The Night They Blitzed The Ritz

The Night They Blitzed The Ritz PDF Author: John Bull
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1909183350
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
This is the Blitz story from a fresh new perspective - through the eyes of a small boy and his gang of streetwise Bomb Alley Kids. It was the worst of times for adults, thrust into the front line of the war by relentless night-bombing, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. It was maybe the best of times for children, with every bombsite, aeroplane and wailing siren holding a promise of pleasurable terror. In this personal memoir, John Bull - a former News of the World columnist - perfectly captures the tragicomic, often farcical, events of everyday survival and the tribal stubbornness that stopped the Brits from 'chucking it in'.

The Night They Blitzed The Ritz

The Night They Blitzed The Ritz PDF Author: John Bull
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1909183350
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
This is the Blitz story from a fresh new perspective - through the eyes of a small boy and his gang of streetwise Bomb Alley Kids. It was the worst of times for adults, thrust into the front line of the war by relentless night-bombing, with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. It was maybe the best of times for children, with every bombsite, aeroplane and wailing siren holding a promise of pleasurable terror. In this personal memoir, John Bull - a former News of the World columnist - perfectly captures the tragicomic, often farcical, events of everyday survival and the tribal stubbornness that stopped the Brits from 'chucking it in'.

Going Over the Water

Going Over the Water PDF Author: David Gary
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1911105256
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
The Gosport Ferry occupies a special place in people's lives. Day in, day out, it calmly plies back and forth across Portsmouth Harbour, and though the ferries themselves may have changed over the years - from steam-boats with open decks, where passengers were exposed to the elements, to the comfortable diesel craft of today with their heated saloons - they are still the source of familiar stories, handed down through the generations. In this fascinating book, you will read dozens of those stories, contributed by people from Gosport, Portsmouth and further afield. Of the ferry that got lost in the fog, of the man who misjudged the leap from the pontoon and ended up in the water, of the pile of bicycles on the bow, of the Dockyard matey who met the girl of his dreams on board, of getting a stiletto heel stuck between the boards of the pontoon, of seeing down into the engine-room below, and even of the dog that travelled on the first ferry every morning - on his own - to go to Portsmouth Meat Market for a bone. Many recall the 'Floating Bridge' too, with its clanking chains, and although no-one is alive today who remembers the days of the 'wherrymen' who used to row customers across the Harbour, their names and their legacy live on.

Growing up in Lee-on-the-Solent

Growing up in Lee-on-the-Solent PDF Author: John W Green
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1909183636
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
John Green's family moved to Lee-on-the-Solent just in time for the outbreak of war in 1939. For a seven-year-old, war sounded like an exciting adventure, but as he sheltered with his mother and sister under the stairs during an air-raid, someone said they thought they heard machine-gun fire. They all held their breath and listened, but the noise turned out to be the rhythmic rat-a-tat of his mother's trembling knee knocking against the panelling. In this delightful memoir, John W Green describes what it was like to grow up in a ‘village of two halves’, with the western end inhabited by well-to-do families, and the eastern end by the people who served them. It was commonly thought that the shopkeepers reserved the better-quality groceries and nicer cuts of meat for the west-enders and for the officers’ hoity-toity wives. He vividly describes how he became a rebellious child, going bird-nesting, running wild in Court Barn, scrumping apples, collecting ammunition, scavenging on the Ranges, and ‘borrowing’ a boat to row on the Alver. As he grew up, his hang-outs changed and he met his friends ‘up the Tower’, at the Bluebird Café or in the amusement arcade. Despite his reputation for being a rebel, John followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the RAF before becoming a ‘Marconi man’ in the merchant navy, sailing to every corner of the world.

Exploring the History of Lee-on-the-Solent

Exploring the History of Lee-on-the-Solent PDF Author: John W Green
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1909183326
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Walking around Lee-on-the-Solent provides tantalising glimpses into its past - whether it's the balconied Victorian buildings in Pier Street, the Art Deco frontages above the shops in Marine Parade West, the airfield with its gliders soaring peacefully overhead, the hovercraft museum, the sight of yachts on the sparkling waters of the Solent, or the lengthy list of names on the War Memorial. And perhaps you remember, or have heard talk of, the Tower with its ballroom and cinema, the Pier Hotel in its heyday, and the outdoor swimming pool? But what's the real story behind the history of Lee-on-the-Solent? Whether you are a resident or a visitor, you are bound to discover something new in this fascinating account. Why would Isle of Wight monks build a windmill at Lee? Why would you have needed the help of the baker’s boy if you wanted to get a train at Elmore Halt? What was on offer at Bulson’s Stores and Pleasure Retreat? Why was a rainstorm so popular at the Anglican church? Why did the last two Englishmen to fight a duel choose Browndown as the venue? What made prefabs the envy of many residents? And why was a patch of grass in the wildgrounds always tended in the shape of a cross? You’ll find the answer to these questions and many more in Exploring the History of Lee-on-the-Solent. Best of all, you’ll discover why you should raise a glass to John Robinson, the Victorian entrepreneur without whom Lee-on-the-Solent would surely not exist.

Mollie's Tailpiece

Mollie's Tailpiece PDF Author: Christine M. Harris
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1911105191
Category : Pets
Languages : en
Pages : 73

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Book Description
Every Sunday, Mollie - a miniature dachshund - would attend Mass at Holy Trinity Church in Gosport with her owner, Christine Harris. Mollie had her own kneeler, received the blessing of St Francis from the priest and regarded it as her special duty to welcome newcomers to the church. She was also known to be partial to a quick puff of incense. Her fame spread throughout the town when - in 2008 after her ‘sister' Sascha died - she took over Sascha's column in the parish magazine. Written with gusto and an anarchic approach to life, Mollie’s Tailpiece tackled every subject under the sun, from meeting the bishop and processing with the choir, to playing in the snow and riding in the basket on the front of Christine’s bicycle, all with a delightful grasp of the art of the malapropism. This collection of Mollie’s columns perfectly captures her much-missed sense of fun and mischief.

My Wight Little Isle

My Wight Little Isle PDF Author: Peter Broadbent
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1909183490
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 359

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Book Description
It's 2008 and Jeremy Stubbles (or 'Stubbsy' as he's better known) is due to turn 30. Born and bred in Cowes, Isle of Wight, he lives a bachelor existence in his Art Deco flat overlooking the Solent. He is the proud owner of a floor-shaking Wurlitzer Bubbler jukebox, a retro king-sized water-bed, last season's Musto jacket and a Ford Scorpio that is lovingly valeted as soon as the suggestion of a speck of dust mars its finish. Despite these enviable assets, he never seems to quite succeed in enticing eligible young women back to his flat to admire the view from the bedroom. Maybe it's the eccentric behaviour of Nobby and Bobby, his African grey parrots? Or Angela, his cleaner, who feels that having a tidy fridge would do wonders for Stubbsy's love-life? But Stubbsy's life is about to change when the delectable Judith Onions arrives on the scene... In this comic novel, Peter Broadbent perfectly captures the spirit of life on the Island - from the realities of the Isle of Wight Festival, Cowes Week and the Brambles Bank cricket match, to the fantasies of the arm-wrestling championship, the 'Thong in Cheek' underwear boutique, and skinny-dipping in the Medina.

The Little Garden of Assisi

The Little Garden of Assisi PDF Author: John Bull
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1911105175
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 101

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Book Description
At the graveside of Chippums - beloved pet of Mrs Tarleton - the unctuous proprietor of The Little Garden of Assisi is the model undertaker, consoling the bereaved owner and reassuring her of the dog's happy existence in the afterlife. But when the mourners have gone, it's a very different story. Happy to continue to dupe unsuspecting customers, and pocket the rewards, Dribone seems to lead a charmed existence: until the Mayor arrives with a very curious request. The Little Garden of Assisi is one of three twenty-minute comedies for television in this ebook: the others are Ten Days That Shook The Kremlin, and The Yank With the Pig’s Head.

The Wonder of Woolies

The Wonder of Woolies PDF Author: Derek Phillips
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1911105078
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
Do you remember Melba chocolate, spud guns, Embassy records, pick 'n' mix, broken biscuits, Homemaker china, Californian Poppy perfume, and Ladybird children's clothes? Then you will love the book that brings these, and many other memories, flooding back. The Wonder of Woolies is a celebration of that great British store - Woolworth's - in the words of people who worked and shopped there. In addition to memories from every corner of Britain, the book describes the rise of the '3d and 6d store' king, Frank Winfield Woolworth, and some of the dramatic events that marked Woolworth's history, such as the bombing of the Deptford store in 1944.

I Was Rupert Murdoch's Figleaf

I Was Rupert Murdoch's Figleaf PDF Author: John Bull
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1909183768
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
A pale ray of sunlight seeps through a dusty stained glass window to light a shabby congregation - all kneeling, eyes closed in devout prayer: “Thank you, Lord. Thank you for saving us.” The scene is a Fleet Street pub at lunchtime - and, as yet, hardly a drop's been touched. I stand up, cross myself, dust the knees of my corduroy trousers and reach to take a grateful sip of my pint of London Pride. All around me my fellow workers are rising from their knees: men - and a few women - all known to the world as penny liars, scribbling scum, foot-in-the-door merchants, callous bastards, and reptiles. The massed hacks of the News of the World. We are celebrating a crucial moment. Just ended is a long, bitter financial war. It has been the saving of the world's best-selling Sunday paper from the grasping hands of the monster - Robert Maxwell. And our unlikely saviour? A newcomer to the Fleet Street jungle, a raw young hayseed from the Australian outback - Rupert Murdoch. In this lively memoir, John Bull lifts the lid on what it was really like to work on the ‘News of the Screws’ in its heyday, producing what the staid British Establishment called a ‘torrent of filth’ every Sunday - and selling four million copies a week.

The Smile on the Face of the Pig

The Smile on the Face of the Pig PDF Author: John Bull
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
ISBN: 1909183113
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
1950s Britain - when life was great if you had the guts to live it. Murder, lurid courtroom dramas, gypsy horse fairs, eccentric admirals, child brides, and falling in love - it's all in a day's work for cub reporter John Bull. Meet a cast of characters - from the parish clerk who dresses like a French resistance fighter, complete with rifle over her shoulder, to the medium whose spirit guide (her soldier boyfriend killed in World War II) gets in touch by pinging her suspender belt. The Smile on the Face of the Pig is a cheeky exposé of life in the 1950s: crazy nights at the theatre with the old-time music-hall stars, skinny-dipping by starlight, drinking with the freebooting river-folk, and riding through the freezing night on a BSA motorbike chasing the Big Scoop that will carry him to Fleet Street, fame and fortune.