-
Paul Whitehouse and fishing expert John Bailey celebrate the timeless joy of fishing.Paul Whitehouse and John Bailey have been devout fishermen for longer than they care to remember. A hobby, past time or sport - call it what you want - they have felt the pull of the water ever since they were kids and have never missed the chance to set up on the bank and try their luck.In this wonderful book, the two fishermen collaborate to celebrate the rich tapestry that is fishing - from mentors to memories; from philosophy to modern jargon; from watercraft to becoming self-styled 'Fishing Detectives'. Punctuated by brilliant stories, beautiful illustrations by Carys Reilly-Whitehouse, and recollections from fishing day trips past, How We Fish is the perfect tome for the veteran fisherman or the budding angler - warm, funny and rich in the wonders of the riverbank. -
A writer in several genres, Geraldine Mills is the author of five collections of poetry, three collections of short stories and two children’s novels for middle-grade readers. Things To Do When You Go Home Untumble the walls of the house. Uprise its lintel from the overgrowth, like a calf-skin psalter lifted from the bog. Unlatch the door. Unsmoor the fire Updraught the embers waiting there all the while you were beyond the whale-way. Untether its glow. Unsour the fields. Uproot the dock, the poison ragwort, scutch. Ease the clay back in beneath your nails. Unhang the rust-gnawed gate. Unsay the words you felt you had to say: upsticks, the leaving and the coming back. Ring the rhyme of scythe along the day. Unbreak the heart. -
Feeling better starts now. Dr Kirren Schnack is here to tell you that your anxiety isn't here to stay. Whether you're going through something and need support to feel like yourself again, or if you have been dealing with anxious thoughts for a long time, Ten Times Calmer has the help you've been looking for. Dr Kirren is an Oxford trained and practicing NHS clinical psychologist with twenty years' experience and half a million social media followers. In Ten Times Calmer she offers a first aid kit of tools to help you understand what you're going through and change how you're feeling - and it might just be easier than you think. Not everyone has access to therapy and not everyone needs it, but we could all do with a little more calm in our lives. The ten chapters cover everything from dealing with anxious thoughts and stress to managing uncertainty and safely tackling trauma, each takes you a step closer to an anxiety-free life. Inside you'll find short anxiety busting exercises with a big impact and a toolkit of well-researched and clinically proven tips that will help you find calm each and every day. -
Following the phenomenal international success of Big Panda and Tiny Dragon and The Journey, James Norbury's latest book introduces readers to a very special cat on a remarkable adventure. "I've learnt that what we want is seldom what we need, and what we need is almost never what we want" This is the tale of a cat wise in the ways of zen, journeying to discover a fabled ancient pine, under which infinite wisdom may be found. Along the way he meets a vivid cast of animals: from an anxious monkey and a tortoise tired of life, to a tiger struggling with anger, a confused wolf cub and a covetous crow. But it's a surprise encounter with a playful kitten, that forces the cat to question everything . . . Told in a gentle, calming style, The Cat Who Taught Zen introduces a new cast of characters for readers of all ages to fall in love with, offering timeless wisdom wrapped up into a tale of beguiling beauty. -
Owen Doyle is an Irish Times columnist and former Irish rugby Test match referee. Here in his frank, revealing and often humorous memoir, The Ref's Call, he gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the high-pressured world of international rugby. From the processes involved in becoming a referee, to officiating in the Five Nations, touring Internationals and a World Cup, Doyle takes us through the most memorable matches of his career and how, following his retirement, he became instrumental in coaching the most successful generation of referees in the IRFU's history. Covering over forty years of rugby, and written in his own inimitable style, Doyle looks at the challenges facing modern rugby, particularly the issues of concussion and dementia, to give a fascinating insight into the great game, told from a unique perspective. 'A genuine presence on the field, Owen refereed with the perfect balance of respect and authority' Keith Wood 'Highly respected with vast experience and knowledge, Owen Doyle contributed hugely to the world of rugby refereeing, both on and off the field' Nigel Owens 'Owen Doyle was a highly respected referee who officiated matches with passion, commitment, knowledge and, occasionally, some great humour' Will Carling -
Inis Oirr, the smallest and most easterly of the Aran Islands situated at the mouth of Galway Bay, Ireland is renowned for its captivating beauty. This unique book photographically documents Inis Oirr from the 1970s to the present day. It offers an intimate look into the unique aspects that make Inis Oirr such a treasured destination. From its warm-hearted people and rich history to its breathtaking landscape and vibrant cultural life, Inis Oirr is a celebration of both heritage and progress. This visual anthology presents the island's stunning landscape, historical and archaeological sites, and the charm of everyday life. The fascinating images highlight the hardworking islanders and their visitors and showcase the diverse aspects of the island's economy and infrastructure, from traditional fishing to modern tourism. Discover the evolution of transportation on the island, from humble donkeys to electric vehicles, and immerse yourself in the rich cultural tapestry of Inis Oirr through its music, art, and sporting events. Special moments are captured in this exquisite photographic journey, providing a deep connection to the heart and soul of Inis Oirr. As you turn the pages, you'll be transported to the enchanting world of Ireland's most visited off-shore island, where the past and present intertwine to create a truly unforgettable experience. 'Inis Oirr: The Jewel of the Aran Islands' is a tribute to the island's beauty and its resilience and spirit. Let this photographic book be your guide as you explore the wonders of Inis Oirr and fall in love with this magical island. -
In Divine Might Natalie Haynes, author of the bestselling Pandora's Jar, returns to the world of Greek myth and this time she examines the role of the goddesses. We meet Athene, who sprang fully formed from her father's head: goddess of war and wisdom, guardian of Athens. We run with Artemis, goddess of hunting and protector of young girls (apart from those she decides she wants as a sacrifice). Here is Aphrodite, goddess of sex and desire - there is no deity more determined and able to make you miserable if you annoy her. And then there's the queen of all the Olympian gods: Hera, Zeus's long-suffering wife, whose jealousy of his dalliances with mortals, nymphs and goddesses lead her to wreak elaborate, vicious revenge on those who have wronged her. We also meet Demeter, goddess of agriculture and mother of the kidnapped Persephone, we sing the immortal song of the Muses and we warm ourselves with Hestia, goddess of the hearth and sacrificial fire. The Furies carry flames of another kind - black fires of vengeance for those who incur their wrath. These goddesses are as mighty, revered and destructive as their male counterparts. Isn't it time we looked beyond the columns of a ruined temple to the awesome power within? -
The world has reopened and so has the Poetry Pharmacy: the powerful final instalment in the hugely beloved series. After the tumult of the last years, William Sieghart is back to prescribe the perfect poem for a variety of life's ailments, offering hope and comfort to readers in need. Here, he draws on the emails he received from the public during multiple lockdowns, as well as tried-and-true classics from his in-person pharmacies, to create an essential anthology of poetry for our times. Through his expert curation and insightful commentary, he reminds us of the power of words to help us heal, to reconnect us with the world and to recover what has been lost. From weathering sorrow and sudden loss, to dealing with environmental despair and burnout, this new selection speaks directly to a society in urgent need of comfort and compassion. Whether you're searching for guidance, hope, or simply a moment of beauty, The Poetry Pharmacy Forever is here to provide solace, joy and inspiration, one verse at a time. -
An epic account of the decades-long battle to control the world's most critical resource-microchip technology Power in the modern world - military, economic, geopolitical - is built on a foundation of computer chips. America has maintained its lead as a superpower because it has dominated advances in computer chips and all the technology that chips have enabled. (Virtually everything runs on chips: cars, phones, the stock market, even the electric grid.) Now that edge is in danger of slipping, undermined by the naive assumption that globalising the chip industry and letting players in Taiwan, Korea and Europe take over manufacturing serves America's interests. Currently, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more on chips than any other product, is pouring billions into a chip-building Manhattan Project to catch up to the US. In Chip War economic historian Chris Miller recounts the fascinating sequence of events that led to the United States perfecting chip design, and how faster chips helped defeat the Soviet Union (by rendering the Russians' arsenal of precision-guided weapons obsolete). The battle to control this industry will shape our future. China spends more money importing chips than buying oil, and they are China's greatest external vulnerability as they are fundamentally reliant on foreign chips. But with 37 per cent of the global supply of chips being made in Taiwan, within easy range of Chinese missiles, the West's fear is that a solution may be close at hand. 'A riveting history. Features vivid accounts and colourful characters' Financial Times 'Fascinating...A historian by training, Miller walks the reader through decades of semiconductor history - a subject that comes to life thanks to [his] use of colorful anecdotes' Forbes 'Indispensable' Niall Ferguson -
Uplifting inspiration from the Sunday Times bestselling author of I Wish I Knew, Wild Hope is Donna Ashworth's powerful new collection of wisdom to help us find hope, peace, self-acceptance and inspiration on the days we feel worn down, helpless or sad. Written with love and understanding, Donna reminds us that amidst our daily struggles and constant outpourings of bad news we have so much to hope for, and that every one of us can play a part, big or small, in making the world a better place. With poems such as 'Surrounded by Treasure', 'That Thing You Do', 'Through the Wringer' and 'Rope Ladder', Donna helps us to remember that most people in this world are good, and that acts of kindness and love within our individual spheres of influence, however small, all contribute to a better future. She also gently guides us, no matter how busy or overburdened we may be, to practice better self-care and self-acceptance. Hope exists when nothing else can. On the darkest of days Wild Hope will help you find more light. 'Beautiful and uplifting' Davina McCall 'So inspiring, so heartfelt ... the way Donna writes is beyond beautiful.' Lisa Snowdon -
'I want to eat everything in this book every single day for the rest of my life.' James Acaster. From Spaced and Hot Fuzz to Paul and Truth Seekers, Nick Frost has lit up our screens for decades with his perfectly observed, just-the-right-side-of-absurd sketches and films. He's also a keen, self-taught cook: so keen, in fact, that in lockdown, he personally delivered pies to his Instagram followers. This book is his love letter to food, to kitchens and the people in them. Nick's favourite thing to eat aged 10 was his mother's stroganoff and as her alcoholism worsened, he began to learn to cook it himself, gradually taking over and using it as a magic trick to conjure up the very best bits of her - the stable, sober bits, which became harder to find as the years went on. This was the beginning of a lifelong love of process and technique, of escaping into a world of hisses, blips and thunks of a knife on a board. -
Join Susie Dent, lexicographer extraordinaire and Queen of Countdown's Dictionary Corner, on a curious and exceedingly interesting adventure through all the very best RED HERRINGS, COCK AND BULL STORIES and NINE-DAY WONDERS in the English language. Who was SWEET FANNY ADAMS? What's the dramatic true story behind STEALING THUNDER? Why is it CHANCING YOUR ARM when you take a risk? What do bears have to do with LICKING INTO SHAPE? Or robbers with PULLING SOMEONE'S LEG? Why are CIRCLES VICIOUS? And, what's so bad about a WHITE ELEPHANT? -
What was it really like to rule and be ruled in the Ancient Roman world?In her international best-seller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now, she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Beard asks bigger questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained?Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before. -
You can get happier. And getting there will be the adventure of a lifetime. In Build the Life You Want, Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey invite you to begin a journey toward greater happiness, no matter how challenging your circumstances. Combining their decades of experience studying happiness from every angle, they show you how to improve your life right now - instead of waiting for the outside world to change. You will learn how to: - Manage your emotions so they no longer control your outlook and behaviour - Turn life's inevitable difficulties and challenges into opportunities for growth - Strengthen your family ties by managing your expectations and building trust - Create and preserve deep and lasting friendships at any age - Develop an approach to work that fits your life and brings satisfaction - Find your inner peace with a spiritual practice Build the Life You Want introduces you to the cutting-edge science that can change your life, in understandable terms and with actionable strategies. Along the way, Arthur and Oprah share hard-earned wisdom from their own lives and careers. In every page, your happiness skills will grow, and you will learn amazing information you can't wait to share with others. Build the Life You Want is your blueprint for a better life. -
This is the memoir music fans have been waiting for. Half of one of the greatest creative partnerships in popular music, Bernie Taupin is the man who wrote the lyrics for Elton John, who conceived the ideas that spawned countless hits, and sold millions and millions of records. Together, they were a duo, a unit, an immovable object. Their extraordinary, half-century-and-counting creative relationship has been chronicled in biopics (like 2019's Rocketman) and even John's own autobiography, Me. But Taupin, a famously private person, has kept his own account of their adventures close to his chest, until now. Written with honesty and candour, Scatterhot allows the reader to witness events unfolding from Taupin's singular perspective, sometimes front and center, sometimes from the edge, yet always described vibrantly, with an infectious energy that only a vivid songwriter's prose could offer. From his childhood in the East Midlands of England whose imagination was sparked and forever informed by the distinctly American mythopoetics of country music and cowboys, to the glittering, star-studded fishbowl of '70s and '80s Beverly Hills, Scattershot is simultaneously a Tom Jones--like picaresque journey across a landscape of unforgettable characters, as well as a striking, first-hand account of a creative era like no other and one man's experience at the core of it. An exciting, multi-decade whirlwind, Scattershot whizzes around the world as we ride shotgun with Bernie on his extraordinary life. We visit New York with him and Elton on the cusp of global fame. We spend time with him in Australia almost in residency at an infamous rock 'n' roll hotel in an endless blizzard of drugs. And we spend late, late night hours with John Lennon, with Bob Marley, and hanging with Frank Sinatra. And beyond the world of popular music, we witness memorable encounters with writers like Graham Greene, painters like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, and scores of notable misfits, miscreants, eccentrics, and geniuses, known and unknown. Even if they're not famous in their own right, they are stars on the page, and we discover how they inspired the indelible lyrics to songs such as "Tiny Dancer," "Candle in the Wind," "Bennie and The Jets," and so many more. Unique and utterly compelling, Scattershot will transport the reader across the decades and around the globe, along the way meeting some of the greatest creative minds of the 20th century, and into the vivid imaginings of one of music's most legendary lyricists. -
A Quiet Space tells the story of the Sanctuary, a meditation centre for social change in the heart of Dublin. The Sanctuary aims to answer a hunger in people for spirituality, meditation, creativity and community – the four pillars of the Sanctuary’s purpose and vision. Those of all faiths and none are welcome at the Sanctuary and for more than twenty-five years this special place has been enriching the lives of all those who experience it. All royalties from the sale of this book will go towards furthering the work of the Sanctuary. 96 pages. -
Imagine if the everyday food you made at home, went from ordinary to extraordinary?This is Mark Moriarty's speciality. By bringing restaurant know-how home, Mark's home cooking - as watched by hundreds of thousands on his hit RTE TV show - packs ordinary dishes so full of flavour, you just want to try them for yourself. And now you can with this exciting first cookbook. Filled with 100 delicious, but totally achievable recipes, Mark will show you how to get the basics right every time and elevate everyday meals such as chicken and mushroom lasagne and slow cooked lamb curry into something so special your friends and family will be asking for the recipe too!This book is sure to become a firm favourite of home cooks nationwide. -
A Nation Is Born celebrates a formative period in the history of the Irish state: the fifteen years during which we emerged from the rubble of wars and violence and set up as a fledgling country while establishing a diplomatic presence on the world stage. The photos presented here have been painstakingly hand-colourised by photographer John O'Byrne, infusing energy into this often-overlooked time: the election of the country's first governments; the mammoth Shannon hydroelectric scheme; a stunning Eucharistic Congress; scenes of cottage industry and rural Irish life; and ending with the uncertain rumblings of war in Europe. With over 150 photographs gathered from archives around the country, accompanied by insightful and accessible commentary by historian Michael B. Barry, A Nation Is Born brings a fresh perspective on our history and our past to life in a compellingly real way.
