Penguins Stopped Play meets Cool Runnings in this hilarious & uplifting true story of footballing triumph against all the odds, set on a Pacific isl&. After one too many late night discussions, football journalist Paul Watson & his mate Matthew Conrad decide to find the world's worst national team, become naturalised citizens of that country & play for them
- achieving their joint boyhood dream of playing international football & winning a 'cap'. They are thrilled when Wikipedia leads them to Pohnpei, a tiny, remote island in the Pacific whose long-defunct football team is described as 'the weakest in the world'. They contact Pohnpei's Football Association & discover what it needs most urgently is leadership. So Paul & Matt travel thousands of miles, leaving behind jobs, families & girlfriends to train a rag-tag bunch of novice footballers who barely understand the rules of the game. Up Pohnpei tells the story of their quest to coach the team & eventually, organise an international fixture
- Pohnpei's first since a 16-1 defeat many years ago. With no funding, a population whose obesity rate is 90 percent & toad-infested facilities in one of the world's wettest climates, their journey is beset by obstacles from the outset. Part travelogue, part quest, Up Pohnpei shows how the passion & determination of two young men can change the face of football
- & the lives of total strangers
- on the other side of the world.



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Once upon a time there was a bear, a moose & a beaver who were the best of friends, though they often disagreed. The day they decided to go canoeing, it was one disagreement after another. The moose wanted to steer, but so did the bear & the beaver. They all wanted to paddle portside. & they all had a different idea as to how to cross a beaver dam. So when the three friends veer into raging rapids & find themselves up the creek, how will they agree on a rescue planstarring a charming cast of characters, Nicholas Oldland`s humorous contemporary fable highlights the importance of working together
- & keeping friendships afloat!
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Up the Creek: An Amazon Adventure is John Harrison`s thoroughly satisfying description of a challenging canoe expedition on one of the mighty Amazon`s more obscure tributaries. His quest to arrive at the upper section of the Jari river in Brazil & carry his canoe across the border into French Guiana is ambitious, exciting & ultimately flawed, but it`s the journey itself, full of unexpected encounters, spells of intense illness & a mixture of emotions, which is as inspiring as the tales of even the earliest adventurers. Harrison`s tale is compelling, suspense-laden & at times funny, with beautiful descriptions of Amazonian wildlife. Overall, this is a book written with honesty & minus any pretention. Add this to your cart today! ...

The girls
- Rube, Lily & Sylvie
- work at Mc Crindle`s sweet factory during the week & on Saturday they go up the Junction

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Mrs Badger climbs the mountain near her house every Sunday. She knows the name of every animal & every kind of mushroom. One particular Sunday, she meets a young cat called Leo who accompanies her on her walks. But Mrs Badger is getting slower. It is up to Leo to make the trek on his own & pass on the wonder of the mountain. A universal story about friendship & the importance of nature for young readers. ...

In this important book, historians, lawyers, economists & writers come together to put a coherent case: that although the Irish economic collapse has resulted in national humiliation, renewed emigration & a decline in living standards for the majority of the population, there is still hope that the country can be reformed & renewed. Irish politicians offered the now notorious blanket guarantee to all the banks which had got in over their heads during the great property bubble
- including one that had become little more than a criminal enterprise. A different set of politicians grimly enforces the consequences of that guarantee, locking an entire generation of Irish men & women into paying for the mistakes of greedy bankers & their corrupt friends in government. The energy of hope has to come from elsewhere. These essays demonstrate how simple measures & different economic & social policies could release that energy & fulfil the promise of an educated, literate & culturally vibrant people.
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Up the Rhine & Down the Danube is the account of a memorable voyage undertaken by the author & his friend & ` First Officer`, Anto, from the Netherlands, through inland Europe, & out to Istanbul in Turkey, by river. Portraying the Danube as a `C road` compared with the motorway of the mighty Rhine, the author describes his entertaining, exhilarating & at times plain hairy trip ` Up the Rhine & Down the Danube`. The trip, which took two & a half years, although actual travelling time was only sixty-seven days, saw them travel 3, 750 kilometres, during which time they went through ninety-four locks. They took in Holl&, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria & Romania before eventually ending up at their final destination, Istanbul, in Turkey. On their travels they had to contend with gales, fog & rain, strict & bribe-hungry officials, barges that dwarfed the tiny Dutch cruiser, not to mention the strong currents, high waves & massive locks along the way. Arriving in Istanbul in one piece (despite a smoking engine), the author completed the voyage of a lifetime, & this is his story. ...

Joan Bomford wanted to be a farmer so much she always wore a tie like her dad. She ran away from school whenever she could to help him. As an 8 year-old she was the first person in the family to drive a tractor. No job was ever too tough for her. Now aged 83, she`s still as active, still driving tractors, still feeding the farm`s beef cattle & horses, & still giving riding lessons. This is her account of a lifelong love-affair with the land & the people who work on it. With the warmth & wit of a born story teller, she tells us what it`s been like to live through an era of enormous change, her love of animals kindled by her father`s shire horses who did all the heavy work until machinery took over. Up With The Lark is not only the portrait of a forgotten era, but also the story of one woman`s overwhelming desire to do the thing she cared about more than anything else
- being Farmer Joan.
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` An evocative portrait of a forgotten period of Britain`s farming history...is an ode both to the soil, & those who have worked it alongside her` Daily Telegraph Joan Bomford wanted to be a farmer so much she always wore a tie like her dad. She ran away from school whenever she could to help him. As an 8 year-old she was the first person in the family to drive a tractor. No job was ever too tough for her. Now aged 83, she`s still as active, still driving tractors, still feeding the farm`s beef cattle & horses, & still giving riding lessons. This is her account of a lifelong love-affair with the land & the people who work on it. With the warmth & wit of a born story teller, she tells us what it`s been like to live through an era of enormous change, her love of animals kindled by her father`s shire horses who did all the heavy work until machinery took over. Up With The Lark is not only the portrait of a forgotten era, but also the story of one woman`s overwhelming desire to do the thing she cared about more than anything else
- being Farmer Joan.
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In Up with the Larks, Tessa Hainsworth tells how she gave up a high-powered job & the lifestyle to match, to move to a remote part of rural Cornwall with her young family. Tessa Hainsworth had no idea how hard she would struggle; within months, she is almost ready to return to London, tail between her legs: her husband is still out of work, her children are struggling in a cold, damp, tumbledown house & the family is running out of money – fast. But a chance encounter in the local post office leads her to accept the unlikeliest of job offers. Up with the Larks charts Tessa’s turbulent first year with the Royal Mail, & her transformation from outsider to ‘ Posh Postie’, adopted Cornishwoman & much-loved member of her new community. ...