Bøker av Mike Heath

Les and Ali nearly bankrupted themselves with a wedding that neither of them particularly enjoyed. Now they're on their honeymoon in Ibiza, they can finally relax. But relaxation doesn't come easily to Les, who harbours a secret that threatens their livelihood, and maybe staying in Ibiza is more appealing than going home and facing the music. After all, Britain doesn't really seem that Great anymore. For anyone who has ever wanted to stay on holiday forever.Sharp & witty. A complete joy! - Canal-St.co.ukFun & uplifting - NorthWestEnd.comWarm-hearted...A fine comedy - British Theatre Guide

This collection of two-handers celebrates the intimacy of storytelling between two characters. From the prophetic Rise & Demise of Kenneth Kennedy-Smythe to Les & Ali's Big Balearic Adventure, follow the path of concentrated stories driven by passion, desire, and political unrest. Funny, intriguing, and massively popular with audiences, this collection shares some of Mike Heath's most tightly scripted plays. Includes: The Rise & Demise of Kenneth Kennedy-Smythe, Eighteen, The Big Things, the odd and experimental (?), and Les & Ali's Big Balearic Adventure.

Stately Trains was born out of one man's passion for vintage carriages. Stephen Middleton was brought up in a railway family. His father, grandfather and maternal grandfather all worked for railway companies from pre-grouping through to the British Railways era after nationalisation. His father had a First Class pass for rail travel, thus it is no surprise that Middleton junior experienced regular luxury travel on East Coast Pullmans between Yorkshire and London. At the age of five he longed to be a steward working on the Pullman cars. Fate took him in a different direction but that yearning did not leave him and in 1992, after seeing an advertisement in Steam Railway magazine, his enthusiasm for railway carriages was rekindled. The advertisement drew his attention to an unrestored Great Eastern Railway carriage (No.14) that coincidentally had been used as the district engineer's saloon at Ipswich when his father had started work on the railway there. He made a successful bid and embarked on a restoration journey that was to create a collection of historically significant pre-1914 luxury carriages.These further restorations have included a first class saloon built for the Great North of Scotland Railway in 1894 and three directors saloons, one built for the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway in 1906, one for the London & North Western Railway in 1913 and one for the Great Eastern Railway that dates from 1911. In addition to the Great Eastern Railway's coach (No.14) referred to previously, a family saloon built for the GER (1897) and believed to have been used by Queen Victoria's granddaughter Princess Alice has also been acquired and brought back into use.That royal connection has been reinforced by what is considered to be the 'jewel in the crown' of the collection in the form of a London & South Western Railway carriage that was constructed specifically for Queen Victoria's royal train in 1885 and later converted for her personal use during her golden jubilee celebrations in 1887. Still to be restored are another GER family saloon dating from 1877 that was later to be converted for the use of Edward, Prince of Wales and a coach that, when completed, will be the oldest operational Pullman carriage in the world. In the midst of gathering this stock together, Stephen has also restored an 0-6-0 saddle tank, Illingworth, that was built in 1916 and has, during its long career, helped the war effort in both the First and Second World Wars. As a 'sideline', Stephen and many volunteers have been involved in the purchase and setting up of a charitable trust and subsequent restoration of the 1903 North Eastern Railcar. This is a true pioneer being the first railcar in the world to use internal combustion to drive a generator which in turn powered electric traction motors. Each piece in the collection has had a fascinating history from its construction through its working life and on into preservation. Along the way Stephen has collected many photographs and much information/memorabilia to complete their stories and these form the basis for this book.

"The Rolling Stones are truly the greatest rock and roll band in the world and always will be," Dylan once famously said of his contemporaries. "The last too," he added. "Everything that came after them, metal, rap, punk, new wave, pop-rock, you name it... you can trace it all back to the Rolling Stones" Mike Heath is 75 and a retired history teacher specialising in modern History (the first World War onwards). He played rugby for his city - Peterborough and also at county level. He also played mixed hockey for fun and tennis in a competitive evening league.Upon retiring after 37 years teaching, his wife, Sandra (a former Practice Nursing Sister) and he came to live in Greece in the West Mani, Peloponnese in 2007 where they had a house built near Stoupa.Latterly he has had a book The Life and Times of Annie Williams published and available from Amazon and spent many a long hour chopping and changing this book on The Rolling Stones. It is now ready to meet the world. He has always been a big fan of most music, but it is the Stones who have taken prime place in his life as you will see in the book.

In the heyday of the Great Western Railway the `Torbay Express' ran from London's Paddington Station to Torquay, Paignton and Kingswear where a GWR-operated ferry took travellers to a station, without rails, across the water at Dartmouth.