Tom Morton, keen motorcyclist, funeral celebrant and whisky aficionado, takes us on a journey around the globe, exploring the links between famous alcoholic spirits and spirituality. Waters of life. Distilled spirits of all kinds have borne that name, in various tongues, since time immemorial. Aqua vita. Eau de vie. Uisge Beatha. Tom Morton has travelled the world in search of the finest drams the planet has to offer. His journeys reveal the links between faith and alcohol, between spirits and the spiritual. From Christianity’s Holy Communion to the temple libations of Japan, through the rum concoctions of Haitian Voodoo to the monastic producers of every liquid from beer to "tonic" wine. And of course Tom’s beloved whisky, brewed in many corners of the world. Holy Waters is Tom’s journey to the spiritual heart of whisky, sake, rum, Champagne, beer, mead and a variety of wines. With great insight, humour and for the most part sobriety, he traces the links between brewing, winemaking, distilling and worship, from ancient pagan rites to the most modern Trappist technology. He revels in the lore and mysteries of craft production, the elemental, magical love stories, the passionate relationships between human and landscape, grain and pure water, grape and fire. And he does so on a motorcycle which, to his astonishment, runs very well on cask-strength Islay single malt. This book is a celebration of cultures and artisan craft, a book for food and drink, travel and history lovers.
Tom Morton-Smith is an Olivier Award-winning playwright whose works for the stage span intimate theatrical biopics to scientific explorations and broad epics. In this, his first play collection, his major stage works are brought together for the first time in a definitive edition showcasing his extensive range as a dramatist, and introduced by the author himself. In Doggerland: “Morton-Smith's script is both poetic and philosophical, a thoughtful meditation on the impact of loss . . . a touching and funny play that explores the lives of four people brought together by tragedy and hope." (WhatsonStage) Oppenheimer: “A blast from start to finish . . . Tom Morton-Smith's epic new play . . . ambitious in the very best way . . . it really delivers its payload in its final phase, as Oppenheimer finally rejects his humanity in favour of doing something truly inhuman to the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki." (Time Out) The Earthworks: "This small, often funny play focusing on two fragile people rubbing up against each other at a moment of change has its own quiet heroism. What appears to be a romantic comedy turns into something more unsettling ... raising questions about the limits of knowledge and our capacity to face up to the future." (Guardian) Ravens: "An elegant study of pressure and paranoia . . . Recounting the gruelling, 21-game clash, Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer is a taut and cerebral character study." (The Stage)
A funeral celebrant's story about how celebrating death, and creating personalised space for grief, can enrich lives and give meaning to death. After a close encounter with death, Tom Morton realised he needed a change of pace and perspective. He decided to become the only independent funeral celebrant on the remote Shetland Islands, an unusual new profession that would lead him on an extraordinary journey into the world of the dead. In a vivid narrative that reveals the fascinating realm of the unspoken - from extraordinary undertakers and death cafés, to pilgrimages and taboos - Tom quickly learns that death and speaking for the dead requires you to think on your feet and often take a magpie approach to faith and philosophy. From Humanism to hymns, Theravada Buddhism to Star Wars theology, he discovers the importance of ritual, humour, and the empowering act of trying to find words for something beyond language itself. This is an accessible and thought-provoking guide to celebrating mortality. When grief must be an inevitable part of life, Tom shows how we can mourn together in a way that feels appropriate to the life of the one who has passed on, and ultimately cultivate a healthy attitude to our own eventual demise.
Dylan Singer needs to leave London. With his alcoholic ex-fiancée he heads to Central Asia, to research the book he's always dreamt of writing. But it's 2002, the height of the War on Terror, and Uzbekistan isn't the belly-dancing opium den they have been led to believe. From 11th Century Samarkand, through the Great Fire of London, to a disused weapons facility in the remotest place on earth, Salt Meets Wound is an epic odyssey spanning a thousand years. Tom Morton-Smith's debut is a magnificent delve into the jigsaw pieces of modern events and history. It opened at the Theatre503 in May 2007.
A name from the murkiest corners of Britain's secret war in Ireland: Serpentine. At first it's just gossip and fearful whispers. But then people begin to die and all hell breaks loose from Palestine to the remote Highlands of Scotland. Fresh from the toughest assignments in the mercenary world comes former SAS officer Murricane. Can he find Serpentine before it's too late and before the horrific secrets of the past threaten to cause chaos not just in Ireland but in the Middle East too? In a trail of mayhem that leads through Scotland, Gaza and Ireland, Murricane battles his own demons, as well as a monstrous former RUC officer, a disgraced policeman and a series of unreliable Land Rovers, until Serpentine plays his final, devastating game . . . Serpentine is an explosive, bitterly funny journey into the darkest heart of the Irish Troubles and the violence that lurks in Scotland's most scenic Highland communities.
A wonderful slice of home, food and family from one of the most beautiful places on earth: this book is heaven." – Jenny Colgan Shetland is where Scotland meets Scandinavia and the North Sea hits the Atlantic Ocean. Isolated, unspoilt and rich in history and tradition, Shetland is a truly singular place. And for James and Tom Morton, it’s home. Shetland: Cooking on the Edge of the World explores life on an island with food, drink and community at its heart. Surrounded by crystal-clear waters, Shetland seafood is second to none. The native sheep roam freely. Here cooks, farmers, crofters and fishermen toil following traditions that go back hundreds of years. This is a heartfelt book, full of passion for place and community. The recipes celebrate the very best the isles have to offer, feasting on the ocean’s harvest and the treasures of croft land and cliff face. There is cooking fuelled by necessity and thrift and, as you might expect on Scotland’s Norse edge, there are drams and parties galore. With spectacular photography by Andy Sewell, Shetland celebrates a very different kind of island paradise.
1939: fascism spreads across Europe, Franco marches on Barcelona and two German chemists discover the processes of atomic fission. In Berkeley, California, theoretical physicists recognise the horrendous potential of this new science: a weapon that draws its power from the very building blocks of the universe. Struggling to cast off his radical past and thrust into a position of power and authority, the charismatic J Robert Oppenheimer races to win the 'battle of the laboratories' and create a weapon so devastating that it would bring about an end not just to the Second World War but to all war. Tom Morton-Smith's new play takes us into the heart of the Manhattan Project, revealing the personal cost of making history.
You know when a song gets stuck in your head? Round and round ... over and over. I've got that right now ... only it's not a piece of music ... it's not a tune ... it's a phrase: home is where the heart is ... home is where the heart is." A coastline erodes, a house falls into the sea. A mysterious brother and sister arrive looking for answers. Marnie clings to her camera, taking photographs of strangers and places. She has come to say goodbye to a life she never knew whilst her brother Linus is keen to make a fresh start. But when they find Simon and daughter Kelly, reeling in the wake of tragedy, all four lives are to become inextricably linked under the weight of the past.
Reykjavik, 1972. All eyes are on Iceland ahead of 'the Match of the Century': Boris Spassky vs. Bobby Fischer. For the two contenders, the stakes have never been higher – the world title, unprecedented prize money, and stratospheric fame are all on the table.
St. Matthews, once a prominent neighborhood of Louisville, is now a fourth-class city within metro Louisville. The first settlers came to the area in the 1780s, and for more than a century St. Matthews was largely an agricultural area where farmers specialized in growing potatoes. By 1900, a commercial district had grown at the intersection of several roads, known locally as the Point, and the land devoted to farming was gradually taken over by new commercial and residential development. After the great flood of 1937 and World War II, Shelbyville Road, the principal east-west street in St. Matthews, was the site of a commercial boom that included malls and other shopping centers, automobile dealerships, and a wide variety of other businesses. Today, the town of St. Matthews is a vibrant economic and cultural center that attracts people from all parts of metropolitan Louisville.
Winner of the 2023 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. Joe Hisaishi and Royal Shakespeare Company present Studio Ghibli's My Neighbour Totoro. My Neighbour Totoro is a captivating coming-of-age tale that celebrates the wondrous magic of childhood and the transformative power of imagination. Two sisters, Satsuki and Mei, embark on the summer of their lives in the idyllic countryside. With their mother recovering from an illness at a rural convalescent hospital, their father decides to relocate the family so they can be closer to her. As they explore their enchanting new surroundings, Mei discovers fantastical creatures and encounters Totoro, the ancient and loveable guardian of the forest. Satsuki initially doubts her younger sister's claims, but soon finds herself joining in on their thrilling adventures. Along with their new friends, the siblings embark on a journey through a mystical world teeming with spirits, sprites, and breath-taking natural wonders. The stage production is adapted by Tom Morton-Smith from the feature animation by Hayao Miyazaki, directed by Phelim McDermott featuring music by Joe Hisaishi, in collaboration with Nippon TV and Improbable. This edition was published to coincide with the production at London's Barbican Centre, in November 2023.
Altered Mates is the first book to look comprehensively at what's happening to men in the Nineties. We meet the Born-again Blokes, the Sackcloth and Ashes Brigade, the Victim Masculinists and other groups in a whole spectrum of men who are responding to the challenges from women." "Altered Mates argues that men must face the facts: increasingly, men need women more than women need men. From the intimate experiments men and women make in the bedroom, to the pressures of rapid and relentless economic change, Altered Mates explains why men are being forced to reinvent themselves and how they're coping." "The book is indispensable reading for men and women who want to put the gender war in perspective and understand its impact on their everyday lives."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
It's got everything a pop-lit novel for guys needs...sex, guns, black humour, Scotland, religious fanatics, mercenaries, drinking...It even comes with recommended drams and tasting notes for each chapter." Whisky Magazine "Tom modestly says the simultaneous consumption of whisky is not essential to enjoying the book, 'but it probably helps.' If only religions had thought up such a wheeze, our churches might not be so empty."Ken Smith's Herald Diary "Each chapter highlights a particular whisky, and if you read the whole book in one sitting I confidently predict irreparable damage to your liver." Alan Taylor, Sunday Herald "A Whisky in Monsterville. How does it rate. Highly, I think. Unlike many of those who tread the best seller trail, Tom Morton is genuinely erudite, with an enviable breadth of knowledge covering music, literature, and a lot more of what makes life worth living so all sorts of stuff crops up to lighten and enliven the narrative. That narrative carries you professionally along. But meanwhile the book holds you in a way most in the genre don't, through well drawn characters, humour, and yes, erudition." The Shetland Times It's a monster of a thriller. A black farce. An immersion in the dark waters and mysteries of Loch Ness. And the world's first interactive malt whisky novel! A Whisky in Monsterville: It's the tail end of the Loch Ness tourist season. And monstrous things are happening in the Highlands of Scotland. But no-one expects a series of horrific ritual murders. Certainly not retired marine Murricane, whose idyllic fishing-and-drinking existence on the loch is rudely interrupted. By a burnt and mutilated body. Druids, lost hippies, obsessive foodies, heavily armed fundamentalist Christians, whisky experts and monster hunters. The glens and woodlands around Loch Ness shelter a bizarre cast of characters. And they're being murdered in the most horrendous ways. As his own murky past comes back to haunt him, can Murricane, continually distracted by gourmet cooking and obscure malt whiskies, stop the killing? It's a dram good read - funny, frightening and full of Highland character. And you can sip a different whisky along with each chapter. if you dare...
This is the outrageous, moving, and hilarious story of one man's obsession with remaining mobile, whatever the cost. This is the story of beautiful cars, historic motorbikes—and a camper van. It relives Tom Morton's life on the road, sex in a camper van, and touring with Del Amitri.
The Making Mischief Festival features work from some of today’s most exciting playwrights who are challenging and questioning our society. The Festival runs from 24 May to 17 June from The Other Place Studio Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. THE EARTHWORKS: “The universe doesn’t care if we know how it works.” On the eve of the activation of the Large Hadron Collider, two strangers – a journalist and a scientist – share their experiences of loss and hope in a funny but deeply touching one-act play. MYTH:“I can only see wrong choices. Things that will make everything worse.” In one wine-fuelled evening, two couples debate their materialistic lifestyle. As their dinner party descends into chaos, their friendship and their lives are irreparably changed. A play about those things we don’t want to see or say.
Authors Peter Seixas and Tom Morton provide a guide to bring powerful understandings of these six historical thinking concepts into the classroom through teaching strategies and model activities. Table of Contents Historical Significance Evidence Continuity and Change Cause and Consequence Historical Perspectives The Ethical Dimension The accompanying DVD-ROM includes: Modifiable Blackline Masters All graphics, photographs, and illustrations from the text Additional teaching support Order Information: All International Based Customers (School, University and Consumer): All US based customers please contact nelson.orderdesk@nelson.com All International customers (exception US and Asia) please contact Nelson.international@ne lson.com
The Making Mischief Festival features work from some of today’s most exciting playwrights who are challenging and questioning our society. The Festival runs from 24 May to 17 June from The Other Place Studio Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. THE EARTHWORKS: “The universe doesn’t care if we know how it works.” On the eve of the activation of the Large Hadron Collider, two strangers – a journalist and a scientist – share their experiences of loss and hope in a funny but deeply touching one-act play. MYTH:“I can only see wrong choices. Things that will make everything worse.” In one wine-fuelled evening, two couples debate their materialistic lifestyle. As their dinner party descends into chaos, their friendship and their lives are irreparably changed. A play about those things we don’t want to see or say.
A biography of the rock band Runrig. It follows the history of the band from their early days 18 years ago when they played as a rough and ready Skye ceilidh ensemble, to their present position at the forefront of Scottish Gaelic rock.
Dig is based on a sculptural project in an abandoned, overgrown site in central London by Daniel Silver.This book features extensive photographs of the figurative sculptures and fragments which populated the site, as if uncovered though some kind of archaeological endeavour.Made in a range of materials including marble and plaster and terracotta, the figures have been worked by hand, modelled and then eroded and deformed.Taking some of the idols in Freud's collection of antiquities as a starting point, Silver's sculptures appear to be both ancient and modern.Tom Morton's essay excavates some of the different layers in Silver's project, archaeological, sculptural and psychological.Published on the occasion of the exhibition Daniel Silver: Dig with Artangel at The Odeon Site, Grafton Way, London, 12 September - 3 November 2013.
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