This gritty musical about the coal industry in northeast England is regularly staged by all kinds of theatre companies, from professional to school to amateur. The play, adapted from stories by Sid Chaplin, and with the songs of Alex Glasgow, is frequently revived. It has been described as a hymn of unqualified praise to the miners who created a revolutionary weapon without having a revolutionary intent. Alan Plater has written numerous radio, television, theatre, and film scripts, as well as fiction.

A hymn of unqualified praise to the miner's circles around a golden wedding party.

At the age of ten, Clyde Landon's world revolved around slingshots, marbles, and talking his way out of trouble. But that all changed the day he met Guck, a motley colored shepherd dog. The bond between them was immediate, and when Guck needed a new home, it was Clyde who quickly assumed responsibility, convincing his parents to allow him a pet, despite the family already having too many mouths to feed. Guck was ours. I could hardly believe it. There wasn't another dog in the whole wide world like him...'You're ours!' I told him. 'You're mine. Mom said I could keep you.' For some strange reason, I felt as though I was telling him something he already knew, but he listened intently while I carried on...'Guck Landon.' It sounded perfect, just perfect. In His Name is Guck: A Story of a Boy and His Dog author Clyde Landon recounts his unforgettable memories with this special dog, one who displayed the ultimate in love, courage, and devotion. Landon uses his knack for description to transport readers to 1940s Colorado, where a boy and his dog roamed the mountainside together, sharing incredible adventures and an undying bond of friendship. A lovely read...a unique and wonderful story, written from the heart. a "Bernie R. Diamond, actor and former business and White House executive"

A military execution in France...a key event in this story of the conflicting demands of duty, loyalty and love. The war, with its horrifying, endless slaughter on the Western Front, is the backdrop. But it is in a north-east seaport where Dolly Weston, her husband reported missing, falls in love with a wounded army officer, who fears that he will shortly have to return to the Front. Did it show in his face? If they ever told him he was unfit for active service, he would dance for joy. Yet he also felt ashamed. To complicate things further, a deserter emerges, a soldier previously decorated for bravery, and unhealed wounds from a bitter past are reopened. And then there is 10 year-old Joshua, captive to the empty jingoism of his schoolteacher's tales of heroes. It is through small town bigotry and prejudice that the motherless Joshua is led into the world of three people whom he comes to admire and love, but who are destined to be driven cruelly apart. "And Such Great Names as These" is a graphic, sharply-etched novel, raw yet still tender - and above all, deeply convincing. With a skilfully judged plot, characters we identify with and dialogue authentic to the region and period, Allen Makepeace delivers a commanding narrative, both vivid and dramatic.