Voices In Stone

The story of Neal Ascherson's return to his native Scotland. It is an exploration of Scottish identity, but is much more than a rumination on the future of a small nation. Selecting powerful episodes in Scottish history, he teases from each their part in the formation of what became Scottish nationalism.

Ghosts, clairvoyants, UFO-hunters and the paranormal collide . . . Isis, the daughter of a charlatan psychic, can see ghosts - including that of her dead little sister, Angel. Gray is the son of a UFO-chasing conspiracy theorist. The two became friends over the summer, when they fought a deadly ghost together. So why is Gray now ignoring Isis at school? On a field-trip to a local mine, the pupils are 'accidentally' coated in dust, which has very odd side-effects . . . Could this be related to the ley lines and standing stones which have been calling to Isis with strange, ghostly voices? The secretive and powerful Organisation know the truth, but can Isis and Gray find out what's really happening, and save a life, with the help of two ghosts?

The stones, statues and memorials found all over Macao trace the story from the days of the first Portuguese navigators to reach China in the sixteenth century to the events of more recent times. Hidden away in odd corners or standing incongruously surrounded by modern buildings and thronged with traffic, unnoticed by almost all who pass, are the treasure-vaults of Macao's rich and colourful history. In the cool shadows of old churches, set into the walls of long-disused fortresses, and in tranquil and leafy gardens, lie the silent stone keys that unlock the secrets of Macao and its opulent and varied past. Lindsay and May Ride spent many years researching and documenting the oft-hidden stones of Macao. The result of their work is an opportunity for the stones of Macao themselves to tell of the rich and varied history of this tiny, unlikely place. Work on this book began in 1954, but was diverted for a long period so that restoration and research on the Old Protestant Cemetery could be completed. In an early stage of its development it was finally halted - or so it seemed at the time - by the death of Sir Lindsay Ride in October 1977. Now published in the year the four-century-old Portuguese adventure in Macao is finally to conclude, the stories recounted in The Voices of Macao Stones vividly bring to life the individuals, events and circumstances that have made Macao the unique place it is.

Stone Talks brings together poems and four talks/essays by noted poet Alyson Hallett on the subject of stones, rocks, somatics and our relationship with our environment.