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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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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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. ...

What does it take to build your very own planet? Orson is about to find out. He takes: A cup full of rocks A dash of water A sprinkling of metal A lot of nothingness A big bang.. . And before long, BOOM! He has it
- a tiny planet with rings around it, right there in his bedroom! But it seems that BUILDING a planet is the easy bit; taking care of it is a different thing altogether. Over time, Orson realises that his planet needs to be free & that sometimes you have to let go of the things that you love the most.. .A heart-warming story about life`s possibilities & disappointments with an uplifting ending that will resonate with fans of Oliver Jeffers, Jon Klassen & Chris Haughton.
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This airborne adventure takes readers ballooning over lands near & far, all the way to the stars. The singalong song on the accompanying CD keeps spirits high, while the rhyming & playful text introduces all sorts of settings & vocabulary-building words. ...

My eyes lifted to the horizon & the unmistakable snowy outline of Everest. Everest, the mountain of my childhood dreams. A mountain that has haunted me my whole life. A mountain I have seen hundreds of times in photographs & films but never in real life. She looked angry. In April 2018, seasoned adventurer Ben Fogle & Olympic cycling gold medallist Victoria Pendleton, along with mountaineer Kenton Cool, took on their most exhausting challenge yet climbing Everest for the British Red Cross to highlight the environmental challenges mountains face. It would be harrowing & exhilarating in equal measure as they walked the fine line between life & death 8, 000 metres above sea level. For Ben, the seven-week expedition into the death zone was to become the adventure of a lifetime, as well as a humbling & enlightening journey. For his wife Marina, holding the family together at home, it was an agonising wait for news. Together, they dedicated the experience to their son, Willem Fogle, stillborn at eight months. Cradling little Willem to say goodbye, Ben & Marina made a promise to live brightly. To embrace every day. To always smile. To be positive & to inspire. & from the depths of their grief & dedication, Ben’s Everest dream was born. Up, from here the only way was Up. Part memoir, part thrilling adventure, Ben & Marina’s account of his ascent to the roof of the world is told with their signature humour & warmth, as well as with profound compassion. ...

The story of the National Youth Orchestra of Iraq is here told by its musical director from its inception to its eventual end. The NYOI came through the most difficult & dangerous of times to produce fine music not only in Iraq but also in Britain, Germany, France & the United States. A beacon of hope & achievement the young musicians & their tutors made bridges across their own ethnic divisions, made great music in the most trying & tragic of circumstances, & became their country`s best ambassadors in 5000 years. ...