Go pishing for birds; become a bat detective; take a city safari; find snakes & lizards; identify spiders & their webs; look for owl pellets... Make nettle soup; or itching powder from rosehips; make a bark rubbing; an elder-stem peashooter; or elderflower fritters. Wake up in time to hear the dawn chorus; listen to the heartbeat of a tree; or just stand out in the rain for half an hour... With The Bumper Book Of Nature the whole family will want to switch off the television & computer, pull on their wellingtons & get outside to discover the endless bounty, beauty & fascination of nature right on our doorstep. Lavishly designed with over 160 full-colour illustrations of British wildlife & flora, along with gorgeous black-&-white line drawings throughout, this beautiful & timeless book will be treasured for years to come by children & adults alike. ...

Roy Race, England`s most famous footballer, is back in a celebration of the wonderful heyday of British annuals. Collecting together classic material from the Golden Age of British Annuals with material sourced from ” Roy of Rovers Annuals of 1958-1971”, this title

Includes:: thrilling football packed comic strips, short stories, Roy`s own personal tips on football & training techniques, vintage puzzles, games & features on old clubs & soccer stars of yesteryear. Some of this artwork is being reprinted for the first time in 50 years.

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The Bund, Shanghai in the Odyssey Guides series; aimed at travellers particularly interested in the culture & history of their destination; the guides focus on the atmosphere, customs, & distinctive character of a country, region or city. As the only English language publisher based in China, Odyssey Guides specialize in Asian destinations, relying on the expertise of local writers. This gives readers more of an insider ...

Shortlisted for a 2018 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award. Is going back the only way to start again? After more than thirty years in London, recently-widowed Thomas Imbalil returns to India. He spends his first months in uncluttered isolation in his house overlooking the Arabian Sea, in a small fishing village in Kerala. But when he agrees to look after his friend`s business, Chacko`s Optical Store, he meets & befriends Rani, the young assistant. Before long he discovers that Rani is using the store to run an intriguing side-business. He agrees to turn a blind eye to her operations until his friend returns, but this discovery makes him restless, & reminds him of the loneliness he is feeling & which lies ahead of him. Rani also reveals herself as a much more complex individual than he had first imagined, & while he had envisaged a quiet re-acquaintance with his homel&, Thomas finds himself becoming more & more entangled with the lives of those around him. ...

This is the extraordinary new novel from the author of Never Let Me Go & the Booker Prize winning The Remains of the Day. Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro`s first novel in a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge & war. The Romans have long since departed, & Britain is steadily declining into ruin. But at least the wars that once ravaged the country have ceased. The Buried Giant begins as a couple, Axl & Beatrice, set off across a troubled land of mist & rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen for years. They expect to face many hazards
- some strange & other
- worldly
- but they cannot yet foresee how their journey will reveal to them dark & forgotten corners of their love for one another.


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A lavishly photographed cookbook & historic travelogue, tracing contemporary & colonial Burmese dishes over the past century. With its rich traditions of empire, The Burma Cookbook highlights the best of present-day Myanmar, including foods of its immigrant populations
- from the subcontinent, down the Malay peninsula, & Britain itself. The authors spent some ten years researching the book, while organising & hosting culinary tours to uncover the country`s most popular dishes. The authors had exclusive access to The Strand Hotel`s collection of historic menus, pictures & photos, while contemporary photography by Morrison Polkinghorne portrays Myanmar street life.
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The discovery of a traditional Welsh blanket in the palace of the former ruler of Yemen took Patricia Aithie on a fascinating journey of discovery. In the Yemeni seaman of the steam age, she finds a surprising link between her hometown of Cardiff, once the world`s biggest coal-exporting port, & Aden, where the coal which fuelled the Empire was bunkered. On her journey, Aithie discovers an ancient & until recently hidden Arab country a world away from industrial south Wales. From Cardiff`s Yemeni community, she travels to remote mountain passes, deserts, ports & the ancient cities of southern Arabia, encountering former seamen & isolated communities in which stories of Cardiff loom large. This is a remarkable & timely account of the way in which two cultures unexpectedly touch one another. ...

Bringing sixteenth-century Languedoc vividly to life, Kate Mosse`s The Burning Chambers is a gripping story of love & betrayal, mysteries & secrets; of war & adventure, conspiracies & divided loyalties... Carcassonne 1562: Nineteen-year-old Minou Joubert receives an anonymous letter at her father`s bookshop. Sealed with a distinctive family crest, it contains just five words: SHE KNOWS THAT YOU LIVE. But before Minou can decipher the mysterious message, a chance encounter with a young Huguenot convert, Piet Reydon, changes her destiny forever. For Piet has a dangerous mission of his own, & he will need Minou`s help if he is to get out of La Cite alive. Toulouse: As the religious divide deepens in the Midi, & old friends become enemies, Minou & Piet both find themselves trapped in Toulouse, facing new dangers as sectarian tensions ignite across the city, the battle-lines are drawn in blood & the conspiracy darkens further. Meanwhile, as a long-hidden document threatens to resurface, the mistress of Puivert is obsessed with uncovering its secret & strengthening her power... ...

The fifth novel in Bernard Cornwell`s epic & bestselling series on the making of England & the fate of his great hero, Uhtred of Bebbanburg. BBC2`s major Autumn 2015 TV show THE LAST KINGDOM is based on the first two books in the series. To King Alfred he is the `lord of battles`. He has gained riches, loyal men & a beloved wife. But Uhtred is dogged by betrayal & tragedy. The ailing Alfred presses Uhtred to swear loyalty to his son & heir Edward, preventing the warrior lord from taking vengeance on those who stole his home at Bebbanburg. Now Uthred will once again defend the Christian kingdom
- in a battle which could smash the growing power of the deadly Danes. In so doing he meets a woman more dangerous than any warlord. A killer, a schemer with a dark power over men`s hearts: Skade. Uhtred of Bebbanburg`s mind is as sharp as his sword. A thorn in the side of the priests & nobles who shape his fate, this Saxon raised by Vikings is torn between the life he loves & those he has sworn to serve.
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`I am looking for something more mysterious. For the path you read about in books, the old lane choked with undergrowth, whose entrance the weary prince could not discover.`
- Alan Fournier Walkers, like lovers of literature, are driven by the urge to explore, & writers have blessed their fictional characters with itchy feet since the earliest of narratives. Milton`s Adam & Eve leaving Eden, Mrs Yeobright`s maternal anxiety spurring her across country in Hardy`s The Return of the Native, militant miners in Zola`s Germinal. Walks found in novels, short stories & even drama can have a multitude of meanings. Editor Duncan Minshull here forges a bold path through the greatest of the world`s literature, collecting extracts from Dickens & Dostoevsky, Proust & Poe, Kipling, Kafka & many more to show imaginations time & again set in motion by the simple act of walking.
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