The Wireless in the Corner

The Wireless in the Corner is an autobiography by Alan Palmer, which is based on entries from his contemporary diaries, family letters, photographs taken from family albums and also newspaper cuttings.

It is Alan's highly interesting and entertaining account of growing up in suburban London during the second quarter of the last century.

The author recalls the stresses and strains of living through the years of the Blitz, the later flying bombs and the V Rockets and the times of peace and contentment.

The book also covers the years before and after the Second World War. He reveals that he was named Alan -like so many other babies at that time- in honour of Alan Cobham the World War 1 Veteran who was the first man to fly to and from Australia in 1926.

We learn of the impact of the depression, of Pelican and Ekco radios (which lasted for 34 years and was the best bargain his father ever had.

In the then distinct town of Ilford there were 'pirate' buses competing for business against the "regular" buses, he recalls the local station, the cinema, the shops, the houses that they lived in.

There were secrets that were scandals including the case of the murder of Percy Thomas, stabbed to death by his wife's lover.

Letters in the lover's flat from his wife Edith to the lover revealed that she had attempted to kill him by poisoning him or by putting powdered glass in his porridge.

The lover was charged with murder and the widow with acting as his accomplice.

Alan Palmer is a well known author of historical works and this book has received praise from people such as Antonia Fraser.

The book is published by Matador at £10.99 and can be bought here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Barry and Bev The Big Concert

Barry and Bev The Big Concert is a humorous novel by actress Rita May who has decided to make the crossing over from acting to writing with this, her debut novel.

The novel is set in a town in Northern England

The community of Kenthorpe is home to the Kenthorpe Working Men's Club. At least, it is for the moment, for the club is in dire financial difficulties.

The organising Committee work hard to attempt to address this situation and they come up with a number of corrective measures including booking a to-class act booked for concerts every Saturday night.

As word of this new Saturday night concert spreads, the number of people visiting the club quickly grows.

This brings about problems for the women of Kenthorpe because there are often not enough seats for them all as the club is a stickler for "Rule 57" which bars women from the much larger "Men's Only" room. The rule dates back to the time when the club was founded in 1932.

The brings about a rift between the women and their menfolk. The dispute brings about attention from the local media, but when the story gains the attention of the national press, things start to get even more difficult.

But then when they thought things couldn't get any worse, they did and in a devastating way that nobody could foresee.

As Rita May began her career as a singer in northern workingmen's clubs, the novel is a bird's eye view of a very real lifestyle.

The book is published by Matador at £7.99 and can be purchased at https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

You will have seen Rital May in a number of roles including films like The Gamekeeper, When Saturday Comes,  Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974. And TV roles in TV roles in
Play for Today (several roles) Fallen Hero, Coronation Street (several roles) Crown Court,
The Gathering Seed, Juliet Bravo, Mitch,  Edge of Darkness, Wish Me Luck, Doctors, (several roles) The Bill, and many more.

She has also written a number of stage plays.

1500 Hotel Nights

This is a described as a black comedy. Unfortunately every word of it is true!

In fact, it might well be subtitled "Analyse This!" as it is a factual book written by top analyst and seasoned business traveller Daniel Tabbush.

He spent four years of his life travelling for leisure and also for business as a business analyst receiving plaudits from and recognition for his work from organisations such as Bloomberg and Asia Money and he made regular appearances on CNBC and being published in the Wall Street Journal.

This is his second book.

As he spent 1500 nights in hotels all over the world he began to realise that it was a very frustrating experience. He observed that once a traveller makes a confirmation and pays for the hotel room, they are, in effect, hostages.

When a traveller finds a problem in their room, there is often no way out and also there is often a lack of honesty and truth. From the traveller! Who when asked often replies, untruthfully: "Oh, everything is fine, thank you."

Too often, David Tabbush noted that the "design characteristics" of hotels and restaurants are deeply flawed, often absurdly so. Even is some of the most luxurious establishments in the world.

There are bedframes that jut out and allow guests to bark their shins on sharp edges, light switches are haphazardly positioned in hot rooms,  air conditioning that thunders throughout the night, making restful sleep an impossibility.

Lighting is often designed for "romance" (sic) rather than to provide illumination, making reading or work almost impossible.

And why, he wonders, if a hotel provides a desk for the convenience of the guest, why is it often cluttered with booklets and folders on the hotel and its amenities, plus a variety of pamphlets and leaflets.

Wouldn't it be wonderful, he feels, if a hotel actually just provided a clean, uncluttered desk?

And another point of contention is a minibar that charges a guest for an item even if they merely took it out, read the label and put it back again.

This book is published by Matador at £9.99 and can br bought at https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

It should be required reading by every hotelier, restaurateur and designer in the world. And also every business traveller as it contains dozens of ideas that, if implemented, would mean that travellers would beat a path to their door.

Paradise Lost

350 years ago Milton wrote one of the most important works of the ages, Paradise Lost.

To help commemorate this vitally important anniversary, author Duncan Baxter decided to write "Paradise Lost - A Drama of Unintended Consequences."

From an early age Duncan Baxter has much admired the poetry of Milton.

In his book Duncan takes his readers on a journey through Paradise Lost, which was Milton's re-telling of the story within Genesis, telling the account of the Fall of Mankind, showing how Milton explored issues of spiritual yearning that face every generation of mankind.

Duncan employs contemporary and accessible language throughout, reaching out to general readers and students of theology and of the poetry of Milton, guiding them through the words, thoughts and ideas of Milton.

It is published by Matador at £9.99 and can be purchased at  https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Jackson King and the Morpher's Heart

Jackson King is just an ordinary boy. Actually, that's completely wrong, because Jackson King is unlike any other boy you could ever possibly be likely to meet.

He was born with a heart condition which means that he is always frail and is often sickly. As a result he is totally unable to be involved in playing any kinds of sports and he has difficulty making friends.

At 16 there comes a miracle, because Jackson becomes the recipient of a donated heart.

But the miracle is more powerful and more far reaching than he could ever have dreamt of.

Because with the new heart Jackson's life becomes totally changed, because the heart that he received  was a very special heart as it carries with it the special gift of the ability to morph.

Now, Jackson is a morpher. He joins a weird and mystical realm of other morphers as he learns how to use his new powers.

But there are a group of evil criminals who are seeking Jackson and who are hunting him down.

Why? Because he has something they desperately seek and they pledge that they will stop at nothing to wrest it from Jackson's grasp.

This is an interesting and well-written novel from Debbie Hood and will be of interest to readers of all ages.

It is published by the Book Guild at £8.99 and can be bought here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

Shake Hands or Die

In his debut crime novel, Michael Northey brings his readers an interesting novel that touches on a wide range of modern issues, the Church, the power of the press and much more besides.

There's a new vicar at St Martha's church in the city of Hillford. Father John is viewed as an amiable eccentric who intends to modernise the church.

He employs a range of somewhat wacky gimmicks, which the parishioners  absolutely adore.

But there is one thing that he steadfastly refuses to do. He will not shake hands at the end of the services.

There is a fly in the ointment of the otherwise perfect city of Hillford. The local newspaper is playing host to Fred Vestal who is on loan to it from a London-based tabloid newspaper.

Vestal aims to shake the newspaper, and the city, up.

He attends a service at the church and watches a play performed by children which he takes exception to.

He interviews Father John and writes an article that is nothing but a vicious and undeserved excoriation of  the vicar.

At their next meeting Vestal attempts to get Father John to shake his hand, but he declines to do so.

A short while after this incident a body is found in the churchyard, covered in compost.

People want answers as to what has happened, none more so than the slightly unusual local police.

Who was the victim? Who is the killer? What is Vestal up to? What does Father John find to be so troublesome about shaking hands?

This is a well-written murder mystery novel which is published by Matador at £8.99. You can purchase it here https://goo.gl/wdCFDG.

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