Teaching In Chongqing

Today, China is so important. We need to understand why this empire (it is not a country) acts as it does. What are its intentions? This book is not a political analysis, but simply a record of one westerner’s experiences teaching English in Chongqing. Nevertheless, being part of the daily life of ordinary people has given rise to valuable insights. Chongqing is a major city with some 17 million people: it is not a backwater and was China’s wartime capital. But it is important for another reason. The popular mayor when the author began his time there was Bo Xilai, a rival to Xi Jinping; his subsequent removal and imprisonment says a lot.

The author’s daily experiences were fascinating, a real privilege to visit such interesting places and to meet so many wonderful people. These should be shared, which is what this book does.

Teaching in Fuzhou, China

English is the world’s international language. Consequently, many speakers of other languages have taken great pains to make English their second language, mainly for practical reasons rather than for love of the language itself. Practical reasons include travel, business, academic intercourse and inter-governmental communication. China recognises this need and, in consequence, the author spent more than ten years in China, finding the experience interesting, enlightening and exciting, albeit at times frustrating. It was a wonderful time. In the author’s view, it is essential that the world comes to know and understand this huge empire. This book is full of observations from within the country, which should help in presenting China, its people, customs, educational systems and way of life, its contradictions and its attractions as well as its darker side. Most importantly, it gives some insight into how the people think – and this is important. Hopefully readers learn something while enjoying the experience.

Teaching in Tongren, China

Since the accession of Xi Jinping as the supreme Chinese leader, the empire has been becoming increasingly aggressive, to the point of bullying. Its so-called “Belt and Road Initiative” seems designed to lure poorer nations into a debt trap, forcing them into subservience to Chinese demands. Its huge fishing fleet is encroaching upon the legitimate fishing grounds of many other nations. It is seeking to expand its territory to include almost the entire South China Sea, Taiwan, parts of India, Japanese islands, etc. Indeed most of “China” is conquered territory. Chinese efforts to control Australia have been extraordinary.

Yet is this the whole story? This book describes just how wonderful the Chinese people can be. The students I taught at Tongren University were amongst the best I have taught anywhere. It was not hard to love them.

The town of Tongren is itself quite beautiful, surrounded by conical hills and built around the green, winding Li Jiang River.

Tears of No One

This is the true story of an elite Navy medical team in a secret mission to save an isolated tribe from extinction. During the year of 2008, the Brazilian Government sent the Navy hospital ship Oswaldo Cruz to the heart of the Amazonian forest, the intent was to locate and make contact with the female leader of the Korubo tribe, and discover the reason for the massive numbers of deaths of those individuals, who were possibly infected by an unknown disease.

This book will take you into a real heart of darkness adventure, through this history, which is narrated from the standpoint of Chief Medical Officer Lieutenant Callia. You will travel aboard a Brazilian warship into uncharted rivers, will make the first contact with unknown tribes, fight river pirates and tropical diseases, survive the sinking of your boat and finally meet the mythic Korubo tribe, led by the fearless female warrior Maya, and her three husbands.

In a world deeply shaken by Covid and at the edge of a global war, this narrative takes us to a situation which proves that centenary conflicts may be solved through humanity, that science can defeat diseases, and that the love for the next one may change the world. And perhaps, at the end of this book, you may find yourself repeating the endless mantra of the Oswaldo Cruz crew members: Health wherever there is life!

Thank You for My Dinner, May I Get Down Please?

The author always enjoyed a sense of freedom, whether roaming around the Somerset countryside as a child or later on, living offshore with her husband and three daughters on a boat. She considers nothing strictly ‘out of bounds’, and for seventy years no-one has stopped her in her tracks. Thank You for My Dinner really sums up the dichotomy of her life – an upbringing steeped in Victorian-based principles and the free license to go her own way, which was generous even by twenty-first century standards.

This is the story of Celia’s early life coupled with a trip down the river, never completely grown up, always looking for adventure, not anticipating danger, but keeping a sense of fun and a smile through various struggles – and surviving enough to say ‘thank you’ at the end.

That Something Else

What is medicine apart from being a science? What else goes on between doctors and patients? What have ideas like love, healing, and prayer got to do with twenty-first century medicine?

In this unique book, Doctor Tim Harlow shows us that there is a great deal more to medicine than we think. He helps us see how some of the important connections between doctor and patient work in surprising ways. The author sees these routine things from an unusual angle and avoids medical jargon.

He uses his medical lens to show us new questions and make us think about what it means to be human. This book will help both doctors and patients to think about the deep underpinnings of both our lives and our deaths.

Medicine and science are now under public scrutiny as never before. This thought-provoking book steers us towards a better understanding of the place of medicine in the world.

The 50-Year Secret

This is a true story of physical, mental and sexual abuse of a child by someone who you trust the most – a father. Taking place in the ’60s where this sort of crime was unheard of, let alone reported as nobody believed that it happened, this book is full of funny stories and anecdotes but also sadness as the story unfolds eventually ending up in Crown Court.

The A to Z of Alfie Zeller

Dip into The A to Z of Alfie Zeller to find: Petty Officer Sam Zeller, who swam the Channel long before Captain Webb, in a straight line, without body grease in search of escargots; Pierre, who invented Chicken Marengo and was promoted to corporal by Napoleon; Alicia Zeller, who ran the séances at which Arthur Conan Doyle saw fairies. Meet Trooper Zeller, who survived the Charge of the Light Brigade, or would have done, if he’d been there; Zeb Zeller, whose diaries made those of Sam Pepys read like the tedious account of bowel movements which they mostly are; Herman Zeller, who put Franz Kafka on to surrealism; the Zeller who was defenestrated in Prague and fell into a rose bush; and finally meet the Zeller who, although a staunch Royalist, fought in the Parliamentary ranks at Naseby.

It is all explained somewhere and Alfie does not spare the details. If short of a few, he admits to perhaps having made them up. What, he argues, is a slightly dubious fact, if it gets in the way of the truth?

The Aftermath

After a decade of graduate studies in the US, he returned to a homeland transformed—not for the better. The once pristine landscapes were now marred by environmental degradation and polluted waterways. With water becoming a scarce resource, the rural communities who depended heavily on fuelwood stood at a precarious juncture. Urban centers, once bustling with life, now languished in squalor. More disturbingly, he observed a pollution of the mind: those who should have been stewards of the earth were either indifferent or alarmingly unaware. They failed to see the broader implications of their actions. Determined to make a difference, he began advocating for the earth’s restoration, emphasizing its vital significance. After all, the earth is our shared home, and neglecting it risks the future of us all.

The Agile Coach's Cookbook

“With this coach’s cookbook, Jon has managed to create a thing of both great simplicity and immense value. A must read for the coaching community, this is an easily referenceable guide to coaching excellence, full of handy hints, tips, tools and techniques. As a coach, no matter your experience, expertise and specialism, this is a resource you will all want in your back pocket.”

— Gustav Bjorkeroth, CEO at Radtac

“There are so many self-proclaimed-and-promoting agile experts, and best-selling agile authors. It’s challenging to decipher who’s right, who to engage with, or who to follow. Then there’s Jon Ward of Beneficial Consulting. Jon’s pragmatic and catalytic approach nullifies these challenges. Within the world of ‘agile transformation’, transitioning from ‘waterfall to agile’, Jon stands up and out providing practical advice based on successful recent experience. This book provides an essential read for agile coaches who wish to make a difference.”

— Alan Gedye, Head: People Change Management and Enablement, Absa Johannesburg

The Ancient Anthropic Wisdom

Part religious, part scientific study, The Ancient Anthropic Wisdom follows on from the Age of Aquarius - the Golden Age of Mankind, giving an insight into 'man' and his world as he never knew. Meditation tips, the hidden meaning of the Tree of Life, Solomon's Keys, Twin Souls and celestial guidance make for a truly fascinating read for everyone seeking answers to the mysteries of 'life' and 'man'.

The Animus of Identity: Shame

What are you?

Who are you?

What is it that makes you, you?

Why are you?

Explore with me as I use my own experiences, along with those of others I have met along my journey, the concept of identity, and how your trauma and circumstances can shape the person you become.