The Grand Life

The Grand Life' is the funny and touching memoir of the life and times of Patrick Langley Griffin OAM, growing up in the post war years of a gloomy Britain in the 40's and 50's, then through his long career an hotelier in some 'Grand' hotels in England and Australia. Part 3: 1968 to 2011 Patrick L Griffin OAM, growing up in the post war years of a gloomy Britain in the 40s and 50s, through his fifty years as a hotelier in grand hotels across the UK, Europe and Australia. His memoir is filled with characters famous, infamous and hitherto unknown. From his first star encounter with Charlie Chaplin, the memoir is filled with tales of film stars, rock legends, celebrities, Heads of State and politicians, as well as the British Royal Family. No less enjoyable are the tales of ordinary folk, just as full of laughs, tears and crazy behaviour. The memoir is full of humour, candour and genuine empathy for the common humanity that binds us all. Born in Rugby, England in 1946, his early youth was spent in Swanage, Dorset, where the family had moved to escape the German bombing while their father served in the RAF. Although not academically inclined, his charm, wit and unfailing ability to make lemonade when he was given lemons ensure his childhood and public school years are filled with adventures and hilarious mishaps. His career started in 1963 as a trainee manager at Te Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, a very traditional Victorian-era five-star hotel, where he found his passion for hospitality. Half a century of social and political change comes to life, from post- war austerity and bureaucracy through the Swinging Sixties and the 'Summer of Love' in Amsterdam, to England's industrial upheaval and 'Winter of Discontent' of the Seventies. He moved to Australia as the century drew to a close for a new beginning, opening two hotels that would set a new benchmark in luxury hotel standards. His resilience and sense of humour helped him to survive and thrive.

A funny, moving and heartfelt memoir of social upheaval from postwar Britain to the digital age. Patrick Langley Griffin OAM grew up in the post war years of a gloomy Britain in the 40s and 50s and his career spanned fifty years as a hotelier in Grand hotels across the UK, Europe and Australia. His memoir is filled with characters famous, infamous and hitherto unknown. From his first star encounter with Charlie Chaplin, the memoir is filled with tales of film stars, rock legends, celebrities, Heads of State and politicians, as well as the British Royal Family. No less enjoyable are the tales of ordinary folk, just as full of laughs, tears and crazy behaviour. The memoir is full of humour, candour and genuine empathy for the common humanity that binds us all. Born in Rugby, England in 1946, his early youth was spent in Swanage, Dorset, where the family had moved to escape the German bombing while their father served in the RAF. Although not academically inclined, his charm, wit and unfailing ability to make lemonade when he was given lemons ensure his childhood and public school years are filled with adventures and hilarious mishaps. His career started in 1963 as a trainee manager at The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, a very traditional Victorian-era five-star hotel, where he found his passion for hospitality. Half a century of social and political change comes to life, from post-war austerity and bureaucracy through the Swinging 60s and the ‘Summer of Love’ in Amsterdam, to England’s industrial upheaval and ‘Winter of Discontent’ of the 70s. He moved to Australia at the dawn of a new century to open two new upscale hotels, and survived and thrived in the global financial crisis that shook the world.

Who are ocean angels? What distinguishes them from other people? Are you one of them? In 8 Ocean Angels, the author, Grant King, presents notable characters he considers as real-life ocean angels—such as Francois-Marie Arouet, Massimo Bontempelli, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Ezra Pound, and Socrates—and describes how they ultimately represent these entities in how they see life and relate to nature and the entire cosmos. The narrative uses repetition of words, lines, and ideas to create a meditative tone, effectively drawing you into mantric reading as you go through each chapter. A book on enlightenment and discoveries, it beckons for introspection, guiding you to the awareness of your real capabilities, of the real nature of life, and of the truth about our relationship with a higher power. Spiritual and personal, the book paves the way for the understanding that we are not solitary entities but are interconnected elements in a majestic and grand design.

In a moment where unlawful pipelines are built on Indigenous territories, the RCMP make illegal arrests of land defenders on unceded lands, and anti-Indigenous racism permeates on social media; the government lie that is reconciliation is exposed. Renowned lawyer, author, speaker and activist, Pamela Palmater returns to wade through media headlines and government propaganda and get to heart of key issues lost in the noise. Warrior Life: Indigenous Resistance and Resurgence is the second collection of writings by Palmater. In keeping with her previous works, numerous op-eds, media commentaries, YouTube channel videos and podcasts, Palmater’s work is fiercely anti-colonial, anti-racist, and more crucial than ever before. Palmater addresses a range of Indigenous issues — empty political promises, ongoing racism, sexualized genocide, government lawlessness, and the lie that is reconciliation — and makes the complex political and legal implications accessible to the public. From one of the most important, inspiring and fearless voices in Indigenous rights, decolonization, Canadian politics, social justice, earth justice and beyond, Warrior Life is an unflinching critique of the colonial project that is Canada and a rallying cry for Indigenous peoples and allies alike to forge a path toward a decolonial future through resistance and resurgence.

Everyday practice of religion is complex in its nature, ambivalent and at times contradictory. The task of an anthropology of religious practice is therefore precisely to see how people navigate and make sense of that complexity, and what the significance of religious beliefs and practices in a given setting can be. Rather than putting everyday practice and normative doctrine on different analytical planes, the authors argue that the articulation of religious doctrine is also an everyday practice and must be understood as such.

Reading Autoethnography situates autoethnographic insights within the context of two fundamental concerns of critical qualitative inquiry: justice and love. Through philosophical engagement, it gives close readings of written passages taken from leading autoethnographers and frames the philosophical project of autoethnography as one that is both political and interpersonal. It does this to highlight how autoethnographic lessons can allow us to think through how we may achieve a flourishing for all — something that is both related to justice as it pertains to the political, and when situations are in excess of justice, related to love as it pertains to feeling at home in the world with others. As such, this book will be of interest to those who have a burgeoning interest in autoethnography and seasoned autoethnographers alike; anyone interested in critical qualitative inquiry as a discourse promoting justice and love; and any scholar who has encountered the ethical question of: "What ought we do?"

"I was a Long Island kid that graduated college in 1976 and moved to Greenwich Village. Two years later, I was working The Mudd Club door. Standing outside, staring at the crowd, it was "out there" versus "in here" and I was on the inside. The Mudd Club was filled with the famous and soon- to- be famous, along with an eclectic core of Mudd regulars who gave the place its identity. Everyone from Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, and Robert Rauschenberg to Johnny Rotten, The Hell's Angels, and John Belushi: passing through, passing out, and some, passing on. Marianne Faithful and Talking Heads, Frank Zappa, William Burroughs, and even Kenneth Anger— just a few of the names that stepped on stage. No Wave and Post- Punk artists, musicians, filmmakers, and writers living in a nighttime world on the cusp of two decades. This book is a cornucopia of memories and images, and how this famed wicked downtown club attained the status of midtown and uptown. There was nothing else like it— I met everyone, and the job quickly defined me. I thought I could handle it, and for a while, I did. "—Richard Boch

National Book Award winner and MacArthur Genius Fellow Charles Johnson reflects on the joys of being a grandparent in this warm, inspiring collection of wisdom and life lessons—the ideal gift for any new parent or grandparent An award-winning novelist, philosopher, essayist, screenwriter, professor and cartoonist, Charles Johnson has held numerous impressive titles over the course of his incomparable career. Now, for the first time, with his trademark wisdom and philosophical generosity, he turns his attention to his most important role yet: grandparent. In Grand, Johnson shares stories from his life with his six-year-old grandson, Emery, weaving in advice and life lessons that stand the test of time. “Looking at the problems I see in the world around me,” Johnson writes, “I realize that there are so many things I want to say to him about the goodness and beauty that life offers. What are the perennial truths that I can impart to Emery that might make his journey through life easier or more rewarding?” Johnson shares these truths and more, offering profound meditations on family, race, freedom and creativity. Joyful, lucid and deeply comforting, Grand is Johnson at his most accessible and profound, an indispensable compendium for new grandparents and growing grandchildren alike, from one of America’s most revered thinkers.