As Friday 13th looms, so the East's unlucky streak comes to a climax. With them finally on their uppers, an advance offer from a publisher is a welcome relief until they discover they have already spent what is due to come from George's sales, and the bills keep mounting. French Cricket finds the author and his long-suffering wife facing imminent disaster as they struggle to survive at the Mill of the Flea. Something must be done to bring home the bacon, so our hero launches himself into another succession of hare-brained and inevitably doomed money-making schemes - French Cricket' is the fifth book in what has become a cult series, and follows our accident- prone hero through a long summer in Lower Normandy as he encounters an increasingly bizarre collection of characters, situations and events. Distractions from his money-making survival schemes to create ready-pickled eggs and breed boa-constrictors in the Big Pond include regular meetings of the infamous Jolly Boys Club. Members of this select debating society include the allegedly immortal Old Pierrot, who claims to have been on first name terms with William the Conqueror, JayPay (village superchef and entry for the moustache-growing championships of Lower Normandy), and the hypochondriacal Scabby Michel, who has had volumes of medical journals written about his ever-growing collection of exotic illnesses. Elsewhere, there's the invasion of an equally unusual collection of would-be British settlers, whose ranks feature a rollerblading barrister in search of the real world! and a retired 'hand artist' who claims to have been a stunt fingers double for Warren Beatty. Meanwhile, back at the Mill of the Flea, there are the constant confrontations with a tribe of homicidal goldfish and the escape committee in the chicken run, and failed attempts to find a dancing partner for a ballet-loving goose and cure a duck of its fear of water.

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Globalizing Cricket examines the global role of the sport - how it developed and spread around the world. The book explores the origins of cricket in the eighteenth century, its establishment as England's national game in the nineteenth, the successful (Caribbean) and unsuccessful (American) diffusion of cricket as part of the development of the British Empire and its role in structuring contemporary identities amongst and between the English, the British and postcolonial communities. Whilst empirically focused on the sport itself, the book addresses broader issues such as social development, imperialism, race, diaspora and national identities. Tracing the beginnings of cricket as a 'folk game' through to the present, it draws together these different strands to examine the meaning and social significance of the modern game. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the role of sport in both colonial and post-colonial periods; the history and peculiarities of English national identity; or simply intrigued by the game and its history.

"French & English : A comparison" by Philip Gilbert Hamerton. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Guinea pigs are from South America yet Guinea is in Africa! And of course they are not like pigs. Why do we call them Guinea Pigs?Not a Pig Not from Guinea is a light-hearted book about the misleading place-names we use for ordinary things in everyday English.

George East is by far one of the funniest story tellers and raconteurs on the planet today and the third book in the best-selling MILL OF THE FLEA series, continuing the often farcical and always entertaining adventures of the author and his wife as they attempt to make a new life in rural France. Totally unlike any other book in the genre, FRENCH LETTERS takes the reader on another visit to a remote area of Normandy where time is of little value and reluctant tractors (and their drivers) are kick-started on frosty mornings with a tot of moonshine apple brandy. During another eventful year at the Mill of the Flea, the author and his wife once again encounter a host of improbable characters and situations, like the vegetarian couple who set up home next to a veal farm and an elderly post-mistress who grows highly illegal pot plants while enticing a colony of hornets to set up home in her attic...ReviewsGeorge's tremendous love of life shows in all the couple's exploits, as does Donella's affection for George and her animals (shared fifty-fifty one surmises). There's a lot of wisdom in this book, or a lot of sound sense if you prefer it. I just wish he could write them a bit quicker. --R.Roller.JCBJust read 'French Letters', what fun. George East's first book, 'Home and Dry in France' was my first encounter with this hilarious author. His second book, 'Rene and Me' confirmed his genius and I didn't think he could pull off a hat trick - but he has. 'French Letters' is so funny, from a bingo game in Nehou to the Tour de France, all the familiar characters are there, you must meet the Miserables, what a scream, I laughed all the way through. Encore s'il vous plait --J.Bean NY Whistler

In 1928 Sydney, Australia, an Irish school girl finds new hope, after polio and personal tragedy, while playing cello in a string quartet. “The author’s … love for and extensive knowledge of music, fine arts and literature shines through” ... “The landscapes are vast and vivid, the seasons sensory and real, and the emotional journey heart-wrenching.” ... “some of the most profound considerations on the meaning of suffering and understanding others, making allowances for their faults” - GoodReadingGuide.com Publisher description: Australia promised a fresh start for Lucy Straughan and her father when they fled war-torn Ireland. Instead, Lucy was stricken by polio. Having mastered the cello during her prolonged confinement, Lucy is now fifteen, lonely and full of questions. Suddenly she is thrust into a string quartet and meets quixotic Della Sotheby, hot-headed Pim Connolly and precocious Phoebe Raye. The experience transforms each of their lives as they forge friendships and share not a few family secrets. Set against the vivid background of 1920s Sydney, A Distant Prospect is an intimate, hilarious and ultimately deeply moving coming-of-age adventure told with a touch of poetry by a quintessentially Irish narrator.

So you think eccentric France means frogs' legs and pigs' trotters? Think again. Piers Letcher takes you to places where you can feast on forgotten vegetables, saddle up for national donkey day, or gorge yourself at the world tripe championships. He also reveals the truth behind France's most colorful characters, including Coco Chanel, Joan of Arc, Mata Hari and the Marquis de Sade. This latest addition to the Bradt eccentric series makes fascinating reading for those looking to discover the hidden side of France, as well as for armchair travelers who delight in the extraordinary. Feeling adventures? Try your hand at pig-squealing, or brave the Rhone Valley's Crocodile Farm; Romantic? Visit the Lovers' Wall in Montmartre, or Provence's hidden Paradise; Festive? Indulge yourself at the Palais du chocolat, or take a Champagne cure; Or just plain curious? Check out the country's most unusual towns, gardens, hotels and restaurants.

This is second volume of reminiscences and reflections. There is no subject under the sun that does not come under his genial, ironic and satirical gaze. Nostalgia and current affairs are dealt with in a serenely personal and free-flowing style, displaying a deep and abiding love for the English language. For the reader, there is something to dip into and find relevant, even at a random flipping-through of the pages. This is a book to be kept by your bedside and referred to whenever you’re feeling low. Your spirits will surely rise.

1st in series of French Impressions unique Travel books