We first see Toby sitting on a vine deep in the heart of the rainforest looking quite sad and deep in thought.Toby tells the reader of how his father’s friend Tanno had told him of how his parents became lost in a forest fire the other side of the Purple Mountain.Tanno tells us that it had been started by humans with huge cutting machines and how the rainforest is under threat of destruction from the human beings.The story unfolds through the conversation between Toby ...

Denzil has been created as a colourful and very versatile character, designed to explain the terminology and raise awareness of environmental issues at key stage 1 – 2 primary school level. I see Denzil as a reporter on the environment, taking his reader through the story pointing out and explaining about good and bad environmental practices as he moves from scene to scene. His story starts as an introduction where he explains in simple terms the meaning behind the words su...

Bottle Nose Bob's under water environmental journey.For young children to learn about sea pollution and the impact of waste on the sea creatures and birds that live from it.Part of a series of Eco books for young children by Jeff Phillips.The story starts with Bottle Nosed Bob basking in the warm sunshine safe in his beautiful blue lagoon. After he introduces himself he starts to tell the story of how he and Tara turtle went to look for Tara’s sister Tammy after she w...

Have you heard the one about the ticket-less punter who was so desperate to get into the Glastonbury Festival that he hired a small plane and parachuted into the site? And what about the guy who dropped his false leg into the stinky depths of a Glastonbury toilet?The Glastonbury Festival is responsible for creating more myths and legends than almost any other event on the planet. Since 1970, a combination of ley line energy, cheap Somerset cider, loud music and mind-altering drugs ...

As with most countries one can usually tell the time of year by the vegetation that nature displays all around us. I get a great sense of pleasure looking at the different colours that enhanced the Birkdale Road, and of their constant changes that take place during the different seasons.

John Constable was English painter, ranked with Turner as one of the greatest British landscape artists. After spending some years working in the Picturesque tradition of landscape and the manner of Gainsborough, Constable developed his own original treatment from the attempt to render scenery more directly and realistically; he thought that 'No two days are alike, nor even two hours; neither were there ever two leaves of a tree alike since the creation of the world', and: 'The sound of wa...

Settling in after the flurry of activity involved in our move to France we started to take stock of our local community discovering almost immediately that there were two distinct groups in the area, the French and the British. We were to be surprised how much amusement this engendered, particularly with regard to the curious behaviour of some of our compatriots. Visitors, entertained by our accounts, suggested that our experiences merited publication. This book is the result, introducing ...

A short play that explores our changing attitudes towards the landscape as acclaimed playwright Steve Waters retraces the journey of John Clare, the nineteenth-century English poet who escaped his lunatic asylum in Essex and walked for over a hundred miles to reach his home village.

IntroductionFurniture maker in Lancashire and Cheshire created some of the most functional furniture suited to the country house within their communities. Lancashire included some of the following places during the late 18th and 19th centuries; Lancaster, Blackburn, Accrington, Preston, Oldham, Rochdale, Darwen, Chorley, Colne, Nelson, Liverpool, Wigan and Blackpool. These were not big country houses these with rows of little terraced cottages that the lower working classes lived i...

To mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy brings together a dazzling array of contemporary poets (sixty in fact) to write about each of the of the sixty years of Her Majesty's reign. Celebrated writers as Simon Armitage, Gillian Clarke, Wendy Cope, Geoffrey Hill, Jackie Kay, Michael Longley, Andrew Motion, Don Paterson and Jo Shapcott, alongside some of the newest young talent around - address a moment or event from their cho...

The full eBook version of Guitar Basics in fixed-layout format with downloadable audio and additional resources. This landmark method for young guitarists starts at absolute beginner level and progresses to Initial/Preparatory Grade. The method is set out in sixteen stages and contains original pieces and traditional tunes in an array of styles including classical, folk and world music as well as well-known favourite film and TV themes such as James Bond, Batman and The Flintstones. There ...

In the wake of the EU referendum, the United Kingdom's border with Ireland has gained greater significance: it is set to become the frontier with the European Union.Over the past year, Garrett Carr has travelled this border, on foot and by canoe, to uncover a landscape with a troubled past and an uncertain future.Across this thinly populated line, travelling down hidden pathways and among ancient monuments, Carr encounters a variety of characters who have made this liminal ...