Graham Ibbeson The People S Sculptor

Just William. The name conjures memories of Richmal Cromptons favourite character. No childhood was complete without the outrageous exploits of William and his constant companions, The Outlaws. Sculptor Graham Ibbeson was beguiled by the words in the bestselling books and by the portrait of William on the front covers, a cheeky boy with tousled hair and a catapult sticking out of a pocket. Decades later Graham produced his own version of William, immortalized in fibre glass for the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, to mark the centenary of Cromptons birth. The Daily Mirror was so impressed by this tribute to one of fictions wonderful characters that one of its staff men photographed Graham walking with the statue up one of the last remaining cobbled streets in Barnsley. Much of Grahams work has revolved around childhood. His early years figure in much of his amusing fibre glass work and characters such as George and Eric are based on Graham and his cousin, Paul. His own humour responds to the distant sounds of boyhood and in a way this book is a celebration of childhood and laughter. It also traces the setbacks and triumphs of an artist who was born in a mining village and who produced a national icon, the Eric Morecambe statue, which helped to turn the economic tide in the Lancashire resort of Morecambe. The book outlines the stories behind other notable public statues, including Laurel and Hardy, Les Dawson, Dickie Bird and Cary Grant. It is both an informative and entertaining book about the life and times of the peoples sculptor, a man whose craftsmanship has left an elegant and permanent mark on more than 30 of the countrys townscapes

A powerful new history of the Great Strike in the miners’ own voices, based on more than 140 interviews with former miners and their families Forty years ago, Arthur Scargill led the National Union of Mineworkers on one of the largest strikes in British history. A deep sense of pride existed within Britain’s mining communities who thought of themselves as the backbone of the nation’s economy. But they were vilified by Margaret Thatcher’s government and eventually broken: deprived of their jobs, their livelihoods, and in some cases, their lives. In this groundbreaking new history, Robert Gildea interviews those miners and their families who fought to defend themselves. Exploring mining communities from South Wales to the Midlands, Yorkshire, County Durham, and Fife, Gildea shows how the miners and their families organized to protect themselves, and how a network of activists mobilized to support them. Amid the recent wave of industrial action in the United Kingdom, Backbone of the Nation highlights anew the importance of labor organization—and intimately records the triumphs, losses, and resilience of these mining communities.

A lively and accessible study of what happens when the ‘serious’ world of art collides with celebrity.

This is a book for people who are interested in statues . . . and for people who aren't. It explores those immortalised in marble and bronze - and what the rest of us think about them. As Roger Lytollis travels Britain he encounters a man at Liverpool's Beatles statue convinced that Rod Stewart was in the Fab Four. In Edinburgh he walks into a row over Greyfriars Bobby's nose and in Glasgow learns why the Duke of Wellington wears a traffic cone on his head. London brings a controversial nude statue and some hard truths about racism. Elsewhere, Roger sees people dancing with Eric Morecambe, finds a statue being the backdrop to a marriage proposal and, everywhere he goes, pigeons. Always pigeons . . . On a Pedestal is the first book to examine public statues around the nation. It looks at their emergence into our culture wars; the trend for portraying musicians, sports stars and comedians rather than monarchs, politicians and generals; the amazing tales of many of those commemorated on our streets. It also features interviews with sculptors, including Sir Antony Gormley, telling the stories behind some of our most popular modern statues. Part history book, part travelogue, On a Pedestal brings statues to life. Informative and entertaining, it's a book that - ultimately - is more about blood than bronze.

What does the ‘Dark Ages’ mean in contemporary society? Tackling public engagements through archaeological fieldwork, heritage sites and museums, fictional portrayals and art, and increasingly via a broad range of digital media, this is the first-ever dedicated collection exploring the public archaeology of the Early Middle Ages.

Between 1964 and 1992, Leeds United won eleven fabulous trophies, but the team were runners-up just as often. They missed out on many more titles and cups, not least club football's greatest prize, the European Cup, in 1975. In No Glossing Over It, lifelong Leeds United fan Gary Edwards reveals why the club has dramatically lost out on victory in many of these competitions and how it has been the victim of a pattern of serial abuse by the footballing authorities - most recently seen in the unprecedented 15-point sanction meted out at the start of the 2007-08 season. Featuring the views of former Leeds players and managers, as well as top-flight referees and diehard fans, No Glossing Over It examines the injustices that have befallen Leeds United and sheds new light on the shocking events that have long rankled with the club's supporters.

From the Sunday Times bestselling author, The Mother of All Christmases is a gorgeous read full of love, life, laughter, a few tears - and crackers! ‘The feeling you get when you read a Milly Johnson book should be bottled and made available on the NHS’ Debbie Johnson Eve Glace - co-owner of the theme park Winterworld - is having a baby and her due date is a perfectly timed 25th December. And she’s decided that she and her husband Jacques should renew their wedding vows with all the pomp that was missing the first time. But growing problems at Winterworld keep distracting them … Annie Pandoro and her husband Joe own a small Christmas cracker factory, and are well set up and happy together despite life never blessing them with a much-wanted child. But when Annie finds that the changes happening to her body aren’t typical of the menopause but pregnancy, her joy is uncontainable. Palma Collins has agreed to act as a surrogate, hoping the money will get her out of the gutter in which she finds herself. But when the couple she is helping split up, is she going to be left carrying a baby she never intended to keep? Annie, Palma and Eve all meet at the ‘Christmas Pudding Club’, a new directive started by a forward-thinking young doctor to help mums-to-be mingle and share their pregnancy journeys. Will this group help each other to find love, contentment and peace as Christmas approaches? 'Full of love and laughter' Daily Express 'Full of characters you can identify with and an uplifting sense of warmth' Debbie Johnson ‘Johnson is a bona fide commercial blockbuster author and her latest offering is a treat … a properly juicy novel' Grazia ‘Always rooted in the deep issues that shape and shake women’s lives … Sprinkled with festive cheer’ The Lady 'Brings love, life and laughter' Yours 'A festive-themed, big-hearted feast bursting with love, laughter, tears, a cast of characters that readers will love as much as their own best friends' Lancashire Post 'Every time you discover a new Milly book, it’s like finding a pot of gold' heat

In the period that we now call the Industrial Revolution mining disasters wrecked the lives of thousands of South Yorkshire families and devastated entire communities. The Husker pit flooding of 1838 in which 26 young girls and boys were killed shocked Victorian society and and was a significant factor in the 1842 Report on Employment of Women and Children in Mines; but earlier, long forgotten disasters are also explored. The Barnsley area was particularly hard-hit during the middle decades of the century with major mining accidents, usually great explosions of firedamp occurring, for example, at Lundhill Colliery (189 men and boys killed); Oaks (361 fatalities, Britains worst pit disaster) and Swaithe Main (143 dead). Scenes of grief, mourning and remarkable heroism provided spectacular copy for Victorian newspapers and magazines such as The Illustrated London News, focusing on the very uncertain and dangerous life of the miner. Despite the importance and widespread occurrence of South Yorkshire mining disasters, which also included dreadful winding accidents and gas emissions, their story has never been told in a single volume.