This new gift edition is a must-have for Pam's many fans - and for anyone who enjoys beautifully crafted stories and poems to make you laugh and make you think. Pam Ayres is one of our most widely-adored poets throughout the world and is nothing less than a national treasure. Her work is popular with fans of all ages, and her wry observations on the peculiarities of modern life will raise a smile from even the most hardened cynic.
The wonderful new collection of poems, anecdotes and short verses from the inimitable Pam Ayres. With over fifty new poems from Britain's favourite poet, You Made Me Late Again is an essential addition to Pam Ayres' incomparable collection of works. Pam's poems are observant, witty and poignant in equal measure. In 'The Swifts' and 'The Pyracantha Anthem' she marvels at nature, while 'A Patient's Prayer' and 'Litter Moron' offer wry views on Modern Britain. From the dog being afraid of the toaster to your son leaving home for university; and from the search for that perfect swimsuit to becoming a gran for the first time -- Pam's poems are beautifully crafted, and her subjects the everyday and the universal. Delightfully illustrated, most of the poems in You Made Me Late Again are brand new, yet it also features several firm favourites from her stage shows, published for the first time, such as 'The Make-up Lady' and 'Tippy Tappy Feet'.
A beautiful collection from much-loved poet Pam Ayres, compiling her best verse dedicated to animals, illustrated by Ellie Snowdon. Now a Sunday Times bestseller. 'Oh WHY must you bark at the postman? Why must you batter my ears? I know it seems rum But the postman has come Every morning for SEVENTEEN YEARS.' From her very first encounter with a friendly golden Labrador at just three years old, Pam Ayres has been enchanted by animals. Now, for the first time, in this beautiful new illustrated work, she has gathered together her life's work of poems, new and old, dedicated to her love of them. This definitive collection brings to life the charming characters and voices of all creatures great and small through Pam's poetry over the last five decades. From delightful tales of our British wildlife in 'I'm a Starling Me Darling' and the difficulties of keeping farm animals in 'Fleeced', to her hilarious observations of our pets in 'Ode to a Jack Russell' and poignant reflections on the end of their lives in 'Tippy Tappy Feet', Pam Ayres on Animals is a celebration of animals everywhere.
The brand new collection of verse from the nation’s favourite poet, Pam Ayres. With the same magic that has enchanted her fans for more than four decades, Pam’s new collection is by turns hilarious, reflective and profound. From the dubious joy of being an exhausted, panic-stricken hostess in ‘The Dinner Party’ or feelings of unease about pub tableware in ‘Don’t Put My Dinner on the Slate!’, to a poignant reflection of war in 'Down the Line'and the bittersweet nostalgia of ‘Up in the Attic’, this new collection will tickle and move readers in equal measure.
Like everything Bennett does, these stories are playful, witty and painfully observant of ordinary people's foibles. They all have brilliant twists, are immensely entertaining and highly moral. And all are modern classics. The Laying on of Hands The painfully observant account of a memorial service for a masseur to the famous. The Clothes They Stood Up In The comic tale of an elderly couple's trials after their flat is stripped completely bare. Father! Father! Burning Bright The savage satire on the family of a dying man who rules over them from his hospital bed. The Lady in the Van The true story of the eccentric old woman who is invited to live in a homeowner's front garden. She stays there, in her van, for fifteen years. The home is Alan Bennett's. It became a West End hit and a major film, starring Maggie Smith.
Pam Ayres' early childhood in Stanford in the Vale was idyllic in many ways, and typical of that experienced by a great swathe of children born in rural areas in the immediate post-war years. This title gives her portrait.
At the outbreak of World War II, a twelve-year-old girl comes up with an idea to help the war effort America has just entered World War II, and everyone in Charlotte Campbell’s family is doing his or her part, either abroad or in the Pennsylvania factory town where the Campbells live. Charlotte’s brother Jim has enlisted in the navy, and her mother works in Braddock’s local war plant. Her dad guides tugboats filled with supplies up the Monongahela River. Eager to contribute to the war effort—besides saving to buy defense stamps—Charlotte organizes a scrap metal drive like the ones all over the country. She and her sixth-grade classmates start collecting old junk and soon have so much that they have to store it in the school basement . . . until someone steals all the metal. Charlotte is determined to find the thief and get back the precious scraps. Her younger brother Robbie supplies a list of potential suspects, from the school janitor to a fellow fourth grader. Some of the kids think it might be Charlotte’s German friend Betsy. But when they set a trap for the culprit, Charlotte has to face the fear that’s been giving her nightmares since childhood. This ebook includes a historical afterword.
WITH THESE HANDS is a collection of the very best poems and sketches from one of Britain's best loved entertainers - now starring in her own BBC Radio 2 Sunday Show. The pieces are presented together with delightful illustrations by Susan Hellard providing the reader with a beguiling insight into the heart and mind of Pam Ayres.
To mark and celebrate National Hedgehog Awareness Week, Pam Ayres has written a less-than-fond farewell from ‘the last hedgehog left on earth’ – a delightful and thought-provoking elegy to that most beloved inhabitant of the British countryside, the common hedgehog. Pam Ayres’ spiky and wonderful creation reminds us that unless we take steps to prevent it, they will soon be far from ‘common’ indeed: beautifully illustrated by Alice Tait, the poem sees our hero tell of all the terrible ends his family come to at our own hands - and exactly what we can still do to keep them alive, and see them thrive once more.
Comedian and actor Stephen Fry's witty and practical guide, now in paperback, gives the aspiring poet or student the tools and confidence to write and understand poetry. Stephen Fry believes that if one can speak and read English, one can write poetry. In The Ode Less Travelled, he invites readers to discover the delights of writing poetry for pleasure and provides the tools and confidence to get started. Through enjoyable exercises, witty insights, and simple step-by-step advice, Fry introduces the concepts of Metre, Rhyme, Form, Diction, and Poetics. Most of us have never been taught to read or write poetry, and so it can seem mysterious and intimidating. But Fry, a wonderfully competent, engaging teacher and a writer of poetry himself, sets out to correct this problem by explaining the various elements of poetry in simple terms, without condescension. Fry's method works, and his enthusiasm is contagious as he explores different forms of poetry: the haiku, the ballad, the villanelle, and the sonnet, among many others. Along the way, he introduces us to poets we've heard of but never read. The Ode Less Travelled is not just the survey course you never took in college, it's a lively celebration of poetry that makes even the most reluctant reader want to pick up a pencil and give it a try.
