It’s June 1970. With just a backpack, some dollars and plenty of optimism, a hitchhiker sets off to discover America. This is what happened along the way, told in his own words.
From New England to California, from Vancouver to the Everglades, 220 drivers stopped to pick up the lone Brit. Most were friendly, some were incredibly generous, a few were hostile.
The United States was at war in Vietnam, Richard Nixon was a year into his presidency, and Woodstock was influencing a generation. The National Guard stood in the way of antiwar protesters. The drama of Apollo 13 had unfolded two months earlier and £1 bought $2.40.
It was a classic time to explore the country, the culture and the people. Join our hitchhiker walking down the Grand Canyon, dodging bears and sheriffs out west, gate-crashing a Republican fundraiser, checking out ‘Beautiful Downtown Burbank’ and doing what hitchhikers always do – enjoying whatever is around the next corner.
Anyone who has hitchhiked anywhere will enjoy this book.
Blackpool's Holiday Heyday
Images of resort’s golden era
Celebrated and sneered at, praised and patronised in equal measure, Blackpool remains Britain’s biggest, brashest and most vibrant holiday resort, drawing 18 million annual visits – despite the rival attractions of the Mediterranean sun. But many of these are day trips and short breaks rather than the traditional week by the sea.
In this lavishly produced pictorial history of the resort’s golden era, former Blackpool Gazette journalist Barry McLoughlin chronicles the six decades up to the mid-1960s when the town was queen of the seaside holiday and overseas stays were only just starting to take off.
The book includes chapters on the Pleasure Beach, Tower, Golden Mile, three piers, theatres, dancehalls, accommodation, railways, the famous tramway and football.
130 illustrations in colour and black-and-white, ranging from rare postcards to high-quality photojournalism and memorabilia, highlight the people and places that gave Blackpool its unique character.
Although the book presents a nostalgic view of Blackpool’s heyday, it also highlights the contradictions of the resort’s identity as the UK’s tourism capital, contrasting the neon glitz of the Golden Mile with pockets of severe social deprivation today.
It examines the dilemmas created by the town’s dual identity over the years. Should it be a genteel middleclass ‘watering place’ or a proletarian playground? Should it be a ‘family resort’ or a party town for nightclubbers? Should the interests of residents or tourism take priority?
It is not intended as a definitive history of Blackpool, more of an impressionistic snapshot – literally – of an extraordinary era.
Reviews of Blackpool..
The Journalist, magazine of the National Union of Journalists (TUC Best Union Journal of the Year)
Life member Barry McLoughlin's book recalls the glory years of working-class tourism.
In this pictorial history, the former Blackpool Gazette chief reporter chronicles the halcyon days of the world's first proletarian playground in the six decades up to the 1960s.
More than 130 illustrations in black-and-white and colour.
Having examined the origins of whisky and golf in his native Scotland and followed this up with visiting golf courses and whisky distilleries in England, Wales and Ireland, the author now sets off on an exploration of how they fare on the continent of Europe. This latest odyssey starts in Granada in the south of Spain and ends, some 3,000 miles to the north, on the Lofoten Islands inside the Arctic Circle.
With travel much interrupted by the pandemic, he visits an eclectic mix of distilleries and golf courses many of which have been inspired by whisky and golf ’s Scottish roots and meets fellow whisky and golf enthusiasts of different nationalities. As well as marvelling at the diversity of golfing and whisky offerings across the different countries, he continues to develop his ‘golf and whisky as metaphors for life’ hypothesis and concludes positively that they are both topics on which different peoples will seek common ground and friendships while they even offer lessons on how we can all lead better lives in the post-pandemic world.
Andrew Brown was born in Edinburgh, brought up in the Borders and educated at Loretto School in Musselburgh. After reading history at Cambridge University, he pursued a career in the food industry, marketing many famous brands such as Bisto, Hovis and Mr Kipling. He has three grown-up children, is now retired and, outside of his regular visits to Scotland, lives in the Chilterns. Apart from playing golf he is an enthusiastic dog walker, a very average tennis player and a novice gardener.
Reviews of Peats and Putts...
Charles Maclean, Whisky Writer and Master of the Quaich
It is astonishing that until now nobody has sought to bring together Scotland’s two greatest gifts to the world – whisky and golf.
This little book is a personal journey of discovery. In ten chapters, each devoted to a region or county – from Sutherland in the north to East Lothian in the south and Islay in the West - Andrew Brown reviews a golf course and a locally made malt whisky.
As he travels from one place to the next he ponders how and why these two products developed in Scotland and what it is about the country, its landscape and people, which connects them. As he writes: “Both whisky and golf are more than just a drink and a sport; both can be seen as metaphors for the vagaries of life itself.” Indeed!
Golf Quarterly Review June 2018
This is a delightful, well-written little book – part travel guide, part history, part personal philosophy, and part unwitting nationalist tract (what better way, after all, to celebrate Scottish distinctiveness than through writing about its two most famous exports?). It takes the form of a tour of nine regions of the country, in search of the author’s favourite distilleries and favourite golf courses along the way.
I can imagine peripatetic golfers with a fondness for an evening dram, or whisky aficionados with a set of clubs in the boot of their car, packing this little volume and reading up on pleasures planned for the following day. It will be equally enjoyable, though, with a glass of single malt to hand in the privacy of your own home.
What gives the journey special significance is the author’s playful exploration of the similarities and connections between whisky and golf. Andrew Brown, a native Scot who spent most of his career in the food industry south of the border, suggests that location, history and architecture are crucial to the two experiences. History, for instance, is an important part of the narrative that accompanies both playing and drinking. Just as we like to know the origins, ownership and social impact of a particular whisky brand (notwithstanding the marketing hype), so hearing about how and when a golf club was founded, who played there and who designed and changed it invariably enriches a round of golf.
Perhaps design is the most striking common factor given the simple, limited and seemingly unpromising ingredients that course architects and whisky manufacturers both start with. All golf courses are hewn out of sand and soil, while the essential elements of any whisky are also the same: only malted barley, water and yeast are permitted in anything that calls itself Scotch. What produces so many different and unique variations of the spirit is everything from the distilling process to the local landscape, whether it be the taste of the water, the quality of the soil, or the extent of the annual rainfall. In the case of golf it’s the eye and skill to use nature to best effect.
Each chapter describes the idiosyncrasies of a favourite course and distillery. The golf choices are far from predictable – Brora rather than Dornoch in Sutherland, Kilspindie rather than Gullane, Luffness New or Muirfield in East Lothian, the Eden rather than the Old Course in Fife. These reflect not just a conscious decision to stay away from Championship venues but those the author considers best meet his three criteria for selection: a tough but enjoyable (and affordable) test for all levels of golfer, delightful surroundings and a welcoming clubhouse.
There is an equally diverse spread of distilleries, old and new, large and small, ranging from multinational owned enterprises such as Glenmorangie to independent Edradour in Perthshire (20,000 cases of which went down off the island of Eriskay in 1941, inspiring Compton Mackenzie’s wonderful book Whisky Galore).
Wisely, the author does not take prior knowledge for granted though spelling out a three-shotter for golfers or mash tuns for devoted whisky drinkers may mildly irritate some. I liked his many diversions - musings on what makes a good golf hole and a good malt, for example, thumbnail sketches of important golf designers like James Braid and Harry Colt, and reflections on the history and practise of naming golf holes. There are plenty of surprises (at least to this non-expert whisky drinker). Did you know that eight of the world’s top ten whisky brands are Indian, while the country that consumes the most whisky on a per capital basis is France (the United States being second and the UK third)?
Tim Dickson
Editor
Golf Quarterly
Simon Marquis, Cornwall
Of Peats and Putts will appeal to anyone who enjoys golf and/or malt whisky. Andrew Brown is an enthusiastic amateur of both and his enjoyment shines through this delightful scamper across nine of Scotland’s finest golf holes, and a rather more leisurely trundle around nine of its distilleries. The real pleasure of this short volume though is the author’s drawing of nice parallels between these twin pleasures and life itself. Golf has its ups and downs as do our lives, some of them at least, perhaps smoothed away by a late evening dram or two!
The book is a pleasure in itself. I eagerly await volume two.
James Holder - Author of The Great War's Sporting Casualties Andrew Brown's second book, Mashies and Mash Tuns, has all the same charm as his first book. He describes the golf courses highlighted in his book leaving you wanting to play them and writes about whiskey in a way which, because of my own aversion to whisky (and whiskey), leaves me regretting I cannot taste them.
And not content with just writing about golf courses and distilleries, he expresses in no uncertain terms how he thinks golf should be played, views I share but views which I fear too many golfers choose to ignore.
This book shows how Wollaton Hall and Park is a key part of our natural heritage, and a leading contributor to natural history education in the Nottingham area and beyond.
Nottingham Natural History Museum, housed within the Hall, allows visitors to identify and explore many aspects of the natural world, whilst the surrounding park affords sightings of some of the living creatures that call it home
Once you have visited the museum and viewed the diverse collections of preserved specimens, you can test your newly-acquired knowledge while walking around the park.
Exploring the park you should see the deer and other wildlife active by day, although the museum is probably the best place to view examples of some of the park’s more shy, nocturnal or otherwise elusive wildlife, such as stoats, foxes and moles. After a visit to the museum, you might be surprised at what wildlife you can identify in the future.
I have always been passionate about wildlife, having spent my early years as a child growing up within a game reserve in Kenya where my father worked, surrounded by lions, elephants,
black rhinos and many more of Africa’s iconic species.
Returning to live in Cambridgeshire with my family, I Studied Animal Management at college and Marine Biology at Hull University, with the aim of embarking on a career involved in wildlife photography. This lead me to undertake a Master’s Degree in Biological Photography and Imaging at Nottingham University.
Stately Lancashire
A county better known for its industrial landscape and urban sprawl, Lancashire in fact contains some of the finest country houses in the United Kingdom.
This book – a sequel to Stately Homes Alone: Independent Country Houses in the North West, published in 2021 – explores another eleven great houses in Lancashire. They range from much-visited National Trust properties to lesser-known mansions, a romantic ruin and a huge stately home that virtually vanished overnight.
Stretching from Lancaster in the north to Manchester in the south, and Liverpool in the west to Burnley in the east., they span Tudor gems such as Speke Hall and Rufford Old Hall, the just-restored ‘Jacobean Gothic’ jewel Bank Hall and undiscovered Heskin Hall.
The Wars of the Roses, the Reformation, the ‘witch trials’, the Civil War and the Jacobite Rebellion… Lancashire’s stately homes have witnessed a catalogue of major historic events.
Illustrated in full colour, the book includes richly detailed descriptions of the houses, their owners and their gardens, their restoration and how to contact them. Several of the chapters first appeared in Choice magazine.
Published:
May 2022
Hardback:
94 pages
Colour images:
35
Size:
6 x 9 ins
Price:
£9.99
ISBN:
9-781914-424533
£9.99 (+ £3.50 postage)
Number of copies:
Available from Amazon
This book also examines how some of the houses have attempted to deal with the growing recognition that their owners were involved in the transatlantic slave trade.
A journalist, editor and author since 1973, Barry McLoughlin has worked for local, regional and national newspapers and magazines, including four years as editor of Steam World, Britain’s biggest-selling historical railway magazine, and a spell as a parliamentary lobby correspondent at Westminster. He is the author or editor of fourteen books, on subjects ranging from railways to politics. He is a Life Member of the National Union of Journalists.
Stately Homes Alone
The three counties of north west England – Lancashire, Cheshire and Cumbria – contain some of the most handsome and historic country houses in Britain.
As they seek to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic that has devastated their income, Barry McLoughlin profiles fifteen of the region’s finest stately homes, plus one spectacular castle. They span a millennium stretching from the medieval to the Edwardian, with Tudor, Jacobean, Georgian and Gothic Revival in between.
What they have in common is that they are all independently run, whether by the original owning families, or by trusts or local authorities.
First featured in Choice magazine, they range from the highprofile, with tens of thousands of annual visitors, to the smaller and quirkier, but their walls are often permeated by centuries of intrigue, politicking, dynastic struggle and religious persecution. The book also features two neo-classical houses off the tourist trail, and one building that has vanished altogether.
Published:
Apr 2021
Hardback:
184 pages
Colour images:
72
Size:
6 x 9 ins
Price:
£12.50
ISBN:
9-781913-425845
£12.50 (+ £3.50 postage)
Number of copies:
Available soon from Amazon
You’ll learn about their history from the author’s richly detailed descriptions, their sometimes eccentric owners, their gardens and ghosts, their restoration and how to visit them. Fully illustrated, the book is the perfect companion on a visit to some of the North West’s most memorable mansions.
A journalist, editor and author since 1973, Barry McLoughlin has worked for local, regional and national newspapers and magazines, including four years as editor of Steam World, Britain’s biggest-selling historical railway magazine, and a spell as a parliamentary lobby correspondent at Westminster. He is the author or editor of fourteen books, on subjects ranging from railways to politics. He is a Life Member of the National Union of Journalists.
Travel guide to Nouvelle - Aquitaine: the Gironde and Dordogne areas of SW France
This book is for all who want to explore the delightful area of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-west France, focusing on the Gironde and parts of the Dordogne regions. This is an anecdotal guide to many unique places of interest and as well as describing something of the towns, it takes the reader off the beaten track and into the beautiful countryside. In some cases, places of interest are referred to in both summer and winter months to illustrate how they differ outside of the tourist season.
An essential guide for both first time visitors and seasoned travellers to the area.
Annie Jefferies lives in Devon with her husband, Mike and their black Labrador, Harry. Annie is a Chartered Physiotherapist who retired 10 years ago and this is her first book. Her interests are varied and include walking on Dartmoor, learning Spanish, music, sports, cooking, travelling with family and friends and supporting the Diocese of Exeter as a member of the laity.
Reader Reviews...
Keith Thornborough, Geneva
This small pocket sized guide to the SW France is a delight from beginning to end.
Annie Jefferies takes us on an anecdotal tour of pretty country towns, old villages, ancient castles and the beautiful rural scenery that has captured her heart.
I read this charming and humorous book with absolute pleasure.
A Devon resident ( Renata Hopkins) I read this book in a day as I couldn’t put it down ; the local information is useful and very relevant if you are visiting the area , but I so enjoyed the little stories that unfolded along the 2 month journey and again during the winter visit ! I would have appreciated a basic map that would have illustrated the area and the relationship of one town to another . If the author is encouraged to write another book that would be my only suggestion
Thank you
Diane Kersey - resident of Tavistock, Devon
This book is charming and a lovely read .It is very interesting if you are visiting this area of France, but it is also enjoyable to read the tales that intersperse the textual facts. I particularly enjoyed the illustrations . I am buying 10 copies to give to friends at Christmas !
The fascinating adventures of two extraordinary brothers - Golden Retrievers - and their human carers. Hector is the cleverest and craziest of his race; his twin, Jason, is the loveliest and, bizarrely, fastest dog on the planet. Together, they are in the vanguard of mischief and mayhem.
Beginning in Wordsley in the West Midlands, and in rural Staffordshire, Born to Run: the Story of Hector & Jason tells the story of Hector and Jason’s mad-cap adventures throughout England and Wales and beyond. The ‘boys’ were amongst the First recipients of ‘Pet Passports’ and we follow the intrepid duo from their home in France’s ‘Suisse Normande’ in a gallop through the French countryside – exploring the delights and riches of Normandy, Brittany and the Loire Valley.
Above all, this is the story of the author’s struggle to come to terms with the revelation that his ‘boys’ are endowed with special, indeed unique, ‘gifts’. In Hector’s case, happiness lies in his heart’s desire: to seek, to chase. Jason’s passion is pure and simple: he is, joyously, ‘born to run...’. In accepting and embracing his boys’ natural
genius, the author gives Hector and Jason full-rein to attain their true potential - and to fulfil their destiny.
This wonderful book explores the intense relationship between Man and his favourite four-legged friend. The book is a paean to the special bond – the deep love – that can develop between two species – Man and ‘Dog’. By turns amusing, powerful and poignant, this is a ‘must read’ for anyone who enjoys the English – and French – countryside. And for everyone who loves, or who has ever loved, a canine companion.
When you have produced the final draft of your book, it is always advisable to have the text read and checked by a professional editor or proof reader.
You may have friends that are willing and competent to do this and we can advise you on the type of editing that is required.
We can offer four levels of editing as well as proof-reading.
You choose which, if any, are appropriate in your case: 1. Edit of sample pages and short report (£30)
We will edit a few pages to highlight editorial issues so that you can look for similar problems throughout the book.
This will reduce the amount of further copy-editing required when the book is finished. 2. Broad structural editing and criticism (£5 per thousand words)
A structural review is particularly relevant for works of fiction.
The structural reviewer will address the following main areas and produce a short report for the author ” Read More 3. Copy editing (£10 per thousand words)
A copy-editor takes a close look at your text, line by line, with an eye to grammatical errors, repetition, inconsistency and lack of clarity. The copy editor will make changes to the text, with suggestions for rewriting, grammar, and punctuation. When you receive the edited version, you have the final choice about accepting of rejecting the individual changes. 4. Proof Reading (£8 per thousand words)
Proof reading is a line-by-line check that the book is ready for publication. Proof readers will make small corrections for punctuation, grammar and spelling but they will not make significant changes to the text.
A proof reader will identify any significant issues and add comments to the text so that you can make those corrections yourself. 5. Consistency Scan
If you decide your book doesn’t need a full proof reading, we offer an electronic scan to search for common errors and inconsistencies. This looks at issues such as inconsistent spelling and inconsistencies of hyphenation and capitalisation.
We can also identify inconsistencies in the spelling of proper names. 6. Cover text
The quality of the text on the cover is very important as it indicates the quality of the writing in the book.
The title, sub-title and back-cover blurb are all important elements and we can work with you to make sure that these are correct and effective.
Copy Edit
Copy-editors get the raw material into shape for publication i.e they edit the copy.
When they have finished, the designer can lay out or typeset the book and produce a proof.
It is quite normal for the author to make additional changes after a book has been copy-edited.
Working through the material, the copy-editor may identify errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, style and usage, but also very long sentences and overuse of italic, bold, capitals and exclamation marks.
They should correct or query doubtful facts, weak arguments, plot holes and gaps in numbering.
In fiction, they should also check that characters haven’t changed their name or hair colour, look for sudden changes from first to third person among other things.
The Copy-editor is not a proof reader and should not be expected to find all of the errors in the text particularly if the text is badly written to start with.
This is the job of the proof reader.
The final proof should be checked by a proof reader or an experienced reader friend before going to print.
It is almost inevitable (and acceptable) to miss a few errors which can be corrected in a later edition.
Proof Reading
Proof reading is a line-by-line check that the book is ready for publication.
Proof readers will make small corrections for punctuation, grammar and spelling but they will not make significant changes to the text.
A proof reader will identify any significant issues and add comments to the text so that you can make those corrections yourself.
If you have decided to complete this stage of the process yourself, we will send a detailed check-list to help you.
We ask you to try and ensure that the book is completely ready before we start the layout.
Once the layout has started, we expect that you might want to to make a small number of amendments but
if there are a significant number, we may need to charge for the extra time it takes to change the layout
so best to discuss this with us first.
Structural Review
In fiction, the main areas that a structural editor will address are:
Plot: Does the plot make sense? Is it believable? Is it satisfying or does it leave the reader frustrated? Themes: Are the themes effectively handled? Are there so many that the book lacks focus? Do they interfere with the plot or complement it?
Characterisation: Are your characters well developed and believable? Are they cast in a role that fits their personality? Do they sometimes behave out of character? Point of view/voice: Is the voice consistent or is it sometimes confused? Is the voice authentic? Are you using too many or too few POVs? Pace: Does the plot move forward at an appropriate pace? Should you cut that preface? Should the action happen sooner or should the tension build more slowly? Dialogue: Do your characters sound real when they speak? Is your dialogue cluttered with adverbs and beats? Do you use clunky dialogue to move the plot forward? Flow: Is the narrative interrupted by dead-ends and tangents? Is there so much back story that the main plot is dwarfed? Are there missing plot points that would give the narrative greater integrity?
In non-fiction, the principle is the same, but the specific issues are slightly different:
Thesis: Is your thesis relevant? Is it clearly defined or is it lost among marginal issues? Exposition: Are your arguments clear and cogent? Are they well researched and properly supported? Do they have a clear relationship with your thesis? Content: Are all the necessary topics sufficiently dealt with? Are the chapters weighted correctly? Is there superfluous content? Organisation: Is the information organised logically? Are tables and illustrations used appropriately? How many levels of subheads do you need and how should they be arranged? Tone: Is the tone appropriate for the audience? Do you need to eliminate jargon? Is the text accessible? Pace: Are there passages that are bogged down in detail? Do you spend too long on detail irrelevant to the main thesis? Are there areas that need further exposition lest they be skipped over?
Cover Text
The quality of the text on the cover is very important as it indicates the quality of the writing in the book.
The title, sub-title and back-cover blurb are all important elements and we work with you to make sure that these are as effective as possible.
Consistency check
If you decide your book doesn’t need a full proof reading, we can run an electronic scan to search for common errors and inconsistencies.
This looks at issues such as inconsistent spelling, hyphenation and capitalisation.
It also checks for consistent formatting of numbers and dates as well as undefined abbreviations.
Subsequent Script Edit
It is very normal and generally beneficial for the script-editing process to go through at least a couple of cycles
i.e. the rewritten draft to be worked through once again by an experienced script practitioner – though this would be entirely at the discretion and behest of the writer.
Full Script Edit
The script that you deliver to us will probably constitute what the industry would classify as the ‘Initial Rough Draft’, i.e. a full screenplay written without any other professional input or advice, and probably without a great deal of rewriting. We work through your draft, line by line, scene by scene, and come back to you with a comprehensive set of notes from which you can then work towards the official ‘1st Draft’. Some of our notes will be broad and general, dealing with such areas as the overall shape and structure, pacing, plot and character development; others will be far more specific, with corrections, clarifications and suggested cuts etc. It is of course entirely up to you whether or not to take these suggestions on board, and to what extent.
Ongoing Support
We aim to make your self-publishing venture an enjoyable and rewarding experience.
Publishing is a complex business and we treat every book as a separate project.
We explain all of the stages at the outset and we manage the project schedule for you. This will include all of the expert services you have requested for editorial, design, printing, distribution and collection of royalties, keeping in close contact with you throughout the process.
You will be allocated a project-sheet on the YouCaxton website so that you can monitor progress and ensure that all stages are properly completed.
If you would like to see an example of a Project-Sheet…
go to My project on the menu and enter…
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