"Authentically capture[s] the realities of the sixties and seventies policing in Britain . . . a fascinating and endearing book, full of character and nostalgia." —FiretrenchAs with his previous two volumes, the bestselling What's Tha Up To? and What's Tha Up To Nah?, Martyn Johnson has written this book from the heart, not so much nostalgia as a genuine feeling for the people, animals, places and history of Sheffield.From naked young ladies...

Welcome to What's Tha Playing At Nah?, the fourth volume of Martyn Johnson's acclaimed series of stories about policing during the 1960s and 1970s. Whether 'on the beat' or 'as CID', once again Martyn enthralls, surprises and shocks his readers with tales set in an almost forgotten era: a veritable Lost World of people, places and phrases in his beloved Sheffield. Steven Spielberg please note. Who will you meet on the journey? Well, there's the usual myriad of lovable characters, from Big ...

'Many times I heard people say that you'll have no friends if you're a policeman. How wrong they were. If you were right with them, they were right with you.'PC Martyn Johnson is back on the beat with more hilarious and heart-warming stories from the golden age of policing.With his nose for trouble and a knack for mischief, there's no such thing as a quiet shift for the friendly Yorkshire bobby - from drunken dogs and runaway horse...

'A wonderful slice-of-life autobiography' Daily Express'I've turned boys into men and policemen into coppers,' said the Sergeant. 'Policemen have got brains, but coppers, they've got brains and common sense.'No two days were ever the same for bobby-on-the-beat Martyn Johnson. Come rain or come shine, he patrolled his patch with a sharp eye for troublemakers and a kind word for those in need of a friend. Whether he was purs...

'I've turned boys into men and policemen into coppers,' said the Sergeant. 'Policemen have got brains, but coppers, they've got brains and common sense.'No two days were ever the same for bobby-on-the-beat Martyn Johnson. Come rain or come shine, he patrolled his patch with a sharp eye for troublemakers and a kind word for those in need of a friend. Whether he was pursuing unlikely coal thieves, tracking down peacocks gone AWOL or investigating mysterious flying saucers ov...

Editorials published in Volume 66 of The Dial magazine, a fortnightly political and literary review. The source available to us features issues from January 11 to June 28, 1919. This volume illustrates the pacifist and socialist viewpoint of Martyn Johnson and the magazine's staff. The magazine experience financial troubles in 1919 and was sold later that year. The magazine was re-directed by its new investors in a direction that was essentially literary in nature and it is this 're-creati...

'Many times I heard people say that you'll have no friends if you're a policeman. How wrong they were. If you were right with them, they were right with you.'PC Martyn Johnson is back on the beat with more hilarious and heart-warming stories from the golden age of policing. With his nose for trouble and a knack for mischief, there's no such thing as a quiet shift for the friendly Yorkshire bobby - from drunken dogs and runaway horses to high-speed chases after Burglar Bill...

It's 1978, and Jack Sheffield begins his second year as headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. There are three letters on his desk - one makes him smile, one makes him sad and one is destined to change his life forever. This is from nine-year-old Sebastian, suffering from leukaemia in the local hospital, who writes a heartbreaking letter addressed to 'Mister Teacher'. Jack tries to help, and so begins a journey through the seasons of Yorkshire life in which the sc...

It's 1979: Dallas is enthralling the nation on TV, Mrs Thatcher has just become prime minister, Abba is top of the pops, and in the small Yorkshire village of Ragley-on-the-Forest, Jack Sheffield returns for his third year as headmaster of the village school.Jack and his staff struggle to keep a semblance of normality throughout the turbulence of the school terms, as once again the official School Log fails to record what is really going on beneath the seemingly quiet routine. Ruby...

The abridged, downloadable audiobook edition of the latest of Gervase Phinn's charming tales, The Heart of the Dales, read by the man himself.His colourful cast of characters have now become firm favourites - the eccentric staff at County Hall as well as the children themselves who find ways of embarrassing the school inspectors with innocent ease. We reconvene with Christine Bentley, head teacher of Winnery Nook School, the well-named Mrs Savage and not forgetting the Que...

For Gervase Phinn growing old is not about a leisurely walk to the pub for a game of dominoes or snoozing in his favourite armchair. As this sparkling collection of his very best humorous writing shows, he may be 'out of the woods' but he is certainly not 'over the hill'.Looking back over more than sixty years of family life, teaching, inspecting schools, writing and public speaking, Gervase never fails to unearth humour, character, warmth and wisdom from the most diverse of experie...

It's 1977 and Jack Sheffield is appointed headmaster of a small village primary school in North Yorkshire. So begins Jack's eventful journey through the school year and his attempts to overcome the many problems that face him as a young and inexperienced headmaster.The many colourful chapters include Ruby the 20 stone caretaker with an acute spelling problem, a secretary who worships Margaret Thatcher, a villager who grows giant carrots, a barmaid/parent who requests sex lessons, a...