We all carry memories of holidays from childhood onwards, brought to life by family photographs – many taken with the first generation of cheap and foolproof cameras – and scrapbook ephemera such as old postcards, brochures, tickets and luggage labels. ‘Holidays from the Past’ is a quintessentially British book, whose every page spills over with evocative images. Accompanied by text written by best-selling “Antiques Roadshow” expert Paul Atterbury, this delightful book is a treasure trove of holiday memories from days on the beach, picnics in the woods and camping and caravanning, to touring by car or bicycle, walks in the hills and outings in sailing boats.

A Review By Keith Smith

I must say I really enjoyed this book, but then who wouldn’t enjoy Jeremy Paxman in full flow! He certainly doesn’t answer the question, makes very little attempt to do so, but what he does do is give us a very lively, sardonic, amusing potted history of the British Empire which never flags and gives us some highly intriguing sometimes hilarious anecdotes . It’s not exactly a balanced account…he errs on the very critical side…but he does give acknowledgement from time to time of the many high-minded aspects of colonial expansion and control, the abolition of the slave trade, the work of the Evangelists, the ethos of responsibility and fair play that underlay the life of many a District Officer. We learn very little of the Empire now in our schools, and it is perhaps regarded as politically incorrect to even mention it….in my opinion that is very very shortsighted indeed. It’s about time we took notice of all our past, good and bad. You can never read too much History..it holds lessons for us all!

Highly recommended.

A Review By Keith Smith

We heard Frank talking about his new book at our Christmas Show. This takes place every year in the Banqueting Suite at Windsor Racecourse, and it is where we make our personal selections of what we are going to sell at Christmas. Frank’s talk was hilarious, and I decided as a result to read the book. I wasn’t disappointed.

The story revolves around the Tooting family who acquire a very old camper van and do it up. Unbeknownst to them the engine they put in the van was what was originally in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang , and it soon takes control of their lives, driving and flying them all over the place in its own search for other parts of Chitty. But there are sinister forces at work too. When it comes to a car as special as Chitty, everybody wants a piece of her …

The story is an enticing one, we get to know and love all the family members, and we cheer the campervan/turbocharged car extraordinaire on. Great fun.

‘Entrancing, compelling, and beautifully written!This is the historical novel as literary fiction — and damned good literary fiction at that.’ Alison Weir Jeanne, a young French exile orphaned by the wars of religion on the continent, is brought to London as a young girl disguised as a boy. Growing up, the disguise has not been shed and she finds a living as a clerk, ending up in the household of Robert Cecil. As she witnesses the intrigues and plots swirling round the court of Elizabeth I in the last days of Gloriana’s reign, she finds herself sucked into the orbit of the dashing and ambitious young favourite, the Earl of Essex.

The queen draws near to the end of her life, with no heir to follow, and the stakes are high. As Essex hurtles towards self-destruction, Jeanne finds her loyalties, her disguise and her emotions under threat — in a political climate where the least mistake can attract dire penalties. This is a beautifully written and evocative novel, rich with the details of life and politics of Elizabeth I’s court.

Jeanne’s struggle for survival and love is interwoven with her passionate pull towards the gardens she documents, a lovely and seductive backdrop to the novel.

Lie detection, offender profiling, jury selection, insanity in the law, predicting the risk of re-offending , the minds of serial killers and many other topics that fill news and fiction are all aspects of the rapidly developing area of scientific psychology broadly known as Forensic Psychology. Forensic Psychology: A Very Short Introduction discusses all the aspects of psychology that are relevant to the legal and criminal process as a whole. It includes explanations of criminal behaviour and criminality, including the role of mental disorder in crime, and discusses how forensic psychology contributes to helping investigate the crime and catching the perpetrators.

It also explains how psychologists provide guidance to all those involved in civil and criminal court proceedings, including both the police and the accused, and what expert testimony can be provided by a psychologist about the offender at the trial. Finally, David Canter examines how forensic psychology is used, particularly in prisons, to help in the management, treatment and rehabilitation of offenders, once they have been convicted.