Which animal would you find in a Dazzle, a Crash, a Flamboyance, a Boogle or a Bloat? Why on earth is a group of crows called a Murder? And were you aware that jellyfish don’t have brains, a goat’s pupils are rectangular, or that herrings communicate via bubbles from their bottoms? From ants to zebras, this miscellany of animal madness is packed full of the most utterly astonishing facts ever.
After much research about (and in) pubs, Albert Jack brings together the stories behind pub names to reveal how they offer fascinating and subversive insights into our history, customs, attitudes and jokes. Any regular visitor to the great British pub will delight in knowing the origin of The Royal Oak or the Cat and the Fiddle and here they’ll also learn facts about a diverse range of pub culture from the rules of cribbage to drinking songs and ghost stories.
This glorious illustrated volume is a celebration of the greatest natural history artists of the last 300 years. An astonishing visual record of parts of the natural world never previously documented, Judith Magee has drawn on the unrivalled collections of the Natural History Museum to illustrate the development of this genre of art through the centuries.
From the weird and wonderful to the breathtakingly beautiful, this book presents an astonishing portrait - by some of the world’s top wildlife photographers - of the animal kingdom. Here neon-bright tropical birds, the tiniest jewel-like frogs, elusive jungle creatures and huge, majestic whales come together to celebrate the rich diversity of wildlife both great and small.
The Penguin Dictionary of British Surnames is a useful and fascinating guide to British surnames that offer a unique insight into the place of origin, the occupations, and even the personality traits of our ancestors. Detailed and informative, and containing more than 10,000 names, this dictionary is essential reading for anyone intrigued by the story of their name and the history of their family.
This beautifully produced and idiosyncratic gift book will make a wonderfully original gift for any fan of architecture or history. Full of wit, charm and personality, the author sets out to cover the grammar and vocabulary of British buildings, explaining the evolution of styles from Norman castles to Norman Foster.
As you delve deep into the world of volutes, hood moulds, lobed architraves and bucrania, you will soon be able to leave a cathedral or country house with as much to talk about as a film or play!
Offers information on such wide-ranging subjects as global economics, Norse mythology and modern cinema. This book includes sections on Art and Architecture, the World of Wine and Britain Today. It also covers literary prizes, the advent of Barack Obama and a world in recession.
From the best-selling author of the phenomenal ‘Men are from Mars. Woman are from Venus’, comes an outstanding new book for men and woman seeking lasting love in the face of modern pressures. Writing with both humour and empathy. Gray offers practical solutions to common points of conflict and his classically unconventional approach will empower men and woman alike to adapt their new roles in our work-driven society without compromising the intimacy and lasting love that most people crave and need.
Banish those stains and transform your home into a palace of sparkling surfaces, clutter-free cupboards and carpets to be proud of! From ovens and fridges to bathrooms, from red wine rings to foul smelling microwaves, Aggie has all the answers to any cleaning question you can think of. From top to bottom, inside and outside, you’ll find oodles of nifty ideas to take the drudgery out of cleaning. Nobody knows housekeeping quite like Aggie…