The Stromness Dinner


Book Description

Ed Beech is one half of Beech Building Services. He's based in Bermondsey but no job's too small, no distance too great. So when he's asked to do some work on a house in Orkney, he loads the van with paint, tools and sandwiches, and takes off. He gets nervous around farm animals and large ships, and he's never been so far north, but when he's joined by Claire, his client's city banker sister, he discovers that in Stromness, anything is possible.Peter Benson's compelling new novel continues his exploration of unlikely relationships, and paints a vivid picture of a place where all is not what it seems, but might be."What's on the menu at The Stromness Dinner? Small plates, big flavours. Peter Benson has the miniaturist's eye for the tiny details that bring grand themes alive: the love of food, the love of island life, and a love of love itself. His novel is humorous, humane and horrible good (as we say in Stromness.)" – Duncan McLean"Benson's snappy novel rattles along with irresistible pace and panache... his story will captivate and entertain and the happy ending is a great treat during the current pandemic nightmare." – Val Hennessy




Norma Ever After


Book Description

Once upon a time, specifically our time, there lived an ordinary commoner named Norma Dale. Hovering near thirty, Norma no longer expected passion, or even romance. Not since puberty and the retirement of her single Ken doll and his harem of Barbies. . . . When Norma’s father leaves her a sea chest brimming with cash, and her beloved plush puffin from childhood, she takes the old stuffed bird as a sign– and decides that it’s high time she started believing in fairy tales. Particularly, the ones her father used to tell her about the mystical Orkney Islands. So Norma travels to the far north of Scotland, where she discovers that nesting puffins are indeed real. And, unbelievably, so are the handsome men of the heather she’s always dreamed of . . . and they’re looking in her direction. Suddenly, Norma feels sexy. Not go-go boots and hot pants sexy; more mysterious, like a lithe and lovely young Catherine from Wuthering Heights sexy (minus the dead part). But there’s more than one Heathcliff on these moors. Will she choose the brooding artist, the brash Texan, or the sensitive professor? If those Barbies could see her now. . . .




Two Cows and a Vanful of Smoke


Book Description

When young Elliot gets a labourer's job at Mr Evans's after being sacked from a pig farm for liberating six of its sows, he thinks he'll have even more opportunities to lean on gates or stare at fields. But his best mate Spike keeps getting him into trouble, first by showing him what is being grown in a tucked-away polytunnel, and then turning up at his caravan's door with a van full of weed. As Elliot tries to help his friend get rid of the hot merchandise, they find themselves at the receiving end of a cruel cat-and-mouse game.A tale of adventure with as many twists and turns as the enchanting Somerset landscape that forms its backdrop, Two Cows and a Vanful of Smoke is, above all, a celebration of the English countryside - full of magic, history and superstition - where smoke is in the air, and where not all is what it seems.




Scotland Highlands & Islands Footprint Handbook


Book Description

When the rain stops falling and the mist clears there is no more beautiful place on earth than Scotland’s Highlands and Islands. Footprint’s Scotland Highlands & Islands gives you everything you need to get the most out of Europe’s last great wilderness: the loveliest glens and lochs, the spookiest places, the most evocative castles and most glorious beaches. • Great coverage of all the jaw-dropping scenery including national parks, mountains, castles, glens and lochs. • Comprehensive listings from B&Bs, bothies and baronial castles to where to enjoy a wee dram of malt whiskey • Loaded with information and suggestions on how to get off the beaten track, from puffin-spotting to horse riding • It includes fantastic mapping and inspiring color section to help you plan your way around the vibrant cities, stunning highlands and hundreds of islands. Footprint’s fully updated Scotland Highlands & Islands is packed with all the information you need to get the best out of this breathtaking region.




The Blind Man of Hoy


Book Description

From the moment I watched a documentary of Chris Bonington and Tom Patey climb the perpendicular flanks of the Old Man of Hoy I knew that my life would not be complete until I had followed in their footholds. That was in 1983 when I was thirteen. Within months I was tackling my first crags and dreaming of standing atop Europe's tallest sea stack with the Atlantic pounding 450 feet below. Those dreams went dark at nineteen when I learned I was going blind. I hung up my harness for twenty years and tried to ignore the twinge of desire I felt every time The Old Man appeared on TV.' Middle aged, by now a family man, crime novelist and occasional radio personality, Red Szell's life nonetheless felt incomplete. He was still climbing, but only indoors until he shared his old, unforgotten, dream with his buddies, Matthew and Andres, and it became obvious that an attempt had to be made. With the help of mountain guides Martin Moran and Nick Carter, and adventure cameraman Keith Partridge, supported by family and an ever growing following, Red set out to confront the Orcadian giant.




Orkney & Shetland Islands Footprint Focus Guide


Book Description

When the rain stops falling and the mist clears there is no more beautiful place on Earth than Scotland’s northernmost archipelagos, the Orkney and Shetland Islands. Leave the Scottish mainland and set foot on a land of ancient relics, deserted beaches and stunning wildlife. Norse settlers occupied these islands for centuries, making for a unique cultural mix of Scandinavian and Scottish influences. Footprintfocus Orkney & Shetland Islands gives you the information you need to get the most out of your trip; covering beautiful coastlines, mysterious ancient monuments, evocative bays and glorious wilderness, along with the best places to stay and eat and where to enjoy a wee dram of your favourite malt whiskey. • Includes Essentials section with indispensable information on getting around. • Get off the beaten track and discover jaw-dropping scenery and experience real wilderness. • Accommodation listings aplenty, plus where to eat and drink. • Detailed street maps will help you find your way around. • Slim enough to fit in your pocket. Packed with practical and detailed advice on how to navigate these ancient archipelagos, this concise Footprintfocus guide helps you make the most out of your trip without weighing you down




An Orkney Maid


Book Description

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "An Orkney Maid" by Amelia E. Barr. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.




Sean Tyrone


Book Description

Sean O'Brien left his wife and son in county Tyrone to find work as a collier in the South Wales Valleys. He last posted money and a letter from somewhere called Aberuffern (the mouth of hell). Years later Niamh O'Brien is dying. Her last wish is for Jack, her only son, to discover what became of her father: 'Find him and then I can go to my grave in peace. In brilliantly lyrica prose Mark Ryan employs the black humour and wit of the Welsh and Irish traditions to tell the story of Jack's odyssey from inexperience to manhood. The book is illustrated by a series of woodcuts created by the author.




Big Low Tide


Book Description

In Candy Neubert's novel 'Big Low Tide' set on a small island in the Channel, Brenda, a feisty barmaid at the local pub suddenly finds herself raising her two young boys alone as her estranged husband, Peter, realizing he cant take the children with him leaves for Ireland in search of better prospects and a trip at sea. Worn down by the constant struggle and pregnant with a third child whose father is nowhere to be seen, Brenda's spark begins to dwindle and her children become more and more unruly. No longer able to cope she moves in with her sister in law, Elsa, who without warning walks out one day leaving the run of the house to Brenda. Seeing Brenda's slow decline, a friend persuades Peter to return and soon after on a wild and windy night, her youngest son disappears. As they search for the boy little do they know how close they are to finding something dark and terrible. This is a powerful story of reconciliation, hope and the wreckage of relationships broken, its dark undercurrents proving all is rarely as it first may seem.




Ibrahim & Reenie


Book Description

Ibrahim is a young Muslim guy walking from Cardiff to London. He has his own reasons, and his own mental and physical struggles to deal with along the way. What he hadn't counted on was a chance meeting with 75-year-old East Londoner Reenie before he's hardly started. With her life's luggage in a shopping trolley, complete with an orange tent and her pet cockatiel, Reenie is also walking the M4, and not for charity. As they share a journey their paths stretch out before and behind them into the personal and political turns of European history in ways neither could have foreseen. An impressive and daringly human book from novelist David Llewellyn.