From the Leader's Chair

Kenneth Sillito is internationally recognised as one of Britain's most distinguished musicians. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he studied with David Martin at the Royal Academy of Music, and in Rome with Remy Principe. His first major appointment was as associate leader of the newly created English Chamber Orchestra in 1960. He was subsequently appointed leader and remained with the orchestra until 1973, during which time he established a worldwide reputation as both director and soloist. In 1967, he founded the Gabrieli String Quartet, which swiftly established itself as one of this country's leading chamber ensembles. With the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, which he joined in l980, Kenneth led and directed innumerable distinguished recordings and performances until his retirement in 2012. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Academy in 1971 and awarded the highly prestigious Cobbett Medal in 2017 by The Worshipful Company of Musicians for his services to chamber music.

From Where I Stand

When two or more people find sufficient in common to call themselves ‘us’, they will strengthen their togetherness by looking for a ‘them’ to dislike.

Indarjit’s law

It’s fashionable to talk of ‘hate crime’ as if a small minority of people are infected with a virus of hate against those they see as different. It is not like that. Prejudice and fear of difference affects us all. 

I learnt about my Sikh religion almost as an outsider looking in to find surprising teachings on justice, compassion and a need to stand up for others.

Discrimination in employment in the ’60s, normal and lawful at the time, led to my turning down a well-paid job to go to India, where writing under the pen name of Victor Pendry, I became a local hero to the Sikh community suffering majority persecution. This standing up to injustice through writing, speaking and importantly, humour, is the story of this book.

You cannot choose your battlefield

 God does that for you

 But you can plant a standard

Where  a standard never flew.

Nathalia Crane

Fundamentals of Aircrew Performance

Fundamentals of Aircrew Performance
This book takes the latest developments in psychology (learning, stress management, coaching, personality, etc.), neuroscience (cognition, memory, data-processing, etc.), and linguistics (cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), neuro-linguistic programing (NLP), etc.) and shows how they can be applied in a practical way to improve the performance of aircrew. It complements the skills training and aviation medicine training currently undertaken by aircrew to allow them to perform at their best in the high-stress, data-rich environments of modern aircraft.
‘Airmanship’ is a much-overused word in the aviation world: Part 1 of this book will allow the reader to have a much clearer idea of what it is, together with concrete and practical ways to improve ‘cognitive airmanship’. Each chapter includes sections to aid in the assessment and instruction of these skills.
Part 2 of the book covers Aircrew Performance Coaching, detailing how executive coaching techniques can be combined with sports psychology to provide a unique and proven system applicable to aircrew.

Gardens of Deprivation

The first four decades of my life were spent in a small country that was nested in a hostile and unstable old region, Israel. I strongly felt, enjoyed, and participated in, the revival of that country and experienced the uneasy reintegration of the returning descendants of Abraham, Issac and Jacob from the four corners of the world. I have felt the pain of the less happy residents of that reviving country. In particular, I have felt the hardship of the Mizrachi Israelis – the Jewish returnees and refugees from Arab countries.

I have wished to live in a world that is not divided by religion, ethnicity and skin colour. As there is no such world, I embraced the second best – the remote, sparsely populated southern continent that has provided a home to convicts and refugees from the old world. I arrived in that continent, Australia, at almost forty years of age with an already developed strong sensitivity to ethnic-based social injustices.

My tales from my land of origin and from my land of choice record interwoven personal and national memoirs of ethnically based inequalities and injustices. I wrote those tales with a hope that they will make a contribution to the moderation of the intensity of such social problems. The colour of my tales is brown – the typical colour of the skin of the Mizrachi Israelis and the colour of many members of the minority ethnic groups that live in Australia.

Gas Meter Knees

“It wasn’t until I was 13 that I realised pressing 50 pence pieces into Plasticine sheets and filling the impressions with water, freezing overnight and quickly using the ice coins in the electric meter slots wasn’t normal behaviour.” From raiding the bins of London fashion labels, to being asked to bury dead bodies in a flyover, being beaten unconscious twice in one day, to regularly driving my inebriated maths teacher back to school for a fee, finding my boss dead in a mysterious suicide and dragging a teetering motorcyclist to safety on a busy A3 flyover to avoid certain death, the weekly war with the bailiffs doggedly trying to repossess my TV, and finally an attempt to emulate Evel Knievel by jumping a pickup truck in Wimbledon Stadium. I learned the hard way that nobody was going to save me except myself – all this before the age of 16. A real-life rags-to-relative-affluence story which takes us from humble SW17 origins to the bustling streets of Singapore and Tokyo. The story is as diverse and delightfully absurd as it gets. If I hadn’t lived every moment, I wouldn’t believe it either.

Gathering Moss

An atmospheric, mainly biographical story set in the 1930s-1950s, of a British Naval Officer's determination to foil the enemy's wartime dive bombing of our fleet. Hundreds of lives were saved by his suggested adaptation of the big, anti-aircraft barrage balloons which were flown above cities and other land based targets, to be specially tailored for the defence of shipping as well.

Combined with this moving story is a colourful account of family life at that time, and it was not very long after the ending of the Second World War that Commander "Basher" Boorman began to find himself involved in certain minor skirmishes on his own home front.

Commander's daughters do not always obey orders, even if their father has the appropriate rank, and this teenager certainly had a mind of her own. Determined to pursue a career not approved by her father, Basher's daughter found herself to be out-manoeuvred. But battles sometimes resolve themselves in unexpected ways, as was eventually the way with this particular one.

'Gathering Moss' is a fast moving, evocative story which covers a variety of events, backgrounds, and human emotions.

God's Childminder

In this book, Jean Barbour Clark gives us a glimpse of the many challenges she faced when caring for children in churches from the late 1950s until 1995. The churches tended to be in disadvantaged areas and Jean shares with us the many struggles she encountered and also the tremendous personal rewards. This is a refreshing account of one woman’s desire to give children memories to treasure – golden moments that they will be able to look back on with great affection and warmth.

You will shed the odd tear when you read this engaging memoir. But don’t be surprised if you also find yourself laughing out loud as you empathise with the author’s many struggles to keep abreast of the ever-changing children’s culture.

The book is written in such a way that each story can stand on its own, the reader will find it difficult to put it down.

God's Day of Salvation

“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever’—therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” From Genesis 3.

We were shut out of the garden of Eden; lost the right to the tree of life; were cursed to painful toil (men); were cursed to painful childbearing (women); and became innately disobedient to the God who created us.

The problem is serious, but the solution is wonderful. It centres on the person Jesus Christ, who will as the Bible describes redeem us from our fallen state and restore our right to the tree of life – and to eternal life. This book unpacks what the Old and New Testaments say about God’s day of salvation.

Good Fat Lip Smack Diet

This book is a practical, informative approach to “begin your journey” into weight loss. The idea of “good fats” as opposed to the unhealthy and detrimental “saturated fats” sets this method apart from the rest.

Other dieting methods are critically evaluated and exercise routines are covered briefly. There is a worldwide pandemic of obesity in developed and some developing countries.

Sugar is the killer!

Good Luck for You, Good Dreams for Me!

No good story ever started with: “I checked into my five-star hotel and ordered a pina colada.” Mine starts with: “So, I’m dancing around the witch doctor’s coffin in a small village on the Thai/Myanmar border.”

Grab your passport and come with me on a crazy adventure to Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal and many more countries.

You will experience the joy, heartbreak, triumph, exhaustion, calamity, love and exhilaration of volunteering in underdeveloped countries. The feeling of accomplishment is priceless.

You will climb volcanoes, teach incredible kids, bathe elephants, dance in conga lines, fly kites, crash on motorbikes, drink too much, visit medicine men, feed hungry kids, survive earthquakes, visit stunning temples, help families in poverty and see the most beautiful sunsets on the planet!

I have been robbed, crashed from paragliding, been hacked innumerable times, lost my backpack, had all my clothes stolen, had endless illnesses and much more. If that is the price of helping out the underprivileged kids, then I’m all in! If I can inspire people to “go, volunteer, make a difference”, then we all win!

Granddad's Babies

In Granddad’s Babies, readers embark on a heartfelt journey through the life of Peter, a devoted husband, father, and doting grandfather. With unwavering love and boundless joy, Peter cherishes every moment spent with his growing family, especially his beloved grandsons. This touching book takes us on a nostalgic ride, delving into cherished memories that span across the years, each one filled with laughter, love, and the indomitable spirit of family bonds. As we navigate through the pages, we witness Peter’s unwavering presence and support for his children as they navigate the trials and triumphs of life. However, the narrative takes a poignant turn as it leads us to the year 2019, where the inevitable departure of this remarkable man leaves a void that echoes through the hearts of all who knew and loved him.

Granddad’s Babies serves as a poignant tribute, celebrating the enduring legacy of Peter and the profound impact he had on his family’s lives, reminding us of the immeasurable power of love and the timeless connections that transcend even the boundaries of mortality.

Grass Roots

Would you expect a suburban Melbourne solicitor to settle brothel brawls, to locate dead bodies and to search for buried bullion? The author relates all of these adventures and more as he explores engaging stories of humanity, gleaned from decades of legal practice. From courtroom characters to family feuding, the author highlights the true, yet untold stories that show a surprising side of legal practice, told with simplicity and colour. As William Shakespeare said, “An honest tale speeds best being plainly told.” Whilst the author draws on client experiences from the humorous to the harrowing, the stories are respectfully related reflections upon client battles at the grass roots.