The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. For nearly two hundred years its volunteers have shown courage & selflessness in facing storm & shipwreck to offer assistance. Never taken for granted, these qualities of service transcend the centuries to ring as true now as in the earliest days of the lifeboats. This unprecedented new book is a photographic celebration of every-day bravery, compassion, & outstanding commitment in the toughest of conditions. From the Cornish coasts to the Shetland Isles, we join crewman & photographer Nigel Millard as he travels the length of Britain & Irel&, living & working with his fellow lifeboatmen & accompanying them on their rescue missions. In 2011 alone some 7, 976 people were saved by lifeboat crews & a further 17, 670 were assisted by the service`s new lifeguard units, with lifeboats launching on average almost 20 times a day. This book honours the dedication of generations of hard-working people who generously give their time to those in danger & their families who wait for news while the lifeboats are out
- a visual tribute to the sea & those who go to it. All around our coasts, & every day of the year, the men & women of the RNLI are on duty`s call. Though the RNLI has evolved, through its technologies & size of organisation, its sense of purpose & vision
- to end preventable loss of life at sea
- is as clear as it was in the very beginning. This is a simple story of a voluntary rescue service, of men & women happy to race to the assistance of strangers at all hours of day or night should ever the need arise. We hope these photographs show something of this spirit. We are encouraged never to forget the bravery, skill & sacrifice of the people of the RNLI. They are heroes all.


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From author & photographer David Pickford, The Light Elsewhere is a photographic essay in three parts. The first part is an exploration of the changing nature of wilderness landscapes. The second part is a celebration of adventure on rock, ice, snow, & two wheels. & the third part is a personal portrait of that which resists & survives the passage of time. Featuring images & stories from over thirty countries across the world, this limited edition book lavishly illustrates the work of one of Britain`s leading outdoor photographers. At the same time, the stories that accompany the photographs chronicle some of the most exciting places on earth for climbing, mountaineering & adventure travel. The Light Elsewhere is an essential addition to the library for all who love the great outdoors. ...

From time immemorial Afghanistan has been both a fortress of faith & a mountainous crossroads. Through its high valleys merchants traded Chinese porcelains, bundles of indigo cloth, sacks of lapis lazuli, golden jewellery, emeralds & fine carvings from both east & west. Ancient scrolls & beliefs entered the land in the satchels of Buddhist pilgrims & in the baggage of military invaders
- from Alexander the Great to Mughal, Persian & Arab conquerors & even the ill-fated armies of the British Raj. In this resonant account, Peter Levi seeks the clues which each migration left, in the company of the young Bruce Chatwin. Since his journey in the 1970s, Afghanistan has suffered forty years of invasion & civil war, making it all the more poignant to rediscover, with Levi, not a rocky wilderness guarded by fearsome tribes, but `this highway of archangels/this theatre of heaven/the light garden of the God-forgiven angel King.`
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” Magical, moving & deeply atmospheric”
- Patrick Barkham; As November stubs out the glow of autumn & the days tighten into shorter
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Arthur Simpson
- ` British to the core`, but without a passport to prove it
- lives in Athens, scraping by as a driver, journalist

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From the bestselling author of THE WEIRD SISTERS comes an enchanting tale of self-discovery that will strike a chord with anyone who has ever felt they`ve lost their way. `I adored The Light of Paris. It`s so lovely & big-hearted` JOJO MOYES ` Soulfulness & emotional insight meet laugh-out-loud humour` PAULA Mc LAIN, author of The Paris Wife Chicago, 1999. Madeleine is trapped
- by her family`s expectations, by her controlling husband
- in an unhappy marriage & a life she never wanted. But when she finds a diary detailing her grandmother Margie`s trip to Jazz Age Paris, she meets a woman she never knew: a dreamer who defied her strict family & spent a summer living on her own, & falling for a charismatic artist. When Madeleine`s marriage is threatened, she escapes to her hometown to stay with her disapproving mother. Shaken by the revelation of a family secret & inspired by her grandmother`s bravery, Madeleine creates her own summer of joy. In reconnecting with her love of painting & cultivating a new circle of friends, the chance of a new life emerges
- but will she be bold enough take it?


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First published in 1985 by Moorland Press, The Light Railways of Britain & Ireland has remained unavailable for more than twenty-five years, until now. Re-released by Pen & Sword, this is a thorough & engaging book that covers, in depth, the fascinating story of Britain`s last railway development, the Rural light railways, constructed as a result of the Light Railways Act 1896. Rigorously detailed, it charts the overall history of the last great railway boom in Britain
- the light railway boom
- from 1896, to the beginning of the Great War in 1914. During this period a large number of narrow & standard gauge lines were constructed in both Britain & Irel&, in order to serve & open up areas in both countries that, at the time, lacked adequate transport links. This book tells the story of how these lines were constructed & why, in most cases, they eventually failed, due to post-First World War road competition. Authored by two highly acclaimed writers of transport history, this is a true testament to, & a timely reminder of, Britain`s last railway development.

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The Man Booker-shortlisted The Lighthouse begins on a North Sea ferry. The recently-separated middle-aged Futh stands on the blustery deck en route to Germany ahead of a rejuvenating walking holiday. His break begins in Hellhaus at a modest, family-run hotel. The landlady is hospitable & pleasant
- but Futh is perplexed by the outward hostility of the hotel barman. Forgetting about him, Futh begins his week-long circular walk of the Rhine & some much-needed contemplation regarding his parents` failed marriage, his troublesome friendship with the son of a lonely neighbour & his own broken relationship. But there`s one thing he struggles to come to terms with
- why did Futh`s mother disregard him as a child? There`s also that first trip to Germany with his newly-single father, & that certain something he never got round to doing. On return to the Hellhaus hotel, Futh is totally unaware of what`s gone on while he`s been away. Get your copy now!

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Combe Island off the Cornish coast has a bloodstained history of piracy & cruelty but now, privately owned, it offers respite to over-stressed men & women in positions of high authority who require privacy & guaranteed security. But the peace of Combe is violated when one of the distinguished visitors is bizarrely murdered. Adam Dalgliesh is called in to solve the mystery quickly & discreetly, but at a difficult time for him & his depleted team. Dalgliesh is uncertain about his future with Emma Lavenham, the woman he loves, Detective Inspector Kate Miskin has her own emotional problems & the ambitious Anglo-Indian Sergeant Francis Benton-Smith is worried about working under Kate. Hardly have the team begun to unravel the complicated motives of the suspects that there is a second brutal killing & the whole investigation is jeopardised when Dalgliesh is faced with a danger more insidious & as potentially fatal as murder. This eagerly awaited successor to The Murder Room displays the qualities which aficionados have come to expect of P D James: sensitive characterisation, an exciting & superbly structured plot & vivid evocation of place. The Lighthouse is a subtle & powerful work of contemporary fiction. ...

Once there was a lighthouse keeper called Mr. Grinling. At night time he lived in a small white cottage perched high on the cliffs, & in the daytime he rowed out to his lighthouse to clean & polish the light. A fancy dress party is being held to celebrate the lighthouse`s 200th birthday, & the Grinlings are determined to dress up as pirates. But when a real crew of pirates appear, the Grinlings get a big surprise! Are the scurvy pirates all they seem
- or is something fishy going on? The first Lighthouse Keeper story, THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER`S LUNCH, was published over thirty years ago & his adventures have been loved by children ever since. It is now a modern picture book classic.
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