresh river fish from Jiangxi province, fish dumplings & flat breads cooked over stones from Shandong & bowls of fresh, steaming, soft tofu slathered in chilli & peppercorns from Sichuan villages. Captured with stunning location photography from each of the visited regions as well as beautiful food photography throughout, A Taste of China brings a small glimpse of the gutsy, earthy, everyday side of Chinese cooking to light. Food that is incredibly diverse, simple to prepare, full of flavour, & based on seasonal produce & easily procured dry goods. The Real Food of China will change everything you previously thought about traditional Chinese cuisine. ...

Compiled by the Campaign for Real Ale`s Pub Heritage Group, this is a guide to the rich pub heritage treasure of the North West. The listed pubs have interiors or features which have remained unaltered for 50 years, & are described in full detail, with colour photography throughout. ...

In population terms, Liverpool isn't a vast city (dwarfed by Birmingham, say), but it looms colossal in the history (recorded & mythical) of the British Isles, & in fact the world. Real Liverpool is Niall Griffiths' antidote to the flood of mawkish twaddle that will appear in the build-up to 2008 when Liverpool is European City of Culture. It showcases Griffiths' love/hate relationship with the city, its maritime & merchant histories, class divisions, sectarian divides, Celtic influences, & the siege mentality underpinning the celebrated Scouse humour. Nor does he flinch from Liverpool's dark side: the drugs, the urban blight, the fallout from Thatcherism, the internecine violence. Jamie Bulger, Heysel, Hillsborough, the Dockers' Strike, the Toxeth Riots, all of these & more are discussed. Real Liverpool is underpinned by a strong autobiographical element which details the author's birth & formative years in the city, his movement away from it, & the abiding pull it exerts. In addition, Griffiths interviews many people closely connected to the city, from personal friends & family members to artists & workers. From the Wirral to Warrington, Anfield to Everton, Bottle to Diddyl&, Griffiths criss-crosses the city by the Ferry & through the Tunnels, from John Lennon airport to the racecourse & down the docks, building a picture of a city which, whatever its faults, is never dull. ...

Eating a hot buttered lobster roll is like taking a mini-vacation: it conjures the scent of salt in the air & the crash of waves on the rocks the essence of a day at the beach in Maine. Now, with Real Maine Food you can re-create this humble delicacy as well as more than 100 other Maine dishes at home. Maine has developed its own distinctive regional cuisine, characterized foremost by the excellent seafood caught off its pristine coast but also by the wild blueberries, potatoes, & other produce from its rich soils. The authors take a ride on a nineteenth-century schooner, build a beach clambake, & judge a pie-eating contest at a state fair all in search of the best recipes from accomplished small-town home cooks as well as renowned restaurants & food artisans. Among the dishes are Smoked Haddock & Leek Pie, Lobster Gruyere Grilled Cheese, Crab & Corn Frittata, Blueberry Pancakes, & Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies. Real Maine Food taps into the magic that draws visitors to the state year after year. ...

Every man has faced that emergency where a car needs to be broken into & hot-wired; just as every man needs to be able to mix the perfect dry Martini. The world is a dangerous & unpredictable place; a man never knows when he might be called upon to start a fire with just a coke can, win at croquet or drive a T34 tank. Twigger has plenty of experience of facing down bears, building coracles, swimming with sharks
- now he shows every man how to cook a hedgehog, commit hara-kiri & land a Boeing 747.
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Mexican food is more popular than ever. Ben Fordham & Felipe Fuentes Cruz aim to deliver everything that is exciting & fresh about Mexican food to the people of Britain with their restaurant, Benito`s Hat. From the beaches of Baja & Cancun to the mountains of the Sierra Madre, Mexico has an incredible variety of vibrant flavours to offer. All of this rich culinary culture has inspired Benito`s Hat`s delicious burritos, tacos, soups & salads. Ben Fordham & Mexican chef Felipe have created a cookbook offering their favourite dishes from their restaurants, plus many more from Felipe`s collection of authentic recipes. You`ll find Starters; Soups & Salads; Main Dishes; Side Dishes; Salsas; Desserts; & Drinks. Mouth-watering recipes include guacamole with homemade corn tortilla chips, burritos with beef birria, pico de gallo & salsa brava, tacos with prawns & paprika, refried beans with chorizo, Mexican flan, ice cold margaritas & refreshing non-alcoholic juices. ...