Memoirs Of A Party Animal

Memoirs of a Party Animal My seven decades in animal welfare by Angela Humphery

"I love parties. I love animals. But not necessarily in that order. I've been holding parties since the age of ten to raise funds for animals so I suppose I am that mythical beast - a party animal."--Foreword.

'An affectionate and insightful account of 20th-century history that also amounts to a manifesto for the power of words - and belonging.' Helen Davies, a Sunday Times Book of the Year In July 1961, just before David Aaronovitch's seventh birthday, Yuri Gagarin came to London. The Russian cosmonaut was everything the Aaronovitch family wished for - a popular and handsome embodiment of modern communism. But who were they, these ever hopeful, defiant and (had they but known it) historically doomed people? Like a non-magical version of the wizards of J. K. Rowling's world, they lived secretly with and parallel to the non-communist majority, sometimes persecuted, sometimes ignored, but carrying on their own ways and traditions. Where others went to church they went to Socialist Sunday School, society's up was their down and its heroes were their villains. Who wanted American TV when you could have Russian movies? A memoir of early life among communists, Party Animals first took David Aaronovitch back through his own memories of belief and action. But there was much more to it. He found himself studying the old secret service files, uncovering the unspoken shame and fears that provided the unconscious background to his own existence as a party animal. Only then did he begin to understand what had come before - both the obstinate heroism and the monstrous cowardice. And the elements that shape our fondest beliefs.

Chapter book readers' favorite kitten mermaids can't wait to celebrate a birthday with their unicorn mermaid friends and a very special guest...a manatee! It's Angel's birthday and she can't wait to celebrate with her purrmaid and mermicorn best friends! But the girls don't seem very excited to celebrate with her. They keep sneaking off to be alone. Angry and hurt, Angel swims out in the ocean by herself and finds Minnie -- a manatee who needs help! Can the girls all work together to save Minnie? Or are Angel's friends too busy with their secret plans? The adorable mermaid-kittens in this chapter book series will have readers paw-sitively hooked from page one!

Glass Half Full: Our Australian Adventure Find out what it takes to keep the Glass Half Full, as challenging life events including grief, loss, PTSD and devastating floods, test this expat step-family to their limits. After enduring divorce and numerous child custody battles, Sarah Jane knew that a fresh start in Australia was their only chance of future happiness and that as a family they were making the right decisions. Living the Australian dream in Alice Springs was everything they hoped for until life-changing events started to test the foundations of this resilient family. Using every ounce of positivity they could muster they struggled on and just as they thought the worst was over Mother Nature intervened and washed away the roots to their new life during the Brisbane floods of 2011. This story lets you experience Australian life with an inspirational woman and her courageous family, as they struggle to survive challenging life events and keep their dreams alive. Life is never without its challenges, but how many life-changing events can one family endure before they reach breaking point? Find out in this heart wrenching and touching true story. Two Dogs and a Suitcase: Clueless in Charente Follows the French exploits of Sarah Jane and her family as they endeavour to rebuild their lives in another new country, after spending four and half years in Australia. The title says it all: literally what they have and where they are, but that's only part of the story. Their goal was to focus positively on the present and to start a new, optimistic chapter back in Europe nearer to the children, leaving the dark clouds of the challenges they faced in Australia as a distant memory. Share their experiences as they arrive in rural South West France portrayed through Sarah Jane’s reflections, thoughts and observations about her family and their new French lifestyle. Follow Sarah Jane’s tentative steps into a writing career as they start renovating a rustic cottage while managing the ups and downs of family life. Once again, Sarah Jane will make you laugh and cry as she endeavours to live life to the fullest with a generous helping of positive spin thrown in for good measure. Our Frugal Summer in Charente: An Expat’s Kitchen Garden Journal Meet Sarah Jane, a woman with a reputation for culinary catastrophe who tries to keep her family fed in challenging circumstances in rural France. Frugal living was not part of the plan when they arrived from Australia to undertake the renovation of a quaint cottage in the Charente. However, when life throws them a curve-ball the challenge was set. How would they survive in France with very little money and two Australian cattle dogs. The answer came in the form of 5 chickens, 4 ducks, a vegetable garden and hedgerow foraging! The frugal plan was to save money by any means possible, to enable any money they could earn to be invested into continuing the renovation of the cottage. In true ‘Good Life’ style Sarah Jane attacks this challenge head on by keeping some small livestock and converting a garden, that resembled a meadow, into a French ‘potager’ or kitchen garden.The French tradition of using produce from their ‘potagers’ is renowned for enabling families to create meals that are healthy, cost effective and simple. There are 31 recipes for a variety of food and drinks, included in a month by month account, of how they transformed a neglected garden into a frugal yet productive expat kitchen garden.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: Day One I swam around my bowl. Day Two I swam around my bowl. Twice. And so it goes in this tell-all tale from a goldfish. With his bowl to himself and his simple routine, Goldfish loves his life..until one day... When assorted intruders including a hyperactive bubbler, a grime-eating snail, a pair of amorous guppies, and a really crabby crab invade his personal space and bowl, Goldfish is put out, to say the least. He wants none of it, preferring his former peace and quiet and solitude. But time away from his new companions gives him a chance to rethink the pros and cons of a solitary life. And discover what he's been missing. Devin Scillian is an award-winning author and Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist. He has written more than 10 books with Sleeping Bear Press, including the bestselling A is for America: An American Alphabet and Brewster the Rooster. Devin lives in Michigan and anchors the news for WDIV-TV in Detroit. Early in his career Tim Bowers worked for Hallmark Cards, helping to launch the Shoebox Greetings card line. He has illustrated more than 25 children's books, garnering such awards as the Chicago Public Library's "Best of the Best" list. He also illustrated the widely popular First Dog. Tim lives in Granville, Ohio.

Night 1 / My life is perfect. / I have a bowl full of seeds, a cozy pile of wood shavings, and room to run. / I'm never leaving here. / Question: Who's the luckiest hamster in the world? / Answer: ME! Seymour the hamster has the perfect life. He has a spacious cage, a constant food supply, and a FuzzyBoy 360 exercise wheel that lets him run to his heart's content. Life could not be better. Or could it? When Pearl the cat tells Seymour of the goodies beyond the safe confines of his cage, he starts to think he's missing out. And out is the new in! It's only after Seymour is out of his cage that he begins to fully appreciate his safe and cozy home.

A curmudgeonly chicken and a cheerful worm explore what it means to be best friends while sharing three adventures.