The 2019 general election radically changed the political map of England. People in “left-behind towns” want politics to reflect and respond to their needs. England needs its own devolution, and this book includes case studies where local communities have tackled these problems and embraced regeneration. These include the metropolitan areas of Greater London, Liverpool, Newcastle Upon Tyne, and Plymouth and the smaller towns of Stamford, Grantham and Blyth Valley, Northumberland, one of the Red Wall constituencies that changed political allegiance at the 2019 general election. England's Future discusses how politics influence the environment in England. Covering Brexit, the pandemic, and the 2019 general election, among other themes, this book will appeal to those who enjoy books on politics, social history, education, the environment and to those working in councils and the wider public sector.
World War I was a slaughter on an unprecedented scale. Nevertheless there was no shortage of young men willing to sacrifice themselves for their country. Some lied about their age to join up, not just at the start of the war when it was seen as a glorious adventure, but even towards the end when the true horror of the mechanized butchery was known to one and all.This book concerns the young men who were not yet twenty when they won the Victoria Cross, the British armed forces highest award for gallantry. Many perished in the action that earned them the VC. Others survived to receive the award, but then went on to die later in the war.One was as young as sixteen. Several were just eighteen, though they were supposed to be nineteen before they were allowed to serve overseas. They were sailors and airmen, as well as soldiers, and they came from Britain, Ireland, Australia, Canada, Nepal and India.Each one demonstrated an exceptional nerve and bravery. While some did survive World War I - even going on to serve in World War II - they showed an reckless indifference to death that made them Too Brave to Live, Too Young to Die.World War I has been over for nearly a hundred years now, but the tales of their valour live on. These men and their exploits deserve to be remembered - in the hope that young men will never be called on to do such things again.
British UFO researcher Nigel Graddon takes us to that magical land of Magonia—the land of the Fairies—a place from which some people return while others go there and never come back. Graddon discusses fairies, the wee folk, elves, fairy pathways, Welsh folklore, the Tuatha de Dannan, UFO occupants, the Little Blue Man of Studham, the implications of Mars, psychic connections with UFOs and fairies. He also recounts many of the strange tales of fairies, UFOs and Magonia. Chapters include: The Little Blue Man of Studham; The Wee Folk; UFOlk; What the Folk; Grimm Tales; The Welsh Triangle; The Implicate Order; Mars—an Atlantean Outpost; Psi-Fi; High Spirits; “Once Upon a Time...”; more.
In turbulent 14th century Scotland, the ruling House of Stewart was a house divided, beset by hatred and jealousy. Descendants of the Bruce's daughter, they only kept the throne by an astonishing genius for survival - or, as many said, the lick of the Devil. Their rivals were the Douglases; and when the second Earl was slain in battle, the Stewarts were suspected of foul play. When young Jamie Douglas vowed to avenge his master, he only had his wits, courage and integrity with which to challenge the most eminent and the most unscrupulous men in the kingdom. And while vengeance burned in his heart, he could not prevent his fatal attraction for the beautiful and spirited Stewart women - and one in particular. This is the first volume in the Stewart trilogy. 'Through his imaginative dialogue, he provides a voice for Scotland's heroes' Scotland on Sunday
This book offers for the first-time detailed insights into England’s St. Michael leyline, the celebrated “straight track” whose dragon energies (Michael and Mary) travel coast-to-coast from Cornwall to Norfolk. Along its 364-mile length are some of the most renowned megalithic, historical and “otherworldly” features found anywhere in the world. British researcher Nigel Graddon takes us on a special journey to explore these magnificent locations. We learn of Britain’s special place in the origins of ancient wisdom and of the “Sun-Men” who taught it to a humanity in its infancy. Aspects of these teachings are to found all along the St Michael ley: at Glastonbury, Britain’s “holyeste erthe” and the hallowed location of Merlin and Arthur’s Avalon; in the design and layout of the extraordinary Somerset Zodiac of which Glastonbury is a major part; in the amazing stone circles and serpentine avenues at Avebury and nearby Silbury Hill: portals to unimaginable worlds of mystery and enchantment; the Gods in the Fields—Wiltshire’s incredible volume of mind blowing crop circles and their invisible makers; Graddon’s exciting discovery of the St. Michael ley’s Golden Ratio position and its enchanting connections between Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland and the fairyfolk; and, not least, the enduring tales of high strangeness east of the line, including Suffolk’s history of “X-Files” time-slip phenomena and the infamous UFO events (Britain’s “Roswell”) in the county’s Rendlesham Forest. Chapters include: Britain: Key, Lock and Door; Michael, Mary and Merlin; England’s West Country; The Glastonbury Zodiac; Wiltshire; The Gods in the Fields; Michael, Mary and Alice; East of the Line; Table of Michael and Mary locations; more.
In this hard-hitting collection, acclaimed author Nigel Cawthorne examines ten of the most sickeningly twisted men who are still alive today. Some of them, like serial killer Dennis Nilsen and cult leader Charles Manson, are thankfully behind bars. Others, including the world's most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, are still at large. Unbelievably, one of them, Robert Mugabe, is still clinging to the reins of power and continues to inflict suffering and economic mayhem on the desperate people of Zimbabwe. Inside this book is the gut-twisting story of Charles Taylor, the blood-soaked African general who has 'recruited' thousands of child soldiers, and one of the most shocking cases of recent years: that of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who imprisoned and sexually abused his own daughter for almost a quarter of a century. This collection is a terrifying reminder that monsters really do exist.
A comprehensive look at the history and practices of rural English witchcraft • Explores witch’s familiars and fetches, animal magic, and the forms of witchcraft practiced by rural tradespeople, such as blacksmiths, herbalists, and artisans • Offers practical insight into spells, charms, folk incantations, herbal medicine practices, amulets, sigils, and tools of the craft • Details the evolution of public perception of witchcraft throughout England’s history, including the laws against witchcraft in place until the 1950s and witchcraft’s contentious relationship with the Christian church In this practical guide, Nigel Pennick takes the reader on a journey through the practice of operative witchcraft in the British Isles from the Middle Ages and the Elizabethan era to the decriminalization of witchcraft in the 1950s and its practice today. Highlighting uniquely English traditions, Pennick explores fetches and witch’s familiars, animal magic, and the forms of witchcraft practiced by rural tradespeople, such as blacksmiths, herbalists, and artisans, to enhance their professional work and compel others to do their bidding, both man and beast. He provides actual spells, charms, and folk incantations, along with details about the magical use of a variety of herbs, including nightshades, the creation of amulets and sigils, protection against the Evil Eye, and the use of aromatic oils. Pennick explains the best times of day for different types of magic, how to identify places of power, and the use of the paraphernalia of operative witchcraft, such as the broom, the witches’ dial, and pins, nails and thorns. He explores the belief in three different types of witches: white witches, who offer help and healing for a fee; black witches, who harm others; and gray witches, who practice both white and black magic. Examining witchcraft’s contentious relationship with the Christian church, he investigates the persecution of witches throughout the UK and the British West Indies up until the mid-20th century. He offers a look into the changing public perceptions of witchcraft and the treatment of its followers as well as revealing how English churchmen would offer magical solutions to the perceived threat of black witchcraft. Painting an in-depth picture of English witchcraft, including how it relates to and differs from modern Wicca, Pennick reveals the foundation from which modern witchcraft arose. He shows how this context is necessary to effectively use these ancient skills and techniques and how the evolution of witchcraft will continue harmonizing the old ways with the new.
This guide covers the very best birding sites in Britain. In a format familiar to readers of this popular series, each site is considered in terms of 'Habitat', Access' and 'Birds', allowing birders of all levels to plan successful birding trips anywhere in Britain, and to maximise the chances of getting the best out of each site and each region. The book includes detailed maps of the larger sites, plus general maps of the regions covered, and it is illustrated with attractive line drawings. This book has been extensively revised, with several new sites added for this edition, together with information on disabled access for most sites. Praise for the 1st edition: "There could be no better guide than this book" Chris Packham "Highly recommended....the best guide of its kind" RSPB Birds "Don't leave home without it" Birding
Issak, a young dock worker in Antwerp at the end of the 19th century, falls in love with Julie, the daughter of a rich industrialist. Despite her parents' efforts to separate the couple, the romance flourishes until Issak, realizing that there can be no long-term outcome, is convinced the only way he can preserve Julie's love eternally is to murder her. He flees Belgium and settles on an isolated mountainside in Snowdonia, Wales. He builds a farmhouse and founds a family with Rachel, a homeless gypsy woman. They have three children. Pieter, the eldest is a restless young man who leaves the farm and becomes infatuated with Bessie, a sensuous girl sold by her alcoholic father to a wealthy shopkeeper. The couple move to Swansea. For a short period, Pieter is employed in the Surveyor's Office but is unmotivated and loses his job. Bessie, who now calls herself Julie, prostitutes herself in the backroom bar of a seedy hotel. When Pieter discovers this, he enlists in the Army and is sent to the front in Belgium, where he is killed in battle. His death seems to illustrate Euripides' statement that "the gods visit the sins of the fathers upon the children.
The discovery of an ancient scroll leads to a gripping battle of the classes as two factions pursue buried treasure. Reed Hascombe and his friends embark on a thrilling race to find hidden artefacts against the back-drop of the rugged landscape of the Peak District using ancient maps. Exploring long-forgotten caves, where age-old symbols are etched into the walls amid whispers of folklore. The chase plays out with a healthy dose of gritty realism laced with twists and turns. Reed faces the ultimate decision as he struggles with the paradox of being a thief. Will his choice be based on morals or money? Paradox of The Thief is the first book in a new gripping archaeological thriller series. If you enjoy J.F. Penn, Luke Richardson, and Ernest Dempsey, then you will love this adventure.
Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) encompasses the various disciplines of wireless interception, cryptanalysis, communications intelligence, electronic intelligence, direction-finding, and traffic analysis. It has become the basis upon which all combat operations are undertaken. It is now widely recognized as an absolutely vital dimension to modern warfare and it has proved to be a vital component in the counter-intelligence war fought between the West and Soviet bloc intelligence agencies. The Historical Dictionary of Signals Intelligence covers the history of SIGINT through a chronology, an introductory essay, an appendix, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 300 cross-referenced entries on key personnel, SIGINT technology, intelligence operations, and agencies, as well as the tradecraft and jargon. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Signals Intelligence.
This work of fiction is a tale of pirates and villains, maps, treasure and shipwreck. When young Jim Hawkins finds a package in Captain Flint's sea chest, he could not know that the map inside it would lead him to unimaginable treasure. Mutiny and mayhem ensue.
Marie de Guise ruled Scotland alone after the death of her husband James V. She foiled Henry Tudor of England's plans to marry her baby daughter to his son Edward and unite the two thrones under English rule by sending young Mary to France. She kept the peace between Protestants and Catholics while John Knox was becoming a fiery power in the land. Beautiful, lively and clever, Mary, Queen of Scots was welcomed back to the country of her birth after her mother died. But her troubles mounted with her disastrous marriages to Lord Darnley and to Lord Bothwell after Darnley's murder. In spite of numerous plots against her, and even after her little son James was crowned king, she always believed that Elizabeth I of England would help her. Trustingly, she set off for England - and her tragic fate.
Created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887, Sherlock Holmes appears in four novels and fifty-six short stories. Although Holmes was not the first literary detective, he continues to have a perennial allure as the ultimate sleuth. As Holmes is being re-introduced to a new audience through TV and film, Cawthorne introduces the general reader to Holmes and his creator Arthur Conan Doyle. He gives a full biography of author as well as his creation, including his resurrection following his unlikely death at the hands of arch enemy, Moriarty. Cawthorne also surveys the world of Holmes, looking at Victorian crime, the real characters behind Dr Watson and Inspector Lestrade, as well as the world on the doorstep of 22b Baker Street.
From ancient Greece to Desert Storm, Military Commanders presents a chronological history of great battles and the men who won them. Beginning with Leonidas of Sparta, who died at Thermopylae and ending with Colin Powell, this book includes such world famous leaders as Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Grant and Lee, Patton and Rommel. In addition, it includes the military theorist Sun Tzu, who wrote "The Art of War," as well as lesser known but important figures, such as Red Cloud, Shaka Zulu, and General Giap. Military Commanders, containing pertinent quotations, anecdotes, and detailed facts is a highly-readable combination of history and biography.
The book is about British serial killers from the 19th century all the way to the present day. I have written the book to show the readers what a serial killer is and why he is so different from any other killers. In Britain it is estimated that there are between 70 and 80 known serial killers and the book will cover about 75% of them. Fortunately for us most serial killers are arrested and sentenced to very long prison sentences and of course the earlier serial killers were executed. But is also shows some serial killers who have remained unidentified and have never been arrested.
Naval intelligence is one of the most vital, and sometimes decisive, forms of intelligence. Over the centuries, and with particular velocity over recent decades, the techniques of detecting and destroying military (and commercial) shipping have improved, leapfrogging the equally frantic race to keep ahead of them and safeguard the huge investments involved. Today the new challenges range from an increasingly aggressive strategy adopted by Pyongyang's submarine fleet and the exclusion of illegal immigrants heading for Australia and southern Europe to the capture of cocaine-laded submarines in the Caribbean and the interdiction of Somali pirates off the Gulf of Aden. Any accurate assessment of the comparative threat these activities pose is just as dependent on good intelligence today as it was to Admiral Lord Nelson in the days of sail. The Historical Dictionary of Naval Intelligence relates the long and fascinating history of naval intelligence through a chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on the organizations, operations, and events that made Naval intelligence what it is today.
Lordship and Faith takes as its subject the many hundreds of parish churches built in England in the Middle Ages by the gentry, the knights and esquires, and the lords of country manors. Nigel Saul uses lordly engagement with the parish church as a way of opening up the piety and sociability of the gentry, focusing on the gentry as founders and builders of churches, worshippers in them, holders of church advowsons, and patrons and sponsors of parish communities. Saul also looks at how the gentry's interest in the parish church sat alongside their patronage of the monks and friars, and their use of private chapels in their manor houses. Lordship and Faith seeks to weave together themes in social, religious, and architectural history, examining in all its richness a subject that has hitherto been considered only in journal articles. Written in an accessible way, this volume makes a significant contribution not only to the history of the English gentry but also to the history of the rural parish church, an institution now in the forefront of medieval historical studies.
This richly illustrated history of Cape Town under Dutch and British rule tells the story of its residents, the world they inhabited and the city they made - beginning in the seventeenth century with the tiny Dutch settlement, hemmed in by mountains and looking out to sea, and ending with the well-established British colonial city, poised confidently on the threshold of the twentieth century. This social history of Cape Town under Dutch and British rule traces the changing character of the city and portrays the varied lives and experiences of its inhabitants e" black and white, rich and poor, slave and free, Christian and Muslim. The story told in these pages is both immensely readable and endlessly interesting, and is sure to remain for long the definitive history of the city. The volume is illustrated throughout with a wealth of paintings, maps and photographs. The book is written for the general reader as well as academics.
Great battles mark history's turning points, occurring as they do where cultures and ideologies clash. While some battles have been won by the superior force, others have been won by a sheer dogged refusal to surrender in the face of overwhelming odds. All the great battles in this book are pivotal in history: if any one of them had gone the other way, the world would have been a very different place. And none of them - with the exception, perhaps, of Iwo Jima and Berlin - was a foregone conclusion. From the battle of Marathon in 490bc, when the vastly outnumbered Athenian army turned back an invasion of the mighty Persian empire, up to the Vietnamese defeat of the French army at the battle of Dien Bien Phu, the battles in this book demonstrate that God is not always on the side of the big battalions. History's Greatest Battles covers the whole gamut of warfare, from huge sea battles involving hundreds of ships and thousands of men, to single regiments who dug in and fought on long past the time when surrender would have been honourable.
First she was Margaret the refugee. A Saxon princess, sister of Edgar Atheling who, but for William the Conqueror, would have been King of England. She came to Scotland in 1069. Beautiful, sympathetic and devout, she was an unlikely consort to the rough and ready Malcolm King of Scots and slayer of MacBeth, a man who cared for little other than hunting, drinking and the brutal arts of war. Yet, through her gentle strength of character and intelligence, she was to have a profound and lasting effect on her adopted nation and people that lasts to this day.
Richard II is one of the most enigmatic of English kings. Shakespeare depicted him as a tragic figure, an irresponsible, cruel monarch who nevertheless rose in stature as the substance of power slipped from him. By later writers he has been variously portrayed as a half-crazed autocrat or a conventional ruler whose principal errors were the mismanagement of his nobility and disregard for the political conventions of his age. This book—the first full-length biography of Richard in more than fifty years—offers a radical reinterpretation of the king. Nigel Saul paints a picture of Richard as a highly assertive and determined ruler, one whose key aim was to exalt and dignify the crown. In Richard's view, the crown was threatened by the factiousness of the nobility and the assertiveness of the common people. The king met these challenges by exacting obedience, encouraging lofty new forms of address, and constructing an elaborate system of rule by bonds and oaths. Saul traces the sources of Richard's political ideas and finds that he was influenced by a deeply felt orthodox piety and by the ideas of the civil lawyers. He shows that, although Richard's kingship resembled that of other rulers of the period, unlike theirs, his reign ended in failure because of tactical errors and contradictions in his policies. For all that he promoted the image of a distant, all-powerful monarch, Richard II's rule was in practice characterized by faction and feud. The king was obsessed by the search for personal security: in his subjects, however, he bred only insecurity and fear. A revealing portrait of a complex and fascinating figure, the book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the politics and culture of the English middle ages.
Past Master tells the story of Patrick, Master of Gray, in the era of Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, and of his remarkable daughter Mary. With the end of Elizabeth I's long reign in sight, Patrick, Master of Gray, is determined that James VI should succeed to the English throne. Nothing can be allowed to stand in his way - not even his own daughter's happiness. And so Mary Gray and her lover, Ludovick, Duke of Lennox, are to be caught up in a savage game of power politics, shaped by personal ambition and religious bigotry. 'Through his imaginative dialogue, he provides a voice for Scotland's heroes' Scotland on Sunday
A restless shape-shifter from the mysterious Welsh Marches, Heseltine was as elusive in his idiosyncratic writing as in his extraordinary globetrotting life. It is good to have his work briefly pinned down in this groundbreaking collection for closer inspection.' – Professor M.Wynn Thomas Cariad County: a place of anarchy and farce, of the grotesque and the slapstick, of tragedy and violent comedy, where the local hunt is disrupted by a camel-riding hero, where the town hall burns down as the town cheers, a place haunted by grotesque revenants from the First World War. This is the world of Nigel Heseltine's short stories, fantastic fictions which lampoon and lament the slow decline of the once-powerful squires and landowners of mid-Wales, the very Montgomeryshire of which Heseltine (1916-1995) formed a part.
“My parents had to try for eighteen months to conceive me, but my father was adamant he wanted one last child. After eighteen months of trying, my mother eventually conceived and nine months later I was born. My birth was a difficult one. It was like I was never meant to be in this world.” Boy is Nigel Cooper’s memoir from the age of five to sixteen. It tells the shocking, brutal, disturbing, emotional story of his childhood spent in and out of various care homes and institutions during the 1970s and 1980s. When Nigel was just seven years old, after the untimely death of his sister and father, his mother asked social services to take him away – and then his nightmare began. For the next nine years of his life, Nigel was repeatedly rejected by his mother and spent his childhood among bullies, abusers, psychopaths and criminals. He spent time in a children’s psychiatric hospital, where they carried out unimaginable tests, pumped him full of drugs and physically abused him; care homes, where he would come face to face with rough estate kids who would beat him up, force him to steal for them and threaten his life; and barbaric assessment centres for disturbed and delinquent children, where the staff were, at times, sicker than the children. The system tried to break Nigel and it was a miracle that he survived. The British care system robbed him of his childhood. His story is truly extraordinary and will do a lot more than shed light on what it was like growing up during the Jimmy Savile years. Boy is powerfully written, edgy, gripping and beautifully crafted.
Combining detailed explorations of both mainstream and experimental poets with a clear historical and literary overview, Reading Postwar British and Irish Poetry offers readers at all levels an ideal guide to the rich body of poetic works published in Britain and Ireland over the last half-century. Features detailed discussions of individual poems that are widely available in anthologies and selected poems volumes Pays explicit attention to how to read the poems, focusing on language and form and the institutional conditions of literary possibility in which poets worked Includes poets of all types and styles from throughout the post-war period, including canonical and mainstream poets alongside experimental poets, women, and poets of color
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