Adrenaline pumping, fist-clenching, brow scowling, that's how you see me, isn't it? Well, it's not true! Ok, so I am all those things but only at times when you rile me. Indoors, I'm as soft as a pussycat, the big bear, with a face full of glitter and lip-gloss, applied by my three sweet girls. To them, I'm simply Dad, the big daft nutter that brings home the bacon. I've played Santa by day and a raving lunatic by night, so in some ways, I'm the real-life Jekyll and Hyde. However, to those closest, I'm simply me, the boy my mother bounced upon her knee, Big Shirl or Shirley.Most of the people who know me, or at least know of me, will tell you that I am, and have always been, a lifelong researching lunatic into the life and legacy of London's most respected gangland enforcer, Lenny 'The Guv'nor' McLean. Now, my fascination with Lenny was never just about his power as a fighter; no, it was more to do with the respect he earned on his way up the proverbial tough-guy ladder. In London town and beyond, Lenny was regarded as the ultimate bouncer, a man among men with the muscle to back it - and in my world; the valleys of Merthyr Tydfil, I was, and remain, one of the same. My role as a fist fighter was never a chosen career path for me; it was quite simply thrust in my face as tiptoed into my youth, and from that day forward, I have known no other world. Since the very first day, I stood in that lonely pub doorway; my life has been one hellish battle after another.Now, as many fighting men would tell you, the life of a doorman can be devastatingly taxing, and the difficult task I undertook as I worked my way up from a reasonably quiet little pub, quickly accelerating to the top of the bouncers league table to become head doorman of one of our town's largest and liveliest of clubs, was duly noted by the Merthyr club-land hierarchy.Now, as gratifying, as this may seem, in the wildest of times, this promotion almost took its toll on me, not to mention the strain it put on those people I hold dearest behind my castle walls - my family. To say it has been disturbing, relentless, and unforgiving at times, would be a herculean understatement. From fighting for my life against an unholy amount of ale fueled, and raging rugby players, to separating scantily clad women, in jealous bouts of extreme cat-clawing violence, while young Boy's with no goals or ambitions hit the town, with the promise or the merest glimmer of a bunk up, an encounter that was never to come to fruition. And after drinking their body weight in their chosen "tipple," they feel the need to take out their anger on some innocent bystander; to fight - a misplaced reward for some sexual relief they missed out on that night! The battles, the brawls, the head butting of walls, mark my words people; "through my eyes," I have seen it all. I've had threats at my door, by one. Two. Three, and more, armed to the teeth with chains, bats, and bars galore.Therefore, as we stride toward the year 2020, and I tread ever closer to my 25th year on the door. It is at this point in my life I feel that, through blood, sweat, and anguish, I have earned in ample amount, the stripes, and honours to bring you an image inducing account; a thought-provoking glimpse into my world.
He's the toughest street fighter alive." Freddie Foreman Picture a man, he’s tall, not excessively so, yet as wide as he is high. This man is a spitting and growling street brawler; a tank full of ready to blow, muscle-fuelled aggression. Imagine, if you will, the comic book style Bulldog of Great British stamp. Well, there you have him! The prototypical face taken from the terraces of an ’80s football fan’s rolled-up newspaper cosh; a poster-boy of malevolence left over from Thatcher’s post-punk Britain. Stormin’ Norman’s his name and when this storm is erupting, he’s like a force-nine gale fused with a hurricane. In his heyday, Norman saw off a plethora of gangland minders, and with his own style of hands-on education, taught Glasgow’s prolific hitman, Billy McPhee, the laws of the Guv’nor’s land. He’s the Godfather of Aylesbury, former British Bare-Knuckle Champion, and undefeated European Boxing Federation ‘Guv’nor’. The loveable lunatic with the heart of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Yes, this my accidental friends, is the new Guv’nor. He is the man who rebuked many a heathen, but was also everyone’s friend, and for all the right reasons. So, settle in with your favourite tipple, and let us regale you with a lifetime of fronting the doors, righting wrongs, and brutal bare-knuckle tear-ups.
Don't cross The Neck. As the right-hand man to 'The Guv’nor' himself, Lenny McLean, John 'The Neck' Houchin is a living legend and is now telling his story for the first time. John trained daily with Lenny in the gym to achieve his huge bulk and neck, all 23 inches of it, required to frighten the hell out of troublemakers. As the enforcers for the Krays and the Richardsons, they worked together regularly over many years 'sorting out' whatever needed sorting. These are the mean streets of London back when swift justice as well as fearless loyalty were the order of the day. A new insider take from one of the most notorious characters of the time, this book is full of chippy dialogue, gangster banter, the biggest brawls, old school honour codes and pithy reflection on the changing times – from the hard men to the high life.
Lenny McLean - an infamous name, but forever a legend. He is arguably one of the most notorious and feared prize-fighters this country has ever produced. Not only was he a mountain of a man and a true fighter, feared on the streets of gangland London and outside the clubs whose doors he manned in the heart of the capital, he was also an old-school East Ender, who took pride in operating on a gentleman's code despite the often-dangerous world he lived in. His life was cut all-too-short, just as it was taking a new, previously unimaginable direction after his role in Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels but he remains loved by those who knew him. The Guv'nor Revealed uncovers parts of Lenny McLean's life not previously explored, with shared memories from his close friends, family and various other acquaintances who crossed his path one way or another during his lifetime. Lenny McLean was one of a kind; infamous for his brute strength but also loved for his protective heart. Collated from years of interviews, Lee Wortley and Anthony Thomas bring you an array of thrilling, and often touching and amusing, testimonies from those closest to him and a new insight into the life of The Guv'nor.
The Speckled Monster tells the dramatic story of two parents who dared to fight back against smallpox. After barely surviving the agony of smallpox themselves, they flouted eighteenth-century medicine by borrowing folk knowledge from African slaves and Eastern women in frantic bids to protect their children. From their heroic struggles stems the modern science of immunology as well as the vaccinations that remain our only hope should the disease ever be unleashed again. Jennifer Lee Carrell transports readers back to the early eighteenth century to tell the tales of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and Dr. Zabdiel Boylston, two iconoclastic figures who helped save London and Boston from the deadliest disease mankind has known.
Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher Lonely Planet Canada is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Hike the Rockies, marvel at the Northern Lights, or indulge in cultural delights from Montreal's cafe culture to the island villages of Haida Gwaii; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Canada and begin your journey now! Lonely Planet Canada Travel Guide: Color maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - history, Aboriginal cultures, outdoor activities, wildlife, wine, cuisine, epic drives, national parks Free, convenient pull-out Vancouver map (included in print version), plus over 100 maps Covers Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, British Columbia, the Rocky Mountains, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Alberta, Newfoundland, Banff, New Brunswick, Yukon Territory and more. About Lonely Planet: Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travellers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves. The world awaits! Lonely Planet guides have won the TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice Award in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' -- Fairfax Media 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.
A rare combination of documented fact and good storytelling, Ill-Starred General is the biography of a much maligned man from one of history’s most vital eras. The career of Edward Braddock began during the court intrigues of Queen Anne and George I, gained momentum in continental military campaigns in the early 1750s, and ended abruptly in the rout of his American army near present-day Pittsburgh in 1755. This highly acclaimed biography reveals the man—and the politics—behind his defeat, one of the major setbacks to British imperial power in the American colonies. “Braddock was the first English general that Americans had ever seen in action, and although he lost his life fighting for them, they detested him...What [McCardell] has done is to replace a historical puppet with a credible human being, and...to explain how a carefully planned colonial expedition can go wrong.”—Naomi Bliven, The New Yorker “The breadth, depth and care of McCardell’s research on Ill-Starred General are amazing and delightful. He has labored with that fidelity which every honest historian must display and with that luck which crowns the efforts of the fortunate.”—George Swetnam, Pittsburgh Press “A first-rate biography.”—Lynn Montross, New York Times “A genial and readable interpretation that will revivify an important figure in early American history. It is the kind of well-documented book that will appeal to both the general reader and the historian.”—W. R. Jacobs, American Historical Review
In this Christmas Regency romance, young widow gets a second chance at love when she returns to the party where a rake once broke her heart. After two years of mourning, widowed Lady Clara Kingston is finally ready to return to society. Putting aside her apprehension, she decides to make her grand reentrance at the annual Stonedown Manor Christmas party. But when she discovers that Lord Hugh Delamare is also in attendance, her instinct is to run! Six years ago, Hugh broke her foolish heart. Now he’s determined to prove he’s changed. Dare Clara believe he’s truly a reformed rake? She’s secretly thrilled every time he looks her way, but she’ll have to trust him if she’s to reclaim his kiss underneath the ever-present mistletoe.
Behind the passionate debate over gun control and armed crime lurk assumptions about the link between guns and violence. Indeed, the belief that more guns in private hands means higher rates of armed crime underlies most modern gun control legislation. But are these assumptions valid? Investigating the complex and controversial issue of the real relationship between guns and violence, Joyce Lee Malcolm presents an incisive, thoroughly researched historical study of England, whose strict gun laws and low rates of violent crime are often cited as proof that gun control works. To place the private ownership of guns in context, Malcolm offers a wide-ranging examination of English society from the Middle Ages to the late twentieth century, analyzing changing attitudes toward crime and punishment, the impact of war, economic shifts, and contrasting legal codes on violence. She looks at the level of armed crime in England before its modern restrictive gun legislation, the limitations that gun laws have imposed, and whether those measures have succeeded in reducing the rate of armed crime. Malcolm also offers a revealing comparison of the experience in England experience with that in the modern United States. Today Americans own some 200 million guns and have seen eight consecutive years of declining violence, while the English--prohibited from carrying weapons and limited in their right to self-defense have suffered a dramatic increase in rates of violent crime. This timely and thought-provoking book takes a crucial step in illuminating the actual relationship between guns and violence in modern society.
Until now the history of John Bradshawe, Lord President of England’s short-lived Republic, has been confined to footnotes in the biographies of other men. The author of this first full-length survey of Bradshawe’s life draws from unpublished material to tell of a remarkable career during England’s most turbulent period. John Milton said he exceeded the glory of all former tyrannicides. Dr. George Bate called him a “viper of hell.” In 1775 Benjamin Franklin said John Bradshawe’s deeds presented the most glorious example of unshaken virtue, love of freedom, and impartial justice ever exhibited on the blood-stained theater of human actions and urged that his memory be forever blessed.
Noted science fiction writer Lee Wood's crime debut finds Leeds Inspector Keen Dunliffe deciding if it was sex or politics that killed an American college professor on the grounds of a royal estate.
Do you dream of wicked rakes, gorgeous Highlanders, muscled Viking warriors and rugged Wild West cowboys? Harlequin® Historical brings you three new full-length titles in one collection! HOW NOT TO MARRY AN EARL Those Scandalous Stricklands by Christine Merrill (Regency) To escape marriage to the newly inherited earl, Charity must find her family’s missing diamonds. She meets her match in an intellectual stranger auditing the estate and has a scandalous proposition for him…not knowing he is Lord Comstock himself! A SCANDALOUS WINTER WEDDING Matches Made in Scandal by Marguerite Kaye (Regency) When a brooding gentleman from Kirstin Blair’s past returns needing help to recover his missing niece, she knows she’s best placed to aid him…but dare she risk everything, including her heart, for him? HIS MISTLETOE MARCHIONESS by Georgie Lee (Regency) Attending a Christmas party, widowed Lady Clara Kingston is unnerved by the sight of Lord Hugh Delamare, the man who broke her heart years ago—but is he now a reformed man? Look for Harlequin® Historical’s December 2018 Box Set 2 of 2, filled with even more timeless love stories!
This unique work examines the highly topical national and international legal issues of economic cooperation between North and South Korea under the current divided situation. In recent years, the relationship between the two Koreas has been generating more concern than in earlier times. This new interest has been followed by two epoch-making developments over the past decade: the conclusion of the Basic Agreement of 1991 and the Declaration of the North-South Summit of 2000. These events have caused remarkable changes in political, as well as economic, relations between the north and the south. This book reviews the current legal regime and the setting up of a positive legal framework for inter-Korean economic cooperation, beginning to be regulated by international law. This research provides two ultimate outcomes. One is to resolve the legal problems for transnational economic cooperation relating to North and South Korea; the other is to develop a juridical model of south-north cooperation as a new world economic framework for the 21st century. Three interrelated areas are involved in this work. The first part describes the external environmental factors regarding inter-Korean economic cooperation from an international legal perspective. The second part deals with the legal framework of inter-Korean economic cooperation, examining concrete issues arising from practical economic exchanges and cooperation between the two Koreas. The last part discusses the legal foundations for inter-Korean economic integration beyond economic cooperation. This book clarifies the significance of the legal environment as an indispensable servant for the parts of a divided country to recover their relationship, offering both a normative and practical framework.
WHAT WOULD YOU WAGER FOR LOVE? In the high stakes gentleman's world of 18th century horseracing, when the blood of the "desert kings" ruled the English turf, a hero returns from war to claim the girl he has loved since he first spied her riding hell-for-leather over the Doncaster heath. Determined to have her at any cost, he will risk everything. A story of star-crossed lovers and horseracing, THE HIGHEST STAKES transports the reader to 18th century England, an era infamous for corruption, arranged marriages, and high stakes gambling; when racing and breeding became the obsession of the uppermost elite, and a match race might replace a duel in settling a point of honor. Through the fictional love story of Robert Devington and Charlottte Wallace, a tale of drama, danger, thwarted love, and retribution unfurls...
Authors, Ruth Lee and Janice Wilcox write a two-part story. First, about an extraordinary man, their dad, whose life has almost spanned a century at a time during the bygone years when families worked and played together. Second, a genealogical listing of his ancestors including two Presidents. We were inspired to write about our Daddyo to honor him and make him feel special. This book contains memories that we gathered throughout William G. Lee's lifetime, growing up during that bygone era. These may be similar to the stories you have heard from someone who experienced live during this era about "how it used to be". We want to share his life's experiences and to inspire others to write about a parent, grandparent, or a loved one journey before the fading memories vanish before our eyes forever.
When it was officially opened on Easter Monday, 5th April 1847, Birkenhead park became the first municipally funded park in Britain. It was a pioneer in the development of urban public parks, designed for use by everyone, irrespective of social class, ethnicity or age. In terms of town planning, it demonstrated the importance of including green infrastructure in urban development as a vital contribution to public health and wellbeing. Paxton’s design for the park was heralded as ‘a masterpiece of human creative genius’ : it served as a vehicle for the global transmission of the English landscape school and led to the creation of numerous public parks everywhere, most famously Central Park, New York, incorporating of many of Paxton’s design features. This book addresses a long-standing gap in the Park’s historiography. Regarded as ‘one of the greatest wonders of the age’, it is an important contribution to nineteenth-century landscape history with a local focus, but of international significance. But it seeks to interpret the Park’s development until 1914 within a political and cultural context, drawing on economic and social history, as a means of explaining why it was not until the late-nineteenth century that it finally became a focal point for recreation and public health.
Bess of Hardwick is a Tudor legend. Charismatic and feisty, with a flair for making money and building houses, she survived four husbands to become chatelaine of Chatsworth and Hardwick Hall. As jailor to Mary, Queen of Scots, she was at the heart of a power struggle for the English throne. But Bess had enemies and she must fight for survival. Will she create the dynasty she desperately craves, or will her ruthless ambition be her downfall? This is the story of the other woman who made her mark on the turbulent Elizabethan age.
Lee unfolds the stories of six women with a cast of supporting characters such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Benjamin Franklin, Stamford Raffles and Napoleon against the grand narrative of England's 18th century empire building. This book is a meticulously researched, spellbinding tale of tragedy, transformation and triumph in the age of reason.
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