There is a Britain that exists outside of the official histories and guidebooks - places that lie on the margins, left behind. This is a land of industrial estates and electricity pylons, of motorways and ring roads, of hospitals and housing estates, of roundabouts and flyovers. Places where modern life speeds past but where people and stories nevertheless collect: ghost sightings, first kisses, experiments with drugs, refuges for the homeless, hangouts for the outcasts. Struck by the power of such stories and experiences, Gareth E. Rees set out to explore these mundane and neglected spaces, which can be as powerfully influential in our lives, and imaginations, as any picture postcard tourist destination. This is Unofficial Britain, a personal journey along the edges of a landscape brimming with mystery, folklore and myth.
There is a Britain that exists outside of the official histories and guidebooks - places that lie on the margins, left behind. This is the Britain of industrial estates, and tower blocks, of motorway service stations and haunted council houses, of roundabouts and flyovers. Places where modern life speeds past but where people and stories nevertheless collect. Places where human dramas play out: stories of love, violence, fear, boredom and artistic expression. Places of ghost sightings, first kisses, experiments with drugs, refuges for the homeless, hangouts for the outcasts. Struck by the power of these stories and experiences, Gareth Rees set out to explore these spaces and the essential part they have played in the history and geography of our isles. Though neglected and forgotten, they can be as powerfully influential in our lives, and imaginations, as any picture postcard tourist destination. Welcome to Unofficial Britain, a personal and occasionally fevered journey along the edges of a landscape brimming with magic and mystery, tragedy and myth; a story of Britain that gets cut from the narrative; a map of the cracks in the urban façade where unexpected life can flourish.
When Gareth E. Rees moves to a dilapidated Victorian house in Hastings he begins to piece together an occult puzzle connecting Aleister Crowley, John Logie Baird and the Piltdown Man hoaxer. As freak storms and tidal surges ravage the coast, Rees is beset by memories of his best friend's tragic death in St Andrews twenty years earlier. Convinced that apocalypse approaches and his past is out to get him, Rees embarks on a journey away from his family, deep into history and to the very edge of the imagination. Tormented by possessed seagulls, mutant eels and unresolved guilt, how much of reality can he trust? The Stone Tide is a novel about grief, loss, history and the imagination. It is about how people make the place and the place makes the person. Above all it is about the stories we tell to make sense of the world.
An in-depth look into the life and writings of the bestselling author of the Discworld novels, Good Omens, and Nation. The Magic of Terry Pratchett is the first full biography of Sir Terry Pratchett ever written. Sir Terry was Britain’s bestselling living author*, and before his death in 2015 had sold more than 85 million copies of his books worldwide. Best known for the Discworld series, his work has been translated into thirty-seven languages, and performed as plays on every continent in the world, including Antarctica. Journalist, comedian and Pratchett fan Marc Burrows delves into the back story of one of UK’s most enduring and beloved authors, from his childhood in the Chiltern Hills, to his time as a journalist, and the journey that would take him—via more than sixty best-selling books—to an OBE, a knighthood and national treasure status. The Magic Of Terry Pratchett is the result of painstaking archival research alongside interviews with friends and contemporaries who knew the real man under the famous black hat, helping to piece together the full story of one of British literature’s most remarkable and beloved figures for the very first time. * Now disqualified on both counts. Praise for The Magic of Terry Pratchett "In this encompassing biography of the prolific fantasy and science-fiction author, writer and comedian Burrows details both the writing accomplishments and the personal life of Sir Terry Pratchett. . . . Burrows spoke to friends and family, and this biography has moments of sadness, especially when discussing Pratchett’s fight with Alzheimer’s. But the book is also funny and conversational in tone, and an excellent tribute to a beloved author.” —Booklist “Affable and consistently engaging . . . Burrow’s buoyant, pun-peppered, and aptly footnote-flecked style . . . helpfully marries his subject matter, propelling us through decade after decade of a heavily writing-centric life while illuminating Pratchett’s complexities and contradictions without any drag in the tempo.” —Locus Magazine “An impressively comprehensive, engagingly written biography. ****”—SFX
The Unofficial Guide to Days Out & Attractions in Britain gives you the perfect guidebook to experience the best theme parks, attractions and days out in Britain. Researched and written to provide the most fun, exciting and diverse range of outings and excursions available to those looking for a great day out, this book provides an eclectic choice of big-hitting theme parks to more local experiences and unusual days out. This guide will help you plan your visit and bring the experience alive for you in a personal way written by a team of experts. For smaller attractions you’ll get the lowdown on what’s best to explore and hidden gems you’d never known about, while on the big theme parks you’ll get smart time and money saving advice designed to maximise your fun and eliminate any stress. With honest reviews, detailed information, invaluable maps and indispensible tips, this guide will give you a book brimming with inspiration to savour for your next day out. Take a look inside. The Unofficial Guide to Days Out & Attractions in Britain includes: Fun: A diverse book of exciting days out, theme parks and attractions, celebrating Britain’s character, from big, roller-coaster theme parks to local adventure experiences and unusual trips to savour and plot your next trip away. Eclectic: A different and eclectic set of day trip choices from hanging upside down at Thorpe Park or Alton Towers to dinosaur parks, famous film locations, steam trains, falconry, motor museums and wildlife sanctuaries. Time & Money Saving tips from a team of experienced experts. Expert advice to provide the most fun and enjoyable days out Honest reviews from a team with extensive training and research experience, plus evaluations based on reader surveys Up-to-date, invaluable and need-to-know information Touring plans based on patented algorithms and sophisticated research designs. Indispensible Maps and plans to show you exactly how to plan your day on the ground. About Unofficial Guides The Unofficial Guides have sold more than four million copies worldwide. This series is the only one that offers evaluations based on reader surveys and critiques, compiled by a team of unbiased inspectors. The Unofficial Guides are unique in their employment of sophisticated research designs and cutting edge science - focused around touring plans based on patented algorithms - to provide readers with extremely valuable information available in no other travel series, saving families time and money. An entire organization collects and compiles information for the Unofficial Guide series, guided by individuals with extensive training and experience in operations research as well as data collection and analysis. The result is a portfolio of guides that give visitors everything they need to know for a stress-free, efficient, fun and enjoyable day out.
During the early 1970s Richard Mabey explored crumbling city docks and overgrown bomb-sites, navigated inner city canals and car parks, and discovered there was scarcely a nook in our urban landscape incapable of supporting life. The Unofficial Countryside is a timely reminder of how nature flourishes against the odds, surviving in the most obscure and surprising places. First published 1973 by William Collins Sons & Co.
Like most members of the professional military freemasonry, Slim came to admire "all the soldiers of different races who have fought with me and most of those who have fought against me." Among the most likable of his enemies were the Wazirs of India's Northwest Frontier. In 1920, Slim took part in a retaliatory raid on an obscure village. It was an unusually easy victory over the canny Wazirs, whom the British took by surprise and escaped from with scant loss. Afterwards, in the casual frontier way, the British sent a message to the Wazirs, expressing surprise at the enemy's unusually poor shooting. The Wazirs replied in courtly fashion that their rifles were Short Magazine Lee-Enfields captured in previous fights with the British and that they had failed to sight the guns to accord with a new stock of ammunition. Now, having calculated the adjustment, they would be delighted to demonstrate their bull's-eye accuracy any time the British wanted. "One cannot help feeling," Slim says, "that the fellows who wrote that ought to be on our side." Slim genuinely enjoyed his virtually blood-free skirmishes with such foes as the Turks, the Wazirs and the Italians in 1940 Ethiopia.
Car parks: commonplace urban landscapes, little-explored and rarely featured in art and music, yet they shape the aesthetics of our towns and cities. Hotspots for crime, rage and sexual deviancy; a blind spot in which activities go unnoticed. Skateboarding, car stunts, drug dealing, dogging, murder. Gareth E. Rees believes that the retail car park has as much mystery, magic and terror as any mountain, meadow or wood. He's out to prove it by walking the car parks of Britain, journeying across the country from Plymouth to Edinburgh, much to the horror of his family, friends – and, most of all – himself. He finds Sir Francis Drake outside B&Q, standing stones in a retail park, and a dead body beside Sainsbury's. In this darkly satirical work of non-fiction, Gareth E. Rees presents a troubling vision of Brexit Britain through a common space we know far less about than we think.
More than 4 million copies sold! This series is the only one that offers evaluations based on reader surveys and critiques, compiled by a team of unbiased inspectors. • Hotels, attractions, and restaurants in all price categories • Extensive information on shopping, nightlife, and sports • Easy-to-use, two-color design • Detailed, 2-color maps
An insider's guide: how to join the Roman legions, wield a gladius, storm cities, and conquer the world Your emperor needs you for the Roman army! The year is AD 100 and Rome stands supreme and unconquerable from the desert sands of Mesopotamia to the misty highlands of Caledonia. Yet the might of Rome rests completely on the armored shoulders of the legionaries who hold back the barbarian hordes and push forward the frontiers of empire. This carefully researched yet entertainingly nonacademic book tells you how to join the Roman legions, the best places to serve, and how to keep your armor from getting rusty. Learn to march under the eagles of Rome, from training, campaigns, and battle to the glory of a Roman Triumph and retirement with a pension plan. Every aspect of army life is discussed, from drill to diet, with handy tips on topics such as how to select the best boots or how to avoid being skewered by enemy spears. Combining the latest archaeological discoveries with the written records of those who actually saw the Roman legions in action, this book provides a vivid picture of what it meant to be a Roman legionary.
