Bøger udgivet af Mereo Books

When Stephen Jones felt the urge to take a look at the world before settling into a humdrum job in West London, he decided to apply to become a VSO volunteer in Zambia. That experience opened his eyes to life beyond Uxbridge, and fed a wanderlust which would never leave him. He went on to spend the best part of 30 years working on overseas projects, mostly in developing countries. This afforded him the opportunity to learn about the fascinating people, cultures, politics, agriculture and much more of these far-flung places, while seeking viable development schemes funded by international aid agencies. This book is an enlightening and entertaining account of his adventures in more than 70 countries, from Nigeria to Nepal and from Afghanistan to Chile, Pakistan and Russia.

The 'Swinging Sixties' are commonly depicted as hedonistic days. A point in history remembered for the generation of young people who shed the trappings of their parents and grandparents and, fuelled by sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, set out to put the world to rights. A time when individuality was heralded and convention widely challenged.

This is the eighth volume of (mainly) poetry published by Eddie Thompson ruminating upon the quirks, foibles and mysteries of modern everyday life, but this one is a little different. It has been published in memory of his beloved Enid, who died unexpectedly in January 2021. All the pieces are related, directly, or indirectly, to Enid and the couple's many happy years together.

With a foreword by acclaimed, award-winning British TV writer Tony Jordan, Liz Coffey''s story is funny, shocking, tragic and heart-rending.Elizabeth Coffey once had seven brothers and sisters, but today only she and one brother are left. Thanks to ''an insane series of cruel blows'' variously involving illness, accidents, mental health mismanagement and suicide, not one of herother siblings made it past their sixties. And yet through it all, the love, life and laughter have shone through - sometimes, it has seemed, from beyond the grave. This is Elizabeth''s funny, shocking, tragic, heart-rending story."It struck me, at an early age, being the ''little one'' of the family, that there was a high probability my dearly loved brothers and sisters were going to die before me. I didn''t expect it to happen quite so soon, and quite so tragically."''And The Little One Said'' is an incredible emotional roller coaster. I cried, yes, but I also laughed and was moved by the honesty and love. Elizabeth is an incredible writer, I was hooked from the word go and struggled to put the book down. I highly recommend that you pick up a copy ..." Frost Magazine, 31st May 2021''''Beautiful, sad and uplifting, I cried and laughed ...I found this book a real comfort. ... It''s heart breaking to read how medical mismanagement, mental illness, accidents and illness all seemed to stack up against this one family. It''s beautiful to see how they all come together in different ways and different times to handle it all.... My emotions about my own loss were at points summed up by the experiences of others in the book ... It was nice to know I wasn''t alone. ... I would recommend this book to anyone ... I loved every second and couldn''t put it down." AnyWayToStayAtHome book blog

Making the best of a life with limited vision.Robert Netherway was born blind. His earliest memories are of having his sight partially restored by pioneering eye surgery, enabling him to do simple jobs on his father's hill farm in Devon. He attended a school for visually impaired children andtrained successfully for a career, although in later life he has had to deal with losing his sight again. In this book he muses on the trials and tribulations of life with and without the power of vision.

Charles Theophilus Hahn, born into the English upper middle classes in 1870, was a cleric who worked in industrial towns in Yorkshire, in Southern Africa as a missionary and as an army chaplain in World War One. He loved adventure, travel and nature, and promised himself that he would have a jolly time. He left journals, sketches and watercolours which are the basis for his story, written by John Odling-Smee. The idioms and expressions in the journals recall the times in which he was writing. Many of the watercolours were inspired by the wildflowers and scenery of Africa. Taken together, his writings and paintings provide a fascinating picture of an interesting life in England and Southern Africa in turbulent times.

The author wrote this memoir of the eventful first twenty years of his life before he died in 2020 at the age of 84. It has been collated and completed for publication by his widow Joy. Brian Eldridge's aim was to chronicle this period in his life for his daughters and grandchildren and for Joy, as they knew little of this period of his life. As the author wrote: "This book will I hope fill in the gap with pleasant memories of me and enable them to understand the love I have for them". All proceeds from sales of this book will be donated to pancreatic cancer research.

Based on a PhD research on managing the impact of political crises on tourism, this book offers a simplified and practical application of the management framework developed in the thesis.Blood on the Beach will be of great value to all those involved in the tourism industry around the world.

Fergus and Lavinia Moreton have been married for more than 30 years and ''comfortably wrapped up'' in each other for nearly 50. Though they enjoy a life of semi-rural comfort in civilised Middle England, nothing is ever quite right for Fergus, including any foodstuff invented after the 1960s. The matters they disagree about range from the use of animals to keep the lawn down to Fergus'' supposed talent as a player of the bodhran - or any other musical instrument. Neither could imagine life without the other, although Lavinia sometimes tries...A sympathetic, perceptive portrait of a couple who are not old yet - just in very late middle age.

Geoffrey Paris has spent four decades working in the hotel and catering business, looking after everything from washing dishes in a back-street pub to supervising five-star banquets at luxury West Country hotels. He has seen it all, from drunken porters, fraudulent proprietors and incompetent waiters to con artist customers, primadonna pop stars and millionaires - and he wouldn't have missed a minute of it.A frank, colourful and highly entertaining account of what really goes on behind the scenes in hotels.

In this book of illustrated humorous verse, we take up the challenge of throwing some light on a few possibly puzzling phenomena encountered in real life, though how much light is hard to say. We must hope that others will in the future improve upon our efforts. For example, why do dogs so often delight in snapping wasps out of the air? How hungry can they be? The reason we have arrived at will astound you. There again, what is a completely novel way to win a cooking competition - even if you can't cook? It's all here.Have you thought about handbags recently? Why are they so often made from crocodile hide? We wonder about this.Apart from all this, would you like to find a way to make the summer longer and the winter shorter? Thought so! We show how to do it.There are so many other subjects, including advice on how best to cheer up an octopus that has been insulted, and an investigation on alternative meanings of various sayings, such as: 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away'. This one could be a real lifesaver!A question uppermost in many people's minds is whether reincarnation is a real possibility. We have made some small progress here perhaps.All these things and many more are considered, but the book is not intended primarily for children. All humans would benefit in some way from the homespun wisdom that is on offer here, and if their English is not as good as their French, there are explanations of the poems in French as well, though the poems are in English of course. In all, there are 33 poems in rhyming verse, each with an excellent illustration in full colour by Reine Mazoyer. What's not to like - as they say nowadays?

Rose Luce has had an unusually varied and interesting life. Her early family life and jobs in parliament and America, later including a leading role in the English-Speaking Union and much charitable work in the UK and Gibraltar, were buttressed by her love of music and singing in choirs. Above all, as the wife of Richard Luce, she supported his long and varied career over 60 years as an MP, Minister, Vice-Chancellor, Governor and Lord Chamberlain to The Queen's Household.Richard writes in his memoirs Ringing the Changes: "I cannot describe adequately in words what her support, love and companionship throughout our marriage have meant to me. I could not have managed my work in Africa, the struggle to get into Parliament, politics, being a Minister, a Vice-Chancellor, a Governor or Lord Chamberlain without her."In this book, Rose describes in the most vivid, entertaining and human way her life supporting Richard in all his many and challenging tasks.

John Hedge was brought up, very largely, in a traditional English pub (the 'bright bar'). Less traditional were the bitter rows between his loving but troubled publican parents, who sent him away for a Masonic boarding school education in the misguided belief that he would be happier away from the booze and the brickbats. Though this was meant for the best, it left him scarred by the oppressive, secretive culture of 'Ston' to the extent that in his teens he endured a catastrophicbreakdown. In looking back from his peaceful later years to life with his loving, blundering and ill-fated parents, he has given us a moving and beautifully written memoir

In September 1969, Amelia Hardy arrives at the leafy campus of a Yorkshire teacher training college to fulfil her teaching ambitions. In this new world away from home, friendships destined to last a lifetime will be found. There are challenges to face and fun to be had before the girl from Durham can stand at last in front of her own class and hear the refrain: 'Yes, Miss Hardy'.An entertaining and heart-warming memoir of becoming a primary school teacher.

Sir Hyde Clarenden Gowan was born to a prestigious English family and in 1902 he entered the Indian Civil Service to embark upon a career in an exotic new country. Sir Hyde rose from the position of under-secretary to become an important figure of the British Empire. Sir Hyde spent his entire thirty-six year career in the Central Provinces and Berar, becoming Governor in 1933. Despite living for decades in India, he always felt like an alien abroad and often called it an "Ulta pulta desh" an upside-down-country. Sir Hyde held the post of Governor during one of the most turbulent periods of Indian history. Tensions between Muslim and Hindu groups divided the country whilst nationalists such as Mahatma Gandhi fought for India's independence from Britain. During this time, the Government of India Act of 1935 was passed forever changing the face of Indian society and the role of governors in the country. When Sir Hyde died suddenly in 1938, he was mourned by the British and Indians alike, having been much loved for his steadfast dedication to his duties. His family received condolences from King George VI and other members of the Royal Family. With an introduction by his son, James Hyde Bowie Gowan, Sir Hyde's diaries are here reprinted in their entirety alongside some of his speeches. The diaries reveal the great man behind the Governor, the delights and difficulties of his position and an insight into Indian history and life never to be repeated.