A journey through Hobart—Australia's smallest, most southerly, least prosperous, but arguably most beautiful state capital—this updated edition reveals a city in transition, shaking off its dark and troubled past to claim its special place in the post-modern world. From Hobart's convict legacy, its spectacular natural setting, heritage architecture, and climate to crime rates, economic hardship, the recent disfigurements of the developers, and the opening of the Museum of Old and New Art, ...

In this updated edition, Peter Timms leads us on a journey through his adopted city of Hobart, Australia's smallest, most southerly, least prosperous, but arguably most beautiful state capital. He reveals a city in transition, shaking off its dark and troubled past to claim its special place in the post-modern world: 'going boutique, nice and slow', as one overseas visitor notes. From Hobart's convict legacy, its spectacular natural setting, heritage architecture and climate, to crime rate...

Silliness is to be savoured. It exposes the cracks in our reasoning, raising a gleeful two-finger salute to convention and common sense. In a world awash with stupidity and cruel politics, silliness is childish, anarchic, mischievous, rude and sometimes shocking. But it's not new. This delightful yet informative book reveals the surprisingly rich history of silliness, going all the way back to the madcap plays of Aristophanes in the fourth century BC. Medieval fools and jesters, strange "e...

Two men started the transformation from sleepy hilltop community into a thriving town. Gooch and Brunel chose the area near Swindon to build a factory for the Great Western Railway and for more than 140 years The Works was renowned for high-quality heavy engineering. Gooch, Armstrong, Dean, Churchward and Collett would be responsible for the design and building of some of the world’s finest locomotives and stock. In 1948 the GWR became British Railways and later diesels replaced steam. In ...

Swindon Works 1930–1960 is a fully revised and enlarged edition of Working at Swindon Works 1930–1960, first published in 2007. It describes various aspects of the famous railway works of the Great Western Railway, later British Railways Western Region. Despite the disruption caused by economic depression, the Second World War, nationalisation and the transition from steam to diesel manufacture, the 1930s through to the 1950s was, in many ways, the greatest period in the Works’ long histor...

In and Around Swindon Works covers further aspects of the famous manufacturing centre of the Great Western Railway during its heyday of 1930 to 1960. This is the second half of a detailed work begun with the book Working at Swindon Works 1930 - 1960. In piecemeal form, much has been written about Swindon Works but many aspects of it have remained, until now, neglected. From ex-employees, both male and female, and printed material such as surviving GWR circulars and internal documents, the ...

In Signalman's Twilight, Adrian continues the story of his railway life in rural West Berkshire. Adrian revelled in the gentle, old-world atmosphere and seized every opportunity, on duty and off, to talk to the older railwaymen, many of whom had begun their careers on the GWR in 1919 - 21, some of whom had served in the trenches with the Wiltshire Regiment in 1916 - 18, and others of whom had worked for the Midland & South Western Junction Railway in 1913 on to 1921, 'when we took over the...

The formative years of Britain's railway network produced a host of ideas, activities and characters, quite a few of which now seem not only highly unusual, but sometimes little short of ridiculous. Weird schemes and designs, extravagant behaviour, reckless competition and larger-than-life characters all featured in the genuine struggle of the railway system to evolve. While the dawning of regulation and common sense brought about more uniform and responsible practices, fa...

As Britain moved from austerity to prosperity in the 1950s and 1960s, it became clear that British Railways needed to modernise its equipment and rationalise its network if it was to hold its own in the face of growing competition from road and air transport.After attempting to maintain pre-war networks and technology in the 1950s, a reversal of policy in the 1960s brought line closures, new liveries and the last breath of steam, as Dr Beeching and his successors s...

We like beer in Canada. We really, really like it. And it’s not just a fly-by-night, sordid little affair. We’re in it long term. We spend something like $8 billion a year on beer. From barley growers to label designers, more than 170,000 Canadians owe their full-time jobs directly or indirectly to beer. The rest of us just do what we can to help.In the long-awaited follow up to Notes on a Beermat, Pashley explores beer in Canada, covering many salient points, including ch...

Denis Gregory takes us on an unforgettable and hilarious journey through the history of Australia and what it means to be an Australian. Full of quirky observations and little-known facts, this book is a vivid commentary on the life and culture of ' the lucky country'.

The authorities on all things bogan and authors of THINGS BOGANS LIKE are back with an historical, sociological, geographic and cultural study that traces bogan culture back to society's very foundation.Identifying prototypical and stereotypical bogans through time, they examine the bogan of the 19th century and their pre-war descendants, before moving onto the speciman often considered the quintessential bogan, identified by a love of '80s metal, flannelette and Victoria Bitter. T...