War-Time Memories In Verse - Frank P Dixon

Frank Percival Dixon was born in Elkhorn, Manitoba, Canada in April 1898 and in December 1916, aged just 18, he enlisted with the Canadian Field Artillery. He was shipped to France and was mortally wounded on 29th August 1918 during the Second Battle of Arras.

What you have here on pages is a near-facsimile reproduction of the original 1937 collection of Dixon’s poems as published privately by his mother in 1937, modified very slightly to accommodate modern page formats.

We have also added a collection of other bits and pieces of information - made much easier to find these days with the benefit of modern digital technology - which we hope you will find of interest.

Mail order link (UK) - CLICK HERE

Poems & Prose by Stanley Casson: Compiled by Lucy London. Edited by Paul Breeze. With a Foreword by Lady MacLellan.

An overview of the life and writing of Lt Col Stanley Casson (1889-1944) who was an archaeologist and academic by profession but also a soldier in the two World Wars of the 20th Century.

This volume includes a short collection of poems that he wrote during WW1, excerpts and reviews of his archaeological writings and autobiographical accounts from the wars.

There is an also an in-depth study of the circumstances surrounding his death in a mysterious plane crash on the way to mission in occupied Greece in 1944.

MAIL ORDER LINK - CLICK HERE

The Adventures of Bunny, Archie, Alice & Friends

Lucy London is a writer, broadcaster and researcher of some international renown and has written numerous books about the First World War and other fascinating subjects. 

She has also produced educational exhibitions on various topics that have been seen across the world.

Lucy is also the “Poet In Residence” at the Planet Ice rink in Widnes and she does her best to support all the various ice hockey teams that are based there – including the Widnes Wild NIHL senior men’s team, Wild women’s team, Academy junior teams and the Riverside Raiders, Halton Huskies and Earle Road Elks recreational teams.

You can follow what is going on in the world of Widnes ice hockey and see lots more of Lucy’s poems on her dedicated Facebook page called Lucy- Poet in Residence.

MAIL ORDER LINK - CLICK HERE

Wild Review - Season 2021/22

Relive the excitement of the 2021/22 ice hockey season with our in-depth coverage of all of the various Widnes Wild teams. Crammed into one single volume we have all the player statistics, match reports and final standings for the:

YKK Widnes Wild NIHL team
Widnes Wild Ladies team
Wild Academy Under 18 team
Wild Academy Under 16 team
Wild Academy Under 14 team
Wild Academy Under 12 team
Wild Academy Under 10 cross ice team

Plus Lucy Poet In Residence's poems for the 2021/22 season

Illustrated throughout with superb photos from Geoff White of GW Images.

MAIL ORDER LINK - CLICK HERE

Schooldays: A Stanground Upbringing (North / South Divide)

Following on from Volume 5, which was all about my much missed “Bachelor Pad Years” and Volume 4, which was about my involvement with France and French people, here is Volume 6 – which, as you can see, is mainly about my schooldays.

I actually started on this project as a sort of a “self-healing exercise” after a bout of ill health during 2020 that made me realise that, if anything happened to me, there’s a whole raft of interesting anecdotes, memories and funny stories that might otherwise be lost to the world - and I thought I ought to write them all down for the benefit of future generations.

So, just to whet your appetite, in this volume you can read all about:

Growing up in Stanground, Peterborough in the 1970s and 80s...
Experiences at Southfields Pre-School, Infants School & Junior School...
The trials and Tribulations of Stanground Comprehensive School...
The bacchanalian haze that was Stanground 6th Form...
Experiences of - and with - the legendary Bernard Barker...
What I did in 1984...

and lots more besides!

MAIL ORDER LINK - CLICK HERE

The Bachelor Pad Years: North / South Divide: Volume 5

I put this book together as a sort of a “self-healing project” after a bout of ill health during 2020 that made me realise that, if anything happened to me, there’s a whole raft of interesting anecdotes, memories and funny stories that might otherwise be lost to the world. And I thought I ought to write them all down for the benefit of future generations.

So, if you are interested in nostalgia and travel trivia, and have the slightest interest in such varied and bizarre topics as:

- Being young in England in the 1980s and 90s
- All the fun of the two Bachelor Pads in Peterborough and Preston
- The trials and tribulations of girls, girl friends and girlfriends
- Visits to countries that don't exist any more such as Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and East Germany.
- Football, music, ice hockey, cars, beer - and all that jazz!

then this may be the book for you!

MAIL ORDER LINK - CLICK HERE

France Actually: North / South Divide - Volume 4

I put this book together as a sort of a “self-healing project” after a bout of ill health during 2020 that made me realise that, if anything happened to me, there’s a whole raft of interesting anecdotes, memories and funny stories that might otherwise be lost to the world - and I thought I ought to write them all down for the benefit of future generations.

So, if you are interested in travel trivia and have the slightest interest in such varied and bizarre topics as:

- school trips to Quiberville-sur-Mer and Barneville-Carteret
- the French Exchange to Montpellier in 1984/85
- stories from the G14 printing press installations at IGPM and Sima Torcy
- Phoebe Cates And The McDonald’s Milkshake Incident
- and how I almost came to live in Nantes ....

then this could be the book for you!

MAIL ORDER LINK - CLICK HERE

North / South Divide - Volume 3: Cricket & Baseball

Following on from Volume 2, which was all about ice hockey, here is Volume 3 – which, as you can see, is mainly about my involvement in cricket and baseball – plus a few other things as well.

I actually started on this project as a sort of a “self-healing exercise” after a bout of ill health during 2020 that made me realise that, if anything happened to me, there’s a whole raft of interesting anecdotes, memories and funny stories that might otherwise be lost to the world - and I thought I ought to write them all down for the benefit of future generations.

So, just to whet your appetite, in this volume you can read all about:
Why I wasn’t any good at cricket at school
The Cricket World Cup in 1999
The Preston Bobcats league baseball team
The Preston University student team of 1996/97
And my experiences of baseball coaching at Summer Camps in the Czech Republic.

MAIL ORDER LINK - CLICK HERE

North / South Divide - Volume 2: Ice Hockey And Me

I put this book together as a sort of a “self-healing project” after a bout of ill health during 2020 that made me realise that, if anything happened to me, there’s a whole raft of interesting anecdotes, memories and funny stories that might otherwise be lost to the world - and I thought I ought to write them all down for the benefit of future generations.

So, if you are interested in ice hockey trivia and have the slightest interest in such bizarre topics as:

How I came to be at the World Championships in Luxembourg,
The day I met Stewart Roberts,
Which Sims twin is which and
The story behind Lucy’s “French And Ormes” poem,

then this is definitely the book for you!

Mail order link - CLICK HERE

North / South Divide: Random Ramblings About British Ice Hockey During The 2013/14 Season

The 2013/14 season was a watershed year for me ice hockey wise. The Fylde Flyers team finished, leaving me with only recreational hockey to write about in Blackpool so I decided to branch out and cover the English National League in a more general manner. 

I was kindly taken on by Blueliner.com as a guest writer where I was able to submit opinionated rants and occasional news stories as it suited me and I also started doing weekend round ups of all the league games on my own general Best Kept Secrets news and reviews website as well. 

As I was being encouraged to widen the scope of the season review book that I had started to produce (and hopefully sell…), it made sense to set up my own dedicated ice hockey news website and this is how the Ice Hockey Review grass roots ice hockey website was born. 

What you will find in this book is a mixture of opinion columns written for Blueliner.com and round-ups and news items that started off on bestkeptsecrets and, after January 2014, ended up on icehockeyreview.co.uk.

 I hope that makes sense – it shouldn’t be boring, anyway…!

Mail order link - CLICK HERE

Artists Of The First World War - Volume 1

Here’s a great present idea for the art fan in your life who already has almost everything. 

It is essentially a beginners’ guide to some of the artists who were involved in the Great War, but we have avoided most of the bigger names and tried to include people who you may not have heard of before - with brief biographies, photos if we have them and examples of work as available. 

A5 paperback - 120 pages.

This “launch” edition of the artists book contains images of 80 arts works in varying sizes – 47 in colour in and 33 in black and white.  It also has 55 black and white photographs – either portraits of the artists or shots of their surroundings. There are two pages of further book suggestions at the back. Of the 120 pages in total, only 21 have no images on them at all. 

The book is an A5 portrait format paperback, printed on 115gsm silk stock. It is intended as a general interest book rather than a “fine art” publication. 

Full contents:

Acknowledgements 
Introduction
Muirhead Bone
Fortunino Matania
Helena Gleichen
Isaac Rosenberg
Guy Lipscombe
August Macke
Kenneth Denton Shoesmith
Elliott Seabrook
Brian Hatton
Gerald Siordet
William Robert Gregory
EH Shepard
Martin Hardie
Gilbert Holiday
Bernard Meninski
Gilbert Rogers
Reginald Grange Brundrit
Sydney Carline
Will C Penn
Isobel Rae
George Kenner
Mary Riter Hamilton
Harold Gilman
Federico Quarenghi
Percy Delf Smith
Sir Alfred Munnings
Vera Waddington
Victoria Monkhouse
Will Dyson 
Sir William Orpen
Cyrus Cuneo
Eugene Galien-Laloue
Adrian Keith Graham Hill
Colin Unwin Gill
Christopher Nevinson
Nina Hamnett
Olive Hockin
Alan Edmund Beeton & Geneste Penrose
Felix Vallotton
Charles Edward Dixon
Francis Edgar Dodd
Charles Henry Holden
Philip Connard 
Walter E Spradbery
Anthony Frederick Sarg
Joseph Franklin Kershaw
Henry Lionel Field
James Clark
Stanford Alexander Forbes
Donald Graeme MacLaren
Charles Ernest Butler
Louie Delazonne
Henry Tonks 
Richard Woodville Jr
Mabel Frances Layng
Evan Frederic Morgan
Gertrude Leese
Morton Schamberg
Charles Bruce Bairnsfather
Georg Grosz
Claud Lovat Fraser
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Harold Septimus Power
Bookshelf

Mail order link - CLICK HERE

Widnes Wild - Lockdown Lookback

Here’s a great Christmas present idea for the ice hockey player or fan in your life who already has almost everything and - above all - is MISSING ICE HOCKEY!   

This is not quite a full history of the Wild team as such but an interesting lookback at key moments in that history as told in the pages of the Widnes Weekly News during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic lockdown - and great memento of the team's many achievements SO FAR.... 

A5 paperback - 188 pages with black and white photos throughout.

Full contents:
Introduction
Questions for the Chairman
Widnes Wild’s First Ever Game
Richard Charles Looks Back At The First Widnes Game
Where Are They Now?
Craig Williams And The First Ever Widnes Wild Goal
Widnes Wild In The End Of Season Play Offs
Widnes Wild In the End of Season Play Offs – Part Two 
Widnes Wild In The Promotion Game
Wild Imports – Then & Now 
Widnes Wild In The NIHL Cup
Widnes Wild’s Title Winning Season
Widnes Wild At The National Championship Game
Ken Armstrong – 200 Games And Counting
Tom Jackson’s Widnes Wild Appearance Record 
Mike Mawer Reaches 100 Game Milestone
Dan Bracegirdle Looks Back Over 100 Games
Widnes / Deeside Rivalry – Part 1 
Widnes / Deeside Rivalry – Part 2
Widnes / Altrincham Rivalry
Widnes & Blackburn – Head To Head 
Wild Break Records In Blackburn
Wild Go To Hull And Back 
NIHL Player Award Winners 
Bookshelf

Mail order link: CLICK HERE

Nadja - The Complete Poems

2020 marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of the Marchesa Nadja Malacrida – or Louisa Green as she was born – and, while she probably wouldn’t still have been around today, her life would certainly have continued to be fascinating and enjoyable for many more years had she not been killed in a tragic car accident in 1934.

What better time, therefore, to gather all her published poems together in one single volume for the first time ever? These four original collections were all written over a century ago and have been practically unobtainable for many years without laying out a small fortune to a rare book dealer.

We have put them together here with a brief biography of the author, and a few photos and other bits and pieces, that we hope you will find of interest – and that Nadja herself would also approve of.

Annotated and illustrated with new a introduction & preface, author biography, appendices and 12 new photographs.

 

Mail order sales link:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1909643424

Ice Hockey (1936) by Major BM Patton - Annotated & Illustrated 2020: A facsimile reprint of the original 1936 edition with new introduction, author biography and appendices.

An annotated and illustrated reprint of the original 1936 work by Patton, this new 2020 edition includes: 

A new introduction 

A new biography of BM Patton 

A new section about the Patton Cup 

A new section about the EIHL Patton Conference 

Two new appendices 

And 10 new photographs

As well as the complete original text and content.

With the benefits and facilities of modern technology, and in a move that we hope that Patton himself would have heartily approved of, we have decided to make his book – which has been practically impossible to get hold of for over 70 years without shelling out a small fortune to a rare book dealer – available to everybody at a reasonable selling price, which we hope they will enjoy reading.

Mail order link CLICK HERE

Wilfred Owen: Centenary Featuring: Brief Owen Biography, Wilfred Owen And Me, Wilfred Owen in Print, Birkenhead Commemorations

Wilfred Owen’s initial collection of poems was first published in December 1920 – two years after his death at the end of the First World War – and now in 2020, we are celebrating the centenary of that landmark publication with a publication of our own!


The first thing that needs pointing is out is that this NOT a full and formal biography of Wilfred Owen - nor is it an attempt at a collection of his poems - or any sort of critique thereof. This is essentially the story of Paul and Lucy’s journey from first becoming involved with the Wilfred Owen Story via the Bullets & Daffodils musical show and their odyssey that took them to all sorts of interesting places and brought them into contact with some fascinating people.


If you read this book, you WILL find out about Owen’s life and you WILL find out about his poems. And, unless, you are already an “Owen expert”, you will probably end up knowing more about him than you did before.


There’s a large section about Birkenhead – where Owen spent most of his formative years and quite often gets overlooked forgotten about with all the attention being pointed at Oswestry, Shrewsbury, Dunsden and Ors - and how the town marked the centenary of his death, plus a lot of other things besides.


There’s also a brief guide to Owen–related sites around Birkenhead that you can go and see for yourself and be able to appreciate some of the surroundings that helped shape the world’s best known war poet.


AVAILABLE BY MAIL ORDER BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK HERE

Product details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Posh Up North Publishing (6 Feb. 2020)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 190964336X
• ISBN-13: 978-1909643369
• Product Dimensions: 14.8 x 0.8 x 21 cm