From humble folk instrument to American icon, the story of the guitar is told in this "exceptionally well-written" memoir by the NPR commentator ( Guitar Player).In this blend of personal memoir and cultural history, National Public Radio commentator Tim Brookes narrates the long and winding history of the guitar in the United States as he recounts his own quest to build the perfect instrument.Pairing up with a master artisan from the Green Mountai...

A global exploration of the many writing systems that are on the verge of vanishing, and the stories and cultures they carry with them.If something is important, we write it down. Yet 85% of the world's writing systems are on the verge of vanishing - not granted official status, not taught in schools, discouraged and dismissed.When a culture is forced to abandon its traditional script, everything it has written for hundreds of years - sacred texts, poems, p...

Do words fail you? Never again, once you've become the proud owner of The Complete Uxbridge English Dictionary.Every word has a meaning, but over the years those meanings change. Dip into these helpfully illustrated pages and you'll find many of the words you use every day without ever realising that their up-to-date definition is something entirely different.Words like 'bunny' (rather like a bun), or 'cherish' (rather like a chair), 'Cardiology' (the study of knit...

Four hilarious episodes from the cult BBC Radio comedyStep into the world of Radio Prune, described by Barry Took as "a kaleidoscope of funny voices, catch phrases, and innuendo, revolving at breakneck speed and with a complete disregard for logic", the sketch comedy I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again ran for 8 successful years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a devoted youth following. Live tapings of the show enjoyed very lively audiences, a tradition tha...

How did a small, humble folk instrument become an American icon? How did the guitar come to represent freedom, the open road, protest and rebellion, the blues, youth, lost love, and sexuality? In this intensely personal memoir and informative history, Tim Brookes recounts his quest to build the perfect guitar. Pairing up with a master artisan from the Green Mountains of Vermont, Brookes sees how a rare piece of cherry wood is hued, sawn, dovetailed, and worked with rasps and files. As his ...

Four more episodes from the cult BBC Radio comedyDescribed by Barry Took as "a kaleidoscope of funny voices, catch phrases, and innuendo, revolving at breakneck speed and with a complete disregard for logic", the sketch comedy I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again ran for 8 successful years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a devoted youth following. Live tapings of the show enjoyed very lively audiences, a tradition that continued into the spinoff show I’m...

Originally broadcast on Christmas Day 2003, the I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue Players present their unique interpretation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starring Humphrey Lyttelton as Ebenezer Scrumph, Colin Sell as his downtrodden assistant Crotchet, and Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Barry Cryer as the Ghosts of Christmas Future, Present and P*ssed. This Yuletide extravaganza is not to be missed! Plus, there's a generous stockingful of silly games and pointless revel...

Laugh yourself silly with this compilation of some of the most hare-brained, mind-stretching games ever to grace a quiz show: 'Cheddar Gorge', 'Gargle Gargle', 'Bedtime Stories', 'Good News Bad News', 'Tag Wrestling' and of course the legendary 'Mornington Crescent'. Spectacularly clueless as ever are Chairman Humphrey Lyttelton and panellists Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Willie Rushton (not forgetting the scorer, the lovely Samantha). It's the antidote to panel games....

It's the hardy perennial of panel games that's constantly in bloom, a brimful of the funniest punnings and wittiest one-liners around. Chairman Humphrey Lyttelton, and regulars Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, are joined by special guests Stephen Fry, Jeremy Hardy, Paul Merton and Sandi Toksvig. Hear them having their wicked way with old favourites such as ‘One Song to the Tune of Another’, ‘Limericks’ and ‘Sound Charades’ as well as the modern aural glamour of ‘Stars in t...

To celebrate thirty years of the extremely popular BBC Radio 4 comedy panel game, this release brings together two special editions - I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue Anniversary Special and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Desert Island - alongside the first ever edition of the programme, originally broadcast on 11 April 1972. Whilst the anniversary special features the regular team of Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer, Graeme Garden and Humphrey Lyttelton plus guest Stephen Fry, I'm So...

Four more episodes from the show that holds a mirror up to nature and then proceeds to give it a rather embarrassing haircut. Here it is at last, by overwhelming popular demand - Everyman's Guide to 'Mornington Crescent', the full and unexpurgated history of the most addictive addition to Britain's cultural heritage. The mystery of this great and baffling game is finally solved with the help of Henry VIII, Claire Rayner, Shakespeare and Beryl Bainbridge. The unflappable Humphrey Lyttelton ...

Inspired nonsense and pointless revelry – it’s time for another helping of the antidote to panel games, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue. In this ninth collection, the gang return for further moments of mayhem, puns and one-liners; not forgetting a healthy dose of innuendo and double entendre. Regulars Tim Brooke-Taylor, Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden – and special guests Jack Dee, Jeremy Hardy and Tony Hawks – are given silly things to do by chairman Humphrey Lyttelton. So join Humph an...