London's shadowed alleyways, ancient buildings and misty open spaces simply swarm with phantoms - spirits of the famous and the forgotten, the lovelorn, the loveless, the damned, and the damnable. Paranormal London takes the bold ghost seeker on a hair-raising journey to visit and explore some of the capital's spookiest places. We visit the haunts of murderers and sail on a phantom boat. There are close encounters with chilling manifestations at infamous No. 50 Berkeley Square and you can hear wails and tormented screams from Jack the Ripper's eternally restless victims as they roam the East End's cobbled streets. You can find a headless duke, visit the graves of plague victims and come into contact with an unseen force that tries to push you downstairs. Many of the city's most famous landmarks are haunted, but hundreds of lesser-known sites claim paranormal happenings - pubs, hotels, parks and tunnels, churches, roads, Underground stations, banks, cinemas, council estates and the lake in St James's Park. If you are not a true believer in the paranormal when you start to read this book, you will be by the end.

In 2003 the US Supreme Court overturned anti-sodomy laws across the country, ruling in Lawrence v. Texas that the Constitution protects private consensual sex between adults. To some, the decision seemed to come like lightning from above, altering the landscape of America's sexual politics all at once. In actuality, many years of work and organizing led up to the legal case, and the landmark ruling might never have happened were it not for the passionate struggle of Texans who rejected their state's discriminatory laws. Before Lawrence v. Texas tells the story of the long, troubled, and ultimately hopeful road to constitutional change. Wesley G. Phelps describes the achievements, setbacks, and unlikely alliances along the way. Over the course of decades, and at great risk to themselves, gay and lesbian Texans and their supporters launched political campaigns and legal challenges, laying the groundwork for Lawrence. Phelps shares the personal experiences of the people and couples who contributed to the legal strategy that ultimately overturned the state's discriminatory law. Even when their individual court cases were unsuccessful, justice seekers and activists collectively influenced public opinion by insisting that their voices be heard. Nine Supreme Court justices ruled, but it was grassroots politics that vindicated the ideal of equality under the law.

Today Hastings (and neighbouring St Leonards-on-Sea) is a busy seaside town, popular with holidaymakers and day trippers wanting to soak up its coastal heritage and historic charm. Known to many for the famous battle of 1066, which was not actually fought at Hastings, the town has so much more to offer. In this book author Tina Brown reveals many little-known stories about Hastings including the fact that the town was the birthplace of television - invented by John Logie Baird - and that the unique Piece of Cheese Cottage in the old quarter was built as a result of a bet in 1871. As well as these, its secret places will be explored, including places connected to smuggling such as the Mortuary House with its cold chamber and coffin hatches, and the Stag Inn, which was frequented by the smugglers. Secret Hastings & St Leonards explores the lesser-known episodes and characters of the town through the centuries. With tales of remarkable people, unusual events and tucked-away historical buildings, it will appeal to all those with an interest in the history of this East Sussex town.

The modern history of London's East End has been well-documented - but what of its ancient roots? From embryonic beginnings in the Stone Age, through Roman rule and civil wars, all the way to its jam-packed twentieth-century timeline, the East End has always been a place of innovation, diversity and change. Written by an East Ender with a love of her roots, The Little History of the East End is an engaging look at the area's history through the people that made it, one that will enthral and surprise both residents and visitors alike.

Remarkable overview of the history of the Southampton Docks, from it's earliest to most recent developments, to explore what has made it the enormous industrial estate it is today. It is aided by fascinating early maps and photographs to illustrate the magnitude of the changes made to the docks through time. To most Southampton citizens, and indeed many visitors, the view of the Docks on its doorstep is a familiar sight witnessed daily without much of a second thought - as if it has always been there. Countless books have been written about the docks and many have referred to various stages of its development, but few have told the fuller story of its evolution from a couple of small basins clawed from the mud to the enormous industrial estate it is today. This book, with the aid of early maps and photographs, explores and illustrates the various stages of the docks growth and progress under an array of owners over the passage of time. It explores everything from how it was built from the earliest days of its commencement under the ownership of the Southampton Dock Company, to its final expansion to Redbridge in 1996 under private owners Associated British Ports, bringing the story up to date.

Traders are the heart, soul and backbone of our high streets. Their shops provide a focus for community, a friendly face and in hard times a helping hand. This project recognises the personalities and services we rely on and which add to the layers of history already laid down with Gloucester Road as the Great Bristol High Street. Following a single first photo post on social media, dozens of people who run, or know people who run, indie businesses have come forward to tell Colin their stories. Now a major project promoted by Visit Bristol and Destination Bristol, this project tells the community story of local heroes and showcases Bristol's indie spirit to a wider field.

Passed down from generation to generation, many of Nottinghamshire's most popular folk tales are gathered here together for the first time. In the popular imagination, Nottinghamshire means Sherwood Forest, outlaws, wicked sheriffs, wild beasts and Robin Hood. All these feature in this selection of folk tales compiled by storyteller Pete Castle, but there are also stories of the Men of Gotham; of fairies, witches, ghosts and vampires; as well as noble lords and thwarted lovers. These captivating stories of love, loss, heroes and villains have been written to recreate the oral tradition that made these anecdotes popular, and are brought to life through unique illustrations and vivid descriptions that have survived for several generations.

Regarded by many as the most haunted city in the world; York has over 500 individual spirits and is therefore the perfect destination for five paranormal investigators from Newcastle gathering evidence to answer a question as old as time: Do ghosts actually exist? Allow Rob Kirkup to be your guide on an epic ghost hunting adventure; a year-long quest which will see ten of York's most active venues investigated. Nothing could prepare the team for what they would encounter. From a very unwelcoming phantom at one of the city's premier tourist attractions who literally pushes the team out of 'its' lair, and an angry toilet-dwelling ghost at one of the country's top museums, to the tragic shade of a young girl who speaks to our team at the former site of York's gallows, where many hundreds were executed, including the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin. It's guaranteed to be one hell of an adventure, so utterly terrifying in fact that not all of the team will stay the distance. Illustrated with over 60 photographs, this book is the ultimate ghostly guide to the scariest city on earth.

R.J. (Ron) Buckley's photographs show the changing locomotive scene taking place throughout the counties of Northumberland, Durham and Yorkshire, illustrating from the later 1930s those pre-grouping classes that were still working. These included the work of such well known designers as Wilson Wordsell and Vincent Raven of the North Eastern railway, John Aspinall of the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway and Samuel Johnson and Henry Fowler of the Midland Railway. Ron's later photographs, from 1946 onwards, continue to show remaining working pre-grouping locomotives and also portray the newer designs of William Stanier, Charles Fairburn, Edward Thompson and Arthur Peppercorn, as well as standard examples designed under Robert Riddles.

Lincolnshire has many well-known stories of the supernatural, among the best known of which is that of the Lincoln Imp. In this book author Daniel J. Codd explores the supernatural lore of Lincolnshire. It includes all manner of phenomena, from forgotten poltergeist incidents and village miracles to recent allegations of werewolf and yeti-type creatures seen in the wilds of Lincolnshire. There are many hitherto unpublished accounts such as reports of the ghost of a small man who appeared to builders renovating a house in Lincoln; a ghostly lady who approached a house in Skellingthorpe (whereupon previously unnoticed footprints were found in concrete outside the door); and a phantom Second World War soldier who crossed a road leading to his old house in Lincoln. There are also stories of UFOs, two tall humanoid figures seen crossing wasteland, monkeys and panthers running wild, and a smoky cross that allegedly appears outside Scunthorpe's hospital when someone is about to die. Paranormal Lincolnshire takes the reader into the world of ghosts, spirits and poltergeists in the county, following their footsteps into the unknown. It captures the spectrum of ghosts, haunted places, UFOs, strange creatures and weird phenomena reported across the county, old and new. These tales will delight ghost hunters and fascinate and intrigue everybody who knows Lincolnshire.

Although Birmingham's history goes back beyond the Middle Ages, there are only a few fragments of medieval Birmingham left, some of which have been moved from their original site as the city expanded. The city expanded rapidly in the industrial age and although Birmingham has many properties from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it was radically transformed by the bombing raids of the Second World War and the subsequent rejuvenation by city planners. Some 1960s and 1970s buildings like the Rotunda have become icons of the city, but in recent years much of the mid-twentieth-century building, often in concrete brutalist style, has in turn been replaced by new structures like Beetham Tower and Birmingham Library. As England's second city, Birmingham was a major centre of manufacture, and many of the buildings still stand today. It was also the home of a significant art and architecture movement, the Arts and Crafts movement, which has left its mark on the architectural legacy of Birmingham. Birmingham in 50 Buildings explores the history of this fascinating West Midlands metropolis through a selection of its most interesting buildings and structures, showing the changes that have taken place over the years. It uncovers the earliest churches and dwellings in the city, unique pieces of industrial architecture, the amazing heritage of Victorian religious and municipal structures, art deco cinemas, modernist high-rise blocks and iconic shopping centres. This book will appeal to all those who live in Birmingham or have an interest in the city.

TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY EXTREME SPORT The distant towers of the Great, New and Cloister Courts looming against the dark sky, lit by the flickering lamps far below; the gradations of light and shadow, marked by an occasional moving black speck seemingly in another world; the sheer wall descending into darkness at his side, above which he has been half-suspended on his long ascent; the almost invisible barrier that the battlements from which he started seem to make to his terminating in the Cloisters if his arm slips; all contribute to making this deservedly esteemed the finest view point in the College Alps. By turns sage and foolhardy, the advice contained within represents the cumulative experience of three inquisitive, ambitious and daring men - the authors of the three editions of The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity - and their accomplices. Geoffrey Winthrop-Young, John Hurst andRichard Williams were each their generations' luminaries in an historic sport, now known as Night Climbing; one by its very nature sparsely populated and largely anonymous. THE ORIGINAL NIGHT CLIMBING CLASSIC This Omnibus Edition contains the full texts and images from each of those editions, as well as the appendices to the First Edition, and features a special introduction by Richard Williams, author of the Third Edition, in which he details the collected wisdom and history of Night Climbing, andfinally removes the cloak of anonymity that has until now protected the identities of those first intrepid nocturnal explorers. Although many may baulk at the methods described in the narrative, few could question the diligence spent obtaining that content, or deny the impeccable locution and erudition displayed in presenting the illicit achievements in this cult classic. As the Guide itself posits, its existence will have been justified if it has succeeded in providing the young stegophilist making his first night venture upon the Trinity Roofs with a clue, however poor, to the creditable unravelling of their somewhat complex mazes. OTHER UNMISSABLE NIGHT CLIMBING TITLES FROM OLEANDER: The Bible of All Climbing Disciplines - The Night Climbers of Cambridge by Whipplesnaith Cut and Paste 9781909349551 to search)

This informative and entertaining book, written by well-known Canterbury historian, Doreen Rosman, explores 500 often overlooked years in the life of the city. In these readable and well-illustrated pages can be found accounts of the destruction of Becket's famous shrine and Canterbury's great monasteries; tales of hundreds of Protestant refugees who brought new weaving skills to Kent; the story of disgruntled citizens who rioted against a parliamentary ban on Christmas festivities; and insights into the lives of the Georgian social elite. The author traces the development of the city, its industries, military connexions, and leisure activities. She tells of its devastation by German bombers, but also charts its renaissance with the construction of new shops, housing estates, schools, and universities. Throughout it all, the cathedral's great Bell Harry Tower, which was completed around 1500, has continued to soar over the rooftops, a welcoming landmark for pilgrims long ago and for the thousands of students and tourists who come to Canterbury today.

Once upon a Milton Keynes ... Buckinghamshire is an ancient county of Roman forts and highwaymen, motorways and urban myth. These are the Buckinghamshire folk tales of past, present and future: old tales in new towns, and new stories from old legends. Look out for witches and dragons, mind all those roundabouts, and whatever you do - don't eat the stew.