Showing results by narrator "Rupert Farley" in All Categories

Labour has shifted from the New Left, to New Labour, to Corbynista Labour. Now, it may see power again with a most unlikely group of activists from the 1970s becoming the fourth generation to win power since 1945. Only Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson and Tony Blair have won power from a sitting Conservative government. Of the 10 general elections since 1979, Labour has won three, all under Blair. This record of failure, if applied to any other walk of life, would raise the fundamental question of why continue to fight a losing battle?

Fuelled by a degree of mid-life crisis and the need to escape, albeit temporarily, the dull routine of modern life, David and Rob set out to walk from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, taking in French villages, beautiful scenery, and one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in Europe. Just about perfect – if you can put aside the inevitable conflict, drama, and unexpected tedium that results from two men spending over seven solid weeks in each other’s company!

A sweltering summer spells bad news for the private detective business. Thieves and philanderers take the month off and the only swingers in town are the ones to be found on the 19th hole of the Royal Hoo Golf Course. The civilized reputation of the 'Hoo' is in trouble, however. Shocking allegations of cheating have been directed at one of its leading members, Chris Porphyry. When Chris turns to Joe Sixsmith, PI, he's more than willing to help - well, he hasn't got any other clients.

What makes the English English? Is it their eccentricity, their passionate love (or, indeed, hatred) of Marmite - or is it something less easily defined? Beginning at the top of a muddy Gloucestershire slope at the Cooper's Hill cheese-rolling contest and traversing a landscape of lawns and queues, coastlines and sporting arenas, Ben Fogle takes us on a journey through the peculiarly English.

Joe Sealey was watching his son play for Manchester United's Under-14s when a man came up to him and said: "I've got your dad's book". Joe's father, Les, had been Manchester United's goalkeeper but had died of a heart attack in 2001 at the age of 43. His death tormented Joe, who had been West Ham's reserve keeper. Joe had given up on football, slipping into an alcohol and drug addiction that almost killed him. He had forgotten what his father's voice sounded like. Now, here it was in form of a Tupperware box full of cassette tapes.

Peter has motor neurone disease, a condition universally considered by doctors to be terminal. It will destroy his nerve cells, and he is told that within an average of two years, it will take his life, too. But, face to face with death, he decides there is another way. Using his background in science and technology, he navigates a new path, one that will enable him not just to survive but to thrive.

The England team that touched down in Russia for the 2018 World Cup was a new-look outfit: there were no real stars, no overblown egos and no dickheads. Still reeling from the wincing exit to Iceland in the 2016 Euros, expectations were at an all-time low. Qualification had been smooth if not spectacular, and pundits and fans alike were lukewarm about the team’s chances. Just avoiding embarrassment would have counted as some kind of success. How wrong we were.

Casting directors want you to do well, feel confident about the audition and in turn give the director the confidence they need to choose you. The insights and reassurances throughout this book provide a little-seen glimpse into the world of casting, helping you to understand how casting directors and directors view the process and what purpose the audition serves. Casting director Sam Stevenson draws on her rich experience, from both her time as deputy head of casting at the National Theatre and her varied freelance career, to delve into the challenges and possibilities that you might face.

As a cricketer, broadcaster and celebrity jungle-dweller, Phil Tufnell has travelled the world far and wide. From the great cricket tours of Australia and South Africa to his equally memorable jaunts to Benidorm and Blackpool, Phil has spent much of his life living out of a suitcase, meeting a host of colourful and memorable characters along the way. The Tourist takes you out on the road, into the dressing room and behind the scenes of the commentary box to reveal just what really happens on Tour.

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) is one of the world’s most loved modern classics. A Leopard’s Kiss entwines the story of Tomasi di Lampedusa writing his famous novel with that of a young couple who say farewell to their Sicilian homeland to settle in far-off Australia. The novella moves from the mountains of an ancient Sicilian village to the ornate cafes and lounges of 1950s Palermo. And from the humid Queensland cane-fields in the north of Australia to a Catholic convent school in the south.

The Detective Story Club's first short story anthology is based around a London detective club and includes three newly discovered tales unpublished for 100 years, plus a story bearing an uncanny resemblance to a Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes story but written some seven years earlier.

Armchair General airdrops you, the listener, into the key historical moments and turning points of WWII - from the outbreak of war to D-Day - and thrusts you into the role of decision-maker. Taking the chair of Winston Churchill, Field Marshal Montgomery, General Eisenhower and other leaders and soldiers from the Allied Forces, you will be primed with the contemporaneous intelligence that real leaders would have been presented with during the war - including maps and secret dossiers.

It’s never too late to get back on track. Michael is a broken man. He’s waiting for the 09.46 to Gloucester, so as to reach Crewe for 11.22: the platforms are long at Crewe, and he can walk easily into the path of a high-speed train to London. He’s planned it all: a net of tangerines (for when the refreshments trolley is cancelled), and a juice carton full of neat whisky. To make identification swift, he has taped his last credit card to the inside of his shoe.