Search results for ""kensington""

Often more interesting than great battles, royal weddings or grand state occasions are the weird and wonderful tales of ordinary folk. These memories turn into valuable currency as our familiar world is vandalised in the name of progress… Rantings of the Loon Pant King is a flippant, irreverent and tongue-in-cheek account of Tex Austin’s 'madventures' touring with various 1960s Beat Groups and Mod Bands. After this Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster ride ended he became a fashion guru and the guy who invented loon pants in the early 1970s. Admittedly a dubious claim to fame, but to be fair, absolutely everybody was wearing these outrageous bell-bottoms at the time and many people made a fortune flogging good old loons. Originally sold from the back of a minivan at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival featuring The Who and Hendrix, sales went stratospheric when they hit London’s Kensington Market. Flying off shelves nationwide, the loon pant became iconic throughout the UK as the 'post hippie' uniform, staying in style for half a decade before being displayed at the V&A Museum… Tex reveals all this plus a zillion more rants and escapades on his loony trip.

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A passionate advocate of craftsmanship over mass-production, William Morris (1834– 1896) designed a huge variety of objects, but it is his highly original carpet, fabric and wallpaper patterns that have continued to capture the imagination and exert their influence on the decorative arts. Around 600 such designs are attributed to Morris, of which the vast majority are based on natural forms, including trees, plants and flowers. This beautifully designed, accessibly priced gift book offers a wealth of designs by Morris in which flowers are the principal motif, bringing together not only completed patterns but also working drawings in pen and watercolour, and examples of his pearwood, floral-pattern printing blocks. It also explores examples of the sources that inspired Morris’s flower-based designs: his own gardens at the Red House in Kent, Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire and elsewhere; 16th- and 17th-century herbals; illuminated medieval manuscripts; late medieval and Renaissance tapestries; and a range of decorated objects, particularly from the Islamic world, that Morris studied at the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A). Authored by Rowan Bain, curator at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, north London, and lavishly illustrated with almost 100 colour illustrations, this exquisite book will both inform and delight

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'The most positive advice on menopausal life you will ever read' Daily Mirror'This is the book that encourages you to get off your oestrogen free backside and grab life with both hands' The FT'...(Ruddock) has written a ground-breaking book. Hugely liberating, empowering and transforming' The Independent on SundayThe Second Half of Your Life has been heralded as 'one of the most important women's books for a decade' and 'the manual for women in the second half of their life'. First published in 2011, and revised and updated in 2015, The Second Half of Your Life is one of the first books written on the hormonal changes around menopause as a positive springboard to the rest of a woman's life. Based on the science of hormones, Jill Ruddock provides advice to create a second life of limitless possibilities.All proceeds from this book go to The Second Half Foundation. The Second Half Foundation funds The Second Half Centre (created and opened in 2012) in the NHS St Charles in North Kensington, a place where both men and women can go and live Jill's 'Five A Day', the five components of successful ageing as written in her book.

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Follow in the footsteps of royalty past and present on this journey through England’s capital and beyond to Kew, Hampton Court and Windsor. London has a charm that draws visitors from home and abroad who are looking to explore what England’s capital city has to offer. The fact that for hundreds of years Britain has had a Royal Family is part of that charm, and the unique history of our monarchy forms the basis of Royal London. From palaces and parks to pomp and ceremony, from streets with royal connections to statues commemorating past sovereigns and their consorts, much of today’s royal London is readily available to any visitor who wishes to seek it out. But it is fascinating, too, to reflect on how parts of London came about, thanks to those monarchs who have lived, loved, lost and left a royal footprint. Sites include: Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, Kensington Palace, Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, V&A Museum, Green Park, Hyde Park, Greenwich Observatory, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle. This beautifully illustrated book is part of the Pitkin Royal Collection series, celebrating the lives of the British royal family. Other notable titles in this insightful series include Royal Babies, The Queen and Her Family and Queen Elizabeth II.

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Step into the past to discover a thrilling mystery about a sinister plot to shape and control the future, in this spine-tingling historical adventure from award-winning author Christopher Edge.Penelope Tredwell is the feisty thirteen-year-old orphan heiress of the bestselling magazine, The Penny Dreadful. Her masterly tales of the macabre are gripping Victorian Britain, even if no one knows she's the author. One day, a letter she receives from the governor of the notorious Bedlam madhouse plunges her into an adventure more terrifying than anything she has ever imagined.Why are the patients of Bedlam waking every night at twelve minutes to midnight? What is the meaning of the strange messages they write? Who is the Spider Lady of South Kensington?Penelope is always seeking mysteries to fill the pages of her magazine. But this isn't any ordinary story, it's the future.And the future looks deadly...Spine-tingling historical adventure series with a supernatural twist! From the acclaimed author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright and The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day.'The feisty and courageous Penelope makes the perfect heroine for an adventure packed with exciting twists and turns.' - BookTrustRelated discussion notes and activity ideas available on the Nosy Crow website.

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In Secrets at Bletchley Park by Margaret Dickinson, two young women from very different backgrounds meet in the Second World War and are plunged into a life where security and discretion are paramount. But both have secrets of their own to hide . . .In 1929, life for ten-year-old Mattie Price, born and raised in the back streets of Sheffield, is tough. But Mattie’s neighbours and teachers recognize that the girl is clever beyond her years and they are determined that she shall have the opportunity in life she deserves.Victoria Hamilton, living in the opulence of London’s Kensington, has all the material possessions that a young girl could want. But Victoria's mother lives her life in the social whirl of upper-class society, leaving Victoria in the care of her governess and the servants. At eleven years old, Victoria is sent to boarding school where, for the first time in her young life, she is able to make friends of her own age.Mattie and Victoria are both set on a path that will bring them together at Bletchley Park in May 1940. Together they will face the rest of the war keeping the nation’s secrets and helping to win the fight. But keeping secrets is second nature to both of them . . .

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Visit the Natural History Museum - 100 years ago. Featuring a wealth of stunning black-and-white photographs from the Museum's archives, this book offers a real flavour of life at one of London's oldest and most famous visitor attractions, from Victorian times until just after the Second World War. The photographs go back as far as the 1880s, to the earliest years of the Museum, when only a few horsedrawn carriages plied the streets of South Kensington and elephants and gorillas from distant parts of the British Empire were exhibited for the first time. In later years the Museum gardens were to be dug over for vegetable production during the Second World War and whale carcasses were buried in the grounds to allow the flesh to rot away. The book focuses on the unusual events that have taken place over the years, the characters working at and visiting the Museum, and of course the awe-inspiring specimens. Ranging from the amazing to the amusing, the images are evocative and brimming with period detail. The authors are senior archivists and well placed to share their knowledge of the stories that lie behind the silver-nitrate surface of the old photographic prints.

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'It was a tower block, but it was home.' The early hours of Wednesday 14 June 2017. The north-west corner of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. A twenty-four-storey residential tower. The scene of a national tragedy. This powerful verbatim play is drawn from the testimony of residents – a group of survivors and bereaved – at the heart of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. It reveals the impact of the multiple failures that led to the most devastating residential fire in the UK since the Second World War, and asks: how do we stop this ever happening again? Startling, urgent and deeply moving, Grenfell: in the words of survivors explores the courage and resilience of an ill-treated community and their continued campaign for justice. Created from interviews by Gillian Slovo, the play was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in July 2023, co-directed by Phyllida Lloyd and Anthony Simpson-Pike. 10% of the net proceeds from sales of this book will be donated by the publisher to the Grenfell Foundation, who support the bereaved and survivors in the aftermath of the fire, as well as help them ensure Grenfell is remembered long into the future.

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'What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.' - W.H. DaviesWalking around London is one of life's great pleasures. There is a huge amount that you can only see on foot – but sometimes it is hard to know where to look. Luckily, Christopher Winn, bestselling author of I Never Knew That About London, knows where all the hidden treasures are. This book takes the reader on a series of stimulating original walks through different areas of central London, focusing on one particular period of history, the Victorian, so ubiquitous that we take it for granted, and yet so astonishing and so far reaching in its variety, imagination, ambition and detail.Discover.....the remarkable 300-foot bell tower at the Houses of Parliament you never knew was there.... ..the extraordinary fairytale house in Kensington where the Mikado was inspired.....the best Victorian loos in the world near Old Street... ..a hidden chapel in Bloomsbury described by Oscar Wilde as 'the most delightful private chapel in London'... ..London's best preserved high class Victorian shop near Tottenham Court Road… ...an almost complete Victorian townscape boasting the world's oldest surviving mansion block... Walk through history and discover the hidden gems of Victorian London!

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The royal chef to The Prince & Princess of Wales, Prince William, and Prince Harry shares 50 of her best-loved recipes fit for any teatime event.Former royal chef Carolyn Robb presents sumptuous recipes for tea time inspired by the signature dishes served at 12 of the most popular and luxurious palaces in England. From classic Giant Bourbon Biscuits inspired by Kensington Palace, to Little Scones with Raspberries and Clotted Cream for a Buckingham Palace–inspired garden party, to a White Chocolate and Mint Cake reminiscent of Highgrove House, each delicious recipe offers a taste of the history and tradition of royal British tea parties. ROYAL INSIDER: Carolyn Robb served as a chef to the Royal Family for 11 years, creating everything from intimate family meals to sumptuous formal events. 50 RECIPES: Recreate a royal tea party with sweets, savories, drinks and more. INSPIRING IMAGES: Filled with beautiful food photography and inspiration for setting a tea table fit for a Queen! PALACE TOUR: Take a virtual visit to 12 of the most popular and luxurious Palaces the Royal Family has called home. CLASSICS MADE MODERN: Recipes rely on seasonal ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions so that cooks of every skill level can make palace favorites at home.

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From Dr Annie Gray, presenter of BBC2's Victorian Bakers What does it mean to eat like a queen? Elizabeth gorged on sugar, Mary on chocolate and Anne was known as 'Brandy Nan'. Victoria ate all of this and more. The Greedy Queen celebrates Victoria's appetite, both for food and, indeed, for life. Born in May 1819, Victoria came 'as plump as a partridge'. In her early years she lived on milk and bread under the Kensington system; in her old age she suffered constant indigestion yet continued to over-eat. From intimate breakfasts with the King of France, to romping at tea-parties with her children, and from state balls to her last sip of milk, her life is examined through what she ate, when and with whom. In the royal household, Victoria was surrounded by ladies-in-waiting, secretaries, dressers and coachmen, but below stairs there was another category of servant: her cooks. More fundamental and yet completely hidden, they are now uncovered in their working environment for the first time. Voracious and adventurous in her tastes, Queen Victoria was head of state during a revolution in how we ate - from the highest tables to the most humble. Bursting with original research, The Greedy Queen considers Britain's most iconic monarch from a new perspective, telling the story of British food along the way.

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Across the United States, newsrooms are grappling with systemic racism in their organizations and the media industry. Many have implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives or made other attempts to confront past and present biases in pursuit of greater equity. Are such efforts merely performative, or are any transforming norms and power structures? What would it take to hold newsrooms truly accountable?Andrea Wenzel provides a critical look at how local media organizations in the Philadelphia area are attempting to address structural racism. She focuses on two established, majority-white newsrooms, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the public radio station WHYY, and two start-ups where at least half the staff identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC), Resolve Philly and Kensington Voice. Drawing on more than five years of field research, Wenzel charts how these outlets have pursued a range of interventions—such as tracking the diversity of sources, examining reporting and editing practices, and working with community members to gain input—to varying degrees of success. Wenzel argues that institutional and systemic transformation will be possible only through the establishment of structures that facilitate holding those with more power responsible for listening to and addressing the needs and concerns of those with less. Offering recommendations for building infrastructure that enables sustainable accountability, Antiracist Journalism is an important book for everyone interested in making local journalism more equitable.

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Lady Georgiana Rannoch won't deny that being thirty-fifth in line for the British throne has its advantages. Unfortunately, money isn't one of them. And sometimes making ends meet requires her to investigate a little royal wrongdoing.While my beau Darcy is off on a mysterious mission, I am once again caught between my high birth and empty purse. I am therefore relieved to receive a new assignment from the Queen - especially one that includes lodging. The King's youngest son, George, is to wed Princess Marina of Greece, and I shall be her companion at the supposedly haunted Kensington Palace.My duties are simple: help Marina acclimate to English life, show her the best of London and, above all, dispel any rumours about George's libertine history. Perhaps that last bit isn't so simple.George is known for his many affairs with women as well as men - including the great songwriter Noel Coward. But things truly get complicated when I search the Palace for a supposed ghost only to encounter an actual dead person: a society beauty said to have been one of Prince George's mistresses.Nothing spoils a royal wedding more than murder, and the Queen wants the whole matter hushed. But as the investigation unfolds - and Darcy, as always, turns up in the most unlikely of places - the investigation brings us precariously close to the prince himself.

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San Diego Then and Now pairs up fascinating archive pictures of the city from its Spanish old town origins, to the bright and shining metropolis of today Known to its residents as “America’s Finest City,” San Diego has a mild, inviting climate and stunning coastal scenery. San Diego Then and Now looks at how the city developed from a small village settled by early Franciscan missionaries and the Spanish military. It came under U.S. rule in 1846, but it was not until 1867 when San Francisco speculator and businessman Alonzo E. Horton acquired 960 acres of waterfront land and promoted it as “New Town” that San Diego really began to take off. San Diego Then and Now pairs archival photographs with modern views of the same scene to illustrate the city’s growth since these humble beginnings. It shows how the city’s architecture still reflects and preserves its Spanish heritage but also incorporates modern glass skyscrapers and Victorian mansions. Sites include: Horton Plaza, U.S. Grant Hotel, Stingaree District, Speckels Theatre, Fifth Avenue, Seaport Village, Embarcadero, Star of India, Coronado, Hotel del Coronado, Santa Fe Depot, Carnegie Library, El Cortez Hotel, Long-Waterman Mansion, Villa Montezuma, The Prado, San Diego Zoo, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego High School, Hillcrest, City Heights, Kensington, La Casa de Estudillo, Casa de Bandini, Whaley House, Junipero Serra Museum, Ballast Point, Point Loma, Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach.

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Founded as a boutique mail-order service in 1963, Biba - the brainchild of designer Barbara Hulanicki - quickly gained cult status, and outgrew several London premises before landing at 99 - 117 Kensington High Street in 1973 as 'Big Biba', 'the most beautiful store in the world'. This book tells the story of the Biba years, from the first ensembles, through the four iconic London shops, to the eventual flourishing of a lifestyle brand that revolutionized British retail and fashion culture. Featuring a wealth of previously unpublished material, including early fashion illustrations by Hulanicki and full-colour facsimiles of the six luxurious Biba catalogues, The Biba Years investigates the innovative ethos of the company - the first retailer to bring affordable fashion to the young consumers of the 1960s and '70s. Extensive garment photography documents the unique Biba 'look', while archival images provide a glimpse into the glamorous surrounds of the hugely popular London stores. An ideal companion to A to Biba: The Autobiography of Barbara Hulanicki (V&A, 2018), this beautiful book incorporates many personal insights from the designer and her contemporaries at Biba, and includes new illustrations by Hulanicki created specially for the publication. The Biba Years provides the last word on a fashion phenomenon, whose extensive impact on the fashion industry can still be felt today.

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'Compulsively readable . . . thrilling' – Sunday Telegraph'Brings alive a glamorous, swashbuckling heroine' – Sunday TimesIn June 1952, a woman was murdered by an obsessive colleague in a hotel in South Kensington. Her name was Christine Granville – Churchill's favourite spy. That she died young was perhaps unsurprising. That she had survived the Second World War was remarkable.The daughter of a feckless Polish aristocrat and his wealthy Jewish wife, Christine fled to Britain on the outbreak of war and persuaded MI6 to make her their first female recruit. She took on mission after mission, skiing into occupied Poland, serving in Egypt and later parachuting into occupied France.Her quick wit, courage and determination won her release from arrest more than once, and she saved the lives of several fellow officers, including one of her many lovers just hours before he was due to be executed by the Gestapo.Of more strategic importance, the intelligence she smuggled to Britain, and her service in France, including single-handedly securing the defection of an entire Nazi German garrison, was a significant contribution to the Allied war effort. She was awarded the George Medal, the OBE and the Croix de Guerre.In The Spy Who Loved Mulley has brought Christine vividly to life – a complex, courageous and very effective special agent who deserves to be better remembered.

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A gem of a book.' Graham Tomlin, Bishop of Kensington Many of our everyday encounters in the world are touched by the divine, if we were only aware of it. We may find it impossible to miss God in the great interruptions of human existence, but God often finds a humbler dwelling-place . . . Donna Lazenby was in a packed underground carriage when it was taken siege by a group of musicians ripe to start a ceilidh. The eruption into dull passivity of joy seemed a herald of the Kingdom of God. And so she began to write a series of reflections, some prosaic, others more poetic in tone, that open up ways of seeing light in darkness; love in places of desolation; in-breaking life when all seems tired and old. But the coming of this Kingdom is also revealed in protest, in the world’s cry against a pervasive sense of alienation, while an allegedly ‘secular’ culture steals and presents the claims of the Gospel as its own. And so, Divine Sparks calls us to be prophets: visionaries able to discern and proclaim God’s incoming Kingdom, as it arrives by day – and night. Praise for the author’s A Mystical Theology (Bloomsbury, 2014): ‘[Written] with elegance and originality’ Catherine Pickstock, Professor of Metaphysics and Poetics, University of Cambridge

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Across the United States, newsrooms are grappling with systemic racism in their organizations and the media industry. Many have implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives or made other attempts to confront past and present biases in pursuit of greater equity. Are such efforts merely performative, or are any transforming norms and power structures? What would it take to hold newsrooms truly accountable?Andrea Wenzel provides a critical look at how local media organizations in the Philadelphia area are attempting to address structural racism. She focuses on two established, majority-white newsrooms, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the public radio station WHYY, and two start-ups where at least half the staff identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC), Resolve Philly and Kensington Voice. Drawing on more than five years of field research, Wenzel charts how these outlets have pursued a range of interventions—such as tracking the diversity of sources, examining reporting and editing practices, and working with community members to gain input—to varying degrees of success. Wenzel argues that institutional and systemic transformation will be possible only through the establishment of structures that facilitate holding those with more power responsible for listening to and addressing the needs and concerns of those with less. Offering recommendations for building infrastructure that enables sustainable accountability, Antiracist Journalism is an important book for everyone interested in making local journalism more equitable.

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George Orwell once said that the British love a really good murder. He might have added that the only thing the British love more than a good murder is a really good scandal, and best of all are the sexual and political scandals that take place behind the gilded doors of Britain's royal palaces. From Edward II's intimate relationship with Piers Gaveston to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's dramatic exit from the royal family, the royal residences have seen it all. This glorious romp of a book contains new information on well-known and not-so-well-known scandals, including those that have only recently been revealed through the release of previously secret official papers. Exploring surviving palaces such as Kensington as well as long -vanished residences including Whitehall, Scandals of the Royal Palaces is the first in-depth look at the bad behaviour of not just the royals themselves but also palace officials, courtiers, household servants and hangers-on. Delving into the bitter hatreds that generations of King Georges nursed for their eldest sons, Queen Victoria's opium -fuelled rages and Edward VII's near-miss perjury conviction, royal expert Tom Quinn reveals that scandal and the royal family have always been bedfellows. And if the behaviour of today's royals is anything to go by, the glittering palaces will continue to house intriguing, embarrassing and outrageous scandals for centuries to come.

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WATERSTONES' BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2023: PUZZLES AND HUMOURThe crime is simple: a valuable gemstone known as The Tiger's Eye was stolen from the Kensington Museum in the year 1926. The case was investigated by one Detective Inspector Jane Waterstone. Can you step into Jane's shoes and solve the case? A beautiful, intricate puzzle book with an intriguing mystery that places you at the heart of the story - Agatha Christie meets Murdle.The Museum Heist is an interactive book where murder mystery meets escape room-style puzzle solving, in an epic adventure for all the family. Put yourself to the test, and follow the story, working your way through a whole host of challenges - from deciphering clues at crime scenes and searching for hidden pieces of evidence in the pages - to satisfy your inner detective. Look out also for interactive elements within the book that will take each mystery to a whole new level.'I'm just mad about the Mystery Agency, and even madder about Henry Lewis. Like, it makes me actually mad how wonderfully talented he is at puzzle creation and storytelling. This book is an utter delight, one that should be in the collection of any sharp thinker. I hated how much I loved it. Can't recommend it enough.'-- Neil Patrick Harris, puzzle-master and award-winning actor

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Surviving Poverty carefully examines the experiences of people living below the poverty level, looking in particular at the tension between social isolation and social ties among the poor. Joan Maya Mazelis draws on in-depth interviews with poor people in Philadelphia to explore how they survive and the benefits they gain by being connected to one another. Half of the study participants are members of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, a distinctive organization that brings poor people together in the struggle to survive. The mutually supportive relationships the members create, which last for years, even decades, contrast dramatically with the experiences of participants without such affiliation. In interviews, participants discuss their struggles and hardships, and their responses highlight the importance of cultivating relationships among people living in poverty. Surviving Poverty documents the ways in which social ties become beneficial and sustainable, allowing members to share their skills and resources and providing those living in similar situations a space to unite and speak collectively to the growing and deepening poverty in the United States. The study concludes that productive, sustainable ties between poor people have an enduring and valuable impact. Grounding her study in current debates about the importance of alleviating poverty, Mazelis proposes new modes of improving the lives of the poor. Surviving Poverty is invested in both structural and social change and demonstrates the power support services can have to foster relationships and build sustainable social ties for those living in poverty.

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The story of Alpha is of major significance for understanding the place of religious faith in the modern world, but that story has never been told - until now.Since its launch in 1993, the Alpha movement has evolved from 'supper party evangelism' in the Kensington suburbs into a global brand of Christian outreach. Today, over a million people attend Alpha every year, but the history of its rise to popularity has never been documented. What caused such spiritual renewal in an age of scepticism? And what propelled Alpha into a phenomenon that is recognised across the globe?Alpha is far more than an introductory course to Christianity. At the core of its brand identity is a 'repackaging' of the Christian message for contemporary audiences. Innovation and cultural adaptability are built into Alpha's DNA, one of the chief reasons for its longevity and influence. Nimbly utilising the multimedia and digital revolutions, it has contextualised into cultures and languages across the planet. And led by charismatic, savvy individuals, it has attracted people from across the social spectrum, making waves in national media.Andrew Atherstone leaves no stone unturned as he presents this fascinating history. With exclusive access to original archives, Atherstone recounts the miraculous stories of HTB's early years, the first full account of Nicky Gumbel's conversion, and the strategic decisions that launched Alpha onto the global stage of Christian influence.With sharp historical analysis, Andrew Atherstone uncovers the story of Christian resurgence in our contemporary age.

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Britain is packed to the gunnels with places to visit that many regard as sacred, from iconic sites such as Iona, Lindisfarne and Stonehenge to more out-of-the-way pilgrimage destinations, stone circles, holy wells and obscure corners. Then there are places that appeal to a particular following, places of philosophical or celebrity interest such as Karl Marx's tomb in Highgate cemetery, Princess Diana's statue or, for sporting enthusiasts, Twickenham rugby stadium. This book, first published in 2011 as Sacred Britain, has been thoroughly revised with additional sites and re-packaged as part of Bradt's award-winning series of Slow travel guides to regions - and aspects - of the UK. Updates have been included, including to Stonehenge, Tintagel and Monkwearmouth-Jarrow, as well as new locations such as Goat's Hole Cave on the Gower Peninsula, Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire, Stanton Drew in Somerset and St Nectan's Glen in Cornwall. Also new is the memorial to Princess Diana in Kensington Palace Gardens, which is included in addition to the island on the Althorp estate on which she is buried. Sites in England, Wales and Scotland are featured, from far-flung islands to ancient chalk hill carvings, hot springs and sites of myth, legend and apparition; and from soaring cathedrals to Buddhist and Hindu temples, shrines to martyred saints, irreligious philosophers and immortal rock stars - locations revered for their connections with art, music, literature, sport, crime; and places holding emotional associations for those with ancestral roots on Britain.

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The story of Alpha is of major significance for understanding the place of religious faith in the modern world, but that story has never been told - until now.Since its launch in 1993, the Alpha movement has evolved from 'supper party evangelism' in the Kensington suburbs into a global brand of Christian outreach. Today, over a million people attend Alpha every year, but the history of its rise to popularity has never been documented. What caused such spiritual renewal in an age of scepticism? And what propelled Alpha into a phenomenon that is recognised across the globe?Alpha is far more than an introductory course to Christianity. At the core of its brand identity is a 'repackaging' of the Christian message for contemporary audiences. Innovation and cultural adaptability are built into Alpha's DNA, one of the chief reasons for its longevity and influence. Nimbly utilising the multimedia and digital revolutions, it has contextualised into cultures and languages across the planet. And led by charismatic, savvy individuals, it has attracted people from across the social spectrum, making waves in national media.Andrew Atherstone leaves no stone unturned as he presents this fascinating history. With exclusive access to original archives, Atherstone recounts the miraculous stories of HTB's early years, the first full account of Nicky Gumbel's conversion, and the strategic decisions that launched Alpha onto the global stage of Christian influence. With sharp historical analysis, Andrew Atherstone uncovers the story of Christian resurgence in our contemporary age.

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A vivid portrait of Queen Victoria’s childhood, offering new insights into one of the most celebrated, but often misunderstood, monarchs in British history, 200 years after her birth This beautiful, extensively researched volume investigates the birth and early life of one of the most familiar British monarchs, Queen Victoria (1819–1901). A wealth of material, including many unexamined sources and unpublished images, sheds new light on Victoria’s youth. Included here are portraits of the queen as princess, childhood diaries and sketchbooks, clothing, jewelery, and correspondence. Deirdre Murphy paints a vivid picture of Victoria’s early years. Among her most surprising conclusions is the idea that the queen’s personal mythology of a childhood characterized by sadness and isolation is less accurate than is generally thought. Victoria’s personal relationships are brought brilliantly to life, from her affectionate but increasingly suffocating bond with her mother, the Duchess of Kent, to the controlling influence of Sir John Conroy, a man she came to despise, and her courtship with Prince Albert. Lesser-known figures are also explored, including Victoria’s first schoolmaster the Reverend George Davys, her governess Louise Lehzen, and her half-sister Feodora. This fascinating cast of characters enhances our image of Victoria, who emerges as both willful and submissive, fickle and affectionate, and with the explosive temper of her Hanoverian ancestors. Published in association with Historic Royal PalacesExhibition Schedule:Kensington Palace (May 24—December 2019)

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London's streets have always worn a variety of influences, reflecting the diverse crowds who live and work on them. Take a walk down any number of historic streets and an abundance of tales exist in the bricks and mortar, waiting to be told. The Hidden Lives of London's Streets takes the reader on a journey through Soho, Piccadilly, Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Kensington, Fitzrovia and Clerkenwell. A street map is provided for each area, marking out the streets and buildings in which the various activities - some forgotten, others well-remembered - took place.Stories include those of courtesans such as the notorious Lola Montez and Theresa de Cornelys, who gave lavish balls at their home in Soho Square which were little more than orgies, during which a man playing the violin while on roller skates crashed through her plate glass window; Casanova and his quarrel with Marianne Charpillon after he taught a parrot to say she was a 'whore'; clubs - great (the Gargoyle), the artistic (Muriel Belcher's Colony), and the small (Royston Smith's club for dwarves); the police; robberies; murder and executions; the nightclubs; cinemas and theatres; the villains and prostitution. Beyond mere gangs and criminality, the book will trace the social changes that have gradually unfolded on any given street. For example the metamorphosis of Old Compton Street as home to race gangs in the 1920s, to becoming an essentially Italian street, to being part of the gay community.

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Surviving Poverty carefully examines the experiences of people living below the poverty level, looking in particular at the tension between social isolation and social ties among the poor. Joan Maya Mazelis draws on in-depth interviews with poor people in Philadelphia to explore how they survive and the benefits they gain by being connected to one another. Half of the study participants are members of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, a distinctive organization that brings poor people together in the struggle to survive. The mutually supportive relationships the members create, which last for years, even decades, contrast dramatically with the experiences of participants without such affiliation. In interviews, participants discuss their struggles and hardships, and their responses highlight the importance of cultivating relationships among people living in poverty. Surviving Poverty documents the ways in which social ties become beneficial and sustainable, allowing members to share their skills and resources and providing those living in similar situations a space to unite and speak collectively to the growing and deepening poverty in the United States. The study concludes that productive, sustainable ties between poor people have an enduring and valuable impact. Grounding her study in current debates about the importance of alleviating poverty, Mazelis proposes new modes of improving the lives of the poor. Surviving Poverty is invested in both structural and social change and demonstrates the power support services can have to foster relationships and build sustainable social ties for those living in poverty.

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Housing is the basic building block of any city, dictating its character, scale, and structure. London is often associated with terraced houses and garden squares, but is also significantly characterised by large, purpose-built blocks of flats, otherwise known as mansion blocks. This landmark survey commissioned by The Architecture Foundation looks at the evolution of the London mansion block from the 1850s to the present day, offering a detailed encounter with the type and its role in defining the contemporary city. Covering twenty-seven examples, richly illustrated by newly com-missioned drawings and photographs, this volume reflects on the architectural ambitions and lived realities of these quotidian buildings. Architectural and urban designer Karin Templin con-siders the ways in which the mansion block came to define large areas of the city from Westminster and South Kensington in the nineteenth century to Kilburn and Stratford in the twenty-first. Reflecting London's development from its consolidation as a metropolis in the high Victorian era to its present efforts to address a longstanding housing crisis, this volume explores the mansion block's centrality to the capital's identity and its wider relevance to discussions of housing and urban planning. This book is first in a series on types of London housing, reflecting on the place of the home in the city in the light of its longstanding housing crisis. Photographs by Matthew Blunderfield Co-published with The Architecture Foundation

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‘He seems perfection and I think that I have the prospect of very great happiness before me…’ Victoria in a letter of 15 October 1839 One of the greatest royal love matches of all time was that of Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert. The English princess, born at Kensington Palace in 1819, and the German prince were cousins, and first met when Victoria was 16. At their second meeting in 1839 she, by now Queen Victoria, proposed to him and they married the following year. Victoria and Albert’s romance marked a turning point for Britain’s royal family, and to the queen in particular love and marriage proved a source of strength and comfort. The two young people were brought together, like so many royal couples, by the scheming of matchmakers. The aftermath was not always easy. Albert’s adopted country remained wary of his intelligence and seriousness, most people as unaware of his private playfulness as they were of the contrasting aspects of Victoria’s own character. Victoria and Albert tells of a young couple’s love: how the two grew up, what they were like, how they first met. Love deepened within their marriage, as they became partners in private and in public, at home with their family and ever on duty as sovereign and consort. This beautifully illustrated book is part of the Pitkin Royal Collection series, celebrating the lives of the British royal family. Other notable titles in this insightful series include Royal Babies, The Queen and Her Family and Queen Elizabeth II.

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"I'm so glad that a new edition is coming! A wonderful, inspirational and essential book for Christie-lovers." Lucy Worsley, author of Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman (Hodder & Stoughton, 2022) ‘My dear home, my nest, my house’: these words from a 1958 song by Jules Bruyère, with which Agatha Christie opened her autobiography, sum up the importance of home to her. She also wrote: ‘What I liked playing with as a child I have liked playing with later in life. Houses for instance.’ She also lovingly included descriptions of houses (especially ‘her’ houses) in her books. Hilary Macaskill examines the houses that meant most to Agatha Christie, including her childhood home, Ashfield, in Torquay; Winterbrook in Oxfordshire, and, above all, Greenway, soaring above the River Dart and Agatha’s favourite home from 1938 to the end of her life in 1976 (though requisitioned in the Second World War by the Admiralty, and from 1943 to 1945 home also to the United States Coast Guard). The author also explores more temporary abodes, not only a succession of flats and houses in London (mainly in Kensington and Chelsea) but also the homes she set up at the digs in the Middle East that she travelled to with her archaeologist husband, Max Mallowan, and the hotels – notably the Moorland Hotel on Dartmoor, to which she adjourned in the grip of writer’s block to complete her first detective novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and the Burgh Island Hotel, a major inspiration for And Then There Were None and Evil Under the Sun.

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An examination of the garden plans of eighteenth-century landscape architect Charles Bridgeman, shedding light on his artistic vision and contributions to English garden history. Charles Bridgeman was a popular and highly successful landscape architect in the first part of the eighteenth century. He was Royal Gardener to George I and George II, designing the gardens at Kensington Palace for them and working for many of the ruling Whig elite, including Sir Robert Walpole at Houghton Hall in Norfolk. His landscapes were audacious and monumental, but he is barely known outside the world of academic garden history; most of his gardens have disappeared, changed out of all recognition to chime with later tastes shaped by Lancelot Brown's vision of a more "natural" landscape, or buried under housing developments and golf courses; and there is little archaeological or written evidence of his work. This book aims to redress this injustice and rescue his legacy. It draws on the only significant body of evidence which survived him: an extensive but wildly heterogenous corpus of garden plans. Close examination of them reveals an artistic vision heavily influenced by the late seventeenth-century geometric garden but deeply rooted in the "genius of the place", and working methods that include a proto-business model which prefigures the gentleman improvers who followed him. The volume brings him from obscurity to demonstrate his skill as an artist, a manipulator of space on a grand scale and a consummate practitioner, a deserved member of the canon of famous and revered English landscape gardeners.

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WINNER OF THE PORTICO PRIZE 'A distinctive new voice for fans of 'Fleabag' or Sally Rooney' Independent'Raw, intimate and authentic' The Sunday Times'Gorgeous . . . Andrews's writing is transportingly voluptuous, conjuring tastes and smells and sounds like her literary godmother, Edna O'Brien.' New York TimesWhen Lucy wins a place at university, she thinks London will unlock her future. It is a city alive with pop up bars, cool girls and neon lights illuminating the Thames at night. At least this is what Lucy expects, having grown up seemingly a world away in working-class Sunderland, amid legendary family stories of Irish immigrants and boarding houses, now defunct ice rinks and an engagement ring at a fish market. Yet Lucy's transition to a new life is more overwhelming than she ever expected. As she works long shifts to make ends meet and navigates chaotic parties from East London warehouses to South Kensington mansions, she still feels like an outsider among her fellow students. When things come to a head at her graduation, Lucy takes off for Ireland, seeking solace in her late grandfather's cottage and the wild landscape that surrounds it, wondering if she can piece together who she really is. Lyrical and boundary-breaking, Saltwater explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, the challenges of shifting class identity and the way that the strongest feelings of love can be the hardest to define.'Luminous' Observer'Lyrically poetic' Evening Standard'Disarmingly honest . . . I wish I had read this when I was 19.' Guardian

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Elizabeth Huntsinger, the author of two popular Low Country ghost-story collections, returns with a third volume of 18 stories. In this collection, she moves beyond local haints and tells about eerie events and unsolved mysteries from the area. Included are stories about a treasure buried along the Sampit River during the Civil War; the pirate Drunken Jack; Tom Yawkey and his beloved Cat Island; the mysterious fire that destroyed Kensington Park; the Pawleys Island Pavilion; George Trenholm and the lost money from the Confederate treasury; and the Sea View Inn on Pawleys Island. A tired, hungry slave woman, upset at being denied her supper one night, places a curse on her plantation that lasts a hundred years. At Magnolia Beach, a mermaid trapped in a bathing house gazes fervently at her storm ball and calls forth a hurricane that sets her free—and kills most members of the family that held her captive. In 1953, the lovely Fiddler’s Green washes up high and dry on the southern end of Pawleys Island. The two brothers who buy her for salvage leave the scene for only thirty minutes—just long enough to find a body hanging from the mast when they return. Actors at Georgetown’s Strand Theatre start to question their sanity one night after a performance. But then Granny Ghostbuster herself arrives to confirm the ghostly presences they feel. Popular folklorist, storyteller, and tour guide Elizabeth Huntsinger is at her best in this collection of nineteen tales from that most mysterious and haunted of places, Georgetown County.

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An audacious, compassionate state-of-the-nation novel about four strangers whose lives collide with far-reaching consequences. Beatrice Kizza, a woman in flight from a homeland that condemned her for daring to love, flees to London. There, she shields her sorrow from the indifference of her adopted city, and navigates a night-time world of shift-work and bedsits. Howard Pink is a self-made millionaire who has risen from Petticoat Lane to the mansions of Kensington on a tide of determination and bluster. Yet self-doubt still snaps at his heels and his life is shadowed by the terrible loss that has shaken him to his foundations. Carol Hetherington, recently widowed, is living the quiet life in Wandsworth with her cat and The Jeremy Kyle Show for company. As she tries to come to terms with the absence her husband has left on the other side of the bed, she frets over her daughter's prospects and wonders if she'll ever be happy again. Esme Reade is a young journalist learning to muck-rake and doorstep in pursuit of the elusive scoop, even as she longs to find some greater meaning and leave her imprint on the world. Four strangers, each inhabitants of the same city, where the gulf between those who have too much and those who will never have enough is impossibly vast. But when the glass that separates Howard's and Beatrice's worlds is shattered by an inexcusable act, they discover that the capital has connected them in ways they could never have imagined.

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Nelson's history has been written from every possible angle, but this is not so with his ships. Such information as there is about the ships is buried in contemporary books on naval architecture; only the expert can sift it and present it in a usable form. In doing this, Dr. Longridge's 1955 work quickly became a veritable treasure trove for the naval historian and ship modeler. H.M.S. Victory is the supreme example of the ships of the period, and fortunately she is still in existence. The original draughts of 1765 have been preserved, as have also the drawings used in the restoration of the ship in 1922. The author was thus able to compile from authentic sources and his model of the Victory now occupies a prominent position in the Science Museum at South Kensington. The illustrations are a unique feature. They include a set of photographs showing the interior construction of H.M.S. Victory and H.M.S. Implacable, the latter being taken only a few days before she was scuttled. The book features over 180 line drawings, designed by E. Bowness, A.R.I.N.A., and executed by G.F. Campbell, Assoc. M.R.I.N.A., ranging from elaborate perspective drawings of the complex gear at the fore top and crosstrees to the simplest detail. The folding plates by G.F. Campbell (which measure 560 x 400 mm and 235 x 450 mm) include lines, inboard and outboard profile, deck plans of the hull, standing and running rigging plans, and a complete belaying pin plan. Such an analysis of the ship of this period had never before been attempted.

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The brand new series, perfect for fans of DOWNTON ABBEY, from the author of the hugely successful MORLAND DYNASTY novelsBehind the doors of the magnificent Ashmore Castle, secrets are waiting to be uncovered . . .1901. When the Earl of Stainton dies in a tragic hunting accident, Giles, the eldest son of the noble Tallant family, must step forward to replace him as the head of the family. But Giles has avoided the Castle and his stifling relatives for years, deciding instead to forge his own path away from the spotlight. Now, he must put aside his ambitions and honour his duty to the family.With their world upended, the Tallants and their servants struggle to find their place in the house - and society - once again. And Giles realises that, along with the title and the castle, he's also inherited his father's significant financial troubles that threaten the security of his entire family.In Kensington, Kitty Bayfield, the painfully shy but moneyed daughter of a Baronet, has just left school with her penniless companion Nina. Nina captures the new Earl's heart, but only Kitty can save his family from their debts, and soon Giles must choose between his duty and his heart . . .The Secrets of Ashmore Castle is the first in a brand new historical family drama series, filled with heartbreak, romance and intriguing secrets waiting to be uncovered. The perfect read for fans of Downton Abbey, Bridgerton and rich period dramas. Don't miss the next book, The Affairs of Ashmore Castle.

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No other large city is more rewarding to wander around, with a wealth of interesting things to see, both grand and intimate in scale. Watercolor painter Graham Byfield set out to capture the essence of the place, and his impressions are recorded in the London Sketchbook Britain’s capital is varied and cosmopolitan. It has no formally planned centre; each area has its own particular style and atmosphere. Central London is the setting for parliament, royal palaces, formal squares and grand hotels. The City is the financial district, but it is also rich in architecture, including Sir Christopher Wren’s greatest work. Much was destroyed here in the Second World War; but the City has seen a flowering of daring and innovative modern architecture, contrasting with the sober mass of the Tower of London, parts of it nearly a thousand years old. Byfield savours the village-like atmosphere of Hampstead and Islington to the north, and the 19th-century residential and museum areas of the west, from Chelsea and Kensington up to Notting Hill and Bayswater. For many people, including many Londoners, much that lies south of the River Thames is undiscovered territory, but the London Sketchbook shows not only the formal splendors of Greenwich, but also the terraced houses of Stockwell and Battersea, and the adaptation of great industrial buidlings such as the Bankside Power Station, now the Tate Modern art gallery. The sketches are accompanied by notes handwritten by the artist. There is an introduction on London, its history and its buildings by the architectural writer and conservationist Marcus Binney, who has also contributed a Gazetteer with more detailed information on the buildings shown in the book.

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*Don’t miss The Stranger in Our Bed… Now a major motion picture starring Samantha Bond, Emily Berrington and Ben Lloyd-Hughes* ‘One of the deadliest female assassins I’ve ever encountered in fiction’ Brendan DuBois, New York Times-bestselling author of The End with James Patterson Killing Eve meets Jason Bourne… The house of killers always had one objective: to train a class of warriors that would elevate the Network from the national to the international – the amateur to the elite. It was the perfect poison… Radicalisation by virtue of not knowing any different. They never expected their most notorious child to claw his way back to the beating heart of MI5. Consumed by hurt and rage, Michael Kensington has his own objective: Neva. But as the body count rises like a tide that will sweep them all into oblivion, Neva will stop at nothing to make him understand that everything is at stake. Because there’s only one way to push back against the tide… Together. Kill a Spy is the third jaw-dropping instalment in The House of Killers series, a captivating spy thriller perfect for fans of Caroline Kepnes and Alex Gerlis. Praise for The House of Killers: ‘Fast-paced and impeccable, this is writing at its very best … It was almost dawn by the time I finished … It demands to be read in a single sitting. An absolute triumph!’ Awais Khan, author of In the Company of Strangers ‘Wow, what a read! Buckle up for a thrilling ride through a labyrinth of secrets, lies and betrayals, in a shadowy world where no one and nothing can be trusted. And where death is just the slash of a knife away’ Abbie Frost, author of The Guesthouse

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'Viciously funny' Daily MailWelcome to one of the nicest streets in one of London's vilest boroughs: a determined middle-class oasis of skips and bay trees, where Volvos sniff each others' bumpers and men called Giles live with women called Samantha.This is a satellite-dish-free zone of tall houses, standing shoulder to shoulder with big front doors, five floors apiece. Come inside, shut the door and smell the coffee: you could almost be in Kensington. This is where the actors, writers and media types live, where small children wearing smart uniforms and shoes in the shape of lightbulbs get ferried every day to schools that are not local. Some people are luckier than others; fortune smiles on some and gobs on the rest. Jo Metcalf (no. 95) smokes and spies on the smug Cunninghams down the street as they play their bile-inducing game of happy families. Why is the grass greener on the other side of the fence? But happiness is a fragile thing and hairline cracks in a perfect world can become craters of misery . . .Full of comic insight and realistic observation of contemporary British life, this is the debut novel from Sunday Times bestseller Jenny Eclair._____________________PRAISE FOR JENNY ECLAIR:'Wonderfully written, insightful and riveting' Daily Mail'Both heart-rending and compelling' Clare Mackintosh'SO immersive, atmospheric and compelling' Marian Keyes'Witty, moving, dark and absorbing' Jo Brand'An elegant, gripping and mesmeric read' Helen Lederer'An absolute page-turner of a story' Judy Finnigan'Compelling, compassionate and keenly observed' Independent___________Don't miss the unforgettable new novel from Jenny Eclair - INHERITANCE is out now

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London and the Royal Family are inextricably intertwined. Generations of monarchs have been crowned, married and buried there. Linking Hampton Court Palace to Greenwich is a royal river, which in turn has been used for royal celebrations and progresses as well as a route to imprisonment and execution. In the current century, London became a focus of Royal Jubilees. Wherever you go within London there are places and scenes linked to past and present royalty. Thousands of people come every year to see the stunning places associated with the Royal Family, to watch spectacular ceremonies like Changing of the Guard, The Trooping of the Colour, or simply to explore the history and heritage of Royal London. Royal London highlights everything from Westminster Abbey, the site of coronations and weddings to the Victoria & Albert Museum and Horse Guards Parade. Take a look at royal palaces such as Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace. Discover amazing stories at the Tower of London. Discover where the Duchess of Cambridge danced with Paddington Bear, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge together with Prince Harry duelled with wands, the bakery popular with Meghan, Duchess of Suffolk, an apothecaries garden of which the Prince of Wales is patron and some of Princess Eugenie's artistic venues. Take a trip to RAF Hendon and see the helicopter piloted by the Duke of Cambridge while serving with the RAF Search & Rescue or explore the football grounds supported by royal princes. Shop in the stores that are used by Royalty. Discover London from a royal perspective exploring the shops, places and venues linked to modern royalty.

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I felt as if I were actually there - on that hill, sitting with the others - as the young teacher was speaking the most radical words our world has ever known.' - Rob Parsons, OBE The Sermon on the Mount is one of history's best-known and most loved teachings. While the words Jesus used are simple, humble and straightforward, the power contained in them will revolutionize your world. Known for his keen insight and biblical understanding, Dr R.T.Kendall offers you the keys to unlocking and applying this matchless sermon. In his accessible, in-depth, verse-by-verse exposition of Matthew 5-7 he brings the words of Jesus to life. Complete with an index for easy reference, this is the definitive, must-have resource on the most famous sermon in the world. 'Dr Kendall writes as he preaches, with conviction and clarity. He is a formidable Bible teacher for whom the Spirit and the word flow seamlessly. This, his masterpiece, is a must-read on the pivotal teaching of the New Testament.' - Ken Costa, Chairman, Alpha International ''The words of the Sermon on the Mount are some of the best known and least understood verses in the Bible. I am delighted that Dr R.T.Kendall, whom I consider to be one of the best Bible teachers in the world, has given us his scholarly, thoughtful, insightful commentary and application - this book and its message are manna for today.'' - Revd Canon J.John "Dr Kendall presents us with a profound, yet eminently readable study. He sweeps aside the confusion that so often surrounds the Sermon on the Mount and exposes the pure teaching of the gospel. A must for everyone who truly desires to follow Christ today." - Colin Dye, Kensington Temple, London

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The volume completes the coverage of the administrative county of Middlesex as it existed until 1965, with histories of the parishes of Acton, Chiswick, Ealing, West Twyford, and Willesden, together forming the outer part of the Kensington division of Ossulstone hundred. The article on Ealing covers Old Brentford, in Ealing parish, and New Brent-ford, a chapelry which formed the southern part of Hartwell parish, in Elthorne hundred. Before their inclusionin Greater London the parishes embraced the municipal boroughs of Acton, Brentford and Chiswick, and Willes-den, and part of the borough of Ealing, with a total population of some 250,000. The area lies between the river Brent and the Thames, stretching from Edgware Road in the north-east to Brentford High Street. Many estates belonged to the bishop of Lon-don or to prebendaries of St. Paul's cathedral. Brentford, owing its prosperity to the Thames, to roadside inns, and to the market gardens of its hinterland, was the largest centre by the 17th century, when good access to the royal palaces and to London drew prominent resi-dents to Chiswick and Ealing. Most of the land was builtover in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Ealing claimed to be the queen of upper-middle class suburbs. Mean-while the decline of Brentford was followed by the growth of industry in much of Acton and W illesden. The modern scene is mainly one of sub-urban housing, intersected by railways and busy roads, including the M4 motorway. Contrasts nonetheless abound, with factories at Park Royal and along the Great West Road, shops and offices in Ealing Broadway and Chiswick High Road, tower-blocks and decayed terraces at Kilburn, the early garden suburb of Bedford Park, the riverside 'villages' of Old Chiswick and Strand-on-the-Green, and the landscaped grounds of GunnersburyPark and Chiswick House.

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The ultimate street atlas to navigate your way around London. A comprehensive paperback street atlas of London encompassing an area of 1,450 square miles with coloured street mapping, and including more than 90,000 streets and other addresses. The coverage extends beyond the Greater London and M25 area to: Hemel Hempstead, St. Albans, Potters Bar, Waltham Cross, Epping, Brentwood, Thurrock, Stanford-le-Hope, Gravesend, Wrotham, Sevenoaks, Westerham, Oxted, Redhill, Reigate, Leatherhead, Great Bookham, Woking, Egham, Windsor, Slough, Chalfont St. Peter, Chorleywood, Bovingdon There are eighteen pages of large scale (9" to 1 mile) street mapping of central London which gives additional clarity and detail, this mapping extends to: Regent's Park, St. Pancras International Station, Old Street, Tower Bridge, Bricklayer's Arms Junction, Vauxhall Bridge, South Kensington, Paddington Station and Lord's Cricket Ground. Postcode districts and one-way streets are included on the street mapping. Other features include:• The Congestion Charging Zone (CCZ) boundary which is shown on both scales of mapping and an overview map of the zone is also included.• The Greater London Low Emission Zone boundary is shown on the street mapping and an overview map of the zone is also included.• The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) boundary• There are eight pages of road mapping at 3 miles to 1 inch that cover much of the Home Counties area.• London Underground map.• London Rail Connections map.• West End Cinema and Theatre maps. The index section of the atlas includes streets, places & areas, hospitals, industrial estates, selected flats & walkways, service areas, stations and selected places of interest. Please note hospitals and rail stations are now listed in the main index and highlighted in different colour. They are not included as a separate list as in previous editions.

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Intelligence experts and thriller authors concur: Red Deception is "A page-turner by authors who might as well sit on the National Security Council." When terrorists bomb bridges across the country and threaten the Hoover Dam, the vulnerability of America's infrastructure becomes a matter of national security. But Dan Reilly, a former Army intelligence officer, predicted the attacks in a secret State Department report written years earlier—a virtual blueprint for disaster, somehow leaked and now in the hands of foreign operatives.With Washington distracted by domestic crises, Russian President Nicolai Gorshkov sends troops to the borders of Ukraine and Latvia, ready to reclaim what he feels is Russia's rightful territory. Tensions in Europe threaten to boil over as a besieged American president balances multiple crises that threaten to upend the geopolitical order.This is the chaos into which Reilly leaps headfirst. Reilly's position as Global Head of Security for the Kensington Royal Hotel Corporation means he must keep his customers and staff safe as the crisis envelopes countries across three continents. His past as a State Department analyst means he recognizes the connections behind the seemingly disparate terror attacks, assassination plots, and authoritarian power plays that dominate the headlines. But it's the very knowledge that makes him good at his job that also makes him a target—to the press, to the government, and to the forces gathering for another assault on America.Follow Reilly as he travels the world to safeguard both his company's assets and his country's secrets. With the U.S. at the mercy of an egomaniacal leader, and reporters and covert agents on his tail, he may be the one man who can connect the dots before an even bigger catastrophe unfolds.Red Deception is the second book in the Red Hotel series.

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Louisa Ermelino's stories follow women living dangerously at home and abroad, whether in Italian-American neighborhoods or in the countries—India, Turkey, Afghanistan—where they seek escape. At home, they break ancient Italian taboos and fall victim to mobsters. Overseas, they smoke opium-laced hashish and sleep with strange men. Ermelino's voice is boisterous and endearingly blunt.“There is lyricism in the language of Ms. Ermelino’s splendid collection that lulls us, line after seductive line, from the mundane to the menacing. Malafemmena is the work of a bold and original writer.”—Gay Talese "Written with generosity, curiosity, and a great deal of sharp wit.... Will speak to anyone who's found themselves gloriously stranded in a foreign land...or bemused by the strange rituals of their own tribe."—Hanya Yanagihara“What Louisa Ermelino knows about the heart could fill a book and has. The unadorned authenticity of her prose is so powerful, it gave me whiplash. I read Malafemmena in one sitting and wanted more, more, more. The writer's a genius, or an alchemist, or maybe both.”—Patricia Volk, author of Stuffed and Shocked“Louisa Ermelino is a gorgeous writer and master storyteller. Imagine a cross between Maugham and The Sopranos. She captures the madness, comedy, violence, and superstition of domestic life in NYC’s Little Italy, but also takes us all over the world—Jakarta, India, Turkey—where her characters stumble in and out of heartbreak and trouble. This book is irresistible. I loved it.”—Delia Ephron Louisa Ermelino is the author of three previous novels: Joey Dee Gets Wise (Kensington, 2004), The Black Madonna (Simon & Schuster, reprint, 2013), and The Sisters Mallone (Simon & Schuster, reprint, 2013). She is Vice President and Reviews Director at Publishers Weekly in New York City.

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'An intricate, moving novel... Quinn's best book to date' Observer'Every sentence he produces is a joy' Metro'Opens up timeless themes of family, success and love' New Statesman'Truly magnificent... this is Quinn's masterpiece' The Tablet'Quinn is an intelligent analyst of the uncertainties of love and art' Sunday TimesA celebrated artist of the Georgian era paints his two young daughters at the family home in Bath. The portrait, known as "Molly &the Captain", becomes instantly famous, its fate destined to echo down the centuries, touching many lives.In the summer of 1889 a young man sits painting a line of elms in Kensington Gardens. One day he glimpses a mother at play with her two daughters and decides to include them in his picture. From that moment he is haunted by dreams that seem to foreshadow his doom.A century later, in Kentish Town, a painter and her grown-up daughters receive news of an ancestor linking them to the long-vanished double portrait of "Molly &the Captain". Meanwhile friendship with a young musician stirs unexpected passions and threatens to tear the family apart. Molly & the Captain is a story about time and art and love. Through the prism of a single painting it examines the mysteries of creativity, and the ambiguous nature of success. What weighs more, loyalty to one's talent or loyalty to one's blood? Does self-sacrifice ennoble the soul or degrade it? And what does it mean to speak of the past when its hold on the present is inescapable?Through Anthony Quinn's signature gifts - period subtlety, intricate characterisation and storytelling verve this triptych novel melds three families and three centuries into a single vision of human frailty and longing.

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This book provides a true A to Z of recorded sound, from its inception to the present day, outlining how technologies, techniques, and social attitudes have changed things, noting what is good and what is less good. The author starts by discussing the physics of sound generation and propagation. He then moves on to outline the history of recorded sound and early techniques and technologies, such as the rise of multi-channel tape recorders and their impact on recorded sound. He goes on to debate live sound versus recorded sound and why there is a difference, particularly with classical music. Other topics covered are the sound of real instruments and how that sound is produced and how to record it; microphone techniques and true stereo sound; digital workstations, sampling, and digital media; and music reproduction in the home and how it has changed. The author wraps up the book by discussing where we should be headed for both popular and classical music recording and reproduction, the role of the Audio Engineer in the 21st century, and a brief look at technology today and where it is headed. This book is ideal for anyone interested in recorded sound. “[Julian Ashbourn] strives for perfection and reaches it through his recordings… His deep knowledge of both technology and music is extensive and it is with great pleasure that I see he is passing this on for the benefit of others. I have no doubt that this book will be highly valued by many in the music industry, as it will be by me.” -- Claudio Di Meo, Composer, Pianist and Principal Conductor of The Kensington Philharmonic Orchestra, The Hemel Symphony Orchestra and The Lumina Choir

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The inspiration for this book was the advice of thegreat Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), something of an expert on London, to hisfriend and biographer James Boswell on the occasion of his trip to London inthe 18th century, to 'survey its innumerable little lanes and courts'. In the21st century these are less numerous than in Johnson's time, so we've extendedhis brief to include alleys, squares and yards, along with a number of mews,roads, streets and gardens. London's Hidden Corners, Lanes & Squarestakes you off the beaten track to seek out places that often fail to registeron the radar of visitors and also most residents. Entries range from ancient history-soakedalleys and lanes in the City - where you half expect to bump into one ofCharles Dickens's characters or even the author himself - to smart,pastel-painted mews in Chelsea built to house horses and carriages (now home tomulti-millionaires); and from unexpected oases of Georgian elegance in traffic plaguedcentral London to tranquil Kensington squares, where you can hear birdsong andalmost smell the scent of money on the breeze. SamuelJohnson also said, 'It is not in the showy evolutions of buildings, but in themultiplicity of human habitations which are crowded together, that thewonderful immensity of London consists.' Every corner featured in this book hasa story to tell, from those who lived there (actresses, bishops, painters,politicians, philosophers, writers...even ghosts of former residents!),significant historical events (from duels and demonstrations to plots andexecutions) and bizarre surviving landmarks such as a brick kiln, a sewer gaslamp and a Parisian pissoir. Althoughthis book isn't intended as a walking guide, most of the places featured areclose to one another in central London - notably in the hubs of Westminster andthe City, where you can easily stroll between them - and all are near publictransport links and easy to reach. Ihope you enjoy discovering London'sHidden Corners, Lanes & Squares as much as we did, and if you happenacross more secret gems on your travels, we would love to hear about them.

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