Growing up in Lee-on-the-Solent

Growing up in Lee-on-the-Solent

Author: John W Green

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2014-08-28

Total Pages: 189

ISBN-13: 1909183636

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John Green's family moved to Lee-on-the-Solent just in time for the outbreak of war in 1939. For a seven-year-old, war sounded like an exciting adventure, but as he sheltered with his mother and sister under the stairs during an air-raid, someone said they thought they heard machine-gun fire. They all held their breath and listened, but the noise turned out to be the rhythmic rat-a-tat of his mother's trembling knee knocking against the panelling. In this delightful memoir, John W Green describes what it was like to grow up in a ‘village of two halves’, with the western end inhabited by well-to-do families, and the eastern end by the people who served them. It was commonly thought that the shopkeepers reserved the better-quality groceries and nicer cuts of meat for the west-enders and for the officers’ hoity-toity wives. He vividly describes how he became a rebellious child, going bird-nesting, running wild in Court Barn, scrumping apples, collecting ammunition, scavenging on the Ranges, and ‘borrowing’ a boat to row on the Alver. As he grew up, his hang-outs changed and he met his friends ‘up the Tower’, at the Bluebird Café or in the amusement arcade. Despite his reputation for being a rebel, John followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the RAF before becoming a ‘Marconi man’ in the merchant navy, sailing to every corner of the world.


The Saga of Sally Lunns

The Saga of Sally Lunns

Author: Alwyn Dow

Publisher: Trafford Publishing

Published: 2012-11

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 1466966637

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The novel ( 100,000 words) is in 4 parts and follows the life of Sue Parker a Police Officer in the Avon and Somerset Police force as she attempts to get to grips with crime and her own personal love life that usually seems to come out second best as work takes priority. Part 1, (Title above) begins and ends in Bath but takes many twists and turns along the way, usually following the reminiscences of a suspect. Africa features but so do Tokyo, Munich and Washington over decades. Questions of conscience arise in different scenarios. Sue is a PC. Part 2 is called 'Croquet at Chateau Chevalier' and sees Sue embroiled in a murder at a Management Motivational weekend in a country 'hotel' run by a company called 'Muck&Brass, ' a term that alludes to their penchant for outdoor trials, such as Quad Bikes. There are so many suspects, but here the onus is on lack of conscience as people make their decisions. Sue has been moved up to Sergeant. Part 3 is 'Troublesome Talk at River Walk' and is set in Frome, a small town near Bath where Sue has been promoted to Inspector. It begins with the suspicious death of an old lady and goes on to explore her background in the Spanish Civil War, and in the Resistance in World War Two. This story highlights the dilemma that is faced by individuals, when competing definitions of right and wrong clash. Part 4 is 'Flotsam and Jetsum' Sue is retired but gets involved on holiday when a body on a beach near Portsmouth leads her into a dangerous International Conspiracy in the Baltic Sea and beyond, even into Russia itself. An absence of guilt once more leads Sue to identify her suspect, but she also finds 'Silver Linings' in her love life again.


Rod of Moses

Rod of Moses

Author: John W Green

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2016-03-01

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13: 1911105051

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1923. When RAF airman Jack Toulson finds a wooden box buried in the desert, he hopes to uncover a cache of jewels or even an antique sword, but all it contains is a worthless old stick with Arabic writing on it. Disappointed, he shoves it into his bag and thinks no more of it. The next day, he decides to take a picture of the empty horizon with his new Kodak Hawk-Eye, but when the picture is developed, it shows a camel-train that had not been there. He concludes it must be a fault with the camera. Jack is wrong on both counts. The stick he held in his hands, and the camel train that appeared in his photograph, were a window into another time a thousand years before Christ - a time when King Solomon tried to seduce the beautiful Queen of Sheba by entrusting her with the most precious artefact known to man: the Rod of Moses. In this gripping novel, the power of the Rod echoes down the generations, from ancient Egypt right through to the present day.


Bloodshot

Bloodshot

Author: Alwyn Dow

Publisher: Trafford Publishing

Published: 2013-06-14

Total Pages: 335

ISBN-13: 1466999349

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The novel ( 100,000 words) is in 4 parts and follows the life of Sue Parker a Police Officer in the Avon and Somerset Police force as she attempts to get to grips with crime and her own personal love life that usually seems to come out second best as work takes priority. Part 1, (Title above) begins and ends in Bath but takes many twists and turns along the way, usually following the reminiscences of a suspect. Africa features but so do Tokyo, Munich and Washington over decades. Questions of conscience arise in different scenarios. Sue is a PC. Part 2 is called Croquet at Chateau Chevalier and sees Sue embroiled in a murder at a Management Motivational weekend in a country hotel run by a company called Muck&Brass, a term that alludes to their penchant for outdoor trials, such as Quad Bikes. There are so many suspects, but here the onus is on lack of conscience as people make their decisions. Sue has been moved up to Sergeant. Part 3 is Troublesome Talk at River Walk and is set in Frome, a small town near Bath where Sue has been promoted to Inspector. It begins with the suspicious death of an old lady and goes on to explore her background in the Spanish Civil War, and in the Resistance in World War Two. This story highlights the dilemma that is faced by individuals, when competing definitions of right and wrong clash. Part 4 is Flotsam and Jetsum Sue is retired but gets involved on holiday when a body on a beach near Portsmouth leads her into a dangerous International Conspiracy in the Baltic Sea and beyond, even into Russia itself. An absence of guilt once more leads Sue to identify her suspect, but she also finds Silver Linings in her love life again.


To Live is to Fly

To Live is to Fly

Author: Tizi Hodson

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2023-03-06

Total Pages: 377

ISBN-13: 1911105663

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Life is good: it’s a phrase I use all the time. Sometimes I’ve even said it when I’ve just crashed my motorbike, fallen with my horse, or had to make an emergency landing when flying an aircraft through thick cloud. I believe in seizing every opportunity that life offers you. That’s why, when I was on a motorcycle holiday in Germany and saw a fairground, I immediately signed up to become a Wall of Death rider. It’s why, when I was first at the solo controls of an aerobatic aircraft, I thought I’d try to loop-the-loop. It’s also why I accepted every job offer that came my way, whether it was as a stunt rider, saddlery maker or snake hunter. It’s how I’ve lived my life: I hope you enjoy reading about it.


800 Days in Doha

800 Days in Doha

Author: Penelope Gordon

Publisher: Andrews UK Limited

Published: 2018-01-29

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 1911105345

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When Penelope Gordon was headhunted to go and work in Doha, Qatar, her sole experience of the Middle East had been a brief luxury break in Dubai. Her husband Lionel, a much-travelled naval officer, was more blasé about the move, but neither was quite prepared for the experience that followed. Penelope left her NHS job at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth to head up medical leadership and education in a state-of-the-art set of hospitals in Qatar - a country, she discovered, where there were no maps, where everyone drove their cars rather like they'd drive camels (fast and wildly), where many of her female staff were completely swathed in black with only their eyes visible, and where no-one expected to have to do something when there was a servant to do it for them, even if it was only pressing the 'start' button on the coffee machine. In this captivating and amusing memoir, Penelope shows how she managed to find the humour in dealing with a culture that was often baffling and opaque - and how she not only survived 800 days in Doha, but turned it into an adventure.