Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star
by Rick Wakeman

What do Postman Pat, Tommy Cooper, Norman Wisdom and George Best have in common with being abandoned in a Costa Rican jungle after a severe bout of flatulence? Indeed how are they connected to trying to buy an Australian brewery just to get a beer, owning twenty-two cars, an American soccer team and Swiss mail-order pornography?

I suppose we have to come clean and volunteer the name of a certain keyboard genius called Mr Richard Wakeman (Rick to his thousands of chums). That said, you’ll then not be surprised that this second volume of wondrous stories elaborates on violinists falling out of trees, being mauled on live TV by a German Shepherd, playing golf with kangaroos, amputations sound-tracked by prog rock classics, a concert played to a solitary canine and signing autographs on the toilet ... And don’t forget severe leg injuries on the set of Mastermind, extreme profanity live on radio at Wimbledon and berating Pike from Dad's Army ...

The Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star takes you, the privileged reader, on a trip of absurd excess, a cultural car crash of side-splitting hilarity and an unforgettable glimpse (again) into the life of one of Britain's most legendary showmen, rock stars and all-time great raconteurs.

Get Out: Halcyon River Activity Book
by Philippa Forrester, Fred, Gus and Arthur Hamilton James

Following on from the major BBC1 TV series screened in the spring of 2010 this Halcyon River activity book is the perfect way to engage children on everything to do with wildlife in streams and rivers. Written by Philippa Forrester, with lots of input from their three children Gus (three) Arthur (six) and Fred (nine), this book is full of things to do, facts about the river wildlife. It features photographs by Charlie, their father, and illustrations from the children themselves. It follows key stage learning.

Great Speeches of the 20th Century
by The Guardian

What has happened to the 'art' of speech-writing and speech making? Where are the men and women whose words set the heart racing with passion, turn battles, inspire populations to extraordinary endeavour: 'Ask not what your country can do for you.' 'We shall fight on the beaches.' 'I have a dream.' 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'

Quote these words today and they still have the power to stop us in our tracks.

This is a book that should be required reading, a book that should be on every bookshelf in the country.

Here are fourteen key speeches of the 20th century introduced by prominent figures ranging from F.W. de Klerk and Mikhail Gorbachev to Antony Beevor and Gordon Brown.

Winston Churchill: We shall fight on the beaches. Introduced by Simon Schama
J.F. Kennedy: Ask not what your country can do for you. Introduced by Kennedy's speech writer Ted Sorensen
Nelson Mandela: An ideal for which I am prepared to die. Introduced by F.W. de Klerk
Harold Macmillan: No going back. Introduced by Douglas Hurd
Franklin D. Roosevelt: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Introduced by Gordon Brown
Nikita Khrushchev: The cult of the individual. Introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev
Emmeline Pankhurst: Freedom or death. Introduced by Germaine Greer
Martin Luther King: I have a dream. Introduced by Gary Younge
Charles de Gaulle: The flame of French resistance. Introduced by Antony Beevor
Margaret Thatcher: The lady's not for turning. Introduced by Simon Jenkins
Jawaharlal Nehru: A tryst with destiny. Introduced by Ian Jack
Aneurin Bevan: Weapons for squalid and trivial ends. Introduced by Tam Dalyell
Earl Spencer: The most hunted person of the modern age. Introduced by Beryl Bainbridge
Virginia Woolf: Shakespeare's sister. Introduced by Kate Mosse

Grumpy Old Rock Star: and Other Wondrous Stories
by Rick Wakeman

Around about August 1948, Mr and Mrs Cyril Wakeman had an early night and some time later, at Perivale in Middlesex, Mrs Wakeman produced a bonny baby son. They named him Richard, but he quickly became known as Rick.

Rick was a likeable little fellow who had a talent for the piano and for making trouble. Music became Rick’s life – he joined a popular music group called Yes and became a legend. Much later he became a Grumpy Old Man who appears on Countdown, hosts a hugely popular radio show on Planet Rock and performs a one-man show telling stories about his rather extraordinary life.

Which is where this book you are holding comes in. Mr Wakeman is simply one of the great storytellers of our age – let’s face it, he has some fabulous material. It seemed a shame that some of the funniest yarns should not be more widely known. So he accepted some cash and here we are.

Curl up by the fire with a Grumpy Old Rock Star and your nearest and dearest. We defy you not to want to read it aloud and laugh.

Grumpy Old Rock Star: and Other Wondrous Stories
by Rick Wakeman

Around about August 1948, Mr and Mrs Cyril Wakeman had an early night and some time later, at Perivale in Middlesex, Mrs Wakeman produced a bonny baby son. They named him Richard, but he quickly became known as Rick.

Rick was a likable little fellow who had a talent for the piano and for making trouble, and music became Rick’s life. Later he joined a popular music group called Yes and became a legend. Much later he became a Grumpy Old Man who appears on Countdown, hosts a hugely popular radio show on Planet Rock and performs a one-man show telling stories about his rather extraordinary life.

Which is where this book you are holding comes in. Mr Wakeman is simply one of the great storytellers of our age – let’s face it, he has some fabulous material. It seemed a shame that some of the funniest yarns should not be more widely known. So he accepted some cash and here we are.

Curl up by the fire with a Grumpy Old Rock Star and your nearest and dearest. We defy you not to want to read it aloud and laugh.