Aged twenty-five, dressed as Che Guevara, Nigel Planer answers an ad for a room and his life changes for ever.Both a memoir and a love story, Young Once follows his journey, from bell-ringer to gravedigger, from university dropout to long-term patient of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases and all the other bizarre events that shape him, until the day he meets Alexei Sayle, Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson in a former strip club and the 1980s Comedy Revoluti...

Nigel’s new collection comes from years of travelling, talking to people and listening to their stories. People are invariably more interesting and multi-faceted than they might at first appear (if you are prepared to give them time and listen to their stories) – from stoic widows in Chicago or a tour guide in the Killing Fields of Cambodia, to a teacher in Cuba or a Minister of Information in India.A memoir and travelogue of personal, emotional, raw, and sometimes just plain silly...

As Jeremiah Bourne is swept from his crumbling home in Blackfriars in 2019 to the same house in 1910, he suddenly faces two questions: how did he get here, and how can he return to his own time?On his quest for answers, he encounters a cast of comic characters and situations: a coven of free-thinking spiritualists, a futuristic residents' association, warring street gangs, eugenic scientists, aggressive domestic servants and a nudist magistrate. As events unfold, Jeremiah begins to...

Nigel Planer has been writing poetry for over fifty years. Now he has corralled many of his poems into one volume, Making Other Plans – as in ‘poetry is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.’This collection forms a poetic memoir, richly articulating humorous and serious observations on life, love, ageing, society and the human condition, recounted with emotional tenderness and warranted vexation.“A unique piece of poetic time travel. Frequently funny, s...

When Shadeys Bank loses another C.E.O. to a scandal, they are desperate to show they’ve reformed. Who better to present their redemption than a country vicar?Reverend Tom Goodman is ousted from his job as a country vicar for allowing a homeless family to stay in the church hall. Meanwhile, a major bank is trying to rescue its image after the latest in a long string of financial scandals. It seems like the perfect match and Goodman is hastily appointed as the bank’s new C.E.O. All t...

The language of Poetry is an art that most of us attempt at some point in our lives. Although its commonplace exposure has been somewhat marginalised in today’s often fast-paced lives we all recognise good verse that can empathise with our thoughts or open us up to experience new things in new ways, to better understand and to enjoy the many strands of our lives.But finding a starting point can be overwhelming, even off-putting, so in this series we offer up our Top 10 classic poet...

Silence is rare in Nature.When we really listen, Nature is conducting symphonies of sound as her world goes about the day and night. Her invisible heartbeat is everywhere, for everyone.Our eyes are constantly bathed in the wonder of her ways, the soft drizzle of rain from soft grey clouds, the bleached harsh desert sand of a noon day, a wave caressing the shore, to the ravenous colours of a departing sunset.Indeed, whenever we look and listen to the vastness of our ...

The English language has grown into the Worlds pre-dominant spoken language. It’s estimated there are over one million words with which to do this. It’s sources are rich and diverse, absorbing from other cultures and times without hesitation. It surely follows that when we add the talents of Shakespeare, Keats, Shelley, Kipling and Blake to a myriad of others that its beauty and reach entrance us with their thoughts and visions. In two volumes these remarkable poems present a wonderful com...

The cat. Independent when it wants and making us dependent on its whims when it deems. Cats are first thought of as being domesticated in the Near East in about 7500 BC. A few thousand years later in Ancient Egypt they are worshipped as gods. From a domestic cat’s point of view this is pretty much the life they want and that some cats lead right now.Their larger cousins whether in forest, savannah, mountains or desert were fated for their speed, strength, beauty, feline powers and ...

‘A dime a dozen’ as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English ‘cheap as chips’ but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit ‘A Rhyme a Dozen’ as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears.1 - A Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poems, 12 Poets, 1 Topic - Ballads - An Introduction2 - The Ballad ...

Edward Lear. Ah Nonsense! The English it is often said have a peculiar brand of humour. Along with copious cups of tea and a stiff upper lip it keeps life together in moments of difficulty and strife. One of our much loved humourists is Edward Lear, famed throughout the World for his Nonsense Verse and limericks. Born in Holloway, North London Lear was the 21st child of Ann and Jeremiah Lear and raised by his sister, Ann, who was, of course, 21 years older than Edward. His early life was u...

Each of us has giggled uncontrollably as a child or adult at some silly nothing, some play on words, some nonsense that, for a moment at least, makes the world seem genuinely funny if a little mad. In this volume of Nonsense verse you’ll find many favourites to take you back to the time and place where most things are a little upside down or back to front including favourites from Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll and quite a few others to giggle along with.