Puzzles, quizzes, mind games, brain benders, teasers, riddles and the like have been around for thousands of years. Fascinating examples of mind benders can be found in Chinese, Greek, Roman and other histories, many that still test our skills today. There are many books of recreational mathematics and logic puzzles, ranging from the suitably learned to downright examples of fun. The contents of this modest volume I have collected over the past 40 years, some of which I have contributed to...

Gordon is a quiet and inoffensive man and an excellent draughtsman and designer, but he has three problems: an overbearing and unloving wife, a noisy neighbour with a noisy dog and no appreciation at all of his talents by his boss at work. However, his luck changes when, with a friend and work colleague, he goes to an auction of antiques. There he successfully bids for an old sea captain's trunk, in which he finds a strange telescope. It transforms his life, but what is its true purpose an...

The great philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said 'Logic is not a body of knowledge'. I would rather have it that logic is a clear way of thinking, of using knowledge. And that's what you need to solve many puzzles and teasers. Another famous writer, Stendahl, said 'Logic is neither a science nor an art, but a dodge'. Well, some of the teasers here might seem to be dodges, certainly some are trickier than others. Some may have been around for some time in one form or another, and some are new...

Magic squares it seems have been around for some 4000 years, possibly starting with the 'Loh Shu' square of Chinese legend. They have ever exercised the minds of recreational puzzlers and mathematicians alike; they have featured in art, architecture and books (both novels and learned writings). In this collection I have gathered together a selection from the many sources and added a few touches of my own. It is not a learned text and contains only a modest bit of real maths; it may bore ma...

Here we have five short tales of love: love found, love lost, love of place, love realized and love of a son. Love can be surprising and unexpected as Bonny Woodward discovers when she is mistaken for a shop assistant and eventually finds more than filo pastry in a supermarket. Across the sparks and crackle of a bonfire Clare sees a face she thought she had left behind her. Alex Steadman is both enchanted and disturbed by her new home and then a chance meeting with a tabby cat helps her to...

Here are four tales of mystery; each one is fiction, but each is also based on a folk tale or a legend. 'The Red Hound of Pooley' is my invention, but there are numerous stories in many different localities of mysterious hounds or dogs, some stranger and some darker than others. In this one a young bricklayer's mate one night encounters a red hound and does it a favour. When he tells him parents they are terrified of the possible consequences, for a similar legendary hound is said to bring...

Four tales of love. In 'The Tweed Jacket' Raymond buys a second-hand coat and gets more than he expected. In seeking to resolve a mystery he finds maybe something that may change his life once again. Part of love is trust, but has Carly's husband broken hers? In 'A Strain on Love' chance sightings seem to confirm the worst; is there another woman looming into their lives? In 'Out of the Mouths of Babes' the old adage may appear to be true; the babe Emily may be more perceptive than mother,...

This is a dictionary that is extraordinarily different. It is the most comprehensive listing of French words and phrases associated with French food and dining you will ever see. A great many of the words listed simply do not appear in standard French-English dictionaries and yet they are in common use, especially with professionals. The words and their meanings have been researched from many sources, including actual French menus and culinary guides. Many are regional or historic in origi...

Words have fascinated many great men and women for centuries; Dr Samuel Johnson said, 'Words are the signs of ideas', while Rudyard Kipling said, 'Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.' Words can be like music and entertain, they can sooth and excite and give pleasure; they can also inform, instruct and educate. They can fulfil dreams or inspire them. Above all they can be fun. The aim in this book is not toward high literary merit, but toward a stirring of the litt...

This is a dictionary that is extraordinarily different. It is the most comprehensive listing of French words and phrases associated with French food and dining you will ever see. A great many of the words listed simply do not appear in standard French-English dictionaries and yet they are in common use, especially with professionals. The words and their meanings have been researched from many sources, including actual French menus and culinary guides. Many are regional or historic in origi...

This is a dictionary that is extraordinarily different. It is the most comprehensive listing of French words and phrases associated with French food and dining you will ever see. A great many of the words listed simply do not appear in standard French-English dictionaries and yet they are in common use, especially with professionals. The words and their meanings have been researched from many sources, including actual French menus and culinary guides. Many are regional or historic in origi...

Benedict Mason, recently discharged from the British Army after a training accident, is a claims investigator with an insurance company in Bristol. He is ordered to do a fast-track course relating to diamonds and then to join a team charged with setting up a database on diamond theft and recovery. But before he gets very far with any investigations he becomes trapped into an armed robbery of a large quantity of diamonds – there is a fatality.The mastermind behind the robbery is a we...