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Kneelers: The Unsung Folk Art of England and Wales
Par Elizabeth Bingham. 2019
A charming and witty history of the quirky - but surprisingly widespread - craft of embroidering kneeler cushions. The perfect…
gift book this Christmas, for those who love kneelers and those who don't!'A lovely look at a not-quite-vanishing craft that lies, literally, below our knees ... Inventive and interesting' The Oldie, 'Best Reads for All Ages This Christmas''A treasure of a collection' Amber Butchart, of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee'I think I may already have discovered the best non fiction book of 2023' Reverend Richard Coles, author of A Murder Before EvensongKneelers is a celebration of the most widely practised - but often overlooked - folk art in England and Wales over the past ninety years: the design and craft of church kneelers. Featuring charming stories and enchanting designs from churches across the country, the book traces the history of kneelers; from their spectacular beginnings at Winchester in the 1930s to their booming popularity after Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and the present-day congregations who are keeping the tradition alive.In their range and diversity, the kneelers collected here form a fascinating social record of the concerns and interests that occupied their makers - including local fauna and flora, cricket, dragons, post-war tributes and the thrills of high-speed travel.Filled to the brim with beautiful full-colour images, Kneelers displays the quirky artistry and widely varied (and often surprising) motifs which have characterised church kneelers in the twentieth century. It rejoices in the personal stories of some of the people who have practised and advanced the art form, and is a wonderful commemoration of what happens when communities come together to celebrate their history and their environment.'A glorious and delightful salute' Tracy Chevalier, author of A Single Thread'This book is a Godsend!' Alan Titchmarsh, author of The Gardener's AlmanacThe King's Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of Thomas Wolsey
Par Peter J Gwyn. 1990
Proud, greedy, corrupt and driven by overwhelming personal ambition. Such is the traditional image of Thomas Wolsey, Lord Chancellor, Archbishop…
of York, Bishop of Winchester, Abbot of St. Albans, Bishop if Tournai and Papal Legate. It is an image which Peter Gwyn examines, challenges and decisively overturns in this remarkable book.From exceedingly humble beginnings Wolsey rose to a pinnacle of power unsurpassed by any other British commoner. Peter Gwyn explores every aspect of the Cardinal's career - not least his relationship with Henry VIII - and sets it firmly in a vividly recreated Tudor world. The Wolsey who emerges is a man of prodigious energy and ability, a tireless dispenser of justice, an enlightened reformer wholly dedicated to his king and country - a man who has been consistently misrepresented and maligned for four-and-a-half centuries.Journey: A Spiritual Odyssey
Par Peter France. 1998
Peter France looks at the various stages of his own spiritual odyssey and talks intimately of his long search for…
knowledge and enlightenment. Warm, lucid, humorous, Journey is grounded in France's own life and experience. He takes us from the beginning of his journey in a small Methodist chapel in Yorkshire, and his first perception of Christianity, through Oxford where he rejected Christianity and became a humanist and a career as a colonial administrative officer in Fiji, to his later position as an investigative reporter for BBC religious television. Finally-and movingly-he writes about his conversion to the Greek Orthodox Church, and describes his baptism at the age of 57 on the Greek island of Patmos by total immersion in a 44 gallon oil drum of lukewarm water. Illuminated by personal anecdote and information by a broad knowledge of different religions and religious experiences, Journey is both immensely engaging, and studded with powerful spiritual insight.The Invention of Childhood
Par Hugh Cunningham. 2006
The Invention of Childhood will paint a vivid picture of the lives of children in Britain from pagan Anglo-Saxon times…
to the present day. Drawing heavily on primary sources, such as diaries, autobiographies, paintings, photographs and letters, the book will present a complete chronological history of the experience of children in Britain during the past 1500 years. We will learn the key elements that have shaped their lives down the ages and how this has differed as a result of gender, geography and ethnicity. The book will also relate children's lives to larger events in national and international history. Written by Hugh Cunningham the Professor of History at the Universtity of Kent at Canterbury, and an expert on childhood history - the book will accompany the Radio 4 series presented by the highly respected children's author Michael Morpurgo. Michael is contributing a lengthy foreword to the book. 'The Invention of Childhood' will expand on a number of key themes from the radio series, including the idea of childhood as a distinct stage of life. Opinions on when childhood should start and end, and how it differs from adulthood have changed considerably down the centuries. And these inventions and reinventions of childhood (hence the title) have had a profound effect on children's lives. The prolonged childhood we enjoy in Britain today was a luxury few could afford in the past. This fascinating study will draw attention to the ways in which we may find childhood and children in the past quite similar to the present and to ways in which childrens lives from the past seem to differ sharply from the lives children lead today.A History of Masculinity: From Patriarchy to Gender Justice
Par Ivan Jablonka. 2019
'Exhilarating . . . a work of scholarship, but also inspiration. . . Go and read Jablonka and change the…
world' Christina Patterson, Sunday Times'An unexpected bestseller in France. . . it has sparked conversations' ChallengesA highly acclaimed, bestselling work from one of France's preeminent historiansWhat does it mean to be a good man? To be a good father, or a good partner? A good brother, or a good friend? In this insightful analysis, social historian Ivan Jablonka offers a re-examination of the patriarchy and its impact on men. Ranging widely across cultures, from Mesopotamia to Confucianism to Christianity to the revolutions of the eighteenth century, Jablonka uncovers the origins of our patriarchal societies. He then offers an updated model of masculinity based on a theory of gender justice which aims for a redistribution of gender, just as social justice demands the redistribution of wealth. Arguing that it is high time for men to be as involved in gender justice as women, Jablonka shows that in order to build a more equal and respectful society, we must gain a deeper understanding of the structure of patriarchy - and reframe the conversation so that men define themselves by the rights of women. Widely acclaimed in France, this is an important work from a major thinker.How to Start a Revolution
Par Lucy-Anne Holmes. 2015
A bite-sized guide to making change happen and the story behind the No More Page 3 campaign, written by its…
founder. Change doesn’t just happen. It starts with the idea that something could be different, could be better. It starts with a person who is brave enough to stand up and say, ‘Stop.’ This is what Lucy-Anne Holmes did when she wrote a letter to the editor of The Sun asking him to stop printing pictures of topless women on Page 3 of the paper. This was something that had been happening for forty five years but which - she suddenly realised - she found outdated and inappropriate and, after thinking about it, not unrelated to a lot of the bad things that happen to women. Launching a digital campaign, starting an online petition and recruiting a team of like-minded people, Lucy-Anne started a revolution. Hundreds of thousands of people signed the petition, wore the campaign t-shirt and dared to say #NoMorePage3. Lucy-Anne had never campaigned on anything before. She wasn't particularly political. She'd never been confrontational. But she found that you only need one thing to start a campaign - and it isn't cash, experience or even a thick skin. It's passion.If you have a desire to change something, read what Lucy-Anne has to say. She’s been there, done that, worn the t-shirt and come out the other side having made a difference in the world.Healing Quest: A Journey of Transformation
Par Marie Herbert. 1996
When her two daughters were approaching the finish of their education Marie Herbert felt the need to mark the end…
of the child-rearing phase of her life by a rite of passage, a way to find herself a new place in the grand scheme of things. Long drawn to the Native American spiritual tradition, she planned a visit to the United States and an extraordinary journey of personal transformation under the guidance of Native American Healers. However, the end of her time of motherhood coincided tragically with the sudden death of one of her daughters and so her odyssey was to become far sadder and more urgent than she could have imagined. HEALING QUEST is the fascinating description of Marie Herbert's inner and outer journey of the heart. Vivid portraits of the people she met along the way are combined with honest accounts of the change in her feelings - together with ideas about how the readers, too, may learn from what she experienced and so gain insights into his or own life, whether in practical, emotional or spiritual terms.A Hermit in the Himalayas: The Classic Work of Mystical Quest
Par Paul Brunton. 1983
'The introductory account of Mr. Brunton's pony-back journey up the mountainside has real charm. One of his most interesting chapters…
gives a practical-minded consideration to the probable future of Tibet.' New York TimesPaul Brunton was one of a very small number of his generation to travel in India and Tibet so extensively at a time when very few were doing so with such insight and discernment. His journalistic skills produced magnificent descriptions of the snowy peaks and high-desert landscapes of the Himalayan region, but it was the lessons he learned from the holy men he met on his journey that transformed him into one of the great interpreters of the East. In this magnificent spirituality classic, he explains that we all need 'oases of calm in a world of storm', no matter what era we are living in, and that to retreat from our everyday lives for a while is not weakness but strength. By taking the trouble to discover the deep silence within us we will find the benefits of being linked to an 'infinite power, an infinite wisdom, an infinite goodness'. A Hermit In The Himalayas is a fascinating blend of travel writing and profound spiritual experience. As we accompany the author on his journey through the vast Himalayas ranges towards Mount Kailas in Tibet, he also shows us an even more remarkable - and timeless - inner path which will help us cope with the ups and downs of our contemporary world.Green Men & White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names
Par Jacqueline Simpson. 2010
Why do British pubs have such curious names? What tales lie behind the Moonrakers, the Hooden Horse, the Derby Tup?…
And why does the Green Man come in different shapes and sizes?In Green Men & White Swans, leading folklorist Jacqueline Simpson explores the fascinating stories behind pub names, uncovering the myths and legends, euphemisms and wordplays, heroes and even ghosts that have inspired pub landlords over the centuries. Spanning beloved locals from the Three Witches to the Three Nuns, from the Ashen Faggot to the Twa Corbies, this book is both an intriguing insight into the history of the British pub and a captivating journey through the country's dramatic past.The Grass Ceiling: On Being a Woman in Sport
Par Eimear Ryan. 2023
'A book which will very soon be acknowledged as a classic of Irish sportswriting' Ciarán MurphyWhat is it like to…
be female in a male-dominated sporting world? If you play with the boys, more people pay attention - but you get treated like an alien. Playing with other girls or women means you have to accept smaller audiences, diminished status and - for professionals - lower pay.And what if, as is the case for camogie player Eimear Ryan, your sport has a completely different name when women play it? What if you don't feel entirely comfortable in an all-female sporting environment because you're shy, bookish, not really one of the girls?In The Grass Ceiling, acclaimed novelist Eimear Ryan digs deep into the confluence of gender and sport, and all the questions it throws up about identity, status, competition and self-expression. At a time when women's sport is on the rise but still a long way from equality, it is a sharp, nuanced and heartfelt exploration of questions that affect everyone who loves sport.Praise for The Grass Ceiling'A gorgeous memoir about a life lived in sport, specifically a female, Irish rural life. I read it in two sittings.' Malachy Clerkin, Irish Times'A love letter to the GAA and a diatribe against the idea sport is not for women' Kathleen McNamee, Irish Times'Brilliant ... Ryan's bold and deep search into so many of those internalised questions provides a fascinating collage of emotional detail' Christy O'Connor, Irish Examiner 'Lyrical, urgent, wise and bracing' Irish TimesGrandma's Remedies: A Guide to Traditional Cures and Treatments from Mustard Poultices to Rosehip Syrup
Par Cherry Chappell. 2009
Long before modern medicines became so widely available, families treated everyday illnesses with home-made remedies. Reused and refined year after…
year, they were handed down through the generations then lovingly copied into personal 'receipt' books. Grandma's Remedies brings together a beguiling collection of them, gathered from dusty medicine chests found in attics, recalled from childhoods long past, or discovered in family archives and libraries. Many of them are surprisingly effective. Did you know, for example, that drinking two cups of strong black coffee will alleviate an asthma attack? Or that chewing toasted fennel seeds will help combat indigestion? Or that rosehip syrup is a terrific source of vitamin C? But Grandma's Remedies is more than a guide to these traditional treatments, it also paints a vivid portrait of the world of our grandparents and great-grandparents. It shows how inventive and resourceful they were with the materials near to hand, how they made the most of everything in the store-cupboard, from bread through to vinegar, and how it was the women of the household who, despite being barred from the medical profession, were relied on to safeguard family health. In these days of antibiotics and painkillers, it's easy to forget how people survived when all they had to rely on was a garden, a larder and a healthy dose of common sense.Composed and published while John Bunyan (1628-1688) was in prison for his religious principles, Grace Abounding is an extraordinary spiritual…
autobiography. It was written in an age when religious radicalism was regarded as socially subversive, and is a haunting, often harrowing and ultimately inspiring account of his inner life: his long struggle with and eventual triumph over doubt and despair, his spiritual regeneration and his subsequent emergence as a preacher and writer of great imaginative power. God and Satan are the chief protagonists in Bunyan's drama, existing not as theological concepts but as terrifyingly immediate adversaries in the competition for his soul. Yet he finds his spiritual defences in the Bible, and Grace Abounding charts his passionate and imaginative involvement with this ultimate source of wisdom.The Forest People
Par Colin M Turnbull. 1993
The Forest People is an astonishingly intimate and life-enhancing account of a hunter-gatherer tribe living in harmony with nature --…
and an all-time classic of anthropology.For three years, Colin Turnbull lived with an isolated group of Pygmies deep in the forest of the African Congo, experiencing their daily life first-hand. He attended their hunting parties and initiation ceremonies, witnessed their music and their rituals, observed their quarrels and love affairs. He documented them as an anthropologist but was accepted among them as a friend.A ground-breaking work in its time, The Forest People made him one of the most famous intellectuals of the 1960s and 1970s. It remains a transporting account of an earthly paradise and of a legendary and fascinating people.With a new foreword by Horatio Clare.The Fabled Coast: Legends & traditions from around the shores of Britain & Ireland
Par Sophia Kingshill, Jennifer Beatrice Westwood. 2011
Pirates and smugglers, ghost ships and sea-serpents, fishermen’s prayers and sailors’ rituals – the coastline of the British Isles plays…
host to an astonishingly rich variety of local legends, customs, and superstitions.In The Fabled Coast, renowned folklorists Sophia Kingshill and Jennifer Westwood gather together the most enthralling tales and traditions, tracing their origins and examining the facts behind the legends. Was there ever such a beast as the monstrous Kraken? Did a Welsh prince discover America, centuries before Columbus? What happened to the missing crew of the Mary Celeste? Along the way, they recount the stories that are an integral part of our coastal heritage, such as the tale of Drake’s Drum, said to be heard when England was in peril, and the mythical island of Hy Brazil, which for centuries appeared on sea charts and maps to the west of Ireland. The result is an endlessly fascinating, often surprising journey through our island history.Entitled: A Critical History of the British Aristocracy
Par Chris Bryant. 2017
"A proudly partisan history of the British aristocracy - which scores some shrewd hits against the upper class themselves, and…
the nostalgia of the rest of us for their less endearing eccentricities. A great antidote to Downton Abbey." (Mary Beard)Exploring the extraordinary social and political dominance enjoyed by the British aristocracy over the centuries, Entitled seeks to explain how a tiny number of noble families rose to such a position in the first place. It reveals the often nefarious means they have employed to maintain their wealth, power and prestige and examines the greed, ambition, jealousy and rivalry which drove aristocratic families to guard their interests with such determination. In telling their history, Entitled introduces a cast of extraordinary characters: fierce warriors, rakish dandies, political dilettantes, charming eccentrics, arrogant snobs and criminals who quite literally got away with murder.The Englishman's Food: Five Centuries of English Diet
Par Anne Wilbraham, J. C. Drummond. 2012
Medieval gardens; cookshops; spices; ale, beer, wine and spirits; the food of peasants, labourers, townspeople, the wealthy, the poor and…
the country gentleman; fish, meat and game; the feeding of infants, children; dairy products; vitamins, proteins, fat and fibre; the adulteration of food; the four bottle man; bread; poaching; tea, coffee and chocolate; food in schools and institutions; sugar and sweetmeats; root crops; the agricultural revolution; the importance of 'white meats', the vegetarian diet; menus and recipes. . .The Englishman's Food was first published in 1939, fully revised in 1957 and now appears with a new updating introduction. A ground-breaking book, it is a fascinating and authoritative survey of food production, consumption, fashions and follies over a period of five hundred years. Reprinted with a new introduction by food editor Tom Jaine.This enthralling book will take you, month-by-month, day-by-day, through all the festivities of English life. From national celebrations such as…
New Year’s Eve to regional customs such as the Padstow Hobby Horse procession, cheese rolling in Gloucestershire and Easter Monday bottle kicking in Leeds, it explains how they originated, what they mean and when they occur.A fascinating guide to the richness of our heritage and the sometimes eccentric nature of life in England, The English Year offers a unique chronological view of our social customs and attitudesEating Your Auntie Is Wrong: The World's Strangest Customs
Par Stephen Arnott. 2004
Crossing continents and centuries Stephen Arnott brings us invaluable information about all kinds of bizarre regional customs - from sexual…
practices to the received wisdom on cannibalism - that could save you from embarrassing local faux pas while travelling. Did you know that amongst the Tartars, relations of the bride and bridegroom would traditionally divide into two groups and fight each other until some had suffered bleeding wounds? It was thought that causing blood to flow in this way would ensure the couple had strong sons; or that in Hungary, a cure for infertility was to beat a barren woman with a stick? The stick having previously been used to separate mating dogs; or that amongst some Aboriginal tribes of New South Wales that men who had any contact with their mothers-in-law would suffer terrible hard luck? The threat was so great that married men even avoided looking in their mother-in-law's general direction.Confessions
Par Saint Augustine. 1961
'Give me chastity and continence, but not yet'The son of a pagan father and a Christian mother, Saint Augustine spent…
his early years torn between conflicting world-views. The Confessions, written when he was in his forties, recounts how, slowly and painfully, he came to turn away from his youthful ideas and licentious lifestyle to become one of Christianity's most influential thinkers. A remarkably honest spiritual autobiography, the Confessions also addresses fundamental issues of Christian doctrine, and many of the prayers and meditations it includes are still an integral part of the practice of the faith today.Translated with an Introduction by R. S. PINE-COFFINA Christmas Cornucopia: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Yuletide Traditions
Par Mark Forsyth. 2016
BY THE SUNDAY TIMES NO.1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF A SHORT HISTORY OF DRUNKENNESSDiscover the unpredictable origins and etymologies of our…
Christmas customs this festive season. For something that happens every year of our lives, we really don't know much about Christmas. We don't know that the date we celebrate was chosen by a madman, or that Christmas, etymologically speaking, means "Go away, Christ". We're oblivious to the fact that the advent calendar was actually invented by a Munich housewife to stop her children pestering her for a Christmas countdown. And we would never have guessed that the invention of crackers was merely a way of popularising sweet wrappers. Luckily, like a gift from Santa himself, Mark Forsyth is here to unwrap this fundamentally funny gallimaufry of traditions and oddities, making it all finally make sense - in his wonderfully entertaining wordy way.'Witty and revelatory. Blooming brilliant' Raymond Briggs 'Everything we ever thought about Christmas is wrong! Great stuff' Matthew Parris