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  Home Bird - a bittersweet and...

  Fran Hill

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  'This has all of Fran's trademark quick wit and black humour' Gráinne Murphy'Funny, warm and very moving' Lucinda Hawksley'Fran writes with such humour and humanity, it was an absolute tonic' Victoria Mackenzie 
  1979. Jackie Chadwick is 17 and living in a supported bedsit. She's still close to her foster parents and friends with (aka unofficial minder for) Amanda, their irresponsible daughter, but she’s enjoying her independence – until a fire leaves her temporarily homeless. Jackie’s dad, widower and recovering alcoholic Dave, has just been released from prison and sees this as his chance to make amends. He offers her his spare room – but can their relationship survive him going back on the booze and the arrival of his gin-loving lady friend and her errant son? As things go from bad to worse, Jackie has to decide how many chances you give someone who keeps letting you down. 
  Bittersweet and funny, Home Bird draws on Fran Hill's own experiences as a teenager in foster care. 
  'Deliciously nostalgic, brilliantly funny' Frances Quinn'I loved Home Bird. Fran drew me in to that world' Jane Ions'A jewel of a book. Fran Hill can do what other authors spend a lifetime trying to achieve: disarm you in a sentence' Deborah Jenkins'The story is ultimately upbeat… the lightness of touch has real depth' Anthony Ferner'Like a perfectly risen souffle made with dangerously volatile ingredients, Jackie’s story of dashed hopes, disappointment, optimism and resilience gripped me from the first line and wouldn’t let me go' Ruth Leigh'Filled with nostalgia and insightful humanity, the reader will laugh aloud and weep with emotion... a beautiful book' Linda Hill, The People's Friend'A treat for the reader... a brilliantly written novel' Anne Cater, Mature Times

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  The Mythology of the Slavs -...

  Odessa Nightshade

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  Slavic mythology is a rich and complex tradition that has been shaped by centuries of oral storytelling, cultural exchanges, and historical transformations. Rooted in the beliefs of ancient Slavic tribes, this mythology reflects a deep connection to nature, a reverence for powerful deities, and a world teeming with spirits, gods, and legendary heroes. Unlike the more widely documented mythologies of the Greeks and Romans, Slavic myths were primarily passed down through oral tradition, making them fluid and ever-evolving. As a result, variations exist across different Slavic nations, yet common themes and figures remain central to the mythology as a whole.  
  The natural world played a crucial role in shaping Slavic beliefs. The Slavs were deeply tied to the cycles of the seasons, the power of the sun, and the mysteries of the forests and rivers. Deities like Perun, the god of thunder, and Veles, the god of the underworld, represented the dual forces of order and chaos, life and death. Forest spirits like the Leshy guarded the woods, while the Rusalka, eerie water nymphs, were believed to lure unsuspecting travelers to a watery grave. These myths not only explained the forces of nature but also provided a spiritual framework for daily life.  
  Storytelling was the primary means of preserving these myths. Legends were shared around fires, during village gatherings, and at seasonal festivals. Oral tradition allowed for constant reinterpretation, with each storyteller adding new details to fit the cultural and historical context of their time. Folklore heroes, such as Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, emerged as symbols of courage and perseverance, their tales reinforcing the values of strength, loyalty, and wisdom. These stories also carried moral lessons, cautioning against greed, deceit, and disrespect for the natural and supernatural world. 

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  Held by a Thread - What's the...

  Anna Cutler

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  What was your experience of art in school? Was it all doilies, cheap paint, and crusty brushes? Or was it better than that but you still wondered why it seemed to be the runt of the educational litter. In this humorous, engaging, and thought-provoking book, Anna Cutler, a leading figure in art education, takes you on a journey through her personal experiences and reflections on the value of art in schools. By the end you’ll come to realise that the stakes are surprisingly high for the social, emotional, and intellectual development of our children. It is an impassioned plea to nourish, within and beyond schools, the one resource that will never run out: the human capacity to create.
   
  “Engagingly informal and on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, this wise and witty book can be absorbed quite effortlessly in one sitting. It leaves you with the sense that you’ve enjoyed one-on-one tuition from the favourite teacher you never had.”  
   
  Dr Shane Kinghorn, Manchester Metropolitan University.
   
  “I learned a great deal reading this book and laughed in all the right places. It is a powerful, persuasive ‘Call to Arts’.”
   
   Andrew McGuinness, author.

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  The Era of Revolution - 1775-1796

  George Washington, Maximilien de...

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  Six speeches about freedom and revolution from the American, French and Irish revolutions.The first two speeches are from the American Revolutionary war (1775-1783). Patrick Henry’s “Give me Liberty or give me death” is recognized even today, two centuries since Henry spoke at the Second Virginia Convention to an audience including Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The speech is credited with providing troops from Virginia for the revolutionary war.In the Newburgh Address, Washington and implores his army to put their faith in him. A mutiny was proposed because Congress has not paid them as promised. Washington needed to make clear to his generals that there was no option to surrender or turn away to unsettled lands, and that he was with them and on their side in the thick of both war and politics.Next is William Wilberforce’s Abolition Speech to the British parliament in 1789, the apex of a campaign that led to slavery being outlawed across the British Empire.Speeches from the French revolution then follow. First, there is the reaction from the aristocracy in England; a valediction from Edmund Burke, an MP in the British Parliament, on the beauty of Marie Antoinette and his sadness at her passing.Four speeches follow by Maximilien de Robespierre, a foundational member of the French Revolution, who laid down the political philosophy of liberty and the moral law over divinity and customary law. The speeches are filled with a passion for direct democracy and the rule of the people, not the elites.The volume ends with a more measured, but no less impassioned, address by the Irish lawyer and statesman John Curran. It was given in Curran’s defence of Archibald Rowan, who was sentenced to transportation to Australia for his treasonous activities fighting for Irish independence. While unsuccessful, this rallying cry for genuine self-determination and free speech captures the heart of the conflicts that defined the era.

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  My Life in the News - From...

  Michael Clayton

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  Journalist and Editor Michael Clayton worked his way up from local newspapers to BBC war correspondent, with radio and magazine experience inbetween.   
  From the sharp end of the action in Vietnam, to the violence of the Troubles in Belfast and the tragedy of the East Pakistan revolt, Clayton    is well placed to compare the varying challenges of journalism on different media platforms.   
  The rivalry between the BBC and ITV, the bravery of war cameramen, dealing on assignment with corrupt officials, the TV preference for close-to-the action film as opposed to insightful reports of the effects of conflict: Clayton has experienced it all over a 70-year career.
  His insights into the ethos of the BBC, the colourful characters he reported and filmed alongside, and his resulting views of humanity, war and crime – Clayton's autobiography in journalism is honest, wry and full of insight.   

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  Trip to Russia

  Stefan Zweig

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  "What journey within our immediate world today would be remotely as interesting, enchanting, instructive and exciting as that to Russia? While our Europe, and especially the capitals, are subject to the inexorably contemporary process of mutual assimilation and resemblance, Russia remains utterly unparalleled." Stephen Zweig, 1928. After Stefan Zweig's bourgeois world collapsed with the First World War, he went searching for alternative forms of society, which culminated in a journey through the at that time still young Soviet Union. His perceptions and impressions during the trip remained ambivalent and moved between the generally prevailing glorification of the USSR by parts of the Western European intelligentsia and the harsh reality of life among the population. Stefan Zweig's non-political trip to the USSR is probably one of the most extraordinary travelogues of the 1920s and appears today almost 90 years later as a kaleidoscope into a past that is once again up-to-date.

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