Fastovski's Tales of Hampstead

Imagine that Isaac Babel’s Cossacks wassail together with Runyonesque Liverpool Jews outside the plate-glass window of a Hampstead café where a Klezmer band is playing to a packed and tea-drinking congregation of jazzmen, Hasidic scholars, surrealists, old soldiers, and retired strippers; and you have the tone and temperature of this unique and unclassifiable memoir – no, not memoir, more a stream-of-consciousness novella – no, not a novella but a piece of autobiographical fiction – no, not autobiography but a picaresque drama conquered from the unreliable and fertile brain of the eponymous Fastovski.

And who is Fastovski? Is he real or invented? Is he perhaps the alter-ego of real-life jazz pianist, Klezmer swinger, big band leader and flaneur, Wallace Fields, who stares at us from the book’s frontispiece in shades, Diaghilev coat and moustache, over a cup of strong black coffee? Fastovski’s not telling and anyway, who cares.

This is a book to be devoured, disseminated, denounced, and delighted in. It belongs to all who think art and life are one and that the Arch-Savant of Canterbury, Issy Bonn, Rashid the Manic Berber Chef of NW3, and Mrs Karl Popper, have an equal claim on history. I haven’t had such a good time since I shared Sir Ralph Richardson’s motorbike with a parrot and a striking grandmother clock.

Piers Plowright
August 2008

Fate and The Lady

Fate and the Lady follows the modern day story of district nurse Christina Wise and her chance meeting with enigmatic ex-quarryman Mercy Slaughter and his friend FJ.

Christina will be tested in her feelings for this man and his obsessive need to right a wrong committed against himself and his friends during a medieval battle re-enactment only a couple of years previously. His compulsion risks putting them all in mortal danger and even result in an international incident.

Will Christina be able to save Slaughter from himself, or will he continue in his path of self-destruction?

Add to the mix a French politician and his sidekick with an axe to grind; a hardcore group of Englishmen with vengeance in mind; and a mysterious Turkish billionairess with her own designs on Slaughter; and you end up with a volatile mix of sex, intrigue and bloody hand-to-hand combat.

Feelings of the Moment

Ahmed, a young man hailing from the Middle East, relocates to America to study. In the US, he sees, and is excited by, a sexual freedom uncommon in his homeland, and vows to live his young life to the full. Initially staying in Colorado with a married couple, Ahmed seduces Debbie, who is unappreciated by her husband, and his voyage of passion begins.

More encounters with American women follow, as Ahmed invites them to surrender to both themselves and to him; though with his appetite for sexual exploration unsatiated, he returns to the United Arab Emirates, applying the same methods, albeit covertly in a more conservative society, to embolden the women he meets to revel in their sexuality, and make their lustful fantasies a reality.

Ahmed realizes that the women he meets both at home and abroad, even those enjoying a Westernised sexual liberty, are oppressed in their own way, unable to express themselves as they truly desire, with some of them starved of intimate pleasure by husbands who have settled for a boring, predictable way of life. Acting on this, he encourages them to explore their deepest desires, and as they surrender to those hidden yearnings and the feelings of the moment, they embrace each other’s bodies with zeal, satisfying needs that, for some, have been left unfulfilled for years.

Female Olympic Weightlifters

Not many books are available in the market of the weightlifting world to guide coaches on how to help female weightlifters, and lonely female weightlifters who don’t have a coach. Since I moved to the UK, I have had the chance to coach 1350 young and junior lifters in over 28 schools and my 6 clubs in 5 different London boroughs, of which half of them were female and I learnt how to deal with female lifters and educate myself to give my best knowledge to help them find their best. Since I became chief coach of the Odisha high performance center, I have worked hard to update my knowledge up to the world standard of a coach who deals with 40 lifters at the same time, 24 hours a day. I am still learning and would like to pass on what I learn to others from my 35 years of coaching and lifting experience. I have also written another book about how to coach at weightlifting competitions called How to win Olympic Weightlifting Competition.

Final Settlement

Life during South Africa’s apartheid times had been idyllic for the white residents of a small village in the picturesque Nede Valley. Ken Chandler witnessed this when he moved there from England. However, he thought things would need to change following the abolition of apartheid and he saw that the nature and governance in the nearest towns and smaller townships had changed rapidly to suit the needs of the Zulu and Indian residents, but nothing had changed within the Nede valley.

How they were to maintain a “whites only” village was a major concern for its residents, but how were they to achieve this? Would it be amicably achieved or would they need to resort to violence? Eventually, change was brought about in the village, but not in a way that anyone would have envisaged.

Finger of Suspicion

This novel depicts events that happened to officers from Strathclyde Police covering the periods between 1990 and 2003. The names have been changed in most circumstances to protect those involved but the detail within the stories reflect events that happened and written by me in my own words as an interpretation of what I recall.

Being a police officer during this time was rewarding and I met many lovely people whilst I worked there and still remain friends with many of them.

Policing during that era was difficult and drugs were a major scourge in the deprived areas in the north of Glasgow and many families lost loved ones through overdose or other serious drug related illnesses. The criminal gangs operated in these areas ruled by fear with many drug dealers only doing it to repay a debt.

The stories provide an insight into a behind the scenes look at how investigations are managed and the characters involved in running them. It is a sad depiction of life at the front end of policing, dealing with death and misery. More alarmingly, it will discuss the lack of support provided by senior officers towards other lower level colleagues.

The author used every power of strength and determination to set the record straight with some of the events and was helped by a few other like-minded friends. It is a story of belief in one another and colleagues involved in these incidents all looked out for one another—which didn’t always happen but I am glad we did!

FiveChamp

Discover an electrifying tale where Mother Nature herself orchestrates a new dawn for humanity, converging five extraordinary strangers in the pulsating heart of New York City. Together, they form FiveChamp, a sports team unlike any the world has ever seen, epitomizing endurance, determination, strength, and sportsmanship. But can any team possibly defeat them? The stakes are high: it’s the world versus five!

As they navigate the high-octane arena of sports, FiveChamp also grapples with a darker challenge: the insidious corruption and underworld mafias infiltrating the glamorous world of athletics. Their battle intensifies when an infamous New York serial killer is mysteriously resurrected, unleashing chaos in the city they call home.

Immerse yourself in the gripping saga of FiveChamp as they battle both human vice and supernatural malevolence. Armed with unwavering teamwork and virtuous sportsmanship, they not only aim to vanquish evil but also inspire a new paradigm for unity and valour. Can they triumph over overwhelming odds and capture our hearts? The clock is ticking, and the game has just begun.

Fleeting Images from a Bloodied Past

Ships against the sea! Was…STILL IS, a threat to all the vessels who sail upon her, and especially so, an ever-present threat to the crews who do their duty and put their lives in harm's way. Of violent storms, tempests… All the unpredictable hell of crosswinds, headwinds and tailwinds, roaring madly like some frenzied monster, changing direction, attempting to plunge the man-made object under the vengeful, towering and swamping thunderous waves, against which so many hardy ships have foundered, perished and been lost. The fact that the CSS Alabama came through such a storm and survived this maelstrom is testimony to the meticulous skills and concentrated painstaking patience and hard work of Laird's well-led and well-managed shipbuilding workforce and professional seamanship, that ensured the crew's safe passage and escape from this seaborne wretchedness. Warships, which survived incredible battle experience, and - at war's end - were reviewed for conversion, replacement or the breaker's yard was a consideration. Not all, however, because the fate of HMS Zealous continued in a new page of history, when she was transferred to the Israeli Navy. Later, in 1967, whilst out on patrol in the Eastern Mediterranean, she was suddenly attacked by Egyptian warships equipped with superior firepower. The new crew of this old warhorse knew that the fate of their emerging and vibrant new nation, fighting to retain her hard-fought existence, was dependent upon their spirited defence. Despite the fact that they were up against Soviet-supplied STYX surface-to-surface missiles, against which they had no defence, they steered into battle, undaunted. With battle pennants flying, they bravely challenged the enemy. Their fearlessness and courage shone in the face of certain destruction and ultimate sacrifice. The Cammell Laird scenario is riveting and strikingly dramatic…

Flight to Freedom

The planning was complete, and the three girls started their once in a lifetime journey. It had taken a lot of planning, but not as much as was needed later. It all started off so well but left Deb in a filthy cell with nothing to do but count the cockroaches, which there were many, the fetid water she was given gave her stomach cramps.

Then Dad arrived… but how?

He grabbed her quickly and pulled her near the door to unlock the hand and ankle cuffs that secured her. She sighed so he did not need to check her pulse. He managed to lift her onto his shoulder, noticing how light she was – a bonus in a way – as he managed to move quickly across the road. He quickly retrieved his bow and disappeared into the bushes, managing to trip only twice and never enough to floor him. Can they get away for good?

Floxy the Mermaid

This is the tale of a kind little mermaid called Floxy who is very upset that her fourth birthday party has been cancelled because of the ‘coral virus’.

One day, to cheer herself up, she swims out to the rusty old anchor and discovers a poor turtle trapped underneath a rock.

The story unfolds, and just like a birthday present, it is all wrapped up, this time in a soft seaweed blanket of kindness, selflessness and love.

For The Love of Poetry

John Butler-Hopkins’ For the Love of Poetry opens, appropriately enough, with a sequence of poems about romantic love in all its aspects: the dizzying ecstasies of infatuation and first love, then the brutal lessons of rejection and betrayal, and finally the discovery of a soul mate and the development of a true, long-term relationship.

By contrast, the book’s second half is concerned with the tragedy of young men going to fight in the First World War. Within this, the section ‘The Lost Letters’ combines the subjects of love and war as a soldier and his lover share memories of happier times while they live through the horrors of their current situation.

If you love to read about deep and powerful human-centred emotions, this is a book for you.

Forever Love

Experience a love story that transcends time and place in Forever Love. When a young man living in the bustling metropolis of New York City is transported into a dream world, he discovers a love so profound that it defies explanation.

In this alternate reality, he finds himself living with a woman who is his wife in another century and country. As he delves deeper into the mystery of this dream world, he realizes that his actions could have real-world consequences for himself and his relatives in Sicily.

With the help of his trusted friends, he embarks on a journey to mitigate the danger and uncover the truth behind this mystical love story. Through the power of hypnosis, he unravels the secrets of his dream world and discovers a connection that spans across centuries.

Join our hero on this thrilling adventure as he travels to a far-off land in pursuit of a love that has no bounds. With danger lurking around every corner, he must navigate treacherous waters to protect himself and those he holds dear. Will he uncover the truth behind this mystical love story, or will he be forever lost in a dream world of his own making? Find out in Forever Love.