This is a book for everyone who has ever wondered why pubs should be called The Cross Keys, The Dew Drop Inn or The Hope and Anchor. You'll be glad to know that there are very good - strange and memorable - reasons behind them all. After much research about (and in) pubs, Albert Jack brings together the stories behind pub names to reveal how they offer fascinating and subversive insights on our history, customs, attitudes and jokes in just the same way that nursery rhymes do. The Royal Oak, for instance, commemorates the tree that hid Charles II from Cromwell's forces after his defeat at Worcester; The Bag of Nails is a corruption of the Bacchanals, the crazed followers of Bacchus, the god of wine and drunkenness; The Cat and the Fiddle a mangling of Catherine La Fidele and a guarded gesture of support for Henry VIII's first, Catholic, wife Catherine of Aragon; plus many, many more. Here too are even more facts about everything from ghosts to drinking songs to the rules of cribbage and shove hapenny, showing that, ultimately, the story of pub history is really the story of our own popular history

A charming, delightfully photographed tribute to the older dog, with essays and poetry. Gandhi once said, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way that its animals are treated." How people regard older animals is especially revealing. Beautiful Old Dogs is a heartfelt, emotional, passionate tribute to old dogs. It will inspire many readers to get involved in senior dog rescue and adoption, as it honors our senior best friends and explores their current state of care and custody in an informative appendix. This book features the exquisite photography of the late Garry Gross, a noted fashion photographer during the 60s, 70s and 80s who, after becoming a highly successful dog trainer in New York City, turned his camera lens towards dogs. Gross, along with Victoria Stilwell from Animal Planet's It's Me or the Dog, founded Dog Trainers of New York in 2002, and became devoted to highlighting the plight and value of senior dogs. "The older the better," Gross said. "Dogs with soul in their eyes."David Tabatsky has collected Gross's photographs here, and carefully curated an accompanying selection of moving, insightful, funny, and uplifting essays and short pieces by a range of writers, with contributions from Anna Quindlen, Ally Sheedy, Christopher Durang, Doris Day, Dean Koontz, Marlo Thomas, and many more.

In a strangely heart-warming story, a duck strikes up an unlikely friendship with Death. Death, Duck and the Tulip will intrigue, haunt and enchant readers of all ages. Simple, warm, and witty, this book deals with a difficult subject in a way that is elegant, straightforward, and life-affirming.

The Old Dog and Duck has seen better days, but Eddie and Malcolm meet there every Friday to put the World's problems to rights. WARNING - Politically Incorrect We've all been there. You're in a pub somewhere and in their usual corner are the beer drinkers, the ones who know everything and for most of the time spout absolute bollocks loud enough so that anyone else can hear them. This is a fictional tale about an imaginary pub where a few old friends meet every Friday to do just that. I warn you that you may find the dialogue offensive because there are elements of bad language, bigotry, sexism and racism. The story covers the period in and around the Covid crisis, but I haven't kept to the strict order in which events happened. The subject matter is topical and will include the coronavirus, Brexit, food, sex, TV, politics, and much more besides. I make no apologies for the content. Any and all opinions expressed are those of the characters in the story which anybody may share or turn away from in disgust. Writing this has been a wonderful opportunity to recycle a few old jokes and invent some new ones, illustrate a number of comical scenarios, and above all to take the piss. Enjoy it for what it is. Don't take it too seriously, Laugh where you want. After all, it's just a load of characters talking absolute bollocks.

This book contains a comprehensive guide to training retrievers, with a special focus on breaking them when they are puppies. Written in simple, plain language and profusely-illustrated, this handbook will be of significant utility to readers wanting to train their retrievers to be gun dogs from an early age. Although old, this guide contains a timeless information, making it both a useful resource and a fine addition to collections of vintage literature. Contents include: "Choosing a Puppy", "Early Days", "Begins to Retrieve", "Real Use of Thresh-cord", "Introduction to Game", "Water Work", "Out of the Twelfth", "St. Partridge", "Getting On", "Retriever Trails", etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality addition complete with a specially commissioned new introduction on gun dogs.