There's an epidemic sweeping the nationSymptoms include:*Acute embarrassment at the mere notion of 'making a fuss'*Extreme awkwardness when faced with any social greeting beyond a brisk handshake*An unhealthy preoccupation with meteorologyDoctors have also reported several cases of unnecessary apologising, an obsessive interest in correct queuing etiquette and dramatic sighing in the presence of loud teenagers on public transport. If yo...

Have you ever . . .*Watched in horror as someone helps themselves to the last roast potato?*Broken out in hives at the suggestion that you 'Introduce yourself...' over Zoom?*Been extra dramatic while rubbing in the shop's hand sanitiser, so everyone knows how thoroughly decent you are?. . . then you may be suffering from VERY BRITISH PROBLEMSVery British Problems are sweepin...

Very British Problems are what make us so, well, British. And what better place to get to the heart of these problems than, urm, Britain? Starting in Land's End and heading all the way up to John O'Groats (via the Irish Sea), this tour of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland covering everything from the national sports of apologising, queueing and bog snorkelling to our national cuisine of chips, bread rolls and... chips in bread rolls. You'll take in sights such as Stonehenge (se...

The perfect quiz book to get you in the Christmassy mood, to play at the office Christmas lunch or to pop into a stocking.Q1: In Britain, it's estimated that 800 million of what traditional Christmas treat are eaten each year?*Q2: Which actor gives the voiceover at the beginning of Love Actually?*Q3: True or False: Queen Elizabeth II wore a Santa hat for her 1996 Christmas Day televised speech.*We Brits can't get enough of a quiz - and never h...

What does 'custard and jelly' mean in cockney rhyming slang?Which biscuit has half of its name on top of the cooker and the other half on the door?And 25 million of what drink are served by British Airways each year?We Brits can't get enough of a quiz. Stumped for office party chit-chat? Quiz. Midweek visit to the pub? Quiz. Stuck inside in pyjamas on a rainy night and in the mood to cause a big family argument? You got it - quiz.This ...

There's an epidemic sweeping the nationSymptoms include:*Acute embarrassment at the mere notion of 'making a fuss'*Extreme awkwardness when faced with any social greeting beyond a brisk handshake*An unhealthy preoccupation with meteorologyDoctors have also reported several cases of unnecessary apologising, an obsessive interest in correct queuing etiquette and dramatic sighing in the presence of loud teenagers on public transport. If yo...

'If you're looking to ease yourself back into normality after lockdown, Born to be Mild should be top of your reading list' Mail OnlineA funny, life-affirming memoir from the creator of social media empire Very British Problems, about how to start again when everything's gone wrong.By the time Rob Temple hit his thirties, he had become so afraid of the world that he couldn't leave the hous...

Have you ever...Got into a four-hour argument over what does and does not belong in a full English breakfast?Sat perfectly still in terrified silence until the unknown number stops ringing and goes away?Replied to the question 'Can I get you anything? Tea, coffee, water?' with 'Lovely, thanks'?...then you may (still) be suffering from VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS....

Do you . . .Carry emergency teabags in your backpack?Quietly tut at badly formed 'queues'?Cleverly avoid blisters by wearing socks with your sandals?. . . then you may be suffering from (more) VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS.In this sequel to the original and quite-funny-if-you-like-that-sort-of-thing Very British Problems book, Rob Temple is taking us out of our comfort zone. W...

'Temple is a humourist in the classic British mode ... he has a genuine comic gift' Daily Mail'A refreshingly unpolished memoir' - S Magazine'If you're looking to ease yourself back into normality after lockdown, Born to be Mild should be top of your reading list' - Mail Online'A handful of years ago, I moved with my wife to a house on a quiet street in a quiet town and lay qu...

A frank and witty memoir of life at the Bar and on the Bench, from former High Court Judge The Hon. Sir Harry Ognall.For many years, Harry Ognall enjoyed a formidable reputation as an advocate at the criminal Bar. As counsel, and later as judge, he was involved in numerous high-profile trials, both in Britain and abroad.Among many cases as a QC, he prosecuted Peter Sutcliffe, the so-called ‘Yorkshire Ripper’. He successfully defended six officers of the Air...

**“Do you want to write clearer, livelier prose? This witty primer will help.” —The New York Times Book ReviewAn exploration of how the most ordinary words can be turned into verbal constellations of extraordinary grace through the art of building sentences**The sentence is the common ground where every writer walks. A good sentence can be written (and read) by anyone if we simply give it the gift of our time, and it is as close as most of us will get to making som...