CHAIN-MAKERS, CHAPELS AND PUBS
Peter Head
CHAIN-MAKERS,
CHAPELS AND PUBS
(George
Head and his Family in Cradley)
Cyprus
based author and son of Cradley, Peter Head, takes us on a journey spanning two
centuries. It is the Journey his family took from the countryside of Shropshire
to the industrial heartland of Cradley where much of the world’s chain was
being forged.
It
is a story of Chain-makers, Chapels and Pubs as some family members became
ministers, and others became publicans. In charting the story of his own family
Peter Head tells the history of the most important chain-making town in the
world from its infancy to its post industrial present.
Born
into a family passionate about the Black Country dialect, the final part of the
book contains the most comprehensive glossary of Black Country words and phrases
since Jon Ravens Black Country Waerd Books of the late 1970s
INCLUDES:-
Many
Previously unpublished photographs
Glossary
of Black Country words
Royal
8vo paperback, 164 pages, £8.00 (plus £1.00 p&p)
ISBN 978 1 904552 35 2
BLUE GENES
Les Lacey
BLUE GENES...
The story of Josh, a
remarkable Staffordshire Bull Terrier seen by
many as having special qualities distinguishing him from others. He was adored
by dog lovers at shows and attracted many glowing compliments... as well as
astronomical offers for him.
The attribute making him different from all but a handful of dogs
was his colour, known in the breed as blue, but in truth a deep slate grey.
BLUE -
THE COLOUR OF CUPID’S DART
Blue was not the colour for many breeders and judges who shunned
Josh in shows, often without reason. But
josh continued to turn heads wherever he went, and broke hearts throughout the
world.
BLUE GENES charts Josh’s life from him becoming part of a
family in Walsall in the West Midlands, through his show career, the illness
that proved difficult to diagnose, and the almost star treatment he received,
with him appearing on a calendar, in a video, in a book, and as a model for a
porcelain figure.
BLUE GENES is a story of loyalty, and commitment and of jealousy
and prejudice. Above all however it is a story of a family’s love for the pet
they’ve chosen to care for, demonstrating that animals, as well as people can
be inspirational. As such BLUE GENES
is a story for pet owner and non pet owners alike.
Royal
8vo paperback, 188 pages, £9.00 (plus £1.00 p&p)
ISBN 978 1 904552 37 6
ECHOES OF FOIANO Di VALFORTORE
Billy Spakemon and Angelo Guidotti
1955:
Foiano
Di Valfortore, a backwater in the Italian province of Benevento, where men toil
in fields on picturesque hillsides to eek out a living.
Oldbury,
in the heart of the Black Country, where men toiled night and day in
smoky factories to maintain the post war boom.
Echoes
of Foiano Di Valfortore tells of Guido Guidotti’s journey from the rolling
hills of his forefathers to the rolling mills of the Black Country, a region
which at first seem satanic, but will ultimately become a new home and provide a
new life for his family.
The
Black Country, formed and forged over two centuries by the determination of
families from th’off to come in and work in the industries..
Top
Black Country poet Billy Spakemon joins Guido’s son, Angelo Guidotti to tell a
tale of Black Country Italians, proud of their new land but for whom, there will
always be Echoes of Foiano Di Valfortore
Royal
8vo paperback, 172 pages, £8.00 (plus 90p p&p)
ISBN 978 1 904552 32 1
ALL SHOOK UP
Carol Hathorne
The
first part of nationally acclaimed author Carol
Hathorne’s autobiography,
SLURRY & STRAWBERRIES was published by the Black Country Society in 2002 and
covered the early years of her Tipton childhood.
Carol went on to write a further two parts, BREAD PUDDING DAYS, and A
WOODBINE ON THE WALL covering her teenage years.
FIVE
MINUTES LOVE brought
together in one volume all three parts of this incredible story.
SLURRY
& STRAWBERRIES told
of life on Tipton’s Lost City Estate. The
early and junior school years of a
working class up bringing depicting the warmth of family life set against a
backdrop of social deprivation.
BREAD
PUDDING DAYS moved
the story on to senior school, travelling to Wednesbury, broadening horizons,
new friends and old truths.
A
WOODBINE ON THE WALL covered
the rite of passage era in which a young woman and a writer emerges.
Now,
ALL SHOOK UP takes the young Carol into the world of work and relationships...
A5
booklet, 52 pages, £3.00 (plus 50p p&p)
ISBN 978 1 904552 25 3
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FIVE MINUTES LOVE
Carol Hathorne
The first part of Carol Hathorne's autobiography was brought out by the Black Country Society in 2002 and entitled Slurry & Strawberries. It described her Black Country childhood on Tipton's Lost City. Carol has written two further parts, Bread Pudding Days which moves the story on to senior school, travelling to Wednesbury, broadening horizon, new friends and old truths. The final part, A Woodbine on the Wall covers the rite of passage ere in which a young woman and a writer emerges. FIVE MINUTES LOVE bring together the three parts of this incredible story in one volume.
A5
comb bound book; 172 pages; £6.50 (plus 80p p&p)
ISBN 978 1 904552 13 0
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MY MATE STAN - A PERSONAL HISTORY OF ST ANDREWS AND STUFF
John Summerton
Birmingham City Football Club were founded in 1875 and
have played at St Andrews since 1906. To celebrate the centenary of the
ground John Summerton has woven his personal odyssey as a Bluenose with a
history of the stadium. It tells of the highs and the lows, the delight and the
pain. It is at turns touching, poignant, and downright funny. It is
about football, family and friends, but above all it is about John's mate StAn.
Top football reporter and commentator Tom Ross talks of the football family of
the west midlands. In that spirit, My Mate Stan is written by a Bluenose,
published by a Baggie, and printed just over the road from the Custard Bowl,
home of the Dingles.. sorry, Molineux Stadium, home of the Wolves.
This is the 21st title of Kates Hill Press project. While all titles to date
have been Black Country based, it was always the hope/intention to be pan west
midlands. My Mate Stan is our first Birmingham title, the first of many we
hope.
A5 booklet; 48 pages (with 5 photographs); £3.00 (plus 50p p&p in uk)
ISBN 1 904552 10 2
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"A WITNESS FOR PEACE"
Greg Stokes
Someone brought a blanket and covered him over. A man approached my mother, "Did you know the Americans bombed Libya last night?" She did not….
Following the bombing of targets in Libya by the USA in 1986, Dudley man Doug Stokes was murdered in Marrakesh by an Arab looking for Americans - an act reported across the globe as that of a "crazed knifeman running amok".
"A Witness For Peace" tells the real story in a powerfully written account which takes the reader through a working class life which ended in tragic death, through a stoic fight with intransigent insurers and indifferent politicians to an ultimate statement of hope for the future.
"A Witness for Peace" is a moving story at times angry and indignant, but not without flashes of
humour. The work critically analyses the product of the media as well as describing their excesses in obtaining it; it tackles the issue of crime and insanity in a case where the culprit got away with it; and it examines the role of professionals in an expanding bereavement counselling industry. The conclusions are startling.
For a full synopsis of "A Witness For Peace" click here
Foreword by LENNY HENRY
A5 paperback; 176 pages; £6.99
(plus 80p p&p)
ISBN 0 9520317 1 X
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GHOST VOICES
Barry Morris
"You round eyes, you come to my country, point your fingers , condemn our beliefs,
rubbish our culture, try to change our values. What you know of values?"
Set within the turmoil of the Vietnam war, Ghost Voices is a stark depiction of the affects of combat upon some of the men of 2 Bravo 6 Platoon Royal Marines.; their relationships, attitudes and reactions to dealing with the perpetual boredom and sudden horrors that peacekeeping can bring. Barry Morris reveals what others often omit; the unrelenting struggle to overcome fear and the powerlessness of having to witness abuse of non combatants.
All
monies from this title go to Amnesty International.
A5 paperback; 320 pages; £7.99
(plus 90p p&p)
ISBN 1 904552 01 3
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