Summer 1977: It's no holiday in the sun in Handstead New Town, a north Manchester overspill. Known to the local cops as Horse's Arse, it's preparing to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. But lob-in soccer violence, rampant police hooliganism, and an expanding LSD market--there'll be a riot going on. Local gangster Sercan Ozdemir has underestimated DCI Harrison, head of the CID; blood on the floor in an interview room is all in a day's work for him. And Ozdemir knows that if his crime family discovers he's been doing his own thing, they'll pull his face off. Meanwhile the uniform cops, Psycho, Pizza, the Brothers, Ally, and the others hurl the rule book out of the window and continue to hold the tide of criminal scum at bay for as long as they can in a town they despise.

It is the Seventies and Horse's Arse is the affectionate name for Handstead New Town, a North Manchester overspill and an unholy dump. The police use it as a penal posting - all the bad egg coppers end up there. Worst amongst the residents of Handstead are the Park Royal Mafia, a gang of violent thugs who terrorise their neighbourhood. They and the officers doomed to serve at Handstead wrestle constantly for dominance. This is the story of some of those police officers - the Grim Brothers, Psycho, Pizza, Piggy Malone and others, a group of hooligans in uniform and their journey through excess, despair and finally some form of salvation...

I Hate To Lose is a story of courage and inspiration and how one little known African-American who grew up during the depression in Florida overcame poverty, prejudice and severe physical handicaps not only to play on the PGA Tour, but also to beat the best professionals of his era.
Though he was severely crippled from a Korean War injury and was blind in one eye, that didn't bother Charlie. After a career in the PGA, at the age of 57, as a member of the Senior PGA, he just put two crutches in his bag, drove his ball down the middle of the fairway off the first tee in the first round of the 1986 U.S. Open and then bravely hobbled on those crutches out to take on the best and the healthiest in the world-the USGA would not allow him to ride in a cart.
When he first qualified in 1972 for the PGA, he was teased and derided as the "crippled, blind, cross handed guy." Not only were his knees shot, he'd had a stroke and was blind in one eye and he never changed his backward, upside down grip that he'd always used as a young boy. People were amazed that he could even hit the ball let alone launch it on 300-yard drives with old Persimmon-headed woods. Nevertheless, in 1966, he won 18 of the 21 events he entered.
Today Charlie Owens is 76 and his story must be told. The only remnant of his incredible narrative other than this book is a single scrapbook of short newspaper articles that he still cherishes. However, I Hate To Lose is not just another sports story, or another golf book.
Charlie overcame just about every adversity: physical, mental and financial that a man could withstand and still emerged a champion among champions, not only in the game of golf, but also in the game of life.

The brilliant new novel in the hooligan cop series by the acclaimed author of HORSE'S ARSE It's the seventies, and the boys in blue are preparing for the mother of all riots. The Albion Army are causing havoc north of Manchester, and DCI Dan Harrison needs to pull off something special if his boys are to retain control. As the picket lines form and the two sides square up for battle, a rare moment of inspiration strikes: could the hit movie Zulu provide an ingenious way out of mayhem? Or has the DCI finally lost the plot?

It's 1976 and England is sweating its nuts off. As an unrelenting heat wave beats down on the nation, the residents of Horse's Arse - aka Handstead New Town, north Manchester - are reaching melting point. The Park Royal Mafia, having recovered from the loss of its senior members, is under new management and open for the business of mindless violence again. Unfortunately their antics have attracted the attention of a psychotic Turkish gangster, who's decided the Mafia is just what he needs to pull himself to the top of the criminal heap. And wading into the middle of it are the Grim Brothers, Psycho, Pizza, Ally - Horse's Arse's finest and the hardestboiled coppers you'll ever meet. With this lot hot under the collar it's all going to end in blood, (a lot of) sweat and tears.

Highly Commended (Third prize) in the Standing Conference on Studies in Education book prize for books published in 1999. `It was a breath of fresh air to see 'contentious' issues dealt with in an enlightened and informative way. We are certain it will move the debate on years!' - Chrissie Meleady, Sheffield Childrens' Centre `Looks most interesting and will certainly be very useful' - Bronwen Cohen, Director, Children in Scotland `It's a challenging and exciting book and I hope it is widely used' - Margy Whalley, Director, Pen Green Research, Development and Training Base, Pen Green Centre for Under 5's and Their Families `An extremely interesting account. This book highlights some very important tensions and contradictions about the role of men in childcare work. The differing perceptions of women and men concerning men's involvement in childcare are particularly thoughtfully documented' - Peter Aggleton, Director, Thomas Coram Research Unit, University of London `An essential book for the debate on gender and childcare... the more academic childcare students will cope with it, will be good for Second year BTEC students, `A' Level students' - Robin Wright, Lecturer, Bournemouth and Poole College of Higher Education `Having been a lone male worker, this book has stimulate discussion on gender and how we need to wrestle and value difference. For that reason alone its worth buying' - Practical Parenting