The hilarious tale following the diary of a man as he takes on the ultimate cycling challenge - to cycle from Lands End to John O'Groats, dragging his father-in-law; his Bike Buddy, with him. A man who is grumpy, overweight, unfit, with knackered knees and high blood pressure. A man more likely to die than succeed. Over three weeks, Gooderham tells of his battle through the country. A light-hearted and jovial tale of one man's quest to beat his mid-life crisis. I Will Stand in my House Forever is the real story behind the fictional Ten Bodies, Two Bikes and a Boil. Much of the text is similar to the original, but includes the final two chapters of what actually happened. For those who don't want fiction - but want real life comedy - this is the book for you. I Will Stand in my House Forever is a must read for anyone who has already cycled, or is contemplating the challenge and includes daily maps, road and traffic conditions as well as the contour of the route.

Sequel to the hilarious I Will Stand in my House Forever, Chris Gooderham returns from his intrepid journey desperately craving more. Will you please slow down? is the comedy sequel, where Gooderham finds himself a new cycling partner; Endurance Bunny. A man who is physically fit, primed to perfection, who runs a marathon before breakfast and chops down trees with his bare hands. But Gooderham doesn't cope well with being the unfit one, especially when he's forced to watch his superhuman colleague make everything look so easy. Will you please slow down? is the real story behind the fictional Endurance Bunny and the small shrivelled organ. Much of the text is similar to the original, but is written purely as a diary of the cycle tour for the purest amongst you. Will you please slow down? is a must read for anyone who has already cycled, or is contemplating a cycle challenge and includes daily maps, road and traffic conditions as well as the contour of the route.

By walking all the way through Scotland from Kirk Yetholm in the Borders to Cape Wrath in the far North-West, author and broadcaster Cameron McNeish witnesses at first hand the changes that have taken place in the landscapes of the country of his birth. The book is gloriously illustrated throughout by the photographs of landscape photographer Richard Else. It is a lavish book to keep and treasure. A celebration of all that's best about Scotland.

By the New York Times bestselling author of The Bone Clocks and Cloud Atlas | Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize Selected by Time as One of the Ten Best Books of the Year | A New York Times Notable Book | Named One of the Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post Book World, The Christian Science Monitor, Rocky Mountain News, and Kirkus Reviews | A Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist | Winner of the ALA Alex Award | Finalist for the Costa Novel Award From award-winning writer David Mitchell comes a sinewy, meditative novel of boyhood on the cusp of adulthood and the old on the cusp of the new. Black Swan Green tracks a single year in what is, for thirteen-year-old Jason Taylor, the sleepiest village in muddiest Worcestershire in a dying Cold War England, 1982. But the thirteen chapters, each a short story in its own right, create an exquisitely observed world that is anything but sleepy. A world of Kissingeresque realpolitik enacted in boys’ games on a frozen lake; of “nightcreeping” through the summer backyards of strangers; of the tabloid-fueled thrills of the Falklands War and its human toll; of the cruel, luscious Dawn Madden and her power-hungry boyfriend, Ross Wilcox; of a certain Madame Eva van Outryve de Crommelynck, an elderly bohemian emigré who is both more and less than she appears; of Jason’s search to replace his dead grandfather’s irreplaceable smashed watch before the crime is discovered; of first cigarettes, first kisses, first Duran Duran LPs, and first deaths; of Margaret Thatcher’s recession; of Gypsies camping in the woods and the hysteria they inspire; and, even closer to home, of a slow-motion divorce in four seasons. Pointed, funny, profound, left-field, elegiac, and painted with the stuff of life, Black Swan Green is David Mitchell’s subtlest and most effective achievement to date. Praise for Black Swan Green “[David Mitchell has created] one of the most endearing, smart, and funny young narrators ever to rise up from the pages of a novel. . . . The always fresh and brilliant writing will carry readers back to their own childhoods. . . . This enchanting novel makes us remember exactly what it was like.”—The Boston Globe “[David Mitchell is a] prodigiously daring and imaginative young writer. . . . As in the works of Thomas Pynchon and Herman Melville, one feels the roof of the narrative lifted off and oneself in thrall.”—Time

This is a guide to the main developments in the history of British and Irish literature, charting some of the main features of literary language development and highlighting key language topics.

A deeply moving memoir from one of the last children to be taken in by the Foundling Hospital, London. When she fell pregnant in London in 1938, Jean knew that she couldn’t keep her baby. The unmarried daughter of an elder in the Church of Scotland, she would shame her family if she returned to the north in such a condition. Scared and alone in a city on the brink of war, she begged the Foundling Hospital to give her baby the start in life that she could not. The institution, which had been providing care for deserted infants since the eighteenth century, allowed Jean to nurse her son for nine weeks, leaving her heartbroken when the time came to let him go. But little Tom knew nothing of her love as he grew up in the Foundling Hospital – which, during years of the Second World War, was more like a prison than a children’s home. Locked in and subject to public canings and the sadistic whims of the older boys, there was no one to give him a hug, no one to wipe away his tears. A true story of desertion and neglect, this is also a moving account of survival from one of the very last foundlings. It stands as a testament to the love that ultimately led a family back together.

The legendary Richard Ballantine is back! Author of the world-wide bestseller Richard's Bicycle Book, he pioneered modern cycling methods in the 1970s and went on to be a household name amongst cyclists. Now he shares his years of experience with a new generation of cyclists. Numbers of urban cyclists have recently exploded thanks to higher congestion and a renewed appreciation of the speed and low cost of bike journeys in town. Richard guides the city cyclist through the pitfalls of riding in traffic, how to buy and maintain a good bike, safety and riding with confidence. A must for anyone thinking about braving the roads and experienced city cyclists alike.