With a captivating dreamy musical score, authentic dramatisations, and a lilting historical narration, this fascinating documentary was first produced by Times Television. It is a superb introduction to the magical, beautiful and historical rich country of Ireland which has made a distinctive and lasting contribution to the world. Discover the treasured and haunting tapestry of events in this cultural adventure from the time of the Celts to the Williamite War, from the rise of the O'Connell to the Easter Rising and the revolutionary Michael Collins. 66 minute colour DVD with interactive menus.

The Ishango tribe that lived in Zaire in Africa used a bone with an inscription containing three sets of numbers in the forms of columns of scratches marked into its sides. What mathematical processes do the other two sides indicate, and where do the remaining five and seven from the first side fit? The Ancient Egyptian cult of Isis began some time before 2500BC. Osiris, God of the Underworld, was said to have been chopped into 14 parts, representing the 14 days of the Moon's waning. The cult had only two possible whole-number perimeter values of a rectangle which encloses the same area as its own length. Which two numbers are they? The Moscow Papyrus, Triangles of Babylon, the Egyptian Scribe Ahmes's Loaves. The Rhind Papyrus is a well known puzzle which has survived through the centuries travelling via Rome to end up in 18th century Europe and on to the modern era. A wealthy priest owns seven houses. Each of these houses contains seven cats. Each cat must eat seven mice, because each mouse can eat seven sheaves of wheat. A sheaf of wheat can produce seven hekats of grain. Houses, cats, mice, sheaves, grain: how many in total fall within the priest's domain? Here are fractional issues, dates, squaring the circle, the Ramses' Star, Riddle of the Sphinx, The Cistern Problem, Sun Tzu's classic problem, Alcuin's Riddle composed for the Emperor Charlamagne in AD781, and Archimedes' Revenge which has a certain poetic beauty, The Book of Precious Things, medieval riddles, memory wheels, there are one or two puzzles posed per page with beautiful decoration and line artworks for all 90 puzzles which have tested intelligent humans throughout history. 144pp.

Writer of more than 25 books, many of them about the British royal family and their corgis, acclaimed as a five star sensation under its original title 'We Are Amused', this 2020 edition is brought up to date with fascinating details from Her Majesty to Meghan Markle, including William, Kate and their three children, the new jewels in the royal crown. The A-Z begins with Abdication, Accession, Act of Settlement 1701 through Birthdays and Bridesmaids and Court Circulars and the Duchy of Cornwall, Eton College, Footmen, the George Cross and George Medal, Handbags, Tax, Jubilees, Knighthoods, Ladies in Waiting, Maids of Honour, Nannies, Order of Succession, Palace Stewards and Picnics, Queens, Racing, Religion, Salaries and State Banquets, Tartans and Tweeds and Trooping the Colour, Valets and the Royal Cross, Royal Warrants and Wine, X-Ray Machine, Yachts, to Zara Phillips. Every detail of whatever the royals do, wear, eat and drink is avidly consumed and it is a never-ending soap opera. When Zara Phillips, daughter of the Princess Royal, appeared with a stud showing through her pierced tongue it made headlines for days and pictures sold all over the world, while speculation about the wealth of the Windsors provides endless stories. The scandal that was caused by the Duke of York's unfortunate friendship with an American billionaire who was convicted of sexual offences and found dead in his prison cell ended the Duke's career. Packed with fascinating details and witty to the point of wickedness. Which member of the royal family won't travel anywhere without his own lavatory seat? What wedding present did Gandhi give to the Queen and Prince Philip? Why did Diana's arrival at her wedding cause an unexpected commotion among the establishment? 274pp, paperback.

The concluding part of the Vedas, the ancient Indian sacred literature, which mark the culmination of a tradition of speculative thought first expressed in the Rig-Veda more than 4,000 years ago. Remarkable for their meditative depth, spirit of doubt and intellectual honesty, the Upanishads are concerned with the knowledge of the Brahman, the Ultimate Reality, and Man's relationship with it. The name Upanishad is derived from the face-to-face mode of imparting this knowledge - in the utmost sanctity and secrecy, to prevent its trivialisation or perversion. Composed in Sanskrit between 900 and 600BC, the Upanishads presented here are by far the oldest and most important of those that exist. 144pp. Paperback.

Boxed and overall standing 26 x 10 x 6.4cm, this cheeky faced big eared giraffe has two black eyes looking upwards, brown horns, a big nose and of course a ridiculously long neck! The neck is made up of five HB pencils, long neck decorated with animal print giraffe design in brown and amber. Sitting down, his two back legs are splayed forward to sit comfortably on your desk while neatly holding the pencils, and keeping a lid on them with his friendly face. Orange body, brown feet and horns, he will be your favourite desk buddy. Boxed and would make an ideal gift. Incredible value.
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From the Wizards Presents series this rare fourth edition preview is a behind-the-scenes exploration of the D&D game. It is a lavishly illustrated 96 page large softback which gives role playing game fans a unique glimpse into the making of the game with essays and commentary from the game's premier designers, developers and editors. They explore the most iconic locations and monsters and share insights never before revealed in any game product. There are staff thoughts on the preview to the fourth edition - good intentions, a high five moment and fun things, crunch time, writing monsters. There is beautiful artwork in full colour like the Hobgoblin fortress with skulls and faces, a Troll, the Mind Flayer Thrallkeeper, Spined Devil, a colour artwork of the curvaceous Githyanki, the Astral Sea seemingly floating through air and a rift to the elemental chaos with fiery colours and dark broody background. The line art of the monsters in the art gallery is superb, like the skeletal Tomb Guardian and Gargoyle Strangler and characters from the Shadow Fell like the Death Knight and Shadar-kai, a full page image of Orcus. These colour and line artworks are truly spectacular and at this price could be removed from the book for framing. 96 page extra large softback, a rare import.

Sourced from specimen books dating from around 1700 onwards, this exquisite collection of ornamentation used by printers covers a range from the mid-16th century to the 21st. The simplest kinds of ornamentation are lines and borders, but these can often be broken up with decorative units known as "flowers", whose origins lie in the culture of the east, particularly the work of Arabian craftsmen who established workshops in Italy. Renaissance classicism gave way to Baroque exuberance, and then in the 19th century an invention known as "stereotyping" enabled images to be reproduced very cheaply, leading to an explosion of ornament with realistic details such as trains and animals. The sections of this book represent different types of ornament. Natural Forms includes the stylised running tulip motifs Art Nouveau, as well as classical acanthus leaves and stylised Rococo floral swags. Geometrical Forms are particularly associated with the Modernist movement and include the running squares and triangles designed by Paul Nash for the Curwen Press in the 1930s and a Bauhaus logo designed by Moholy-Nagy in 1923. In the early 20th century Ravilious, Bawden, Freedman and Nash, all working for the Curwen Press, developed an iconic modern range that respected traditional motifs. The section on Wreaths and Scrolls introduces the mass-production of stereotyping seen at its most successful with motifs such as a paddle steamer, a billiard table, a range of comic faces, a windmill and a man smoking a cigar. A final section on "ingenious art" starts with the influence of designers in the Art Deco period and moves on to the modern digital age. 240pp, over 700 illustrations in monochrome and pink.

The blockbuster from 1983 which has become the UK's second longest ever running stage play by the undoubted mistress of the modern ghost story. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, the sole inhabitant of Eel Marsh House. He travels to the remote village to put the affairs of his client in order and as he works alone in her isolated house, he begins to uncover disturbing secrets. His unease grows when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed in black. The locals are strangely unwilling to talk about the unsettling occurrence, and Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true identity, and her terrible purpose. 200 page paperback.

Admittedly some look rather manic with their wild staring eyes, but curled up the tabby cat has a traditional mackerel patterning, created by stranding or the Fair Isle method for knitting the stripes. There are tabby cats prowling, a black and white, a street cat, a Siamese cat, a Burmese cat seated, the Abyssinian, a refined cat that is also easy to knit, a Devon Rex with enormous ears, all about coats, heads and tails. Our favourite must be the white kitten made in mohair yarn and luxuriously furry. The gallery of the finished long and short hairs, tabby and striped in their different poses is absolutely glorious on pages 138-9. Organised by Long-haired, Short-haired, Exotic and Street, this is a perfect gift for cat lovers and knitters everywhere. 16 cats, every pattern is easy to follow for both new and experienced knitters with expert tips on choosing yarns, stuffing and sewing the cat and adding personality with details like collars, bells and bows and positioning your cat standing, sitting, crouching or curled up. 144pp, softback, hundreds of colour photos.
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Here are two great, neglected horror novels by Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, together in one volume for the first time. It is a double treat for lovers of blood-curdling fantasy fiction. The Lady of the Shroud, published here in its full and unabridged form, is a fascinating and engrossing concoction of a vampire tale, Ruritanian adventure story and science fiction romance. The novel fully demonstrates the breadth and ingenuity of Stoker's imagination. The spine-chilling The Lair of the White Worm features a monstrous worm secreted for thousands of years in a bottomless well and able to metamorphose into a seductive woman of a reptilian beauty who survives on her victim's life blood. The novel contains some of Stoker's most graphic and grisly moments of horror. 431 page Wordsworth paperback.