|
|
Books > Travel > Travel writing > General
"As I sat on the side of Hamnafield on Foula in the Shetland
Islands, looking down at my 'enormous' 38-foot ferry stowed in its
cradle on the quay in Ham Voe, over 1,000 feet below me, I
reflected on a moderately successful career to date, and wondered
how on Earth I had ended up driving what was, in effect, a floating
dust cart" After 42 years at or connected with the sea, Jeremy
Walker ended up on the Shetland Island of Foula commanding and
running a small ferry to the mainland of Shetland. Throughout the
course of his career, firstly as a seagoing deck officer with a
large, but now defunct, British shipping company, then as a
Hovercraft Commander for four years, returning to sea for a brief
period as Master of two small coastal tankers and then for the
majority of his career as a Pilot on the River Humber, he
encountered many amusing situations. In this book he attempts to
relate these stories and to illustrate the lighter side of what was
a very difficult, responsible and, at times, incredibly stressful
job. And little did he know that his career was far from over and
new opportunities and challenges would take him on for a further 13
years to eventual retirement.
Was Britain's postwar rebuilding the height of mid-century chic or
the concrete embodiment of crap towns? John Grindrod decided to
find out how blitzed, slum-ridden and crumbling austerity Britain
became, in a few short years, a space-age world of concrete, steel
and glass. What he finds is a story of dazzling space-age optimism,
ingenuity and helipads - so many helipads - tempered by protests,
deadly collapses and scandals that shook the government.
’n Stuk of 50 stories waarin Dana Snyman besin oor enigiets van fopnuus tot ’n 40ste skoolreünie. Hy vertel van sy kennismaking met Eugène Terre’Blanche en van die Bogosi-gesin wat by hom op Jacobsbaai gewoon het. Hy vertel hoe mense na mekaar probeer uitreik in die land. Hoe ons mekaar soek en nie altyd vind nie. Ten slotte vertel hy van sy verloofde se selfdood en hoe hy daarná byna al sy besittings weggee en die pad vat.
Amusing and informative, Hey Ranger! teaches as it entertains with
tales of boat ramp misadventures, lost Afghani campers, encounters
with wild animals, dumb crooks, and more. One chapter, "Tales from
the Wild Side," brings together unusual incidents from National
Park Service reports, and the concluding essay, "Don't Be a Victim
of Your Vacation," advises visitors on how to avoid being a story
on the evening news.
Alan Winnington traveled to Yunnan province and spent several
months with the headhunting Wa and the slave-owning Norsu and
Jingpaw. The first European to enter and leave this area alive,
Winnington reported on the struggle of recently released slaves as
they came to terms with their newfound freedom.
|
|