The entire first series of the BBC comedy starring Sue Perkins as a vet afraid to tell her parents that she's gay. Although she seems to have it all - friends, success, popularity - skilled vet Sara (Perkins) she still hasn't gotten around to telling her elderly parents about her sexual orientation. With her 40th birthday approaching, she's given an ultimatum by her friends to tell her parents when they next visit in six weeks, or they will. Help is at hand, however, as in order to help the process along and allay Sara's rising dread, her friends have saved up to provide her with some sessions with oddball lifestyle guru Toria (Joanna Scanlon).

In the spring of 1949 Warren Hearst can no longer play shortstop or ride his bike. The polio epidemic has claimed his body. Bundled in a blanket in the back of the family Chevy "Woody" station wagon, Warren rolls along Highway 30 toward Omaha and hospitalization. He will be a miserable "crip." He plans to run away. But the plan is dashed when he meets Whitey, that pushy little twerp across the street in the new, unfamiliar neighborhood. Out of the hospital, and sporting a leg brace and a crutch, Warren finds himself bumping along in Whitey's coaster wagon. Their destination is the old Woodard farm where a legendary, weathered tree house has been waiting to welcome yet another troubled child. The story begins when Warren and Whitey, life long friends and now in their sixties, are sitting face to face in a breakfast booth with sketchy plans drawn on a grease spotted placemat. It will be midnight when Whitey's pickup will bounce through the fields of the now deserted Woodard farm. The tree house will be dismantled and rebuilt in an old tree in Warren's back yard. Another special child will climb the ladder, because the planet Venus will be positioned just right in the glowing sunset of the western sky.

Discover the woman behind the spectacles in the hilarious, incredibly moving memoir from much loved comedian, writer and presenter Sue Perkins, star of Mel & Sue and The Great British Bake Off 'Very funny. Reading her memoir is very like meeting her' Sunday Times 'Tight & bright & full of inspiration' Chris Evans, Radio 2 When I began writing this book, I went home to see if my mum had kept some of my stuff. What I found was that she hadn't kept some of it. She had kept all of it - every bus ticket, postcard, school report - from the moment I was born to the moment I finally had the confidence to turn round and say 'Why is our house full of this shit?' Sadly, a recycling 'incident' destroyed the bulk of this archive. This has meant two things: firstly, Dear Reader, you will never get to see countless drawings of wizards, read a poem about corn on the cob, or marvel at the kilos of brown flowers I so lovingly pressed as a child. Secondly, it's left me with no choice but to actually write this thing myself. This, my first ever book, will answer questions such as 'Is Mary Berry real?', 'Is it true you wear a surgical truss?' and 'Is a non-spherically symmetric gravitational pull from outside the observable universe responsible for some of the observed motion of large objects such as galactic clusters in the universe?' Most of this book is true. I have, of course, amplified my more positive characteristics in an effort to make you like me. Thank you for reading. Praise for Spectacles 'Drama, tears and laughs - Spectacles has got it all. A brilliant, touching memoir suffused with love, it reminds you that life is best lived at wonky angles. I ADORED it' Jessie Burton, bestselling author of The Miniaturist 'Very funny . . . It seems there are two Sue Perkins: the TV one, who gabbles and pratfalls, and the sensitive one who aches. The first of course, exists to protect the second. They can both write. The first writes comedy, the second tragedy; in this sense, reading her memoir is very like meeting her' Sunday Times

Follow Sue Perkins' extraordinary adventures across southern Asia in this fabulously funny travelling tale - inspired by her BBC 1 documentary series 'The Ganges with Sue Perkins' Pick of the holiday reads - Daily Mirror 'Vivid, laugh-out-loud, moving' Sunday Express 'A few years ago I was asked if I'd like to make a documentary on the Mekong River, travelling from the vast delta in Vietnam to the remote and snowy peaks of Tibet. Up until that point, the farthest East I'd been was Torremolinos, in the Costa Del Sol. Here's the thing: I am scared of flying. I have zero practical skills. I can't survive if I am more than a three minute walk from a supermarket. For the last seven years I have suffered with crippling anxiety. I bolt when panicked. I cannot bear to witness humans or animals in distress. I have no ability to learn languages. I am a terrible hypochondriac. Oh, and I am no good with boats. So I said yes.' SHORTLISTED FOR AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR AT THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS 'Part memoir, part travel guide. A fab account full of wit and emotion' Prima 'An unvarnished, endearing and very funny account' Woman & Home 'Alongside laugh-out-loud travel stories, the book also provides a moving account of her coming to terms with her father's death' Daily Mirror _________ Praise for Spectacles: 'Utterly wonderful. It's very, very funny and poignant' Nina Stibbe, bestselling author of Reasons to be Cheerful 'Very funny ... reading her memoir is very like meeting her' Sunday Times 'Charming and funny .... Like going for a long, slightly drunken lunch with your naughtiest friend' Red 'Brilliantly written... fearlessly honest and full of heart, it will also make you laugh like a gibbon' Heat

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Robin And Linnet, By The Authors Of 'Honor Bright'. Sue Perkins

In the spring of 1949 Warren Hearst can no longer play shortstop or ride his bike. The polio epidemic has claimed his body. Bundled in a blanket in the back of the family Chevy "Woody" station wagon, Warren rolls along Highway 30 toward Omaha and hospitalization. He will be a miserable "crip." He plans to run away. But the plan is dashed when he meets Whitey, that pushy little twerp across the street in the new, unfamiliar neighborhood. Out of the hospital, and sporting a leg brace and a crutch, Warren finds himself bumping along in Whitey's coaster wagon. Their destination is the old Woodard farm where a legendary, weathered tree house has been waiting to welcome yet another troubled child. The story begins when Warren and Whitey, life long friends and now in their sixties, are sitting face to face in a breakfast booth with sketchy plans drawn on a grease spotted placemat. It will be midnight when Whitey's pickup will bounce through the fields of the now deserted Woodard farm. The tree house will be dismantled and rebuilt in an old tree in Warren's back yard. Another special child will climb the ladder, because the planet Venus will be positioned just right in the glowing sunset of the western sky.

Sophia hurries through the check-out, clutching her bag of oranges. Her lip quivers, as it does when she is on the edge. It had been an unexpected encounter with Mitch Findley at the market. Triumphant, she is figuratively in Mitch's door. Fourteen years she has stalked his daughter, Casey, anticipating revenge.
Now, she would be nursing Mitch's dying wife, Loretta. She would seduce the new widower, take over his life and alienate him from his daughter, that siren who stole her sweet son from her, aborted his baby and caused him to "end it all" in a car with a deadly mix of booze and pills.
Comfortably nested in Mitch Findley's home, Sophia admires the new ring on her hand. Mitch had been weak, vulnerable and ...caught.
In order to force this creature away from her father, Casey must now tell him about her abortion and the years of stalking she had endured at the hands of Sophia. She would tell Dad about Sophia's sexual abuse of her son and her own discovery of the photos of Allen nursing at his mother's breast ...he was seven.
Devastated, Mitch tells Sophia, "Pack your toothbrush and get out." ...the last words she would ever hear him say to her. Later, the unbalanced woman is found wandering naked downtown. Casey's great need for a final face to face confrontation takes her to a mental facility where Sophia now resides. This vile encounter is too much for the old woman whose heart stops ...forever.
Casey, with a fresh start, counseling and valium, learns of a new tenant moving in next door. She seems oddly familiar. Unnerved by the woman's presence, but coping, Casey discovers the dark hole in the kitchen wall that connects the two apartments ...merely inches fromBlanch Poole whose body is gradually being possessed by the demonic spirit of Sophia. She is coming, and she is angry.
Jesse, the love of Casey's life, his dog Goober, plus a few colorful friends, now load the demoniac into a van headed for the Baptist church where Pastor Babbitt and Father Rooney assist in expelling the demon in the baptismal tank. The waters whirl, spinning Casey and the snarling demon-woman at a dizzying pace. When the water is gone, two women lie at the bottom like wet rag dolls. The elder of the two asks, "Where the hell am I?." Casey, looking upward at her entourage, weakly murmurs, "I think it's gone."