Simon Mayo first opened his confessional in 1988 on BBC Radio 1's Breakfast Show. Every day, one shamefaced listener would share their deepest, darkest secret while millions tuned in to find out whether or not Simon would grant his forgiveness.Over twenty years later, Simon presents the daily Drivetime show on BBC Radio 2, and the confessions segment is back. Now those guilty listeners who missed their chance first time round have joined a whole new generation of sinners to beg for...

Can a crocodile spit? What does the Queen have for dinner? How do you measure a rainbow? Why is q always followed by u?Originally open for children to phone in with their homework issues, these days the 'Homework Sucks' segment of Simon Mayo's award-winning Drivetime show invites listeners of all ages to send in questions they've always wanted to ask. Because the chances are a member of the very clever Radio 2 audience will have an answer. So now all you need to do is lear...

Thrills. Danger. And world domination. Itch is as action-packed and suspenseful as a novel for young readers can get!Fourteen-year-old Itchingham Lofte, nicknamed Itch, has an unusual passion: collecting specimens of every element in the periodic table. So what if that means he's had a few ... mishaps? But when he gets his hands on a suspiciously warm rock made of a new, previously unknown element, things really begin to explode. Soon, a malevolent teacher, an evil-doing c...

The war of 1812 is over, but for the inmates at Dartmoor Prison, peace—like home—is still a long way away.On New Year’s Eve 1814, the American sailors of the Eagle finally arrive at Dartmoor prison, bedraggled, exhausted, but burning with hope. They’ve only had one thing to sustain them during the har- rowing voyage—a snatched whisper overheard along the way. The war is finally over.Joe Hill thought he’d left the war outside these walls but it’s quickly clear that there’s a different type ...

The surgery is now open . . .For over a decade, Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode have been sharing their film expertise with each other (and occasionally the odd listener) on the airwaves. Now they are donning their surgical scrubs and bringing their unique blend of deep movie knowledge and medical ignorance to their new guise as the Movie Doctors. Mayo and Kermode are armed and ready to offer improbable cinematic cures for the dilemmas of modern life.Suffering with insomnia and...

Itchingham Lofte is back—and now he's the most protected boy in the world! After narrowly escaping the thugs from Greencorps and disposing of element 126, Itch and his family live under constant surveillance by England's famed MI5. But even these top agents may not be able to help him when enemies old and new scheme to get their hands on the super-radioactive rocks—even if they have to kill Itch to do it. Filled with danger, thrills, and some shocking surprises, this suspenseful sequel is ...

When science obsessed teenager, Itch discovers a powerful new radioactive element, he’s forced to go on the run to protect it from Greencorp, a sinister organisation seeking to weaponize it. But when the rock gives Itch radiation poisoning, and his closest friend betrays him, Itch risks losing the rock, putting the entire planet in danger.

This book discusses innovative methods for mining information from images of plants, especially leaves, and highlights the diagnostic features that can be implemented in fully automatic systems for identifying plant species. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, it explores the problem of plant species identification, covering both the concepts of taxonomy and morphology. It then provides an overview of morphometrics, including the historical background and the main steps in the morphomet...

The BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show that pits three comic generations against each other, presented by Simon MayoSimon Mayo hosts a comedic battle between three teams to find out which is the funniest generation. Will the Up and Comers, the Current Crop or the Old Guard be crowned as the Golden Age of Comedy?In these eighteen episodes, the contestants share their favourite jokes, trade comedic banter and go up against each other in quickfire rounds including ...

It is increasingly recognised that instead of relying on top-down commands or leaving individuals to their own devices, communities should be given a role in tackling challenges exacerbated by global crises.Written by a team of leading experts with in-depth knowledge and on-the-ground experience, this book sets out why and how people’s lives can be positively transformed through diverse forms of community involvement.This book critically explores examples from around the wo...

Tracing the evolution of one of the most ancient major branches of flowering plants, this is a wide-ranging survey of state-of-the-art research on the early clades of the monocot phylogenetic tree. It explores a series of broad but linked themes, providing for the first time a detailed and coherent view of the taxa of the early monocot lineages, how they diversified and their importance in monocots as a whole. Featuring contributions from leaders in the field, the chapters trace the evolut...

Cryptic species are organisms which look identical, but which represent distinct evolutionary lineages. They are an emerging trend in organismal biology across all groups, from flatworms, insects, amphibians, primates, to vascular plants. This book critically evaluates the phenomenon of cryptic species and demonstrates how they can play a valuable role in improving our understanding of evolution, in particular of morphological stasis. It also explores how the recognition of cryptic species...