A fast-paced, fly-on-the-wall story of courage, endurance, bungling, rows and cheating in sport's greatest marathon In 1987, the Tour de France was won by Irishman Stephen Roche. It was the first time the champion had hailed from outside the Continent or the States and the first time in 20 years a British team - ANC Halfords - had competed in the world's toughest and craziest race. Jeff Connor not only stayed with the British team but also found himself an unofficial team member. In this long-awaited new edition of Wide-Eyed and Legless, now widely regarded as a classic, Connor describes what it takes to compete, survive and win during those 26 days of gruelling effort. Alongside the heroism and athleticism, he reveals the extraordinary amounts of chicanery, from pulling riders along to illicit drug use. Time has not dimmed the impact of this eye-opening and entertaining close-up look at the supreme endurance event, and Wide-Eyed and Legless is destined to be acclaimed by a new generation of cycling enthusiasts. Jeff Connor's other books include the definitive story of the Busby Babes, The Lost Babes, and Up and Down Under, an account of the 2001 British Lions tour.

When Diana Longden's life is shattered by a mystery illness, she and Deric must learn to cope. Doctors are helpless in the face of a disease which seems to have neither cause nor cure, but for the Longdens life goes on - a life full of laughter, trust and the power of love.

This revised and expanded edition adds over 300 new expressions that help unlock the meaning of everyday expressions. Both informative and entertaining, the book addresses an important aspect of social communication for people with Asperger Syndrome, who use direct, precise language and `take things literally'. This dictionary aims to dispel any confusion that arises from the misinterpretation of language. It provides explanations of over 5000 idiomatic expressions and a useful guide to their politeness level. Each expression is accompanied by a clear explanation of its meaning and when and how it might be used. The expressions are taken from British and American English, with some Australian expressions included as well. Although the book is primarily intended for people with Asperger Syndrome, it will be useful for anyone who has problems understanding idiomatic and colloquial English. An essential resource and an informative read; this dictionary will assist in a wide range of situations.

A smart, hilarious, and lavishly illustrated guide to the most euphemised word in the English language: Drunk A record-breaking assemblage of 2,964 different ways to say "drunk." Tipsy, roasted, three sheets, whazooed and Boris Yeltsinned are just the beginning....With an introduction by the wise-guy lexicographer himself, Paul Dickson, and illustrations by renowned artist Brian Rea. Dickson, who holds the Guiness World Record for collecting the most words for being, er, not sober, not only provides a dictionary of those words, but reveals why there are so many synonyms for being "drunk," and how he came to collect more of them than anyone else. The terms are annotated, too, and lushly illustrated, explaining the twist and turns of a language that has thousands of ways to say the same thing. How, for example, does a word like "blotto" go from the lips of P.G. Wodehouse, into the writings of Edmund Wilson, before landing with Otto from The Simpson's ("My name is Otto, I like to get blotto").

Tony Bell...Kiss Army membership number Z2192 - is a hopeless case, who fell in love with rock music during his teenage years. He was desperate for a piece of what was happening, and he wanted it right there and then. So, he borrowed Wylie Coyote's rocket powered roller skates, picked up a guitar and lit the fuse. Nobody told him that the road to rock and roll stardom curved as the canyon approached, and it really was a long way down. His fall was cushioned by some great times, and some great friends. By the time he hit the bottom, he had managed to open a beer, and tease his hair perfectly. When the dust settled, he picked up his pen, opened another beer and wrote it all down.

Project Time Warp has come to an end. Or has it? The sudden disappearance of a leading British politician and the attempted assassination of Alf Spanner, suggest otherwise. Liam Mail is brought back to Earth to try and discover just what is going on.

The British Lawnmower Museum, Keith Harding's World of Mechanical Music and Mad Jack's Sugar Loaf. In a world of theme parks, interactive exhibits, over-priced merchandise and queues, don't worry, these are names to stir the soul. Reassuring evidence that there's still somewhere to turn in search of the small, fascinating, unique and, dammit, British. In a stumbling journey across the country in search of the best we have to offer our intrepid heroes discovered dinosaurs in South London, a cold war castle in Essex, grown men pretending to be warships in Scarborough, unexplained tunnels under Liverpool and a terraced house in Bedford being kept warm for Jesus's return. And along the way they met the people behind them all: enthusiasts, eccentrics and, you know, those who just sort of fell into looking after a vast collection of gnomes ... Makes you proud!

First published in 2001.The standard work on its subject, this resource includes every traceable British entertainment film from the inception of the "silent cinema" to the present day. Now, this new edition includes a wholly original second volume devoted to non-fiction and documentary film--an area in which the British film industry has particularly excelled. All entries throughout this third edition have been revised, and coverage has been extended through 1994.Together, these two volumes provide a unique, authoritative source of information for historians, archivists, librarians, and film scholars.

The Encyclopedia of Television, second edtion is the first major reference work to provide description, history, analysis, and information on more than 1100 subjects related to television in its international context. For a full list of entries, contributors, and more, visit the Encyclo pedia of Television, 2nd edition website.

From her BAFTA-winning television work, such as My Beautiful Son, to her big screen debut alongside Michael Caine in Educating Rita, her starring in Billy Elliot (both of which earned her Oscar nominations) and her portrayal of Mrs Weasley in the Harry Potter films, Julie Walters has worked with some of the greatest and most diverse actors and directors in the world today. In December 2005, at the British Comedy Awards, Walters - alongside longtime friend and television comedy partner Victoria Wood - picked up the Outstanding Contribution to Comedy Award. Raised in a strict Catholic family in working class Birmingham, Julie Walters abandoned a nursing course to study drama at Manchester Polytechnic and went on to join the Liverpool Everyman Theatre where she cut her teeth as an actress. Over the next decade, she experienced three marriage proposals, two long-term romances and a period of heavy drinking. At the end of 1984 she met sociology student Grant Roffey and had a daughter Maisie, who was traically diagnosed with luekaemia and had to undergo years of painful chemotherapy. the authors have interviewed friends, teachers and colleagues to skilfully compile the first-ever biography of one of Britain's finest and best-loved actresses.