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Centrally Heated Knickers
by Michael RosenHail! Hail!I come from anothergalaxy.Discover the wierd and wonderful world of martians, woolly saucepans and centrally heated knickers in 100 poems about science and technology from the delightfully irreverent, Michael Rosen, Children's Laureate 2007 - 2009.
A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi: The Ideal Guide to Sounding, Acting and Shrugging Like the French
by Charles TimoneyVocabulary alone isn't enough. To survive in the most sophisticated - and the most scathing - nation on Earth you will need to understand the many peculiarities of the (very peculiar) French culture. And for that you need A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi.If you want to fit in with the French you'll have to know how to deal with sardonic waiters; why French children hate Charlemagne; the etiquette of kissing, joke-telling and drinking songs, what to do with a bidet, the correct recipe for a salade nicoise and, of course, how to convey absolute, shattering indifference with a single syllable (Bof!).Charles Timoney, the author of Pardon My French, provides a practical, pleasurable guide to the charms of the Gallic people - from their daily routines to their peerless gesticulations, from their come-ons to their put-downs. Read on and put the oh la la back into your French vacances. Your inner gaul will thank you for it.
Cerys, Catatonia And The Rise Of Welsh Pop
by David OwensIn the late nineties, Wales (is) the centre for guitar bands in the UK so says John Robb in THE NINETIES and with bands as strikingly fresh and individual as Catatonia Welsh denomination looks assured. It has taken Catatonia eight years of hard work and persistance to gain the recognition and adulation that they so richly deserve, but finally Cerys' searing vocals and lilting guitar pop have made the breakthrough. Hardly surprisingly really, considering the wealth of talent that is Catatonia and the crest of the Welsh wave they are so assuredly riding. But as anyone will tell you, what makes Catatonia different from the rest, the Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics and others, is Cerys. Cerys Matthews is fast becoming an icon in herself - a combination of sweetness and South Walesian toughness that is proving to be so endearing to her legion of fans. Often likened to Blondie, Cerys has graced more magazine covers than you care to mention, yet she is the sort of pop star who still sends away for free tights. This book will be the first to chart the rise and yet further rise of Catatonia, from Cerys busking outside Debenhams in Cardiff to their new found fame.
Cesare Borgia
by Sarah BradfordTHE FULL STORY BEHIND THE BORGIAS, NOW A MAJOR TV DRAMA STARRING JEREMY IRONS'Either Caesar or nothing' was the motto of Cesare Borgia, whose name has long been synonymous with evil. Almost five centuries have passed since his death, yet his reputation still casts a sinister shadow. He stands accused of treachery, cruelty, rape, incest and, especially, murder - assassination by poison, the deadly white powder concealed in the jewelled ring, or by the midnight band of bravos lurking in the alleys of Renaissance Rome.This classic book by acclaimed historian and biographer Sarah Bradford (author of Lucrezia Borgia and Diana), is the drama of a man of exceptional gifts and a driving lust for power. Cesare Borgia dared fortune for the highest goals and when fate turned against him he fell like Lucifer. Set against the brilliant backcloth of High Renaissance Italy, his life had the perfect proportions of a Greek tragedy.
The Cevennes Journal: Notes on a Journey Through the French Highlands
by Robert Louis Stevenson'For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.' - RLSIn September 1878, Robert Louis Stevenson travelled by donkey through the Cevennes region of France. For personal memory - and, as it happens, for literary posterity - the young Stevenson recorded copious notes on his journey as he travelled. Some of these witty and incisive impressions were subsequently published in Travels With A Donkey. The remainder, however, didn't find its way into print until the first publication of The Cevennes Journal in 1978, one hundred years later. This travelogue, which also includes several of Stevenson's previously unpublished sketches of the region, provides both a unique socio-historical document and an important piece of literature.
Chamber Music
by Tom BennWinner of the Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year AwardIt's Manchester, 1998, and the funeral party for Henry Bane's father is interrupted by a woman from Bane's past. Róisín is back in his life after an eight-year absence, inconvenient for Jan, his latest flame. Róisín has brought a wounded boyfriend with her - and a lot more trouble is following them up north.Meanwhile, a Yardie who goes by the name of 'Hagfish' wants to take over the local ganglords' territory with Mary, his terrifying weapon of choice. It's Hagfish against Bane in a new turf war: a war that will claim lives and cement vendettas. It's a conflict steeped in half-forgotten history: a history that Bane and Róisín are forever tied to - and which ties them together.
A Chamber of Delights
by Katrina YoungFor Gael, a life of luxury and sexual excitement has ended with banishment from Grymwell Hall. Now she sets out to create a new and even more exciting life in the opulent house of her kinky lesbian lover. Using all her feminine guile, wit and sexual allure, she arranges very special parties for wealthy, libidinous friends.Recruiting the naughty housemaid and the raunchy gardener to assist in acting out the wild sexual fantasies of her guests, Gael finds herself embroiled in increasingly perverted relationships with both of them and suspects that she may finally have met her equals at the playing of depraved and lascivious games.Gael's earlier adventures are described in A Chalice of Delights.
The Chameleon Poet: A Life of George Barker
by Robert FraserThe poet George Barker was convinced that his biography could never be written. 'I've stirred the facts around too much,' he told Robert Fraser. 'It simply can't be done.' Eliot wrote of his 'genius'. Yeats thought him the most interesting poet of his generation. Dylan Thomas envied his power over women. War trapped him in Japan. In America he conducted one of the most celebrated love affairs of the century. He fathered fifteen children in several countries, three during one battle-torn summer. By the 1950s he was the toast of Soho. Barker was Catholic and bohemian, frank and elusive, tender and boisterous. In Eliot's phrase, he was 'a most peculiar fellow.' Robert Fraser's biography offers both a portrait of a talented, tormented and irresistibly entertaining man, and a broad cultural landscape. Around the central figure cluster painters like Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Johnny Minton and the 'Roberts' Colquhoun and MacBryde; writers such as Dylan Thomas, Walter de la Mare and Elizabeth Smart, whose By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept hymns their liaison; the lugubrious humorist Jeffrey Bernard. After closing time at the Colony Room, Minton declared, they had to sweep up the jokes.
Champagne Football: John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football: The Inside Story
by Mark Tighe Paul RowanTHE NO.1 BESTSELLER!'I read it in one sitting, it's a superb book' Eamon Dunphy, The Stand 'An astonishing exposé' Martin Ziegler, The TimesOver the course of fifteen years, John Delaney ran the Football Association of Ireland as his own personal fiefdom. He had his critics, but his power was never seriously challenged until 2019, when Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan published a sequence of stories in the Sunday Times containing damaging revelations about his personal compensation and the parlous financial situation of the FAI. Delaney's reputation as a great financial manager was left in tatters. He resigned under pressure, and the FAI was left hoping for a massive bail-out from the Irish taxpayer.Champagne Football is a gripping, sometimes darkly hilarious and often enraging piece of reporting by the award-winning journalists who finally pulled back the curtain on the FAI's mismanagement.____________'Excellent' Irish Sun'A jaw-dropping story ... brilliant' Irish Times'Essential reading' Irish Daily Star'Astonishing ... Side-splittingly hilarious' Guardian'A damning account' Sunday Independent'An instant classic, one of the all-time great Irish sports books' Alan English'Excellent ... includes staggering detail' Daily Mail'A cracking read ... [An] incredible amount of jaw-dropping detail' Matt Cooper 'One of the most hotly-anticipated sport books of the year' Brendan O'Connor 'A masterpiece' Tommy Martin'At last, the truth of his ruinous reign has been rigorously and painstakingly exposed' Irish Daily Mail 'An absolutely extraordinary book' Eoin McDevitt, Second Captains 'Remarkable. The desperate story of Irish football but also a book about how Ireland works. Outstanding' Dion Fanning
Champagne Kisses
by Amanda BrunkerLike any great diva, Eva Valentine is a flawed character. Spoilt, stubborn and sassy, she exudes lioness confidence when in the company of her fellow bitches Maddie and Parker, and hungers for sex like others desire chocolate.Eva is a woman who would kiss your girlfriend as quick as she'd steal your husband, but underneath this hard-nosed facade she's just a regular girl who craves normality, and a love that she can call her own.After CCTV images of a clumsy clinch with her very married boss make headlines in the Sunday papers, her whole world begins to crumble. Eva must come to terms with the harsh consequences of her reckless actions, but don't think for a second that this would ever stop her fun. In Europe's most expensive capital, beautiful people can always find rich friends to fly them to fabulous parties in London or glamorous holidays in Marbella.
Chance (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Joseph Conrad'It is a mighty force that of mere chance, absolutely irresistible yet manifesting itself often in delicate forms such for instance as the charm, true or illusory, of a human being' In Flora de Barral, the slender, dreamy, morbidly charming daughter of a parvenu financier, Conrad creates his most complex heroine and one of his most unrelenting, but not unhopeful, novels of emotional isolation. Neglected by her bankrupt father and rejected by her governess, drifting into abstraction and despair, Flora takes refuge at sea on Captain Anthony's ship, where tragedy and her transformation begin. When published in 1913, Chance was an immediate success. Arnold Bennett wrote that 'this is a discouraging book for a writer because he damn well knows he can't write as well as this'; while an anonymous reviewer in Punch declared that 'the whole thing is much nearer wizardry than workmanship'.
Change: Learn to Love It, Learn to Lead It
by Richard Gerver** During a time of great change, this book will give you everything you need to understand change, to adapt to change, and to inspire others to do the same ** 'To be successful, you have to be able to adapt to change' - Sir Alex FergusonThe pace of change is greater than ever. We all face new challenges every day in our jobs and in our personal lives. Those who can handle change are the most fulfilled. Those who fear change will find it hardest to thrive.As a head teacher, Richard Gerver famously transformed a failing school into one of the most acclaimed learning environments in the world - in just two years. He inspired staff and teachers to reach their full potential. As a hugely popular speaker and author, he now helps individuals and companies to embrace change.This book is his powerful personal reflection on change. Full of wisdom and practical insights, it will help you in any situation you face. Whether you are leading a company through change or looking for a new direction in life, let Richard Gerver be your guide.'Filled with memorable stories and jammed with useful, actionable approaches to befriending, dealing with and profiting from change' - Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow and The Icarus Deception'In this perceptive and heartfelt book, [Gerver] helps us see change as an opportunity for creative reinvention' - Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element
Change Of Heart
by Barbara AndersonOliver Gurth Perkins is seventy-five, and the darkest cloud on his horizon is that the local bookshop no longer stocks paperbacks of the Times cryptic crosswords. He has an easy companionship with his wife; his dental practice is undemanding; his son is a decent enough sort; and his granddaughter who comes for the school holidays is his delight. But when a minor heart episode convinces Oliver that it's time for him to take more interest in the lives of those close to him, further shocks are in store- Change of Heart is a glittering jewel of a book, an audacious mixture of comic invention and human insight that is Barbara Anderson at her very best.
Change Of Heart: a deeply moving love story from bestselling author Charlotte Bingham
by Charlotte BinghamThis mesmerising love story form bestselling author Charlotte Bingham has it all: clever plotting, wonderful characterization, masterful writing and a totally unexpected and perfect finale: true perfection and perfect for readers of Louise Douglas, Dinah Jeffries and Kristin Hannah.***************************************************************************************************CAN ONE CHANCE ENCOUNTER CHANGE THE COURSE OF A LIFE?Visitors to Stoke Park in Worcestershire could be forgiven for thinking that the house had a timeless quality. Certainly this occurs to Frederick Jourdan, the American composer who has rented the place to escape from overwork and from his well-meaning but exhausting fiancée. He revels in the peace and beauty of the place, until, early one morning, he happens upon the heartstopping sight of the reclusive young occupant of the nearby Folly feeding deer at early dawn. He finds his life has been changed for ever.Time has indeed stood still for Fleur Fisher-Dilke, but for reasons that can't be guessed. Born to an ambitious surgeon and his social-climbing wife, Fleur has only ever been seen as a tool to improve the family's social prospects.Quite by chance, however, she finds she has a prodigious gift, and in spite of her parents' opposition, her talent blossoms. Choices are made, but not forgiven, and it is only when her life takes a sudden and tragic turn, and she meets a fascinating and irreverent figure who is her opposite in every way, that Fleur finds the courage she needs to move forward...***************************************************************************************************'Her imagination is thoroughly original...A fairy tale, which is all the more delightful as it is not something one expects from a modern novel...It's heady stuff'' -- Daily Mail'Charlotte Bingham's devotees will recognise her supreme skill as a storyteller...A heartwarming romance which is full of emotion.' -- INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY'Charlotte Bingham can't have written a better book than this one. Has anyone?' -- ***** Reader review'No less than a masterpiece' -- ***** Reader review'Compulsive reading!' -- ***** Reader review'Truly impossible to put down' -- ***** Reader review'Absolutely riveting' -- ***** Reader review'A wonderful read' -- ***** Reader review
The Change We Choose: Speeches 2007-2009
by Gordon BrownThe Change We Choose: Speeches 2007-2009 brings together the key speeches made by Gordon Brown during the first two and a half years of his premiership. It reflects how the values and beliefs that have defined his political career have shaped his response to what have been arguably some of the greatest challenges ever to have faced a new prime minister.The speeches in this book trace what will be seen by historians as an extraordinary era in British and international history. We can learn a lot about his premiership by looking at the Prime Minister's penetrating and insightful speeches in this period, as he sets out his thinking on domestic and foreign policy and responds to the events that have shaped his time in office. We also learn much about Gordon Brown, the man, from the insights of those who have kindly agreed to contribute introductions - and from the person who knows him best of all: his wife, Sarah, who introduced his party conference speeches.
Change Your Life: 10 steps to get what you want
by John BirdIf you wanted to be a successful chef you would read Gordon Ramsay's autobiography. He tells you how he became the successful cook and businessman he is today. His book provides you with a model of how he did it. Allen Carr's book does the same. It tells how he became a world-renowned therapist, helping millions of people to give up smoking. Change Your Life is for everyone else. Those who have the best will in the world, but never get round to using it. Those who start something, but don't finish it. Those who fail, and then fail again.Drawing on John Bird's own life experiences, this book outlines the mistakes he has made and the subsequent lessons he has learned along the way. Change Your Life is about getting lost, feeling self-pity, feeling a failure, disliking the world and oneself; and then climbing out of it. John Bird will teach you how to be a success.
Changeling: The Autobiography of Mike Oldfield
by Mike OldfieldBorn without social instincts many people take for granted, brought up in a troubled environment and possessed with an extraordinary musical talent, Mike Oldfield was thrust into the spotlight at the tender age of nineteen. His first album Tubular Bells went on to sell fifteen million copies worldwide and catapulted him into a stardom he was ill-equipped to cope with.From growing up with an alcoholic mother, to his feelings of alienation and struggles with depression, this book takes Mike from his early years, through his staggering fame, his broken marriages, years as a recluse, his rebirth experience at a controversial Exegesis seminar and beyond. Mike Oldfield has been on a journey few of us could ever imagine, and offers a message of hope to anybody who feels they live on the edge of society.
Changing Forest
by Dennis PotterDennis Potter was born and brought up in the Forest of Dean- a 'strange and beautiful place', as he described it in the last interview before his death, 'rather ugly villages in beautiful landscape, a heart- shaped place between two rivers, somehow slightly cut off from the rest of England... with a people as warm as anywhere else, but they seemed warmer to me.' It was a childhood which informed all his television work, from his first documentary to such classic dramas as The Singing Detective.The Changing Forest, first published in 1962, is Potter's deeply personal study of that small area- its people, traditions, ceremonies and institutions- at a time of profound cultural and social change in the late 1950s and early '60s. With extraordinary precision and feeling he describes the fabric of a world whose old ways are yielding to the new: habits altering; expectations growing; work, leisure, language itself changing under the impact of the new television, of commercial jingles and the early Elvis. And, with powerful sympathy and wit, he asks whether the gains of modernity have, for the individuals and society he so marvellously evokes, been worth the loss.Part autobiography of one of this century's greatest writers, part elegy for a vanishing way of life, part testament to the abiding humanity that underlies all Potter's work, this exquisite, passionate and brillinat book is a classic of its kind.
Changing Times (The Adams Family #22)
by Mary Jane StaplesIt is 1953 - Coronation year - and like all of Cockney London the members of the Adams family are looking forward to the celebrations. Chinese Lady, now Lady Finch, worries that her friends will think she is too grand to mingle with them . But her husband has a more pressing worry - the sudden appearance of the lovely but mysterious Katje Galicia, who knows more than she should about his own chequered past. Young Jimmy Adams, meanwhile, is enjoying working at the family clothing factory, where at the retirement party for two of the oldest employees, Bert and Gertie Roper, he meets their lively granddaughter Clare. Before long he has offered her a job on the switchboard, and has hopes of seeing her after working hours as well. And brave Felicity, blinded in the blitz, thinks she notices a glimmer of light appearing in her dark world - but dare not tell her husband, in case it is just her imagination...With the young Queen now on the throne, times are changing for the Adams family.
Changing Your Story: How To Take Control Of Your Life, Create Change And Achieve Your Goals
by Bill Beswick'Bill offers you an opportunity to grow your mind and think like a champion. I recommend it to you!' Adam Peaty******We all love stories. They make us feel, help us connect, relate to one another, and make sense of our lives. Bill Beswick is a storyteller who has 20 powerful life lessons to share from his work with his clients at the top of their fieldsto help us all overcome our fears, boost our performance and achieve success. Leading sports and performance psychologist, Bill Beswick, sees sport as a story of human connection. When faced with physical challenges, pressure and fatigue, the mind is the athlete and the body is simply the means. With an exclusive foreword written by British gold-medal Olympian Adam Peaty, Changing Your Story explores how the way we think and feel is vital for releasing positive energy and improving our performance. Beswick's 20 lessons will bestow resilience and guide you through the process of harnessing the full power of your physical abilities. This is a book about change. Bill Beswick's advice is guaranteed to equip you with new, more efficient ways to think. Through his powerful storytelling, he will help you let go of a negative mind-set and embrace a much stronger, positive and determined one. Anything is possible when you realise it's never too late to switch direction and change your story.
Chaos
by A D SwanstonFebruary 1574 and London is in a fervour of paranoia, superstition and rumour. Mob violence is commonplace. A whispered word is all it takes to condemn a woman to burn as a witch.Having foiled the 'Incendium' plot against the Queen, intelligencer Dr Christopher Radcliff's standing within court is high. However, he has no time to reap any reward. Counterfeit coins bearing the likeness of his master, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, are circulating on London's streets. This in itself is a treasonous offence, but now slogans have begun to appear on walls and doorways, implying that Leicester harbours treacherous intent. So Radcliff and his team of informants and amateur spies are sent out into the city's markets, drinking dens and brothels to track down who might be behind such outrageous and subversive acts. It will take them down a murderous path in pursuit of an elusive foe with an extraordinary agenda. And time is running out: for when rumour and fear catch fire, then surely violent insurrection and bloody chaos will follow . . . 'A fantastic tale of spies, deceit and murder in the Elizabethan age'S. D. SYKES
The Charlatans We Are Rock
by John RobbIn the crazed aftermath of the late '80s northern pop explosion there have been few survivors. The Charlatans, however, still prosper despite once being perceived as runts of the Manchester music scene. The cruellest of luck has visited heartbreaking death, nervous exhaustion, a jail sentence, and the prospect of falling almost totally out of fashion upon them. And yet, a deceptively tough band with a charismatic lead singer, their combination of unnerving honesty, sheer pop talent, great live shows, and a total and touching commitment to their fans has seen them survive some of the worst disasters that fate has thrown at any pop group. They have remarkable street suss that, with their small town backgrounds makes them totally at one with their huge following -- a relationship that has given them a fistful of number one albums. This is a tale of a love of pop and a lust for life. A story of northern pop and a band with guts and a passion for creativity. It traces the rise of the Charlatans from the fringes of the Manchester scene in the late Eighties to their current position at the top of British music, one of the key bands of the Nineties in possession of a rare and beautiful canon of great pop tunes.
Choosing Lovers For Justine
by Aran AsheChosen to live a life according to discipline and subservience, the young Justine is introduced to a succession of lovers - each one having favourite methods of taking pleasure from her willing body. Pleasure which is often found through the demands of pain and submission. Presided over by her strict guardian, Julia, we follow Justine's initiation into a world of obedience, dominated by the less-than-genteel ladies and gentleman of the Edwardian well-to-do. Aran Ashe is also known for his popular series Chronicles of Lidir: Sagas of Erotic Domination
Choosing the Perfect Puppy
by Pippa MattinsonFrom the bestselling author of The Happy Puppy Handbook comes the definitive guide to choosing the perfect puppy for you.Ready for an adorable puppy in your life? With over 200 breeds to choose from, picking your new life companion can be hard. But the dog of your dreams is out there, and Choosing the Perfect Puppy is here to help you find it. In this book you will discover:- How to compare pedigree with mixed breeds- At-a-glance information on the most popular dog breeds in the world- How to choose the best place to start searching- How to choose the right puppy from a litterAnd many more tips to find the perfect pooch to complete your life!Written by dog-training expert and puppy enthusiast Pippa Mattinson, this book tells you everything you need to know before you welcome a new puppy into your life.
The Chosen Ones: The gripping crime thriller you won't want to miss
by Howard LinskeyEva Dunbar wakes in a large metal box. She has no idea who has taken her. She has no way out. She isn't the first young woman to disappear. And with no leads Detective Ian Bradshaw has precious little time.When at last a body is found, the police hope the tragic discovery might at least provide a clue that will help them finally find the kidnapper.But then they identify the body - and realise the case is more twisted than they ever imagined . . . __________________'THIS STORY WILL CAUSE NIGHTMARES, IT IS THAT GOOD Daily Mail'DARK, CLEVER AND ENGROSSING' C. L. TAYLOR'I WAS HOOKED FROM START TO FINISH' LJ ROSS