Books published by TSL Publications

The author is a huge fan of Alan Bennett's work, having studied Talking Heads at A-level. All the characters in Twists and Turns are fictitious, reflecting individuals who are driven by ambition, revenge or by the need to be loved. The characters are faced with choices and react accordingly; but find that the outcome is not always what they had planned.

Ben, aged 12,has been given a boomerang and sets out with his father and grandfather to try it out in the local park. Unfortunately, the boomerang becomes lodged in the branches of a very high tree. No amount of stone throwing by Ben's father, Bob, can dislodge the boomerang from the tree. The image of the boomerang lost in the tree's branches becomes central to the lives of all three. For all three are struggling separately with feelings of loss: Of a boomerang, of a job, of a wife and mother and of life itself. Their emotions and knowledge are concealed from each other for reasons of pride, cowardliness and love'.

Governed by Magpies. While hanging the washing, Emma sees at least one magpie which causes her to worry about her husband Stewart's business plans. By the time Stewart comes home with a lost briefcase holding secret information seven magpies have been seen. One for sorrow. Two for joy. Three for a kiss And four for a boy. Five for silver Six for gold. Seven a secret not to be told.

Doreen and Arnold have driven 25 miles to buy a lamp advertised in a magazine. Unfortunately, to their increasing frustration, Doreen, on actually seeing the lamp,is unable to decide whether she really wants to buy it. Their frustration is further greatly increased when they discover they have accidentally been locked in the shop overnight. Doreen and Arnold have been growing apart. Now trapped together with no chance of escape, they are forced to examine their present relationship. Will THE LAMP bring them together or drive them further apart? A funny, sad, tender, richly comic two-hander'.

1970 No internet, computers or mobile phones. 'Groovin With Mr Bloe' tops the charts. Accommodation focuses sharply on both the random nature of death and the comic shift of power and opportunity it brings to the inhabitants of a shabby London rooming house. Triggered partly by the author's own experience when first living in London, this early play demonstrates his already highly developed ability to use silence and rhythmic language to very considerable dramatic effect. A vivid, quirky, darkly funny play.

It was the unlikeliest of encounters in the unlikeliest of places, but when Chaplin and Gandhi met in Canning Town, the men had more in common than they realised. They both knew cockney rhyming slang, they had similar nicknames (Little Tramp and Little Leader), and they both stuck up for the underdog. This play tells the story of Gandhi's remarkable 1931 visit to London, where he spent twelve weeks in the East End. While staying at Kingsley Hall, Gandhi met with local children, teaching the youngsters from the rough-and-tumble streets of East London his non-violent approach to the world. Charlie Chaplin, beloved across the world and in London at the time for the premier of his new film City Lights, requested to see Gandhi believing they had a special affinity for the poor and the working class.

Difficult neighbour relationships can be a major cause of stress. This book deals with managing the stress caused by the thoughtless behaviour of neighbours.

'We shall go to the ocean, Oddsock. They said that it is very, very big, as big as the sky.' The donkey nodded its head, then shook it, watching the young boy, looking for guidance, a restlessness twitching in its body. He knew they should move on, get away from this place, but he was bound to the boy. They were twins, born of different mothers, he with one leg black to the knee, the only blemish on a grey coat, while the boy carried a strange pigmentation disorder that left one arm a pale pink to the elbow in contrast to the rich brown of his body, earning him the nickname of Whitearm. So begins Whitearm's journey of discovery and growth

A collection of poems revealing the wonderous stories, amazing grace and love of God from the scriptures. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

The author is a huge fan of Alan Bennett's work, having studied Talking Heads at A-level. All the characters in Against the Tide are fictitious, reflecting individuals who see situations very differently to mainstream society; and who, due to circumstances, feel isolated and somewhat estranged even from those around them. Politics features in Queen of South Faxby and Moving with the Times, and in a previous work, The Waiting Man. This no doubt is due to 12 years spent in the political arena of local politics. Although light hearted, some of the characters lead quite sad existences.

The author (born in February 1935) and his parents fled Nazi Germany in 1939, after his father had been incarcerated for six weeks in a concentration camp. They made their way to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) where the family eventually settled in the town of Gatooma. Peter describes his reminiscences of life prior to departing Nazi Germany, the World War II era and the post-war years that followed. Five years as a boarder at Prince Edward School in Salisbury followed thereafter (1947-1951) and his experiences at 'P.E.' the largest boy's high school in the country are vividly described and documented. This book, amply illustrated, releases a flood of memories of what it was like to live in the 'old' Rhodesia - the strip roads then still in use, visits to the 'bioscope', witnessing Rhodesia's contribution to the Allied war effort, sporting heroes of that generation and much more ...

Kenya Days is a homage to the golden days of the East African Asian and the lifestyle in that part of the world. Thus, although the setting is Kenya, it could as well apply to the other two territories, Uganda or Tanzania, as the lifestyle then was very similar. Starting in the post-war 1940s and continuing until the mid 1970s 'Kenya Days, Moonlit Nights' tells of Shekhar Vakil's growing up, first in coastal Mombasa and then later in the capital city of Nairobi.

With his marriage floundering, Owen Roberts gets involved with a female student at the university where he is a lecturer. An accusation of gross misconduct ensues, and now he stands to lose everything. While clearing out the attic, a diary Owen kept in 1967 comes to light. It records his voyage aboard the Merchant Navy ship Albatross. He had confined the diary and the traumatic memories to the dust and darkness of the attic many years before. Reliving that time as a deck boy nearly forty years before comforts him. It gives him temporary relief from his present situation, which is just as violent. Only in a different way. But can he survive the present storm?

Thanks to the late Peter Tory's encouragement, who used almost 100 of my limericks in his Diary columns in the Star and The Sunday Express in the '80s and early '90s, I seem to be addicted to writing limericks. Or trying to. As often as not for friends. I do think a book of them might make good stocking fillers. Unlike Edward Lear's, the last line of my limericks is NOT a repeat of the first line and the last line also usually contains a (hopefully) funny pay off. What's more - my limericks do usually scan! "e;As someone who specialises in mysteries of all kinds and at all levels, it remains something of a mystery even to me how my old friend Arnie Wilson manages to write such daft but undeniably amusing limericks. In fact they're Dead Funny! (Regular readers of my Roy Grace thrillers will get that pun-ishing joke.)"e; Peter James, author of the Roy Grace thrillers

This book is a journey through a complex world; feelings and psychology of human kind. I am not expecting you to agree with me, but hopefully you look at each reflection I wrote as someone's life which needs to be counted. Many individuals have no voice or forced to swallow theirs. Many factors contribute to these few oppressive situations which I have chosen to share with you. As many others, they basically ripped off my heart and soul. No matter if they were a consequence of miss-interpretation or lack of understanding of the intention of religion; unchallenged culture or custom or just a manifestation of an intended heartless and cruel misuse of power, they deeply affected people's life as much as mine. I hope I can relate to you all, knowing where I come from. Thank you for taking the time to read my collection.

What was it like for children growing up in rural Suffolk during World War 2? Elsie and her family live in a small double-storey cottage in Bungay, Suffolk. Every night she lies awake listening anxiously for the sound of the German bomber planes. Often they come and the air raid siren sounds signalling that the family must leave their beds and venture out to the air raid shelter in the garden. Despite the war raging across the English channel, daily life continues with its highlights, such as Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt, and its wary moments when Elsie learns the stories of Jack Frost and the ghostly and terrifying Black Shuck that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia. Includes some authentic World War 2 recipes

Every member of the crew heard the ominous crack. They all stopped working, backed up a little along the passage and held their breath. Suddenly the roof caved in... This is a compelling story of a determined young man who seeks his fortune in London during the 1930s. It is the women in George Carr's life who shape and colour his future. Murder, suicide, assault, infidelity, the abduction of children and the testing of loyalties all tough the life of this family man. 1931 and George, a miner is twenty-one. After the mining accident and a thoughtless remark by his mother, he decides to live independently. He falls in love and copes with many setbacks. Along the way he encounters the vagaries of landladies, the wiles of village women and the amusing wit of cockneys.

Are you one of the tiny percentage of novice crew members who gets invited back, or do you find yourself with the majority, sitting on the quayside gazing wistfully into your cappuccino wondering what you did wrong or didn't do right, while skippers make plans to go sailing with your friends instead of you? Crew members who repeatedly get invited to come back to crew another day are members of a tiny elite. The ideas, suggestions and true stories in this book will help you to join that elite - if you've got what it takes! If you want to learn to sail and get into yachting as an aspiring crew, or you are a new yacht club member wondering what planet skippers come from, what on earth they want from you, what you have to do to get invited on board and, most of all, how to get invited to come again, this book is for you, for its simple aim is to help you become the most sought-after crew person in your yacht club.

In September 1940 the Battle of Britain was over. In March 1941 the battle for Britain began when the Germans invaded Kent. There have been many books on the subject, but few from a personal perspective. This is a collation of diaries, discovered in an attic during a house clearance. They were written by Billy Palmer, a boy of fourteen; but not on a daily basis, only when he had spare time. He was one of hundreds of runners who carried messages to and from the front. Inevitably their casualty rate was high. This is Billy's story going through to 1944. The boys escape in 1942, become farmers and experience various other adventures.

How do you cope with girl friends, weddings, Christmas and chickenpox ? In his third book of adventures, Rhys gets advice from granddad, gran and Uncle George who is visiting from Australia

In Easy Ways to Build Assertiveness, Confidence, Self Esteem, Jenny provides a manual for personal development covering the basic building blocks for achieving your potential, taking control of your life and creating your own enjoyment and happiness from living.

In eighteen chapters of anecdotes, stories, reflections and comment Malcolm Allen brings the fun, frustration and absurdity of the game to life. Malcolm is a keen golfer who achieved a reasonable handicap when younger but the inexorable march of time has seen a steady decline since. What has not fallen by the wayside is his love of this wonderful game and all that goes with it.