All posts by Sarah

Front Page, history

All Quiet in the Western Suburbs: WW1 – Letters home to Chiswick and nearby districts
John Grigg

Millions of letters were written home by soldiers and sailors in the First World War and the men from Chiswick, West London, were every bit as prolific as their companions from elsewhere. Most of the letters in this book were sent to the Rev. Oldfield in Chiswick and he sent them on to the Chiswick Times, but there are others are to relatives, friends and employers and the Chiswick Working Men’s Club, and there are interviews and reports from journalists in the Chiswick Times and the Acton Gazette.
This is a unique record of the experiences of servicemen from the district who served all over the world. They describe the horrors of the war, writing of ‘Jack Johnsons’ ‘Rum Jars’ and ‘Coal Boxes’ (all nicknames for enemy shells and bombs) although often with feigned indifference, but many do not touch on the horrors at all - perhaps to protect relatives and friends from anxiety. The war was not confined to the European Western Front and this book includes letters and reports from other parts of the world: India, Africa, Egypt, Palestine, Greece, Mesopotamia (present day Iraq), and the Dardanelles. There are even letters from Russia where British forces were engaged against the Bolsheviks after 1918.
Published: June 2018
Extent: 460 pages
Paperback: £14.99
ISBN: 9-781912-419319
Available from Amazon
John Howard Grigg was born in Feltham, Middlesex in 1935. He has lived in West London all his life apart from two years in Nottingham with relatives during the Second World War, and two years National Service with the RAF. He retired from the Midland Bank in 1987 and has always denied he was ever a bank manager. He served as a local councillor in Hounslow from time to time between 1958 and 1990. He is an amateur local historian specializing in local social and political history.
Reader Reviews...
livesinprint

A Walsall lad hits the wrong side of the tracks
Steve Grainger

Step into a decade where political correctness was frowned upon, when parental guidance was almost non-existent, where Social Media only existed in the mind of an incarcerated lunatic and where 18” wide flares were considered the height of fashion.
Welcome to the 1970’s.
Join Steve on his fascinating journey during a time where his taste for adventure and mischief were allowed to flourish – and very often, allowed to grow totally out of control.
From working on a fairground at the age of 11, to following his beloved Man United around the country by the age of 14 ­– this is an eye-opening exposé of a young man who stumbled in and out of court during his teenage years.
Set amidst the backdrop of the miner’s strike, the fall of a government,dubious glamour, charming innocence and a touch of brutality – take a step back into a time when colour TV was considered new technology, where many a fashion crime was committed and when violence on the football terraces was considered a national past time.
Published: June 2018
Paperback: 322 pages
Price: £11,99
ISBN: 9-781912-419388
Available from Amazon
Born in 1960 in Kingstanding, Birmingham (in the same council house, his mom was born in) Steve was the second oldest of five children and he was up to mischief from the day he started to walk. His dad was a self-employed builder and his mom did out-work for local factories and did various cleaning jobs. It was hard going in the mid 60’s and during the summer holidays and aged only six, Steve would be given a jam sandwich by his mom and told not to come back until teatime. He would spend most of his days exploring with friends in the near by Sutton Park. Steve moved to Aldridge, Walsall in 1968. Prior to moving to Aldridge, for a full school year, come rain or shine Steve commuted very day (without his parents of course) from Birmingham to Aldridge on the famous Harpers buses. Always a bright and inquisitive child, Steve struggled with school work and to reflect attention away from his academic failures, he was happy to play the class clown. As a teenager Steve started to follow his beloved Manchester United, home and away and made several appearances in front of the magistrates. Still very much struggling to learn his ABC’s Steve officially left school at 15 and immediately got himself ‘A Local’ and a job in the building trade. Steve stayed in the building trade until he was 20, then he moved on to bigger and better things.
With Forwords by Man United Legend Norman Whiteside & star of stage & screen actress Shobna Gulati

NORMAN WHITESIDE - Manchester United & Northern Ireland Legend!

‘I have known Steve for several years mainly through his interest in football memorabilia and of course Man United. The late 1970’s always reminds me of my Doc Martens days and travelling from Belfast to Manchester every weekend to train with Man United schoolboys - great times. Mainly through humour and sometimes heartache, Steve has certainly captured the mood of a teenage boy growing up in the turbulent 1970’s. Anyone who was around in the 70’s will immediately identify with Steve’s book.
I just know the book is going to be a great hit and will sell like cup-final tickets’

SHOBNA GULATI - Actor

‘Steve and I first met back in 2008 in very rowdy bar in Moscow. We were both in the Russian capital to see our beloved Manchester United win the Champions’ League. We have kept in touch ever since. Steve has been lucky enough to lead a very exciting and well-travelled life and whenever we meet up, Steve has always been wonderful company and has great stories to tell. I’m not the least bit surprised Steve has decided to put his experiences down on paper and I am in no doubt that Steve’s book will be a great success’

Reader Reviews...
Front Page, travel

Forty Days in the Greek Islands
Andrew R Black

From their very first visit to a Greek island, Andrew and his wife Morag were hooked and kept going back for more. As they got to know the country and the language better, they ventured further off the standard tourist trail, finding an endless variety of new places to visit. Twenty five years later they are still exploring and learning about the islands. So what exactly is the attraction of travelling around the Greek islands? There are plenty of guidebooks full of factual information to help you find your way about. Instead this book gives you an insight into some typical day-to-day experiences you might have. It is a personal recollection of forty individual days spent getting to know a selection of forty different Greek islands. It shows why Greek island hopping can be so addictive.
Published: Sept 2017
Extent: 294 pages
Paperback: £11.99
ISBN: 9-781911-175841
Available from Amazon
Reader Reviews...


This is a comfortable, pleasing book to read - it feels like a collection of short stories to be enjoyed at will, and not necessarily in order. Each island with a story of its own, as and when. Slow read...slow food. The style of composition was an apt reflection of the 'there's always tomorrow' Mediterranean way of life that Andrew Black has obviously felt and absorbed. So many mythological-sounding place names are mentioned, therefore the maps outlining the islands were really useful, as was the separate and clear list of island names at the end of the book that could be seen at a glance. Sometimes, when you read travel books, you are left wondering, "yes, but do they really know?" Having spent so much time in the Greek islands, it can be seen from Andrew's descriptions that, yes, he does really know, and has looked and lived beneath the surface of the Greek island culture. He writes it well, too. And on crisp, pure white paper.

A very enjoyable book that has inspired me to expand my knowledge of the Greek islands. There are several hand-drawn maps included, however this is not a standard guide book but an appealing account of experiences from many years of travel, including brief notes on Greek history (mythical, ancient and modern) interspersed with observations on geography, birds, plant life and delicious food. Not all tourists wish to leave the mainstream resorts, however the anecdotes in this book describing encounters with friendly, generous islanders should encourage many to step away from the crowds and undertake their own mini-adventures. Just ensure you leave enough time to relax each day in a local cafe to sip your iced coffee and savour the charm of Greek island life! Well worth reading.

Great book - the basis of next years holiday plans, makes Island hopping sound much easier than I had imagined and I may avoid some obvious mistakes (you pay when you get off the bus!). Recommended read in the planning stage of a holiday to the Greek Islands.

This is one of the best books I have ever read about the Greek Islands and as a regular traveller in Greece I am fussy! I only wish he would write some more.

fiction

The Horses Rejoice
Lynn Mann

Amarilla and Infinity have been the catalysts for change that they agreed to be, but they know there is more to be done. If they can befriend the Woeful and persuade the rest of humankind to do the same, then the ways of The Old will forever be in the past.

Amarilla, Infinity and their friends set out on a journey to find the Woeful, only to discover that their search becomes something so much more due to the horses they meet along the way. But they never forget what they agreed to do. They must find the Woeful. And then they must be willing to risk losing everything.
Published:June 2018
Paperback:364 pages
Price:£10.00
ISBN:9-781912-419302
Available from Amazon
Lynn Mann is a writer with a long-standing involvement with horses. During her school years, she spent as much time riding and being with horses as she could. She took a break from horses to study for her biology degree and then on leaving university, realised her dream of having her own horse for the first time. She worked on show-jumping, racing and dressage yards before starting a business as a saddle consultant and riding instructor, which involved working both in the UK and abroad.

Other books in the series by Lynn Mann...
Book 1: The Horses Know
Reader Reviews...

Carrie - 5 star review
I absolutely love this book. It is a worthy sequel to the brilliant The Horses Know, and I have reread this book no less than three times so far. I get something more from it every time I read. Yes, it is a novel set in a fantasy future and is a wonderful compelling story, but the ideas behind the book are no less real for that. Get talking to your horses, listen to what they have to say - anyone can do this, truly. This book will show you the way, inspire you, and change the way you interact with your horses forever. Let Amarilla, Infinity and the Kindred open your heart and your mind. It is an incredible book and worthy of its' current no.1 position on Amazon in the Equine books section. I cannot wait for Book 3 . . . .

T Stretton - 5 star review
It is not often I feel inspired by works of fiction, but both this book and 'The Horses Know' have certainly changed the way I view the world. Aside from that, the easy style in which it is written and careful storytelling have kept me glued to the pages, day after day, just as a good book should! I am actually rather sad that this story is over! As with the first book, this is most definitely not just for 'horsey' people; such an interesting idea needs to be shared!

Tracy - 5 star review
If you enjoyed The Horses Know then you will certainly enjoy The Horses Rejoice. Lynn Mann has a talent that is unique, her books will grab your attention and not let go until you've read the whole book so make sure you have lots of spare time. The Horses Rejoice continues the story but with its own individuality, I just hope Lynn is preparing to write the next book. Every horse lover or even those who like a good read should have these books in there possession.

Beki - 5 star review
Such an amazing book! I loved the first one (The Horses Know) and this was a fantastic continuation of the story. If you have horses you need to read these books - there are some wonderful insights and they have helped me immensely. Please write more Lynn!

Emma Magliocco - 5 star review
Highly recommend excellent read could not put it down anyone who has horses would love this book as I did.

Kindle Customer - 5 star review
I wasn't sure if this would be my kind of book but I absolutely loved it. It's well written and such a clever idea. I found myself relating things to experiences with my own horse and I feel more connected to him now.

Front Page, history

My Scottish Common People: The history of a working-class family over 400 years
George Smith

My Scottish Common People is the account of a family history which could stand for a history of the Scottish working class over the last four hundred years. George Smith has tracked eight paternal and maternal lines of forebears, common people who lived in Angus, Inverness-shire, Perthshire, Fifeshire, Orkney and Dundee. They include jute mechanics, seamstresses, handloom weavers, smallholders, farm hands, and fishing families, and finally the not-so-common author’s father, a shipyard joiner who became a trade union leader, TUC president and knight of the realm who will be familiar to many in the Labour Movement.
This book tells of the life events of ordinary people and their pursuit of livelihoods. Included are: members of a congregation that quit the Church of Scotland over a point of principle in 1733, a thirteen-year-old fisherman who joined the naval militia during the Napoleonic war, a politically active shoe clicker who supported a Proletarian Sunday School, a stone mason who helped to build Stevenson lighthouses, an Orkney ploughman and family who migrated to Dundee for a better life, a poor agricultural labourer given free oatmeal and cash from the the Church of Scotland, a widowed mother who survived as a seamstress. All are representative, including, and perhaps especially, a handloom weaver, later soldier, who was in a mutiny in 1794.
Published: May 2018
Extent: 234 pages
Paperback: £9.00
ISBN: 9-781912-419234
Available from Amazon
George Smith was born in Dundee and moved to England as a child. He has since visited Scotland many times. He was educated at Nottingham University, Garnett College, the London School of Economics and the Institute of Education, London University which awarded him a doctorate. For most of his working life he was a lecturer in social studies and contributed to academic publications. He was a magistrate for nine years. In retirement he has furthered his long-held interest in family history through research and published articles. A volunteer, he is an adviser for Citizens Advice. He lives in Worcestershire.
Reader Reviews...
fiction

A Story of friendship and adversity set in pre-war Stoke-On-Trent
Jean Hayward

Published: May 2018
Paperback: 424 pages
Price: £12.95
ISBN: 9-7819142-419180
Available from Amazon
A Potteries Boy in Wales
by Jean Hayward

Set between the wars and touched by both of them, this is a story about the transformative power of creativity… and the jealousy that it can arouse.

Whilst being true to the spirit of her late father, the Royal Doulton Art Director and designer Walter Hayward, the author has spun an exciting tale of loss and restoration, friendship and bullying, in which a close-knit community comes together to help Walter achieve his dream of creating a great Dragon Vase… with surprising results!

And not everyone is friendly… The lamplit streets and smoky bottle ovens harbour an evil presence.

This is a cosy story – with a dark edge.



Jean Hayward was born, grew up, and worked in the Potteries before leaving for university and a career as an English Lecturer in the English Midlands. Jean is now retired and writes and illustrates nostalgic novels inspired by her hometown and by her father, Walter Hayward, whose fictional childhood adventures form the basis for themes dealing with love and loss, the supernatural, transformation, restoration, and the triumph of kindness and love over frailty or even downright evil. Jean has a horse, a Shetland pony and a cat and enjoys bringing animals and humour into her writing.



Books by Jean Hayward...

 A Potteries Boy

A Potteries Boy in Wales
Front Page, history

A Purely Agricultural Parish
David Pracy

This book paints a vivid picture of a west Essex country village in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1900 and again in 1912, Nazeing Parish Council described it as ‘a purely agricultural parish’, and the book asks how true this statement was. Almost half of Nazeing people were born in the village, and almost half of those who worked had jobs related to the land. Yet in 1908 a new housing development and the building of an important new road began the changes that were to transform Nazeing in the twentieth century. A wide range of sources includes censuses, the Lloyd George land survey of 1909-12, trade directories, newspapers, and reminiscences of older people who were children in Nazeing before the Great War. There are short biographies of the thirty-three men who died in that war and the names of the 155 who served. Over a hundred buildings are described, most of them accompanied by photographs, and there is an unusual and refreshing emphasis on ‘ordinary’ working families. The book will interest anyone who lives or has family roots in Nazeing, and also the general reader and the specialist historian. Nazeing History Workshop was founded in 1993 to discover, record and share the long and rich history of this west Essex village. David Pracy is a retired librarian who has an MA in Local and Regional Studies from the University of Essex. Jacky Cooper is a retired therapist whose family roots in Nazeing go back 200 years. The cover images were painted by Kate Henty, who lived in Nazeing from 1872 to 1886.
Published: May 2018
Extent: 392 pages
Paperback: £10.00
ISBN: 9-781911-175889
Available from Amazon
Nazeing History Workshop was founded in 1993 to discover, record and share the long and rich history of this west Essex village. David Pracy is a retired librarian who has an MA in Local and Regional Studies from the University of Essex. Jacky Cooper is a retired therapist whose family roots in Nazeing go back 200 years. The cover images were painted by Kate Henty, who lived in Nazeing from 1872 to 1886.
Reader Reviews...
fiction, Front Page

A distinguished mathematician is sent to Northampton to solve a murder
Peter Hall

9781911175568 It is the middle of the nineteenth century. Brothers William and Robert Crossley both seek refuge from the severe discipline of their father in their very different dreams. William wishes to stay in their hometown of Northampton and follow his uncle as the town’s best watch and clock maker. Robert longs to get away and become famous. William defies his father and refuses to take the Cambridge entrance examination. Robert finds a tutor in the Vicar of Upstone, who not only prepares him for the examination, but also leads him in the creation of a seminal mathematical theorem. Robert finds fame and fortune through the work. But Robert’s authorship of the theorem is questioned. The President of the Royal Society sends Edward Pennington, a distinguished mathematician, and Doctor Clara Cox, to investigate. They uncover secrets that not only change themselves, but also have unforeseen consequences for the whole Crossley family.
Published:May 2017
Paperback:378 pages
Price:£12.50
ISBN:9-781911-175568


Available from YouCaxton

£12.50 (+ £2 postage)
Number of copies:



Available from Amazon
Reader Reviews...