Search results for ""author ian mcmillan""

A mixture of stories, poems and autobiography: the donkey survives the fire, and the poet survives in a northern world where the sun does not shine equally or often on all and where Postman Pat pens a suicide note, maddened by his theme tune, but keeps on driving all the same. Ian McMillan is a regular radio and television presenter and contributor to "NMW" and other magazines.

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My sand life, my pebble life. My life measured out in tides, coming in and going out. My life measured out in games of trying to spot the sea first. My life measured out in the delicious and indulgent sadness that comes from leaving a holiday cottage for the last time and for the first time in several days it isn’t raining, but at least the kids have had a great time and, let’s face it, so have you. Warm and darkly funny, this sublimely crafted book transports you (in a blue Ford Zephyr, with an AA route map, a granny in the back and a bingo hall on the horizon) to the world of childhoods by the sea. Specifically, Ian’s memories of childhood: ones we’ll all identify with – endless sunny days on the beach, done to a turn fish and chips, legendary games of cricket, tea and cakes and family crammed into a tiny caravan, holiday cottages that live forever, buckets of shells, a busted fishing net and enough sand to make a beach, with the tide out, way out… In this nostalgic collection of reminiscences (with the odd poem thrown in) journey with Ian as he walks barefoot to the sea to see the sun rise. He is attacked by seagulls, and midges, and wasps. He eats a lot of fish and chips and it’s always the best yet. He nearly avoids a frisbee. He searches for jazz in Scarborough. He walks. He even tries to run. But mostly he savours the sea and our seaside moments and our seaside dreams. If you want a shot of salty sea air, a tussle with a seagull and the congenial companionship of someone described as ‘relentlessly jolly’ (The Guardian), this will be a joyous and moving read.

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Ian McMillan is among Britain's most treasured living poets. His books of poems, stories and non-fiction have delighted audiences for almost forty years. To Fold the Evening Star gathers work from eight key collections, distilling an essence of McMillan's diversiform poetry and short prose. Hilarity and tenderness, gravity and light, are interwoven into a bountiful poetic fibre. Brought up to date by a series of new and previously unpublished work, To Fold the Evening Star will satisy both the curious newcomer and the familiar reader alike, providing an ample, lively assortment of the work.

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I’m going to define the essence of this sprawling place as best I can. I’m going to start here, in this village, and radiate out like a ripple in a pond. I don’t want to go to the obvious places, either; I want to be like a bus driver on my first morning on the job, getting gloriously lost, turning up where I shouldn’t. I’m going to confirm or deny the clichés, holding them up to see where the light gets in. Yorkshire people are tight. Yorkshire people are arrogant. Yorkshire people eat a Yorkshire pudding before every meal. Yorkshire people solder a t’ before every word they use... If there were such a thing as a professional Yorkshireman, Ian McMillan would be it. He’s regularly consulted as a home-grown expert, and southerners comment archly on his ‘fruity Yorkshire brogue’. But he has been keeping a secret. His dad was from Lanarkshire, Scotland, making him, as he puts it, only ‘half tyke’. So Ian is worried; is he Yorkshire enough?To try to understand what this means Ian embarks on a journey around the county, starting in the village has lived in his entire life. With contributions from the Cudworth Probus Club, a kazoo playing train guard, Mad Geoff the barber and four Saddleworth council workers looking for a mattress, Ian tries to discover what lies at the heart of Britain’s most distinct county and its people, as well as finding out whether the Yorkshire Pudding is worthy of becoming a UNESCO Intangible Heritage Site, if Harrogate is really, really, in Yorkshire and, of course, who knocks up the knocker up?

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Around the Coast in 80 Days is an indispensable guide to the very best of Britain’s diverse coastline. Whether you have just an afternoon, a whole day, a free weekend, or a whole week to explore our wonderful country, this book will guide you to 80 of the most interesting, fun and picturesque seaside spots our coast has to offer. Starting at Liverpool, one of the most fashionable tourist destinations in Europe, the book travels clockwise up to Scotland, down the east coast, across the southern shores, up through Wales and back to the northwest of England. It calls in at exciting seaside towns like Blackpool, Brighton and Newquay, and also invites you to explore the more tranquil coastal stretches, such as Balnakeil, Gower Peninsula and the Lizard. Covering nine coastal regions of Britain, chapters provide insights into the history, culture and key features of each place, how to get to there, where to eat – including the best places for fish and chips, and where to stay. Accompanied by beautiful photography and a handy map, and introduced with an entertaining and evocative Foreword by Ian McMillan, the book will delight families, couples and solo explorers of all ages and with all budgets. We all know there’s so much more to explore and enjoy in our beautiful country – this book will help you do just that.

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Now in its fourth edition 'Tyldesley and Grieve's Muscles, Nerves and Movement' has established itself as the leading textbook for the study of movement by occupational therapists. The book provides students with a sound understanding of the way in which bones, joints, muscles and nerves allow the body to perform movement during daily activities. Early chapters provide a foundation for the study of movement, with the complexity of detail increasing as the book progresses. Functional anatomy is related to the movements of daily living and is supported by activities for experiencing and observing the way we perform everyday tasks. Later chapters consider the integration of sensory and motor processes for the planning and execution of movement. This fourth edition has been extensively updated and revised. Highly illustrated and now in full colour throughout the book also includes: • Case histories with self assessment exercises • Summary boxes • Key terms • Practice notepads

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Poets have grappled with the vexed question of what constitutes Englishness since time immemorial, and the poetry of the past century has seen perhaps some of the biggest evolutions in national identity. Contraflow takes a completely new approach to the subject of Englishness, and in this stimulating and entertaining anthology two poetic currents flow against each other, so that different decades merge, well-known stanzas brushing shoulders with more neglected verse. What emerges is an extraordinary mosaic of poetic responses to English history, culture and landscape - satirical, visionary, lyrical, comic, political, meditative - yet one which offers a recognisable picture of a land both united and divided through a hundred years. A Guardian and Sunday Times poetry book of the year.

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Tom Chivers was born in South London in 1983. His publications include How To Build A City (Salt Publishing, 2009), The Terrors (Nine Arches Press, 2009; shortlisted for the Michael Marks Award for Poetry Pamphlets) and, as editor, the anthologies Generation Txt, City State: New London Poetry and Stress Fractures: Essays on Poetry (Penned in the Margins, 2006, 2009 & 2010). A regular reviewer for Poetry London, he presented a documentary about the poet Barry MacSweeney for BBC Radio 4 in 2009. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 2011.

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