Tunnel Tigers

Brunel, Stephenson, Locke and Vignoles - these were the magic names. And under them 10,000 laboured, blasting, shovelling and digging, changing the contours of Britain for a new age of railways. Among them is Nick Wortley, whose love for the daughter of the local mill owner is cruelly thwarted. Taking flight he is drawn by the irresistable clamour of the great Sheffield to Manchester, a railway which is preparing to drive a path of steel under the Pennines. Stephenson said it was impossible; Nick and his companions will prove him wrong, but at a terrible price...

The Channel Tunnel is a huge construction project, employing over 14,000 people at peak, and costing over 15611 billion of private money. It has succeeded in spite of great financial, political and techncial difficulties, and a fundamentally flawed contract. This book tells the story of the project, based on the coverage in Construction News and with commentary taken from recent interviews with key project sources.

In a lecture entitled ’Scotland’s shame’, delivered at the Edinburgh Festival in August 1999, Scotland’s leading musical composer James MacMillan sought in an explosive way to expose the continuing pervasiveness of anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sectarianism and bigotry in contemporary Scotland. A decade of heated public debate has followed. Drawing upon post-colonial critiques of the provincial nature of metropolitan theory, this book approaches the Scotland's shame debate as, in many ways, itself a classic metrocentric cultural struggle over the true and essential telos of a once colonised population. It argues that the most interesting question the debate has provoked, a question which thus far has failed to generate a worthy answer, is: is the Irish Catholic encounter with Scotland intelligible and if so, what is the nature of this intelligibility? The purpose of this book is to harness the complex and rich theory of colonialism which French philosopher, political activist and novelist Jean-Paul Sartre developed and struggled over, to venture a qualified and partial interpretation of the Irish Catholic experience of Scotland. Nevertheless, in so doing, the book takes seriously the charge of metrocentricism as it bears on the search for the meaning of the Irish Catholic adventure in Scotland and refuses to permit any simplistic interpretation of this adventure. Presenting findings from a new oral history archive consisting of 67 interviews with members of the Irish Catholic community in Scotland, attention is given to the themes of national identity, estrangement and belonging; diasporic imaginings of Ireland; anti-imperial activism, agitation and advocacy; culture, faith and family; and poverty, work education and equality.

Glen Gair is an imaginary Scottish Highland Glen situated in the Great Glen Area. Although the Glen is fictitious my story relates to what took place after the Second World War. In the Nineteen Fifties the Government decided to embark on a massive Construction Programme where they granted licenses to allow the building of Hydro Electric Dams and Power stations throughout the Highland region, this programme lasted for twenty five years. The coming of the Schemes transformed the Highland Glens beyond all recognition and brought wealth to many of the remote parts of the Scottish Highlands. The work site was short lived and most were completed in about five years. The workmen would move on and many of the younger local men would go with them, lost to their native Glen forever. Creating a sort of Mini Highland clearance.

Charlotte Brunsdon's illuminating study explores the variety of cinematic 'Londons' that appear in films made since 1945. Brunsdon traces the familiar ways that film-makers establish that a film is set in London, by use of recognisable landmarks and the city's shorthand iconography of red buses and black taxis, as well as the ways in which these icons are avoided. She looks at London weather – fog and rain – and everyday locations like the pub and the housing estate, while also examining the recurring patterns of representation associated with films set in the East and West Ends of London, from Spring in Park Lane (1948) to Mona Lisa (1986), and from Night and the City (1950) to From Hell (2001). Brunsdon provides a detailed analysis of a selection of films, exploring their contribution to the cinematic geography of London, and showing the ways in which feature films have responded to, and created, changing views of the city. She traces London's transformation from imperial capital to global city through the different ways in which the local is imagined in films ranging from Ealing comedies to Pressure (1974), as well as through the shifting imagery of the River Thames and the Docks. She addresses the role of cinematic genres such as horror and film noir in the constitution of the cinematic city, as well as the recurrence of figures such as the cockney, the gangster and the housewife. Challenging the view that London is not a particularly cinematic city, Brunsdon demonstrates that many London-set films offer their own meditation on the complex relationships between the cinema and the city.

'A powerful and often lyrical book ... Fascinating and insightful in equal measure' MARK MIODOWNIK, author of Stuff Matters and Liquid 'Ali's enthusiasm for energy infrastructure electrifies this engaging tour of the people and structures that power our modern world' GAIA VINCE, author of Nomad Century and Adventures in the Anthropocene 'Highly recommend ... a warm and educational read' ROMA AGRAWAL, author of Built and Nuts and Bolts __________ We rarely think about the energy systems that prop up our existence. With hot water, lighting and digital entertainment all available at the flick of a switch, it's easy to underestimate the vast global network that makes these things possible. Growing up in Iraq, Yasmin Ali regularly experienced power cuts - ironic for a country rich in oil and sunshine. Now as an engineer working in energy, Yasmin has a deep appreciation for what these resources mean for our lives. In Power Up she takes us on a journey across the globe to reveal the bigger picture, from solar farms shimmering in the desert to power stations hidden deep in the mountains. We discover where we get energy from, how it is moved and used around the world - and why we need to understand the whole system if we want to transition towards a clean, green future. Power Up is a definitive picture of the intricate world that humanity has built, and a rallying cry to face the challenges of climate change using the power at our fingertips.