Alastair sim was an energetic character both on & off the screen. His idiosyncratic style of acting in films such as ' The Belles of St Trinian's' endeared him to a cinema-going audience desperate to escape the day-to-day dreariness of an invasive, bureaucratic post-war Britain. In private, he was a curiously contradictory character, prejudiced & yet tolerant, thoughtful but sometimes inconsiderate. to examine the life of this extraordinary man, this biography contains original contributions from around thirty actors & actresses, including Sir Ian Mc Kellen & Ronnie Corbett. It is supported by extensive research, including interviews with the playright Christopher Fry, the television producer John Howard Davies & actors who appeared on stage with Alastair as far back as the 1940s. This book also explore Alastair's life outside of films, including his marriage to Naomi Sim (whom he first met when she was twelve), his career as an elocution teacher, his extensive work on stage (including his theatrical endeavours with James Bridie), his championship of youth & his stalwart refusal to sign autographs. ...

With a Preface by Noel Malcolm. Impeccably aristocratic & eccentric in a uniquely English tradition, Aubrey Herbert was at first sight an incongruous champion of Albanian nationalism, to say the least. This title charts Herbert's involvement with Albania over the course of his life, in his own words, through his own extensive diaries & letters. ...

In 1916 German aerial domination, once held sway by rotary-engined Fokker & Pfalz E-type wing-warping monoplanes, had been lost to the more nimble French Nieuports & British DH 2s which not only out-flew the German fighters but were present in greater numbers. Born-from-experience calls from German fighter pilots requested that, rather than compete with the maneuverability of these adversaries, new single-engine machines should be equipped with higher horsepower engines & armed with two rather than the then-standard single machine gun. The Robert Thelen-led Albatros design bureau set to work on what became the Albatros D.I & D.II & by April 1916, they had developed a sleek yet rugged machine that featured the usual Albatros semi-monocoque wooden construction & employed a 160hp Mercedes D.III engine with power enough to equip the aeroplane with two forward-firing machine guns. In all, 500 D.IIIs & 840 D.III (OAW)s were produced & saw heavy service throughout 1917. ...

Albatross looks at the place of these iconic birds in a wide variety of human cultures, from early responses by north Atlantic mariners to modern encounters, examining in detail the role the bird plays in the lives of different peoples & societies. The albatross's remarkable ease in the air & its huge wingspan strikes all those who observe them, & the huge journeys they undertake across the oceans inspires awe. The bird has been celebrated through proverbs, folk stories, art, & ceremony. For many, the bird's cultural significance is still determined by Coleridge's ' The Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. People have engaged with the bird over the last two centuries, from those who sought to exploit them to those who devoted their lives to them. Writers, artists & documentary makers have all focused on the albatross & its place in the human imagination has been demonstrated throughout history. The book concludes with a consideration of the bird's changing significance in the modern world, as well as threats to its continued existence & its prospects for the future. ...

Three tales of wit & wonder from the children's classic author of ' The Phantom Tollbooth'. Unlikely hero Alberic is on a seemingly endless search for wisdom. He learns much along the way but will his journey ever satisfy him? In the second tale, a boy is drawn to a mysterious painting of a princess far away who's left bereft of her kingdom. Can he be the knight in shining armour & win back her lands? & then meet the richest monarch in the world! & the poorest, as they discover the true worth of wealth. Fascinating fables from a classic storyteller overflowing with humour & wit. ...

Albert: Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, social & cultural visionary in his own right, was born in the Saxon duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld but defined the culture & direction of 19th century Britain
- a superpower at the zenith of its influence
- more than any other British royal or politician. Although he pleaded with his wife that no monument to his memory should be left (a plea that was to go unheeded by his grieving widow) the role he played in shaping Victorian culture stands today as indisputable proof of the enduring legacy of a man who spent just two decades of his short life in Engl&. Though overshadowed in history by his adoring wife, & at times even mocked by her subjects, it was arguably Albert that gave form & substance to the Victorian Age. From the outset, he strove to win 'the respect, the love & the confidence of the Queen & of the nation', pursuing an extraordinary social & cultural crusade that has become his greatest legacy. From the Great Exhibition & the construction of many of London's great museums to his social campaigns against slavery & the Corn Laws, Albert's achievements were truly remarkable
- in fact, very few have made such a permanent mark on British society. This is the life story of Albert of Saxe-Coburg: Prince Consort & beloved husband of Queen Victoria
- & one of the most influential figures of modern Europe.



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Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing & reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey. Albert LOVES football. But he HATES the Garden of Doom next door. He's always kicking his footballs into it, & he can't go & get them back
- Mr Creaky lives next door, & Albert is terrified of him. But when he kicks his friend Errol's ball into the Garden of Doom, Albert knows that he has to be brave. Could there be more to Mr Creaky than meets the eye? Could he be a jewel thief? A wizard? A secret agent? Albert doesn't know...but he's about to find out! The first Early Reader story from a talented & unique voice in children's fiction. Phil Earle is a CARNEGIE MEDAL shortlisted author whose hard-hitting YA novels have been widely acclaimed.
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Albert Ball's individuality & his insistence on fighting alone set him apart from other fighter pilots during World War One. His invincible courage & utter determination made him a legend not only in Britain but also amongst his enemies, to whom the sight of his lone Nieuport Scout brought fear. In 1914 he enlisted in the British army with the 2/7th Battalion (Robin Hoods), of the Sherwood Foresters, Notts & Derby Regiment. By the October of 1914 he had reached the rank of Sergeant & then in the same month was made a Second-Lieutenant to his own battalion. In June 1915 he paid for private tuition & trained as a pilot at Hendon. In October 1915 he obtained Royal Aero Club Certificate & requested transfer to the Royal Flying Corps. The transfer granted, he further trained at Norwich & Upavon, being awarded the pilot's brevet on 22 January 1916. On 16 May 1916
- flying Bristol Scout 5512
- he opened his score, shooting down an Albatros C-type over Beaumont. On 29 May 1916 he shot down two LVG C-types, whilst flying his Nieuport 5173. Captain Albert Ball made his final flight on 7 May 1917 when he flew SE5 A4850 as part of an eleven-strong hunting patrol into action against Jagdstaffel 11, led by Lothar Von Richthofen. It was a very cloudy day. Albert was pursuing Lothar's Albatros Scout who crash-landed, wounded. Then Albert was seen by many observers to dive out of a cloud & crash. He died minutes later in the arms of a French girl, Madame Cecille Deloffre. He rose from obscurity to the top rank of contemporary fighter pilots in only 15 months. In that period he had been awarded the MC, DSO & two Bars & was credited with at least 44 victories. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

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Albert Ball's individuality & his insistence on fighting alone set him apart from other fighter pilots during World War One. His invincible courage & utter determination made him a legend not only in Britain but also amongst his enemies, to whom the sight of his lone Nieuport Scout brought fear. In 1914 he enlisted in the British army with the 2/7th Battalion (Robin Hoods), of the Sherwood Foresters, Notts & Derby Regiment. By the October of 1914 he had reached the rank of Sergeant & then in the same month was made a Second-Lieutenant to his own battalion. In June 1915 he paid for private tuition & trained as a pilot at Hendon. In October 1915 he obtained Royal Aero Club Certificate & requested transfer to the Royal Flying Corps. The transfer granted, he further trained at Norwich & Upavon, being awarded the pilot's brevet on 22 January 1916. On 16 May 1916
- flying Bristol Scout 5512
- he opened his score, shooting down an Albatros C-type over Beaumont. On 29 May 1916 he shot down two LVG C-types, whilst flying his Nieuport 5173. Captain Albert Ball made his final flight on 7 May 1917 when he flew SE5 A4850 as part of an eleven-strong hunting patrol into action against Jagdstaffel 11, led by Lothar Von Richthofen. It was a very cloudy day. Albert was pursuing Lothar's Albatros Scout who crash-landed, wounded. Then Albert was seen by many observers to dive out of a cloud & crash. He died minutes later in the arms of a French girl, Madame Cecille Deloffre. He rose from obscurity to the top rank of contemporary fighter pilots in only 15 months. In that period he had been awarded the MC, DSO & two Bars & was credited with at least 44 victories. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Colin Pengelly served in the RAF between 1958 & 1963. He then worked for the Admiralty from 1964 to 1997 & took early retirement. His interest in military aviation history started in 1952 & in the 1960s he assisted in the researches for Air Vice Marshal Collishaw's work into British Air Casualties 1914/18. He has previously published The First Bellerophon in 1965. He lives in Weston-super-Mare

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The temptation to resort to violence runs like a thread through Albert Camus works, & can be viewed as an additional key to understanding his literary productions & philosophical writings. His short life & intellectual attitudes were almost all connected with brutality & cruel circumstance. At the age of one he lost his father, who was killed as a soldier of the French army at the outbreak of the First World War. He passed his childhood & youth in colonial Algeria, no doubt experiencing degrees of inhumanity of that difficult period; & in his first years in conquered France he was editor of an underground newspaper that opposed the Nazi occupation. In the years following the Liberation, he denounced the Bolshevist tyranny & was witness to the dirty war between the land of his birth & his country of living, France. Camus preoccupation with violence was expressed in all facets of his work as a philosopher, as a political thinker, as an author, as a man of the theatre, as a journalist, as an intellectual, & especially as a man doomed to live in an absurd world of hangmen & victims, binders & bound, sacrificers & sacrificed, crucifiers & crucified. Three main metaphors of western culture can assist in understanding Camus thinking about violence: the bound Prometheus, a hero of Greek mythology; the sacrifice of Isaac, one of the chief dramas of Jewish monotheism; & the crucifixion of Jesus, the founding event of Christianity. The bound, the sacrificed & the crucified represent three perspectives through which David Ohana examines the place of ideological violence & its limits in the works of Albert Camus. ...