All posts by Sarah

travel, Uncategorized

An Army Veteran’s Journey by Narrowboat
Martin Farmer

9781911175797 Looking back a furniture van would have been a more practical and much quicker way to relocate, but not so much fun. Convinced by watching far too many Youtube “The end is nye” documentaries the author decided that drastic measures were needed to safe guard his future. At the same time and probably more realistically fulfilling a long and growing need to escape from his institutionalised lifestyle and exile in southern England. Financially the only options available to him were a cardboard box, or a boat. It was a close run thing but he eventually settled on the life a float choice. As an ex soldier extensive travel and a nomadic life style were familiar. Although |other than the Harwich to Hamburg ferry clueless about anything that floated The story begins in a marine in Watford where a suitably priced boat was purchased. It was decided after a year or so of getting the hang of things and wasting lots of money, that a change of scenery and a different boat was becoming more than just a dream…or nightmare! 
Published: Jan 2018
Paperback: 222 pages
Price: £9.00
ISBN: 9-781911-175797
Available from Amazon
After getting reacquainted with an old buddy the decision was made to travel the two hundred and ten miles by canal to chirk in northeast Wales, alone…almost. Not a romantic tale of hot and sunny days filled with relaxed and tranquil cruising. Trying his hardest, the entire journey was completed in nineteen days, despite boasts from some that the journey could be completed in around four to six days. If the time taken wasn’t a record then the number of mishaps, encounters with interesting characters and the abysmal weather surely was. A slightly tongue in cheek account of a sometimes reluctant and of course grumpy-ish boater. The adventure takes us via one or two tangents from a “lock virgin” to almost expert helmsman… who still hates canals and boats!
 
Reader Reviews... B GIBSON A book that kept me on the edge of my ... A book that kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for the author to join the fish, or see what other bit of boating equipment he would loose next. ie tennis balls on a boat? A must for anyone thinking of taking to the water for the first time with information on what to do and what not to do. Amazon Customer Excellent read, witty and funny it gives a great ... Excellent read, witty and funny it gives a great account of what it is really like on the water, (canals). A must for all Narrow Boat enthusiasts.  
belief, fiction, Front Page

An imagined early life of Jesus by the former dean of Salisbury Cathedral
Hugh Dickinson

9781911175834 The most profound mystery of Christian theism is the affirmation that the man Jesus of Nazareth was also Divine. Exactly what that means has been a matter of constant debate for two millennia. Christian theologians have made use of a great variety of physical analogies and metaphysical concepts in the attempt to give a rational account of this belief, but the metaphysical algebra no longer has much traction for most people and divinity is not within the reach of materialist rationality. In order to emphasise the presence of the exceptional in him it has been natural to give greater narrative weight to the Divinity of Jesus of Nazareth than to his humanity, which has effectively been shrouded in the glow of the Divine The purpose of this brief essay in imagination is the belief that unless we grasp the biological earthiness of Jesus we cannot fully understand his the Incarnation.
Published: Oct 2017
Paperback: 86 pages
Price: £4.90
ISBN: 9-781911-175834
Available from Amazon
The Very Revd. Hugh Dickinson, Dean Emeritus of Salisbury: Queen’s Scholar at Westminster. MA Oxford, Chaplain Trinity College Cambridge, Chaplain Winchester College, Bishops Adviser in Adult Education Coventry Cathedral, Vicar of St Michaels St Albans, formerly Dean of Salisbury, retired in the Cotswolds, distinguished poet and painter.
Reader Reviews...
fiction

Gatsby’s spell at Trinity imagined by actor Ian Flintoff in the style of Scott Fitzgerald.
Ian Flintoff

Gatsby at Trinity Cover POD F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is one of the most enduring novels of the twentieth century for two almost contradictory reasons. While being a precise and graphic depiction of the society which Fitzgerald himself relished and named ‘the Jazz Age’, its leading character is a person of ambiguity and uncertainty. It is reasonable to suppose that Fitzgerald meant this to be both a parable of the American Dream as well as a selfless love story. From the novel we know something of Gatsby’s past: his humble origins, his early experiences as Jimmy Gatz, that he was decorated in the Great War and also that he went to Trinity College, Oxford. These truths emerge despite the fantasies and fictions he also adopts. The time at Trinity College in Oxford would have been crucial for Jay Gatsby between his war time in France, his devotion to Daisy Fay, and his amassing of a huge fortune to secure her love.
Published:1st May 2015
Paperback:180 pages
Price:£9.99
ISBN:9-781909-644694

 Available from Amazon
and Kindle e-books
Gatsby at Trinity tells the story of his days in Oxford. It has been carefully researched from both historical archives and contemporary records, with all the evidences of Fitzgerald’s own novel fully taken into account. Ian Flintoff was a Modern Languages Scholar at Trinity College, Oxford, before becoming a professional actor, writer and director, and is a long-standing devotee of the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Readers' comments...

"The substance and nuance of your book continues to amaze me. Thanks so much for the scholarly effort you put into it.
I'm sure it's bound to be a classic."

"It's obviously been a tremendous labour of love for you, and displays loads of ingenuity and wit, for example your solution to the photographic mystery of the multitude of spires glimpsed through the chapel archway."
Non-Fiction

A Holmwood Station Scrapbook
Julian Womersley

9781911175681 Like all good scrapbooks, this is a serendipitous collection of snippets from the past: photographs, press cuttings and other ephemera are brought together to tell the saga of Holmwood railway station and its role in the social history of a developing community in deepest rural Surrey. Holmwood station has witnessed astonishing events since it first opened in 1867.
Published: Sept 2017
Paperback: 150 pages
Price: £12.50
ISBN: 9-781911-175681

£12.50 (+ £3 postage)
Number of copies:



Available from Amazon
Extraordinary people have trodden its platforms – ranging from a Royal Prince about to be proclaimed King to pauper children sent from a London workhouse. Others included a Crimean War hero; self-made millionaires; gallant officers returning from the Boer War and, during the Great War, wounded officers delivered by ambulance trains. Even the German Kaiser, His Imperial Highness, Emperor Wilhelm II, once alighted at Holmwood.
Special trains came and went - bringing London society people to glittering parties in the country; taking outings to the seaside and visitors to the Crystal Palace or transporting troops to military manoeuvres on Holmwood Common. Suffragettes frequently used the station, as did the Surrey Union Hunt, who unloaded hounds and horses directly onto the platform. Although aimed at the general reader, the fresh research and new material in this book will appeal to those with more specialist railway or historical interests.
Reader Reviews...

Chris Hewitt

A Holmwood Station Scrapbook is a multi-faceted gem which has been lovingly polished by its author, Julian Womersley, and sparkles with wit and wisdom. At its simplest level this is the saga of a railway station, but don’t be misled into thinking it’s a book for trainspotters; all human life is played out in these pages. There are tales of tragedy, triumph, paupers, politicians and parties which have been painstakingly collected from photographs, archive documents, press cuttings and other material and brought together in one delightful and thoroughly entertaining book. It’s an enchanting read and one I’d highly recommend.

“We love the book and it has also been very well received by our neighbours to whom I gave a copy. Charles commutes from Holmwood and is very intrigued.”

“A fascinating collection of information - it will take hours of study to absorb it. I have found that once opened, it is difficult to put down!”

“Just the Ticket!”

poetry

A Book
Andrew Page

9781911175896 The art of words

00447

worn to the bone
a measure of life
now sits alone
the ups and downs
of the stories it tells
begins and ends
with the ringing of bells

Other books by Andrew Page...
Another Book
Published: August 2017
Paperback: 78 pages
Price: £6.99
ISBN: 9-781911-175896

£6.99 (+ £2 postage)
Number of copies:



Available from Amazon
Reader Reviews...

artbooks

Glyndebourne Paintings 2011-2016
Julian Sutherland Beatson

9781527206465
Based in Sussex, Julian paints the landscape, coastline and urban areas in a style often described as 'contemporary realism'. He studied illustration and printmaking at the Eastbourne College of Art for 4 years (under the tuition of printmaker Robert Tavener) before embarking on a career in graphic design and illustration. Since 2004, when he had 2 paintings purchased by the House of Lords to complement an existing collection of period travel paintings, he has been painting and exhibiting in the UK and throughout Europe. He has been accepted 3 times to exhibit work in the Royal Academy Summer exhibition. In 2009 Julian worked on a project entitled ‘Sussex 365, A Year in the Life’ which comprised 365 Sussex paintings. He was invited to show this work during the 2010 Glyndebourne Tour and then returned the following year, creating a a painting every day throughout the Glyndebourne season which were then exhibited in the Stalls Gallery . He has returned each summer since then, continuing the ‘daily painting’ tradition and this book features a number of his favourite paintings made during that time.
Published: Jan 2016
Paperback: 124pages
Price: £12.50
ISBN: 978-1-911175-03-2
Julian says “The opportunity to work at Glyndebourne over recent years has been both a pleasure and a privilege. There is always change and development to observe as preparations for the Festival season gather pace, both in the rehearsal rooms, backstage areas and in the grounds. I love to see the new plantings each spring and to feel the buzz of anticipation as the first performances draw near. This is mirrored by the burgeoning of the natural environment as the weeks pass, culminating in splendid maturity towards the end of August as the triumphant final performances conclude the season in Glyndebourne’s magnificent auditorium. The opportunity to experience the rhythms of this iconic place and to be welcomed into the life of such a creative and highly esteemed cultural institution has made producing these paintings a joyful and fulfilling experience. This book contains some of my favourite paintings made here between 2011 and 2016. I hope you enjoy the collection”.

Visit the Artist's website

Front Page, history

The Impact Of World War One on the Smestow Vale Villages
David Taylor

9781911175742 Perhaps the most popular strand of the local history of War World One concerns those who died in the war, looking at their lives and war experience, particularly the action in which they died or the unit they served in. Another strand considers the Home Front, particularly in the towns and cities or in locations where a notable activity took place, such as Zeppelin Raids or explosives manufacture. However, there is a third strand, equally important but little investigated, and that is the impact of the war on rural communities. This booklet looks at one such community, on the edge of the Black Country but clearly rural in character, the villages of South Staffordshire centred on what is now known as Smestow Vale.
Published: Aug 2017
Extent: 64 pages
Paperback: £5.00
ISBN: 9-781911-175742
£5.00 (+ £2 postage)
Number of copies:
These villages have their own tale to tell of what happened between 1914 and 1918. There were the absences and deaths of many young, and not so young, men. But also there were air raid precautions, lack of public transport, increasing food production for local towns and themselves, new housing requirements and many other irritations and difficulties caused by the war. Followed by the celebrations at the Armistice and the signing of the Peace Treaties, and then the commemorations for those who would never return. The Impact of World War One on the Smestow Vale Villages looks at these villages to find out what we can discern after 100 years of what life was like in the countryside during The Great War.
Reader Reviews...

Front Page, history

The Shrewsbury Drapers Company
Nigel Hinton

9781911175803 A history of the Shrewsbury Drapers Company from the Middle Ages until the present day with special attention to the new Drapers' Almshouses. The Shrewsbury Drapers' Company looks at the effect of the Company on the town and on its development, the various charitable guilds and trusts connected with it and finally at the long struggle to create new almshouses for elderly citizens of the town and the successful conclusion to the project.
Published: Sept 2017
Extent: 250 pages
Paperback: £17.50
Hardback: £25.00
ISBN: 9-781911-175506
Paperback: £17.50
(+ £2 postage)
Number of copies:

Hardback: £25.00
(+ £2 postage)
Number of copies:
Nigel is a chartered accountant with a passion for local history and cloud technology, he was master of the Shrewsbury Drapers Company in 2011/12.
He is married to Bridget they have three daughters and four grandchildren. Nigel`s other publications include Historical Hostelries with David Trumper, Silhouette, the story of the Little X, and a book for children, Baa Baa Blodwyn
Reader Reviews...