Ripping the Veil

Anglers are not always perceived to be the most rational of people. For those who get involved in rod fishing, what might start as a curiosity, gradually becomes a passion that often develops into a full-blown, all-consuming addiction. Apparently, there is no cure. Repeated scenarios of utter failure, near-drowning, broken relationships and disarming exhaustion only whet the appetite for renewed effort. No wonder the non-angling majority considers the whole venture as incomprehensible and one of insanity.

However, the angling body is no small minority. It will happily embrace the label of ‘insane’ if that is what it takes to sustain what, for those who are smitten, is no less than a lifestyle. These are the people who are driven to explore what lies beneath the water’s surface. They thrive on the thrill of revealing the secrets of a hidden world. For them, ripping the veil between air and water is not a casual option but a glorious and compulsive expression of evolutionary history – a relic strategy of survival. At least, this is their excuse.

Rising from the Rubbles - Memoir of Resilience and Hope

Meet Funmi Noah: resilient and full of hope, with the unflinching determination to survive in the face of setbacks. This is an engaging memoir that encourages the reader to re-think giving up when life becomes overwhelming. It’s full of everyday references and familiar situations that make the book an easy read from start to finish. 

Rita's People

‘I am just an ordinary, everyday person who through no fault of my own at the age of forty had an out-of-body experience; from that moment I heard voices. At first I thought I was going mad, but on approaching a spiritual church was told by them that I had a special gift. I went on to learn through knowledge and understanding and joined a circle in the church which brought me to where I am today. I have people coming back to me asking how I do it. The answer I give is what my spiritual guide told me once: that to become a good medium you have either suffered in the life you have been given or illness overtakes you while you are on this earth. Trauma of this spills over into the part of the brain that we use while we are living; this spills onto the soul that we use when we pass over, giving us mediums the chance to communicate with the spirit world. Love is all around.’ Rita Watson

Rivers of Light

Rivers of Light draws deeply on the ancient Chinese teachings of the Five Elements, guiding the reader through a personal wisdom journey of awakening and understanding. The teachings of the Five Elements describe our intimate connection to the laws, cycles and movements of nature, showing how all the Five Elements of the natural world live and work within each of us. However, we have an essential relationship with just one element, which plays out through a person’s life and has a central role in all aspects of health, from the physical to the emotional, mental and spiritual.

The author interprets this elemental relationship as karmic. She invites the reader to take a personal voyage as the book moves through the challenging shadowlands of stressful and difficult times that we all encounter, to lighter and blissful realms of higher consciousness, or the domain of the soul.

Using meditations, affirmations and colourful descriptions alongside the text, the reader is drawn into a fascinating world of discovery, to answer the deeper questions that we all meet as we move through life:

‘Why do I feel as I do?’

‘Who am I really?’

‘What am I here to learn or to understand?’

To know ourselves on a profound level is perhaps more urgent than ever before, as we come face to face with uncertainty in this rapidly changing world.

Robin Hood - The New Evidence

The story of Robin Hood is very well known. Writers and historians have been reading and rewriting it, analysing and altering it since Ritson published his version in 1795, more than 200 years ago. The story has been published in many forms, including books, films, TV and radio programs, articles held in the World Wide Web and probably many others. As far as can be ascertained, they all have two things in common: they all contain many errors and they all fail to explain a number of mysteries.

In his book, Geoff Wilson has corrected many of the errors and has explained many of the mysteries. This he has done by accessing many surprising sources of evidence, including, for example, the British Geological Survey, aerial photography and by following on foot several of Robin Hood’s journeys described in the ballads. Practical tests were also carried out. The author’s sons (both quite young at the time) were encouraged to shout at the top of their voices in one particular location to test if sounds do in fact echo in the valleys. They do.

Among the mysteries solved are the identities of Sir Richard at the Lee and the location of Verysdale and the Village of Lee. The ‘fayre castell’ described in the Gest is also identified, as is the chapel in Barnsdale dedicated to Mary Magdalene and described in stanza 440 of the Gest. One mystery which remains unresolved, however, is the identity of Robin himself. Perhaps he is, after all, just a yeoman named Robin Hood, although the claims of an alternative candidate are seriously considered.

Rose's Children

When a young woman promises her dying mammie that she will keep her seven siblings together in the family home, she has no idea of the huge responsibility this would become. 1940s' Ireland was a cruel and unforgiving country to abandoned and orphaned children. Notoriously run by Religious Orders of Nuns and Brothers, orphanages and church homes were a final bitter resort. Devoutly religious, Rose McGorry's one obsession as she approached her death was praying to her Heavenly Father that her beloved children never suffer the pain of being separated or the shame of succumbing to the poverty that surrounded them. How these eight young people managed to stay close and survive is a tribute to the mother who loved them and the strength with which she imbued all her children.

Rotting Man Goes to Town

Rotting Man Goes to Town deals with an adult relationship; which is in deep trauma from the outset of the story. Its technique is predominately dual narration, going from him to her vantage points. There are two sides to every story. Some of the language is hard-hitting, with angry scenes or mindsets, including some swearing. Political incorrectness exists in parts. The emotions are raw. It is a compelling and authentic read. It begins badly. How will it end?

The initial setting is in America, with flashbacks to Britain, meant to counter the: hurt, sadness and anger, by the use of the device of injecting past comedic episodes. Levity and tragedy are seen in animal antics. Thus, the humorous scenes are meant to bring a balance to the novel overall.

With the exception of the animals’ names, which remain true, all human names have been changed.

Royal Engineer

As compelling as it is a delight to read, Royal Engineer is a military memoir that is truly a breath of fresh air and a ‘must’ read for anyone who has an interest in either the military or modern history, and for those who quite simply enjoy a good read.

Fascinating, honest, gripping, hard-hitting and never shying away from the truth, the author’s passion for chronicling his and others’ past events and experiences becomes abundantly clear from the very beginning. The unique style of writing and the way in which detailed narratives are brilliantly incorporated make Royal Engineer a powerful and moving memoir. Emotions, opinions, positives, and negatives are freely shared with the reader to ensure that there is no sugar-coating on subjects and matters that are of a sensitive and topical nature in today’s world.

Be prepared for a reading experience like no other because Royal Engineer is filled with comprehensive and engaging narratives that will have the reader mesmerised from the very first page, and it is also a remarkable piece of writing because of the honest approach and evocative language the author adopts throughout.

Sailing Through Life...

When Nick Ardley asked for a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, the aftershocks of a prostate cancer diagnosis were momentous. Frightened, he said he was too young to die. Petrified, he understandably broke down. But all was not lost: his family and the boat shared with his wife were soon at work repairing his life.

A life-long sailor, the salt marsh fringed waters of the greater Thames estuary had always enthralled, and it was to them he went for healing. It’s a place where in the free flow of a saline breeze his mind cleared, and he began treating it all as just another little illness. Like a cold, he said, knowing full well it wasn’t! Sailing up the River Thames, he announced to his wife his choice of the medical directions offered. Later, after mooring off Gravesend, both cried together.

Ardley’s treatment overlapped the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, the serious stuff was done and dusted. The pandemic brought new trials. The couple were frighteningly threatened by a fellow yachtsman who disliked an Ardley web blog … the horror of that summer has remained fresh.

Throughout the telling of Ardley’s tales, his story, sailing with family and friends, country walking and living life, he has maintained a normality. Perhaps a familiar story, but it comes with a warning: Men, get yourselves tested before it’s too late!

So, onwards he goes, sailing through life…

SCAD Straight from the Heart

This book contains true stories from real survivors in the hopes of raising awareness of an uncommon cause of heart attack in women and men.

The emotional effect of SCAD can be quite traumatic for both the survivors and those around them. It is hoped that this book will help newly diagnosed SCAD survivors to understand that they are not alone in this journey. It is also hoped that this book will assist those close to the newly diagnosed survivors to understand SCAD and the emotional effect that it has.

Scallywag – My Duvet Diva

Scallywag – My Duvet Diva is a true story about a man trying to rebuild his life, and a dog in need of a second chance.

It tells of their adventures together ashore and aboard their canal boat “Bluebell”, of their developing relationship and of their deepening companionship.

Atmospheric, funny, and sometimes sad, it will make you both laugh and cry.

Keep the tissues handy!

Science and God: Enemies or Allies?

Some say, ‘I cannot believe in God because science has disproved it!’ It is now apparent that such reasoning is invalid.

Modern science supports what the Bible teaches, and the Bible supplies what science cannot.

This book demonstrates this unity with many facts and examples, showing how conflicts in the past have been resolved and how this is relevant to how we live today.