Search results for ""author thames"

Few novelists have written so intimately about a city in the way that Charles Dickens wrote about London. A near-photographic memory made his contact with the city indelible from a very young age and it remained his constant focus. Virginia Woolf maintained that, `we remodel our psychological geography when we read Dickens,’ as he produces `characters who exist not in detail, not accurately or exactly, but abundantly in a cluster of wild yet extraordinarily revealing remarks.’ But the `character’ he was drawn back to throughout his novels was London itself, all aspects of the capital from the coaching inns of his early years to the taverns and watermen of the Thames; these were the constant cityscapes of his life and work. Based on five walks in central London, Peter Clark illuminates the settings of Dickens’s London, his life, his journalism and his fiction. He also explores `The First Suburbs’ (Camden Town, Chelsea, Greenwich, Hampstead, Highgate and Limehouse) as they feature in Dickens’s writing.

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Tales of escape and adventure on Britain's waterways; In The Pull of the River two foolhardy explorers do what we would all love to do: they turn their world upside down and seek adventure on their very own doorstep.; In a handsome, homemade canoe, painted a joyous nautical red the colour of Mae West's lips, Matt and his friend James delve into a watery landscape that invites us to see the world through new eyes.; Over chalk, gravel, clay and mud; through fields, woodland, villages, towns and cities, they reveal many places that otherwise go unnoticed and perhaps unloved, finding delight in the Waveney, Stour, Alde/Ore, upper and lower Thames, Lark, Great Ouse, Granta and Cam, Wye, Otter, Colne, Severn and the Great Glen Trail.; Showing that it is still possible to get lost while knowing exactly where you are, The Pull of the River is a beautifully written exploration of nature, place and friendship, and an ode to the great art - and joy - of adventure.

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'Deliciously funny and highly impudent' - Jon Culshaw FEATURES ILLUMINATING NEW MATERIAL about the original Partygate: a boozy shindig Boris threw while Eton was in the grip of a flu epidemic. Read on for deeper insight into Johnson's psychology, and the hubris and hedonism that would characterise his premiership. Unfortunately for Britain, the teenager isn't too different from the man... ___'My dearest, darling, dapper, dashing Diary,What ho! 'Tis I, the man of the moment (and, indeed, of every moment), Boris Johnson. Today was a balmy summer one, and so your devoted diarist opted to recline upon the bank of the Thames, reflecting on glories of the previous twelvemonth. Naturally, my second year at Eton has been an unbroken string of victories and vindications. I outwitted my rivals, wrote every essay at the last moment, and snuck a metric tonne of Curly Wurlies from the tuck shop. And I only expect to achieve more in the coming year. To paraphrase that fine Olympic slogan: Citius, Altius, Fortius, Borius!'

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When Lord Petre had the effrontery of cutting off a lock of Lady Arabella Fermor’s hair, a veritable war erupted between the two noble families. A mutual friend, saddened by their estrangement, asked Alexander Pope, then a young poet, to write a poem about it, in order to make a joke of it and “laugh them together again”. But the result – which in its ingenuity and poetical brilliance reaches peaks of epic sublime – concealed darker and more dangerous undertones that unleashed an even greater storm between the parties involved – and among the whole literary world of the time. As Belinda glides along the Thames admired for her beauty and the crafty Baron schemes to take his prize, a host of supernatural beings – elves, sylphs, gnomes – dance around them to avoid the impending doom, in what is Pope’s crowning poetical achievement and perhaps the greatest satirical poem ever written. Included in this volume are the original two-canto version of The Rape of the Lock and Pope’s hilarious mock-interpretation of the poem as a seditious work, A Key to the Lock.

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A celebration of British saltmarshes – their character, diversity, wildlife and relationship with people. Saltmarshes are among Britain’s most diverse and dynamic landscapes. They abound around our shores but may also be found inland and at altitude – wherever water, salt and vegetation combine. The species they support range from extreme rarities of specialised habitats to the less demanding denizens of coastal wetlands. Here is a landscape of international importance for migratory birds, endemic plants and an exceptional variety of invertebrates. Clive Chatters has a lifetime’s affinity with saltmarshes. In this fifth volume of the British Wildlife Collection, he celebrates their natural history and diversity, from the highly distinctive marshes in the Scottish Highlands to the urban remnants of the Thames estuary now engulfed within the capital. By examining the past of these complex habitats, we can gain an insight into how they have developed, and an understanding of their relationship with people. In addition to their exceptionally diverse natural history, saltmarshes are sources of food and medicine, they play a pivotal role in flood defence and carbon sequestration, and have inspired artistic endeavour.

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The perfect guide for any gardener looking for inspiration on how to create a pollinator-friendly garden all year round.Pollinators are essential to life on Earth. Yet bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects are struggling due to climate change and habit loss. Fortunately, what we choose to plant in our gardens can help them to thrive. In this heartfelt guide, horticulturalist and Gardener''s World presenter Rachel de Thame highlights plants we can grow that are rich in nectar and pollen, ensuring the garden is filled with beautiful flowers for us all to enjoy year-round.Arranged by season and illustrated with exquisite hand-painted watercolours and glorious photography showcasing many of Rachel''s favourite plants, this book provides a captivating look at how best to support nature. Whether you have a small urban courtyard or a large country garden, A Flower Garden for Pollinators will guide your choice of plants, attracting a host of pol

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A dazzling Dickensian thriller set in a Victorian underworld inspired by Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.It's the Christmas season, and Tiny Tim is now grown up. No longer the pious child the world thought he was, he has just buried his father and is struggling to shed his financial ties to his benevolent 'Uncle' Ebenezer by losing himself in London's dark underbelly. He spends his nights dredging the Thames for dead bodies and the treasures contained in their pockets.One day he comes across a girl's body, branded with a mysterious 'G'. Then he finds another girl with a similar brand - but she is still alive. Determined to protect Philomela and get to the bottom of the mystery, Tim embarks on an astonishing adventure...'With its linguistic razzle-dazzle, Mr. Timothy is a mock-Victorian tour de force - a chilling shocker that touches the heart and makes it race'Wall Street Journal

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The Remorseful Day is the thirteenth and final novel in Colin Dexter's Oxford-set detective series.'Where does this all leave us, sir?' 'Things are moving fast.' 'We're getting near the end, you mean?' 'We were always near the end.'The murder of Yvonne Harrison had left Thames Valley CID baffled. A year after the dreadful crime they are still no nearer to making an arrest. But one man has yet to tackle the case – and it is just the sort of puzzle at which Chief Inspector Morse excels.So why is he adamant that he will not lead the re-investigation, despite the entreaties of Chief Superintendent Strange and dark hints of some new evidence? And why, if he refuses to take on the case officially, does he seem to be carrying out his own private enquiries?For Sergeant Lewis this is yet another example of the unsettling behaviour his chief has been displaying o

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Under his railway arch in Loughborough Junction, South London, Robert Sutton is taking leave of a lifetime of hard work. His dry-cleaning shop lies at the heart of a lively community, a fixed point in a changing world. And, as he explains to his successor, young East Londoner Akeel, it is also the resting place for the contents of his customers' pockets - and for their secrets and lies. As he helps Akeel to make a new life out of his old one, Robert also hands on all he knows of his world: the dirty dip of the Thames; the parks, rare green oases in a desert of high-rises and decaying mansion blocks; and the varied lives that converge at the junction. Humming with life, packed tight with detail, The Room of Lost Things is a hymn of love to a great and overflowing city, and a profoundly human story that holds us in its grip from the first sentence until the last.

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London, 1940. After years of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor-well, to themselves, anyway-Ellie McDonnell and her family have turned over a new leaf as they help the government's war effort. It's true that the straight-laced Major Ramsey didn't give them much choice, but still, Ellie must admit she doesn't miss breaking and entering as much as she might have thought. What she does miss is the challenge of unlocking an impossible code and the adrenaline rush that comes from being somewhere she shouldn't. So when Major Ramsey turns up unannounced with another job, she can't say no. A woman's body has been found floating in the Thames, with a bracelet locked onto her wrist, and a cameo locket attached to it. It's clear this woman was involved in espionage, but whose side was she on? Who was she reporting to? And who wanted her dead?

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In this new, thoroughly updated third edition of Bradt''s The Cotswolds, part of Bradt''s distinctive ''Slow Travel'' series of guides to UK regions, local resident and experienced travel writer Caroline Mills shares her favourite places in a region that remains as popular as ever. Drawing on more than 50 years'' living in the Cotswolds, and combining engaging first-person narrative with authoritative advice, Mills slows readers down and helps them delve deeply into a range of regions: the Cotswolds National Landscape Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB); the Cotswold escarpment, hills and valleys; the Wiltshire Cotswolds and the area known as the Four Shires; three Cotswold ''gateways'' (Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath and Oxford); the lesser-known ''hidden'' fringes of the Cotswolds, including the Oxfordshire Cotswolds, which follow much of the youthful Thames Valley, and the Cotswold Way National Trail. The Cotswolds'' rich manmade heritage includes Oxford University (the world''s ol

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A brilliantly fun search-and-find puzzle book for children from 7+, developed in consultation with the British Museum.Tom's not only lost in time, he's lost his cat, too! Can you find Tom and his naughty cat, Digby, across the pages? Packed with detailed artwork, fascinating Tudor facts and over 100 other things to find - from the royal boat on the Thames to actors at the Globe Theatre - lose yourself in Shakespeare's London with this brilliantly interactive book! The perfect book for fans of Where's Wally!Filled with stylish artwork by award-winning illustrator Fatti Burke.Most of the places mentioned in this book still exist in London today! Why not follow the story and explore where Tom visits?Have you read Tom's other adventures? Find Tom in Time: Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Ming Dynasty China, Ancient Greece, and Michelangelo's Italy.

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The year is 1665. Fourteen-year-old Gwendoline Riston lives in the village of Letchlade on the upper reaches of the River Thames. Her puritan neighbors have long whispered about Gwendoline – her way with animals, her skill with plants, especially her pale skin and white hair. They believe she is a witch. But her father says she looks like an angel here on earth, and her friend Jack is a loyal companion when the village folk shun her.When a terrible plague hits London, threatening the countryside, no one is safe. The villagers blame Gwendoline. “Purge the pale one!” they cry. If that weren’t cause enough to be frightened, Gwendoline’s friend goes missing and her father sets out to search for him, leaving her hidden away in a secret chamber above the porch at St. Giles Church to keep her safe. With only a meager supply of food, Gwendoline must summon all her courage to survive through the long, hot summer.

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Arabella Lane is found dead in the Thames on a frosty winter''s morning after the office Christmas party. No one is sure whether she jumped or was pushed. The one person who may know the truth is the office temp, Eleanor.Having travelled to London to escape the repercussions of her traumatic childhood in Australia, tragedy seems to follow Eleanor wherever she goes. To her horror, she has no memory of the crucial hours leading up to Arabella''s death - memory that will either incriminate or absolve her.Caught in a crossfire of accusations, Eleanor fears she can''t even trust herself, let alone the people around her. And soon, she''ll find herself in a race against time to find out just what happened that night - and discover just how deadly some secrets can be.A tense slow burner with a truly satisfying ending' The SunShortlisted for Best Adult Crime Novel, The Davitt AwardsAn enthralling mystery full of secrets determined to resurfa

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Why does policy succeed or fail? Nick Raynsford, a former MP, Minister and campaigner, tells us how it looks from the front line of policymaking. Based on his vast personal experience at the very heart of government and the voluntary sector, Raynsford explores what works and what doesn’t in making and implementing policy and legislation. He gives an ‘insider’s view’ on a range of events. some not previously made public, including the botched 1980s reform of Housing Benefit, the vacuum left by the 1986 abolition of the Greater London Council, the ill-fated 2002 Fire Service strike and subsequent reform programme, and fitful regeneration in the Thames Gateway in the 2000s. Bringing it right up-to-date, he explores various devolution plans leading up to the so-called ‘Northern Powerhouse’. Offering solutions as to how obstacles in policymaking and implementation can be overcome which will help to restore trust and much-needed confidence in government and the political process, this is a fascinating bridge across the policy and practice divide.

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THE UNMISSABLE BRAND NEW THRILLER FROM RICHARD & JUDY BESTSELLER SHARON BOLTON - POLICE OFFICER LACEY FLINT FACES HER MOST DANGEROUS CASE YET. When a baby is snatched from its pram and cast into the river Thames, off-duty police officer Lacey Flint is there to prevent disaster. But who would want to hurt a child?DCI Mark Joesbury has been expecting this. Monitoring a complex network of dark web sites, Joesbury and his team have spotted a new terrorist threat from the extremist, women-hating, group known as ''incels'' or ''involuntary celibates.'' Joesbury''s team are trying to infiltrate the ring of power at its core, but the dark web is built for anonymity, and the incel army is vast.Pressure builds when the team learn the snatched child was just the first in a series of violent attacks designed to terrorise women. Worse, the leaders of the movement seem to have singled out Lacey as the embodiment of everything they hate, placing her in terrible dan

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Discover the true story about the determined engineer who fixed London’s pollution problem in this funny, accessible nonfiction picture book featuring engaging art from the illustrator of Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine.It’s the summer of 1858, and London’s River Thames STINKS. What is creating this revolting smell? The answer is gross: the river is full of poop. But the smell isn’t the worst problem. Every few years, cholera breaks out, and thousands of people die. Could there be a connection between the foul water and the deadly disease? One engineer dreams of making London a cleaner, healthier place. His name is Joseph Bazalgette. His grand plan to create a new sewer system to clean the river is an engineering marvel. And his sewers will save lives. Nothing stinky about that. With tips for how to prevent pollution today, this fascinating look at science, history, and what one person can do to create change will impress and astound readers who want to help make their planet a cleaner, happier place to live.

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Love conquers allMarriage Made in Rebellion by Sophia JamesSeverely wounded Captain Lucien Howard, Earl of Ross, has a boat waiting to take him home. If Alejandra Fernandez y Santo Domingo remains in his company, the beautiful woman who saved his life will be compromised. Lucien thinks of his family and his ancient crumbling estate. He can't stay in war-torn Spain. Yet he can't bear the thought of letting Alejandra goMarriage Made in Hope by Sophia JamesLady Sephora Connaught knows there is another, more reckless side to her. When she's rescued from the fast-flowing Thames by the wild Francis St Cartmail, Earl of Douglas, her confined world bursts into life. Francis has never fitted in to high society, so why does he feel so connected to and undeniably aroused by this angel of the ton'? But only time will tell if their fragile marriage is enough to banish his demons for ever!

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A beautifully produced account of the signing, impact and legacy of Magna Carta, a document that became one of the most influential statements in the history of democracy, as part of the stunning landmark library series. On a summer's day in 1215 a beleaguered English monarch met a group of disgruntled barons in a meadow by the river Thames named Runnymede. Beset by foreign crisis and domestic rebellion, King John was fast running out of options. On 15 June he reluctantly agreed to fix his regal seal to a document that would change the world. A milestone in the development of constitutional politics and the rule of law, the 'Great Charter' established an Englishman's right to Habeas Corpus and set limits to the exercise of royal power. For the first time a group of subjects had forced an English king to agree to a document that limited his powers by law and protected their rights. Dan Jones's elegant and authoritative narrative of the making and legacy of Magna Carta is amplified by profiles of the barons who secured it and a full text of the charter in both Latin and English.

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The catalogue of an exhibition comparing versions of Monet's Waterloo Bridge at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY. Impressionist master Claude Monet began over forty versions of Waterloo Bridge during his three London sojourns between 1899 and 1901. He viewed his paintings of the landmark bridge both individually and as an ensemble, collectively expressing his sense of the essential subject - the atmosphere and colors of the fog-bound landscape of London's Thames River. Monet struggled to complete these paintings after his return to France, where he re-worked many of the canvases in his Giverny studio, releasing them for sale over the course of several years. The exhibition Monet's Waterloo Bridge: Vision and Process brings together eight paintings from the famous London series. Scholarly essays and an in-depth technical study of the Memorial Art Gallery's Waterloo Bridge, Veiled Sun (1903) explore Monet's artistic vision as well as the process by which he struggled to achieve that vision. NANCY NORWOODis Curator of European Art, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York.

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The first complete history of Southwark, London’s stubbornly independent community over the Thames Southwark’s fortunes have always been tied to those of the City of London across the river. But from its founding in Roman times through to flourishing in the medieval era, the Borough has always fiercely asserted its independence. A place of licence, largely free of the City’s jurisdiction, Southwark became a constant thorn in London’s side: an administrative anachronism, a commercial rival, and an asylum for undesirable industries and residents. In this remarkable history of London’s liberty beyond the bridge, Margaret Willes narrates the life and times of the people of Southwark, capturing the Borough’s anarchic spirit of revelry. Populated by a potent mix of talented immigrants, religious dissenters, theatrical folk, brewers, and sex workers, Southwark often escaped urban jurisdiction—giving it an atmosphere of danger, misrule, and artistic freedom. Tracing Southwark’s history from its Roman foundation to its present popularity as a place to visit, through Chaucer, to Shakespeare, and on to Dickens, Willes offers an indispensable exploration of the City’s unacknowledged mirror image.

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"For those who love boats, architecture and original enquiring minds, this book is a dream. " -Jeremy Irons World-famous architect Renzo Piano and his son Carlo set sail from Genoa one late Summer day, guided by the ancestral desire felt by many explorers before them: to find Atlantis (in Italian, Atlantide). Atlantis is the perfect city, built to harbour a perfect society. This is its true beauty, precious and elusive. Renzo Piano, a man who can not only measure land at a glance but also the sea’s infinite geometry, returns to the places where he has erected his works, mosaic pieces in the infinite, necessary quest for perfection. With his son he sails across the Pacific, along the banks of the Thames and the Seine, reaching as far as Athens, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park and Osaka Bay. In search of beauty, he finds the imperfections that every building project carries within it. And so, all that remains is to sail on.

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An ornate Victorian manor sat in picturesque surroundings overlooking the River Thames at Medmenham, Buckinghamshire. Perhaps not the first place that springs to mind when considering the top-secret photographic interpretation that helped secure an Allied victory in the Second World War, but this was the headquarters of the Allied Central Interpretation Unit. It was here that air photography from all over enemy-occupied Europe was pored over by photographic interpreters, who sought out intricate details of enemy activity which then influenced virtually every Allied operation of the war. These quick-minded men and women were the ones to find out where the infamous German V-weapons were being constructed, were the first to see the results of the Dambusters’ raid and were sworn to utmost secrecy on everything they viewed. Women made up half of this work force and were, unusually, treated as equals with their male counterparts: the best person for the job, regardless of gender. Here the women of Medmenham, the ‘Women of Intelligence’ from Churchill’s daughter to girls escaping home for the first time, tell the story of their wartime life and work – in their own words.

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David Gentleman has lived in London for almost seventy years, most of it on the same street. This book is a record of a lifetime spent observing, drawing and getting to know the city, bringing together work from across his whole career, from his earliest sketches to watercolours painted just a few months ago.Here is London as it was, and as it is today: the Thames, Hampstead Heath; the streets, canals, markets and people of his home of Camden Town; and at the heart of it all, his studio and the tools of his work. Accompanied by reflections on the process of drawing and personal thoughts on the ever-changing city, this is a celebration of London, and the joy of noticing, looking and capturing the world.'David has spent a lifetime depicting with wit and affection a London he has made his own' Alan Bennett 'He delivers a poetry of exultant concentration ... The surface fusion of the sensuous and the sharply modern is echoed by Gentleman's imagery' Guardian 'The artist and illustrator has been responsible for some of the most-seen public artworks in this country' The Times 'Perhaps the last of the great polymath designer-painters' Camden New Journal

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WINNER OF THE JOHN LLEWELLYN RHYS MEMORIAL PRIZE 'Her art is ignited by voice, as you hear it, is unquestionable' ALI SMITH, GUARDIAN 'Distinctive, pared-down style' DAVID EVANS, INDEPENDENT 'Unflinching look at the lives of working-class women' DAILY MAIL Nell Dunn's scenes of London life, as it was lived in the early Sixties in the industrial slums of Battersea, have few parallels in contemporary writing. The exuberant, uninhibited, disparate world she found in the tired old streets and under the railway arches is recaptured in these closely linked sketches; and the result is pure alchemy. In this novel, we witness clip-joint hustles, petty thieving, candid sexual encounters, casual birth and casual death. She has a superb gift for capturing colloquial speech and the characters observed in these pages convey that caustic, ironic, and compassionate feeling for life, in which a turn of phrase frequently contains startling flashes of poetry. Battersea, that teeming wasteland of brick south of the Thames, has found its poet in Nell Dunn and Up the Junction is her touchingly truthful and timeless testimonial to it.

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From the heart of Rosyth naval base in 1978 five volunteers set out on VIC 56, an elderly steamer snatched from a scrapyard fate. With only a basic radio and a compass made usable by one of the crew, they set out down the North Sea. Turned away by some ports and welcomed in others, she began a new life on the London river just as Docklands was being reborn. This was the first of many challenges to keep the steamer going and family, friends, work colleagues and sympathetic visitors were ruthlessly enlisted to help. A rare survivor of wartime shipping, the puffer attracted interest around the Thames estuary and in 1989 sailed across the North Sea to Flushing in Holland. VIC 56 appeared in arts events and in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012 before being donated to Portsmouth Boathouse 4 in 2019 where she is a popular exhibit. Trips were only possible through the heavy work programme of the engineers to keep the engine, boiler and other machinery in good order. This book looks at the challenges for small historic vessel owners and how to stay ahead.

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By the late 1920s the existing trams operated by both the Metropolitan Electric Tramways and the London United Tramways were increasingly aged. Although the long-term future of the tramways was open to doubt, the two operators co-operated in the development of one of the most important types of tram ever built in Britain - the Feltham'. Conceived following detailed research and the construction of a number of prototype cars - facets covered in the book - the production Felthams' all entered service by the early 1930s. However, the LPTB's plans for converting tram routes to trolleybus operation soon saw these modern cars transferred from north of the River Thames to south of the river. Here the production cars mostly survived until the final conversion programme; this was not the end of the story, however, as the majority were sold for further service to Leeds, where the last survivors were to see the final closure of the West Riding system in November 1959. The book explores the story of the Felthams' in London, Leeds and Sunderland where the unique centre-entrance car - MET No 331 - was to operate following withdrawal in the metropolis.

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1864. London is a city in transition. The Constantine Affliction–a strange malady that kills some of its victims and physically transforms others into the opposite sex–has spread scandal and upheaval throughout society. Scientific marvels and disasters, such as clockwork courtesans, the alchemical fires of Whitechapel, electric carriages, and acidic monsters lurking in the Thames, have forever altered the face of the city.Pembroke “Pimm” Halliday is an aristocrat with an interest in criminology, who uses his keen powers of observation to assist the police or private individuals–at least when he’s sober enough to do so. Ellie Skyler, who hides her gender behind the byline “E. Skye,” is an intrepid journalist driven by both passion and necessity to uncover the truth, no matter where it hides.When Pimm and Skye stumble onto a dark plot that links the city’s most notorious criminal overlord with the Queen’s new consort, famed scientist Sir Bertram Oswald, they soon find the forces of both high and low society arrayed against them. Can they save the city from the arcane machinations of one of history’s most infamous monsters–and uncover the shocking origin of . . . THE CONSTANTINE AFFLICTIONSkyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

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Tales of escape and adventure on Britain's waterways; In The Pull of the River two foolhardy explorers do what we would all love to do: they turn their world upside down and seek adventure on their very own doorstep.; In a handsome, homemade canoe, painted a joyous nautical red the colour of Mae West's lips, Matt and his friend James delve into a watery landscape that invites us to see the world through new eyes.; Over chalk, gravel, clay and mud; through fields, woodland, villages, towns and cities, they reveal many places that otherwise go unnoticed and perhaps unloved, finding delight in the Waveney, Stour, Alde/Ore, upper and lower Thames, Lark, Great Ouse, Granta and Cam, Wye, Otter, Colne, Severn and the Great Glen Trail.; Showing that it is still possible to get lost while knowing exactly where you are, The Pull of the River is a beautifully written exploration of nature, place and friendship, and an ode to the great art - and joy - of adventure.

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Join Thomas the Tank Engine on a royal adventure as he attends the Queen's birthday celebrations. The Fat Controller has been invited to the Queen's birthday party, far from the Island of Sodor, in the biggest city in the land, London. And what better engine to take him there than Thomas the Tank Engine. A delighted Thomas makes the long journey to London where he is put on a barge and taken down the Thames seeing Tower Bridge, St Paul's, The Shard, Parliament and many other landmarks along the way. Toddlers will delight in discovering the delights of London with their favourite engine. It's a very proud day for the little blue engine in the big city and a perfect accompaniment to the Queen's birthday celebrations. Great for toddlers aged 2 and up. Thomas has been teaching children lessons about life and friendship for over 75 years. He ranks alongside other beloved character such as Paddington Bear, Winnie-the-Pooh and Peter Rabbit as an essential part of our literary heritage.

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Ahoy and welcome aboard! Experience Europe from an entirely new perspective, sailing on the most beautiful waterways through breathtaking landscapes. Thirty routes complete with photographic illustration and route maps show how compelling, varied, and diverse a river cruise can be on the Danube, the Volga, the Thames, or any other rivers highlighted within this book. Whether on the Shannon River through the raw beauty of the North or along the lovely Loire Valley through France, there is always something unique on the banks to awaken curiosity. At the same time, there is nothing quite as relaxing for the mind and spirit as the element of water. Let this book inspire you to embark on a refined art of travel, one that both excites and encourages you to fully unwind. Do you already have the urge to travel? You will find the highlights of each cruise listed on a practical and clearly outlined route map: Just pinpoint your destination and you are ready to go. Pack your suitcase and head for the sundeck!

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West Ham United: From East End Family to Globalised Fandom is the story of the evolution of West Ham. It charts how a works football team was transformed into a club that represented east London's working classes, only to be transformed again in the late 20th and early 21st centuries into a global brand with supporters in every habitable place on Earth. Starting as the Thames Ironworks Ltd works team, they changed their name to West Ham United in 1900, shortly before moving to the Boleyn Ground in Upton Park. For nearly a century they were supported by local working-class men from across the East End of London until a series of economic, social, cultural, geographical and technological changes brought the club a global fanbase. Through surveying West Ham United fan groups across the world, this book attempts to explain this phenomenon and to get a sense of what the club means to those who originally came from the East End, as well as to those who have no biographical connection to the area.

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The only way to win this murderer’s deadly game… is to play along.Summer, 1380. Brutal and sudden death is not uncommon in the foul alleys and streets of London. The corpse of a clerk has been pulled from the Thames. They drowned, but not before receiving a vicious blow to the back of the head.Then Bartholomew Drayton, a usurer and money-lender, is found dead in his strongroom, a crossbow bolt firmly embedded in his chest: a real mystery because the windowless strongroom was locked and barred from the inside. So who killed him? And how? And are the deaths connected?Sir John Cranston comes to survey the scene. When other clerks are murdered, each with a riddle pinned to his corpse, Cranston enlists the help of Brother Athelstan – and together they must pit their wits against a deadly adversary bent on murder and mayhem.Another thrilling historical mystery from a true master of the genre, perfect for fans of S. G. MacLean, S. J. Parris and C. J. Sansom.

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WHAT MAKES US HAPPY? BILL BAILEY PLAYS CRAZY GOLF AND HUGS TREES TO FIND OUT.'A warm, funny read, full of personal anecdotes and love letters to things that bring Bill Bailey pleasure' Sunday Mirror'Very thoughtful and written in a delightfully humorous and accessible way... Guaranteed to make [you] smile' Daily ExpressIs there a knack to being happy? From paddle-boarding down the Thames in a Santa hat, to wild swimming in a glacial river and cooking sausages on a campfire, Bill revels in the exhilaration of the outdoors, as well as the quieter pleasures of letter-writing, or of simple reflection.In this beautiful and uplifting book, Bill Bailey explores all this and more while delving into the nature of happiness, all in his own, remarkable, way.Packed with wisdom and humour, and with delightful illustrations by the comedian himself, Bill Bailey aims for the heart of pure joy and contentment - and how we can all achieve it.*Bill Bailey: Thoughtifier will tour UK arenas in February and March 2024*

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Welcome to the George Inn near London Bridge; a cosy, wood-pannelled, galleried coaching house a few minutes' walk from the Thames. Grab yourself a pint, listen to the chatter of the locals and lean back, resting your head against the wall. And then consider this: who else has rested their head against that wall, over the last 600 years? Chaucer and his fellow pilgrims almost certainly drank in the George on their way out of London to Canterbury. It's fair to say that Shakespeare will have popped in from the nearby Globe for a pint, and we know that Dickens certainly did. Mail carriers changed their horses here, before heading to all four corners of Britain -- while sailors drank here before visiting all four corners of the world... The pub, as Pete Brown points out, is the 'primordial cell of British life' and in the George he has found the perfect case study. All life is here, from murderers, highwaymen and ladies of the night to gossiping pedlars a

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This report presents an overview of Roman urban development in London south of the Thames. The establishment of the Roman bridge and the first approach roads and landing places, made Southwark an ideal location for the development of facilities for the trans-shipment of goods between land and river. The wide range of data from 41 previously unpublished north Southwark sites provides the means for 'mapping' Roman activity in Southwark: the nature of the early settlement, changing patterns of land use and broader processes of social and economic change. Early land reclamation preceded the establishment of a thriving trade centre involved in the redistribution or marketing of locally processed and imported goods, with evidence of a concentration of buildings burnt in Boudican fire of AD 61 along the main road to the bridgehead. Increased land reclamation and construction of more masonry buildings in the 2nd century AD indicate further growth. By the 3rd century large stone buildings at ten of the sites reported suggest an administrative area housing official residences. After the mid 4th century the settlement contracted to the area immediately around the bridgehead with a cemetery on previously occupied land to the south.

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The vital interconnections that rivers share with the land, the sky, and usRivers are essential to every aspect of civilization, from brewing beer to building computers, yet how many of us understand how they work? Where the River Flows takes you on a journey along our planet’s waterways, providing a scientist’s reflections on the profound interrelationships that rivers have with landscapes, ecosystems, and societies.Drawing on examples ranging from backyard creeks to evocative rivers like the Mississippi, Yangtze, Thames, and Congo, Sean Fleming looks at rivers through the lens of physics, using abundant graphics and intuitive analogies to explore surprising connections between watershed hydrology and the world around us. He explains how river flows fluctuate like stock markets, what “digital rainbows” tell us about climate change and its effects on water, how building virtual watersheds in silicon may help avoid water wars, and more. Along the way, you’ll see what communications theory, fractals, artificial life, and other exciting scientific ideas reveal about the life of rivers.

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Sustainable Brownfield Regeneration presents a comprehensive account of UK policies, processes and practices in brownfield regeneration and takes an integrated and theoretically-grounded approach to highlight best practice. Brownfield regeneration has become a major policy driver in developed countries. It is estimated that there are 64,000 hectares of brownfield land in England, much of which presents severe environmental challenges and lies alongside some of the most deprived communities in the country. Bringing such land back into active use has taken on a new urgency among policymakers, developers and other stakeholders in the development process. Frequently, however, policy thinking and practice has been underpinned by ‘silo’ mentalities, in which integrated and multidisciplinary approaches to problem-solving have been limited. The book has two principal aims. The first is to examine the ways in which science and social science research disciplines can be brought together to help solve important brownfield regeneration issues, with a focus on the UK. The second is to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of different types of regeneration policy and practice, and to show how ‘liveable spaces’ can be produced from ‘problem places’. The Thames Gateway in the south of England and Greater Manchester in the North of England are shown as examples of how brownfield regeneration projects are developing in an era where sustainability is high on the policy agenda. From the Foreword by Paul Syms, National Brownfield Advisor, English Partnerships: ‘Ensuring the effective and efficient reuse of brownfield land is an essential part of the British Government’s land use policies in support of sustainable communities. [This book] recognises that reusing brownfield land is not just about over-coming technical issues to remove contamination or other physical problems with the ground. It highlights the importance of engaging with the many different stakeholders whose opinions and concerns need to be taken into account if sustainable outcomes are to be achieved. The authors also recognise that brownfield land reuse is not just about building new homes or places of employment – the creation of new green spaces can be just as important.’

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Two Journeys is the firsat comprehensive monograph on the work of Michael Webb, an artist who is also a trained architect and who operates at the intersection of the two disciplines. He is widely known for creatively exploring the boundaries of drawing techniques, specifically perspectival projection. Webb's aspirations for and re-conceptions of both built and natural environments are revealed between a twenty-year study on perspective projection that utilizes as its subjects the Regatta Course at Henley-on-Thames in England, and early work, some of which was done in conjunction with Archigram, an avant-garde group concerned with theorizing and critiquing architecture which formed during the 1960s at the Architectural Association in London. The publication connects nearly sixty years of the artist's work into a continuously evolving narrative about the relationship between architecture, the automobile, and landscape. Webb's work investigates these relationships using notions of time, space, and speed, and analogue drawing tools such as pencil and collage, which are often rendered later in oil paint. The book features over 150 drawings: artistic works rooted in analytical thinking and structured around architectural elements and notational systems.

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''Such a warm, uplifting read. It''s a celebration of the bond we have with our oldest friends, and it''s so funny'' Beth O''Leary''A brilliant, funny, insightful exploration of friendship, which properly made me laugh and cry'' Laura Marshall---------Theo has been living in his parents'' shed, nursing a broken heart and a wounded ego, convinced life can''t get any worse. Then he gets evicted on his 30th birthday. Theo thinks he''s done with the real world - until it shows up on his doorstep...Joel is a successful TV scriptwriter, still in love with his teenage sweetheart. A proper grown-up - and yet he''s falling apart at the seams. He''s headed home to reconnect with best friend Theo - except they haven''t spoken since the summer they turned 16.One of them is keeping a secret, and the other is living a lie. But can the promise they once made to walk all 184 miles of the Thames Path help them f

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How far would a young boy go to save his mother from heartbreak? When her controlling husband's body is found in the Thames, Joss returns to her Cornish roots with 12-year-old Ollie, hoping time and change will heal them both. Her confidence increases as she keeps her parents' guesthouse business afloat, despite the attentions of a local land agent with designs on their handsome property. But Joss has a blind spot: her son. Traumatised by the circumstances of his father's death, Ollie has appointed himself her guardian. Unknown to Joss, he has secretly begun to neutralise any perceived threat to her well-being. Then Cal' McCalvey enters their world. Yacht restorer, lifeboat volunteer, neglectful parent, McCalvey's presence enriches but disrupts their lives. Ollie rediscovers joy aboard his exquisite sloop Kara, while an unlikely friendship between Joss and McCalvey evolves into covert romance. But McCalvey's past is about to catch up with him. In nightm

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Discover which prehistoric mammals would once have lived by the River Thames. Take a detailed look at the crystal palace of the Great Exhibition and an early map of the underground. See the locations of medieval plague pits, Tudor inns, eighteenth-century hangings and gangland crime hotspots. London: An Illustrated History offers a new perspective on one of the world's most exciting cities, from Iron Age cemeteries to Victorian sewers, Viking raids to Zeppelin air raids, Roman temples to Jewish ghettos, Georgian brothels to the Great Fire, Roman arenas to the Olympics. Images, objects and expert text from the Museum of London, together with maps old and new, contemporary cartoons and paintings, startling artefacts and vivid reconstructions of ancient buildings, shine a fresh light on all aspects of the city's constantly changing story. Invasions, epidemics, riots, pubs, shrines, crime, gentrification, immigrant communities, urban development and art are all here. Special 'Survivals' sections even show where remains of buildings from London's past can still be seen today.The daily lives of Londoners and the city's chequered history come alive in this book as never before.

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In 2018, reeling from marital, parental, and societal losses, acclaimed poet Todd Boss risked everything to be at one with the world. Boss sold his belongings and began to circle the globe in a series of consecutive housesits. He alternately inhabited thatched-roof farmhouses, hillside estates, urban apartments, and lush gardens in Berlin, Barcelona, Austin, Austria, Marrakesh, Singapore, Baltimore, Auckland, and more. The poems in Someday the Plan of a Town are his only souvenirs. Written under the influence of long walks along the Thames and the Pacific, of mornings at farmers’ markets, train stations, and mountaintop basilicas, Someday the Plan of a Town conjures Spanish dust, English rain, French moss, Arizona cliffs, and Hungarian light, ringing all the while with timeless humor and wisdom. At the same time, these poems concern the most domestic of matters—personal grief and familial estrangement, reflections on a changing nation, and a journey of self-discovery that offers a new meaning of home. As much a commentary on modern-day America as a personal history replete with grief, Someday the Plan of a Town is a sensual, intellectual, and arrestingly musical map of one nomadic troubadour’s journey to self.

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Stepney had tidal mills along the Thames by 1086. In the Middle Ages it provided a land market for Londoners and courtiers. By Tudor times Poplar, Ratcliff and Shadwell were the most populous parts, where shipbuilding, victualling and recruitment had produced a rootless workforce. Subdivision of the large parish had started and ultimately was to leave only Ratcliff and, inland, Mile End Old Town and Mile End New Town. The growth of all the hamlets is traced to c. 1700, besides economic development to c. 1550 and their local government, religious life and charities. Bethnal Green, in the north-west, a parish from 1743 and metropolitan borough from 1900, is described to the present day. It contained Stepney's manor house, offered country retreats by the 16th century, and was settled from the south-west in the 17th when silkweaving preceded the Huguenots. Harsher economic conditions, jerry-building and the spread of factories aggravated poverty and stimulated the concern of outsiders, including Dickens, who advised on the model Columbia market. From the 1890s council housing transformed the scene. This book is intended for local historians, professional and amateur, social, economic, architectural, ecclesiastical, landscape and family historians.

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Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, smuggled wine up the Thames with the help of the Navy. Tony Blair confessed that a stiff drink and half a bottle of wine a night had become a helpful crutch while in office. Joseph Stalin flushed out traitors with vodka. The disintegration of Richard Nixon and Boris Yeltsin was largely down to drink. Winston Churchill was famous for his drinking, often taking a whisky and soda first thing in the morning and champagne ritually with dinner. But why did these politicians drink and what was their tipple of choice? How did drinking shape the decisions they made? Ben Wright, political correspondent for the BBC, explores the history of alcohol within politics, from the debauched drinking practices of eighteenth-century ministers to today, often based on his own experiences supping with politicians in Westminster bars. With exclusive interviews and in-depth research, Order, Order! uses alcohol as a lens through which to meet a remarkable cast of politicians, to understand their times and discover what drove them to drink. A story of boozy bon viveurs - but with many casualties too - and the complexity of the human condition and the pull of the bottle.

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Peter Hay (1951-2003) was a visionary artist. He was a very English painter whose work has a poetic and mystical quality. Eclectic, curious magpie, he found inspiration from everywhere and gathered it into his image-making. He was a fine draughtsman and watercolourist, a brilliantly inventive printmaker. At heart a figurative artist, the work moves into abstraction through striking black and white and a rich use of colour. After studying Fine Art at Reading University, and two years away in Cornwall, Peter Hay settled in Reading for the rest of his life. He had a strong sense of place; the junction of the rivers Thames and Kennet close to his home was a frequent symbolic theme in his work. He became a central figure in the local art community and was an inspirational teacher. In 1994 he founded Two Rivers Press which gave him the opportunity to pursue through illustration his passion for campaigning, his love of poetry and history. This book brings together the range of this prolific artist's work for the first time.

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Having written enthralling biographies of London and of its great river, the Thames, Peter Ackroyd now turns to England itself. This first volume of six takes us from the time that England was first settled, more than 15,000 years ago, to the death in 1509 of the first Tudor monarch, Henry VII. In Foundation, Ackroyd takes us from Neolithic England, which we can only see in the most tantalizing glimpses - a stirrup found in a grave, some seeds at the bottom of a bowl - to the long period of Roman rule; from the Dark Ages when England was invaded by a ceaseless tide of Angles, Saxons and Jutes, to the twin glories of medieval England - its great churches and monasteries and its common law. With his extraordinary skill for evoking time and place, he tells the familiar story of king succeeding king in rich prose, with profound insight and some surprising details. The food we ate, the clothes we wore, the punishments we endured, even the jokes we told are all found here, too.

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A long-awaited re-issue, beautifully redesigned, of Jane Draycott's 'Tideway', a mesmeric sequence of poems about London's working river in a time of transition, with paintings by Peter Hay specifically created for the first edition as companion pieces to the poems. The River Thames can be a dangerous place to work: powerful tides, strong winds, difficult bridges and paralysingly cold water. At the turn of the millennium, Jane Draycott spent several weeks with the London watermen on the city's tugs, barges, and salvage vessels - a community of highly skilled men and women watching their working landscape and their futures change around them week by week: docklands transformed, slipways built over, warehouses converted to luxury apartments. 'Tideway' brings the poems written during that time together with Hay's light-filled paintings and the transcribed words of the watermen themselves. "What Draycott manages in two sentences contains a world. It isn't just the concise audacity of the imagery created here that is persuasive... [her] confidence secures the registers and makes a fine, clear lyric. Moreover, she makes significance out of insignificance. Say it out loud; you'll want to sing it in time. Time's the theme." David Morley

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