Search results for ""Author Alan Sutton""

It was love at first sight. We drove up the long track, pulled into the yard, and wow! What a view. I did the drawings myself, the maximum we were told (in those days) about what one could get away with in terms of planning permission. A local architect did the formal drawings and submitted them for planning permission. I did not intend to do the work myself, it simply happened by circumstance. I put the groundwork out to tender to six contractors. Only one bothered to reply and the quotation was astronomic. The steelwork looked very complicated, but I went to the structural engineer’s office in Gloucester to chat about it. I asked: ‘It looks complicated, but could I do this myself?’ Peter Rowntree was very reassuring. ‘It looks complicated because you are looking at it in its entirety. Let me show you this corner here.’ And he then explained how the steels fitted together and how one wired them up. After a quarter of an hour, he summarised by saying ‘Yes, you could do it.’ And I did! Working only on Saturdays, and even then, not every Saturday, it took me seven years to complete it to a point where we could move into the extension. I was extremely sad to leave Hydefield and putting this book together has been cathartic. I was tremendously proud of what I managed to build and have wanted to produce this photo book to bring back the memories of every little achievement.

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England, Their England is an affectionately satirical inter-war comic novel first published in 1933. It hit the right spot at the time and became a bestseller, and has endured as a classic of humour, transending the passage of time. It is particularly famed for its portrayal of a village cricket match. The plot - if there can be said to be a plot - is set in 1920s England, the book is written as if a travel memoir by a young Scotsman who had been invalided away from the Western Front, "Donald Cameron", whose father's will forces him to reside in England. There he writes for a series of London newspapers, before being commissioned by a Welshman to write a book about the English from the view of a foreigner. Taking to the country and provincial cities, Donald spends his time doing research for a book on the English by consorting with journalists and minor poets, attending a country house weekend, serving as private secretary to a Member of Parliament, attending the League of Nations, and playing village cricket. The village cricket match is the most celebrated episode in the novel, and a reason cited for its enduring appeal.An important character is Mr Hodge; a caricature of Sir John Squire (poet and editor of the London Mercury) while the cricket team described in the book's most famous chapter is a representation of Sir John's Cricket Club - the Invalids - which survives today. The book ends in the ancient city of Winchester, where MacDonnell had gone to school. New introduction by Alan Sutton

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Volume Eight begins with a family holiday, probably the only time in which the whole family, including grandchildren, spent a long time together (May-June 1846). The destination was the Isle of Wight where they had an enjoyable sojourn of five weeks, although Margaret's poor health precluded her doing much walking. Much of the volume covers property matters and the Hunt Trust. The summer of 1847 did not include a holiday, but as a substitute, Francis and Margaret spent nine days with the Hunt family in Stoke Doyle, Northamptonshire, and of course much Trust business was discussed. The following year saw their holiday, with a four-week break in North Wales. From 1848 onwards Margaret's health went into a severe decline. Missing diaries result in us knowing little of what happened between November 1848 and December 1849, but from that point onwards Margaret became bed-bound and by the end of this volume she was lying at death's door. Volume Eight is interesting for depth of detail. The Irish Potato Famine is covered, although not in as much detail as one may have imagined.There is also the say news of the death of Frederick Howell, in South Africa, killed in a conflict with Hottentots. Frederick was the eldest son of Thomas Howell, Francis Witt's closest friend.

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The Complete Diary of a Cotswold Lady is an extraordinary sequence of daily entries, covering the years 1788 to 1824. During these thirty-seven years Agnes Witts - a remarkable woman with great zest for life - recorded the weather, letters received and letters sent, and most importantly of all, her social diary. Her spirits made her rise above the family's financial disaster caused by her husband's bankruptcy and she and Edward always moved in the best circles, notwithstanding their straitened circumstances.

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No musical partnership has enjoyed greater success during its time span, or bequeathed a more powerful and enduring legacy, than that of Gilbert and Sullivan in the later nineteenth century. Even before their first successful collaboration in 1875, both William Schwenk Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842-1900) had already forged considerable reputations for themselves. Thereafter, between 1877 and 1896, Gilbert wrote the librettos, and Sullivan the music, for no fewer than a dozen Savoy operas, among them the still regularly performed ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ (1878), ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ (1879), ‘Iolanthe’ (1882), ‘The Mikado’ (1885), ‘The Yeomen of the Guard’ (1888) and ‘The Gondoliers’ (1889). Not only are the plots ingenious, the lyrics witty and the music compelling, the operas also present modern audiences with splendidly rich and satirical evocations of Victorian England and its society: the prime subject matter of this book!

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'The Two Duchesses' is family correspondence of and relating to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire, Earl of Bristol (Bishop of Derry), the Countess of Bristol, Lord Byron, the Earl of Aberdeen, Sir Augustus Foster and others 1777-1859, focusing on the period from America's independence to the fall of Napoleon. Single letters are also included from Gibbon; Sheridan; Fox; the Prince Regent; General Moreau and Alexander, Emperor of Russia. The Devonshires were one of the first families of the land they were highly connected with George, Prince of Wales being a regular visitor to Devonshire house along with James Fox, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and other politicians and celebrities of the day. They were at the centre of society and their interest to history is heightened by the celebrated m'nage a trois and other affairs which led both duchesses--at separate times--to seek a quiet period abroad to bear illegitimate children; Georgiana's daughter Eliza Courtney was sired by Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, who later became prime minister; Elizabeth's children, Caroline St Jules and Augustus Clifford were sired by William, the 5th Duke of Devonshire, who she later married. Vere Foster, Elizabeth's grandson, had unique access to the papers and over a period of years produced accurate transcriptions of these historically important letters--often working from abominable scrawl--to provide us with fascinating window into the pinnacle of society of the period.

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Life for Francis Witts is more settled. Victoria has ascended the throne and Francis is now Chairman of the Board of Governors of Stow-on-the-Wold Union Workhouse, a position he takes seriously and maintains until his death. The diaries throw much light onto the setting up of the Unions and the harsh routine there. He does not disapprove of charity being shown to the inmates but is most unhappy at the suggestion that they be allowed to enjoy the Coronation celebrations.

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Francis Witts gained a curacy in Wiltshire in 1806 but did not get on with his Rector and was about to be ousted when an opportunity at Upper Slaughter arose after his Uncle Fernando's death. By 1809 Francis is married to Margaret Backhouse and settled there. Frances discontinued his writing from 1808 until 1820 but, fortunately, details come from his mother, Agnes. The volume ends sadly with the death of his brother, George, in 1823 and Agnes's own death in 1825.

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As before, events alter the manner in which entries are recorded and here we see a change in style and emphasis as problems with his son, Edward, and the murder of Mr Rens figure prominently in Francis' life. Indeed, it seems that the gap in the diaries from June 1830 to January 1832 may be due to the depression that Francis suffers as he fears that his son will not be able to fulfil the ambitions of a loving father.

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Mr Rens' murderer is carted off to Gloucester but Francis is still beset by problems. A fellow magistrate, Richard Ford, even manages to profit from them. Francis and Richard's long-term but mutually antagonistic friendship suffers a blow when in 1834, at a meeting of the Stow Savings Bank, Mr Baillie makes a personal attack on Francis, and Charles Pole. Canon Ford has something to do with it and the 'Baillie' affair is set to blow up out of all proportion.

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In his forties Francis Witts enjoyed a leisurely lifestyle and by 1825 he was reporting on Parliamentary affairs in detail and reviewing the many books he read, but this declined as his magisterial duties grew. This volume sees many deaths and, as a consequence, Francis becomes the head of his family. However his expectations of inheritance are dashed as his line is excluded in favour of his Uncle Ferdinand's children and grandchildren. Even worse, a debt of GBP800 is called in!

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Volume Nine begins with the death of the diarist's wife, Margaret, after a marriage of almost 42 years. Margaret's health had always been delicate and she finally declined and died of dropsy-what today might be referred to as an edema due to congestive heart failure. Margaret had never been a lively or outgoing person, but it had been a marriage of money and the Backhouse resources restored the Witts family's fortune and provided the foundation to the substantial estate that Francis Witts left to his son Edward when he, the diarist, also died four years later. Francis Witts was lonely and reflective in his final years. His own health was not good and he predicted, correctly that it was the heart. On 4 May 1854 he put his thoughts to his diary: 'But, in truth, the continued, if not increased, difficulty of breathing, makes me satisfied that there is some serious mischief near or about the heart: it may be organic; and the end may come at no distant period: may I be then found not ill-prepared; resigned, patient, and penitent as the clouds gather around me!' In between the periods of indifferent health he roused himself to visit old friends and relations and he made several visits to London, especially at the time of the Great Exhibition in 1851. Francis Witts longed for visits from Edward, Sophy and his grandsons, and the sadness he felt at not getting enough of their time is painfully clear in these last years. At last he found a curate to aid him in his clerical duties, but it was all too late. In the presence of his curate at lunch on 18 August 1854 the ultimate mischief occurred. The previous day he had written the final words in his diary: 'Received from C. J. Geldard a present of two brace of Moor game.' He did not live to enjoy them, and his diaries extending 56 years came to close.

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This beautifully illustrated book provides information on the air arms of the nations which took part in aerial warfare during the First World War featuring the Aces and their mounts. The war was a global conflict with 57 nations involved, but with aviation being in its infancy only eight nations had a major air arm to their fighting Services. The Allies: Britain, America, Italy, Belgium, France, and Russia and then the Central Powers comprising Germany and Austria-Hungary. This book is not intended to be comprehensive, for to provide such a work would require many volumes totalling thousands of pages. Instead this should be viewed as a relatively detailed overview; a general introduction to the topic of military aviation in the First World War. The aim has been to produce a well-illustrated book to maintain the interest of the reader with some short biographies of the leading Aces and basic information on the aircraft types used, and their development during the First World War. Furthermore, this book focuses on the air arms initially developed by the respective armies, and therefore the air arms of the navies, although fleetingly touched upon, are not dealt with in much detail. To provide reasonable coverage for the Royal Naval Air Service alone would require a separate and substantial additional volume. In a similar manner, although Zeppelins, other airships and balloons are mentioned and illustrated, little detail is given. The book contains details of the top Aces for each nation and in extensive illustration sections provides an extensive summary of the aircraft flown. While much of the focus is on the Aces, the book provides information on the aircraft flown and also has a separate illustrated section on Manfred von Richthofen and his 'flying circus'.

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