In "The Warriors and the Bankers", the research and writing team of Alan Butler and Stephen Dafoe bring their combined experiences to bear on the question asked for hundreds of years, What became of the Knights Templar? Arrested in 1307, dissolved in 1312 and executed by 1314, the Templars have been the subject of many theories concerning their possible survival. This book examines these theories against new evidence and information. Additionally the authors put forth, for the first time, a completely new theory that has caught the ears, eyes and attention of many readers. The ultimate conclusion is that the Templars did survive, virtually intact and that in a very direct sense, they may still be one of the most potent forces at work in the world at the start of the new Millennium. "The Warriors and the Bankers" is eminently readable and is intended for both the serious student of Templarism or simply the interested observer.

In the early-1980s, the ten million people of retirement age in the UK figured prominently among the disadvantaged and deprived. They were heavily over-represented in sub-standard housing and among those in most need of support from the personal social services. One form of social provision which gained rapidly in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s was sheltered housing. It was seen to combine housing with care; provided support while fostering independence; and gave scope for flexibility and experimentation in adapting schemes to local circumstances. By the late 1970s hundreds of schemes were administered, and they were occupied by half a million elderly tenants. Sheltered housing was called ‘the greatest breakthrough in the housing scene since the war’. Extravagant expectations were aroused, and sheltered housing was regarded by some as the solution to all manner of complex problems. Taking the country as a whole, however, relatively little was known about the numbers of schemes and where they were located; who owned them and how they were managed; the aims and assumptions of those who provided or advocated sheltered housing; how the schemes functioned and whether they achieved what they were set up to do; the role, experience and attitudes of wardens; what kinds of people lived in sheltered housing, their history, and how they became tenants; their assessment of the scheme; and much else. The Leeds study, on which this book is based, originally published in 1983, was the most comprehensive and detailed to have been conducted into sheltered housing. It evoked widespread interest in Britain and abroad at the time. It sought to answer some of the important questions about the growth and proliferation of sheltered housing, to evaluate sheltered housing from different points of view – including those of tenants, and to consider the scope for future development. While sheltered housing is the focal topic of the book it should be viewed in the broader context of social policy, administration, professional practice and client experience. The book describes in detail an innovatory and evolving form of social provision and, in doing so, illuminates the operation and impact of policy in action at several levels – from the policy-maker to the consumer, from the organisation of policy to its object. There was significant evidence from the study that many tenants were provided with a service which was not the one they sought, or even needed, but they were given what the agency happened to have – or made – available. Among other topics, the book examines sheltered housing as a response to, or reflection of, myths and prejudices about ageing. It discusses whether elderly people should be compelled to move from familiar surroundings late in life – and how they cope when they do move. The usefulness or otherwise of alarm systems is assessed – with conclusions that throw considerable doubt on their value or reliability. The evolution and modifications taking place in sheltered housing are reported on and the scope for future initiatives is discussed.

In the early-1980s, the ten million people of retirement age in the UK figured prominently among the disadvantaged and deprived. They were heavily over-represented in sub-standard housing and among those in most need of support from the personal social services. One form of social provision which gained rapidly in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s was sheltered housing. It was seen to combine housing with care; provided support while fostering independence; and gave scope for flexibility and experimentation in adapting schemes to local circumstances. By the late 1970s hundreds of schemes were administered, and they were occupied by half a million elderly tenants. Sheltered housing was called 'the greatest breakthrough in the housing scene since the war'. Extravagant expectations were aroused, and sheltered housing was regarded by some as the solution to all manner of complex problems. Taking the country as a whole, however, relatively little was known about the numbers of schemes and where they were located; who owned them and how they were managed; the aims and assumptions of those who provided or advocated sheltered housing; how the schemes functioned and whether they achieved what they were set up to do; the role, experience and attitudes of wardens; what kinds of people lived in sheltered housing, their history, and how they became tenants; their assessment of the scheme; and much else. The Leeds study, on which this book is based, originally published in 1983, was the most comprehensive and detailed to have been conducted into sheltered housing. It evoked widespread interest in Britain and abroad at the time. It sought to answer some of the important questions about the growth and proliferation of sheltered housing, to evaluate sheltered housing from different points of view - including those of tenants, and to consider the scope for future development. While sheltered housing is the focal topic of the book it should be viewed in the broader context of social policy, administration, professional practice and client experience. The book describes in detail an innovatory and evolving form of social provision and, in doing so, illuminates the operation and impact of policy in action at several levels - from the policy-maker to the consumer, from the organisation of policy to its object. There was significant evidence from the study that many tenants were provided with a service which was not the one they sought, or even needed, but they were given what the agency happened to have - or made - available. Among other topics, the book examines sheltered housing as a response to, or reflection of, myths and prejudices about ageing. It discusses whether elderly people should be compelled to move from familiar surroundings late in life - and how they cope when they do move. The usefulness or otherwise of alarm systems is assessed - with conclusions that throw considerable doubt on their value or reliability. The evolution and modifications taking place in sheltered housing are reported on and the scope for future initiatives is discussed.

The moon has confounded scientists for many years. It does not obey the known rules of astrophysics and there is no theory of its origin that explains the known facts - in fact it should not really be there. When researching the ancient system of geometry and measurement used in the Stone Age that they discovered in their previous book, Civilization One, the authors discovered to their great surprise that the system also works perfectly on the Moon On further investigation, they found a consistent sequence of beautiful integer numbers when looking at every major aspect of the Moon - no pattern emerges for any other planet or moon in the solar system. For example, the Moon revolves at exactly one hundredth of the speed that the Earth turns on its axis; the Moon is exactly 400 times smaller than the Sun and is precisely 400 times closer to the Earth. They also discovered that the Moon possesses little or no heavy metals and has no core, in fact many specialists suspect that the Moon is hollow. If our Moon did not exist - nor would we. Experts are now agreed that higher life only developed on Earth because the Moon is exactly what it is and where it is When all of the facts are dispassionately reviewed, it becomes unreasonable to cling to the idea that the Moon is a natural object. The only question that remains is who built it? Thought-provoking - Daily Mail.

What was the most important step in civilization? Alan Butler's answer is that it was when we began capturing wild sheep, domesticating and breeding them. Sheep were the mainstay of ancient cultures, by far the most important of the domesticated animals. Able to survive almost anywhere, over-wintering successfully, they provided not just milk, meat and skin, but warm clothing. This is why so many of the earliest gods and their myths are sheep related, from the Egyptian Ra (ram) to the later Christian Lamb of God. But sheep have not only sustained us for thousands of years. Sheep farming also underpinned the growth of European nation states, international trade and modern economies. In effect sheep built the modern world. The demands of the woollen textile industry both drove and financed the Industrial Revolution. The British Empire was founded on wool. The space needed for sheep drove millions off the land, many of whom took them to Australasia and the Americas. With over a billion sheep in the world today the humanity-sheep relationship represents the most successful example of mammalian symbiosis on the planet. The story of the sheep is the story of humanity, a surprisingly exciting and gripping tale that deserves to be told. Spanning a vast period of time, it includes some of the most famous names that have been left to us by history, and many that deserve to better recognised.

Rosslyn Chapel is a deeply enigmatic 15th-century Gothic masterpiece, situated near Edinburgh. Although generally referred to as a 'chapel' and acting as a local parish church these days, Rosslyn is actually much more than either - and in fact most people who have studied the site in detail come to the conclusion that those who created the structure in the 15th century were not, in reality, intent on building a Christian church at all. In fact, nothing at Rosslyn is what it seems. With its overpowering air of mystery, its superlative stone carvings and its strong Templar and Freemasonic connections, Rosslyn represents one of the most absorbing historical puzzles in Britain. The discovery of new evidence by the authors puts a new slant on the motivations of those who decided to create a New Jerusalem in the Scottish Lowlands. The signs pointed the authors to a lost holy relic - the skull of St Matthew the Evangelist, in whose name the chapel is dedicated. There is startling evidence that this skull came to Rosslyn in the early 15th century, brought there by polymath, librarian and all-round genius Sir Gilbert Hay, who also put together a substantial library. What follows is no less than an adventure, using the clues from the lost books to locate St Matthew's skull - now in Washington, DC. The authors also embark on a thorough examination of Rosslyn Chapel's credentials, both a Christian church and as an icon of the impending Renaissance, a reconstruction of King Solomon's Temple and an astronomical observatory - all suffused with ancient beliefs that would have had the chapel's builders burned at the stake if their true motivations had been discovered.

Three digitally remastered Doctor Who episodes from the 1970s, '80s and '90s. In 'The Talons of Weng-Chiang' (1977), the Doctor (Tom Baker) and Leela (Louise Jamison) arrive in Victorian London to find that galactic war criminal Magnus Greel has created giant rats in the sewers and is sucking the life essence from young girls to sustain him in his search for his time cabinet. Aided by Professor Litefoot and music hall proprietor Henry Jago, the Doctor must stop Greel (masquerading as the Chinese god Weng Chiang) and his servants Li H'sen Chang and killer doll Mr Sin. 'The Caves of Androzani' (1984) represents the final outing for the fifth incarnation of everyone's favourite Time Lord. The Doctor (Peter Davison) and Peri (Nicola Bryant) become embroiled in an underground war of gun running and drug smuggling shortly after landing on the planet Androzani Minor. Apprehended by the military, they are rescued from execution by the brilliant but horribly disfigured criminal, Sharaz Jek, whose infatuation with Peri looks set to be cut short when he discovers that both she and the Doctor have contracted the deadly disease Spectrox Toxaemia. The only possible cure is the milk of the queen bat, which dwells in the caves currently being roamed by the killer Magma Creature... In 'Doctor Who: The Movie' (1996), the Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) crashlands the TARDIS on Earth in end-of-century San Francisco while en route to return the Master's remains to their home planet of Gallifrey. Gunned down by a street gang, the Doctor is rushed to hospital, where exploratory surgery by Doctor Grace Holloway (Daphne Ashbrook) triggers a regeneration. The Master has meanwhile taken over the body of a paramedic and infiltrated the Doctor's TARDIS, which he plans to use in his latest scheme to take over the Doctor's new body and destroy the world. Filmed as the pilot for a revived 'Doctor Who' series - tailored to the American market - which subsequently failed to materialise, this feature-length adventure introduces Paul McGann as the renegade Time Lord.