This issue, we feature a selection of books from Gomer Press and Graffeg.

BILL FAIRNEY
The Knife and Fork Man The Redrup Story
£14.95
ISBN 978 0 9554455 0 7

This beautifully-produced and well-written book by Bill Fairney is about an engineer who was an almost forgotten genius and who lived in Barry for the first thirty years of his life.

Charles Benjamin Redrup was born in Newport in 1878 but his father moved to Barry shortly afterwards. Charles was interested in engineering from an early age and his father paid for him to take an apprenticeship with the Great Western Railway. After a short but adventurous round-trip in a merchant ship to America, Redrup went to work making motor cars.

Charles soon wanted to set up his own business and went into partnership back in Barry, with Alban Richards, the son of a Barry blacksmith. Charles and Alban set up the Barry Motor Company and launched an unusual motorcycle which used a revolutionary supercharged rotary engine. This ‘Barry’ motorcycle was exhibited in London in 1905 and attracted a huge amount of interest.

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JAMIE OWEN
More Welsh Journeys
£19.99
ISBN 9781843237389

In the latest of his books More Welsh Journeys, Jamie takes six journeys through the beauty of his homeland, including a rather choppy sea voyage departing from Barry. ....................................................................................................................

TONY MILLIN
Freeloading Cymru
£7.99
ISBN 9781843237051

Take one stand up comedian. Add a pint of Brains SA, a large helping of optimism and a challenge to fulfil the claim that the Welsh are so generous that you could travel Wales for free. What do you get? Freeloading Cymru - a comic travelogue, in the company of Cardiff author Tony Millin. ....................................................................................................................

JO LODGE
Translation by Sioned Lleinau
Wyt ti’n barod Mistar Croc?
Ready or not Mr Croc?
£4.99
ISBN 9781843237686

A fun, colourful, pop-up, bilingual book for young children, ideal to help them learn the two languages of Wales. Mr Croc is getting dressed and ready to go out. Help him put on his clothes and see if you can guess where he is going!
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JENNY SULLIVAN
Troublesome Thomas
£4.99
ISBN 9781843238119

It is 1645 and the onset of civil war has everyone on guard. So, when ten year old Thomas sights a suspicious stranger from his tree-top perch, he doesn’t hesitate. But when the suspect sprawled on the ground turns out to be a very respectable Baptist minister, Thomas is in serious trouble.

Vale Life would like to thank Gomer Press for the above titles. www.gomer.co.uk
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Inside Out A new series offering the
Insider’s Guide to Wales

Inside Out is a series of six books that form a brief guide to the real Wales. Each title is an informed and entertaining glance at an aspect of life in Wales by an author who knows it inside out.

So whether it’s the beauty of the landscape and language, the achievements of people past and present, or the vibrancy of its culture that interests you, this series is your one-stop guide.

Welsh Icons £4.99
ISBN: 9781843237877
Great Welsh Festivals £4.99
ISBN: 9781843238515
Welsh Sporting Stars £4.99
ISBN: 9781843237860
Great Welsh Voices £4.99
ISBN: 9781843238492
Highlights of Welsh History £4.99
ISBN: 9781843238508
Welsh Traditions and Traits £4.99
ISBN: 9781843237679

For more information on each book,
visit www.insideoutwales.co.uk
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DAVID LEEKE
An Ironmongers Tale

From a valleys blacksmith to Wales’ leading retail and leisure group in under 100 years.

This book follows the history of a family that has established a retail and leisure brand which is today recognised throughout South Wales, the West country and beyond.

From the prosperous age when the coal of the Rhondda Valleys fuelled a nation, the years of the Depression and two World Wars to today’s competitive and consumer-driven times, the Leekes’ family business endured, developed and prospered. From it’s beginning as a husband and wife team, the company now employs over 1,200 people and is one of Wales’ top 60 businesses.

Passionately proud of their Welsh and Rhondda heritage, this is an entertaining and informative story of a close family and an enduringly close family business told from the inside and characterised by great ambition coupled with a strong sense of community. ....................................................................................................................

NEW BOOKS FROM GRAFFEG

JANE MATTHEWS
Skomer - Portrait of a Welsh island
£14.99
ISBN 978 1 905582 08 2

Skomer Island, off the coast of Wales, is a National Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest and a world-renowned bird paradise.

It is also home to Jane Matthews who portrays the Island and its conservation in a collection of amazing photographs. This book gets close to the marine life, bird colonies and wildlife of the island with interesting commentary and contributions from Iolo Williams and Matthew Parris.
Out now. ....................................................................................................................

DAVID WILLIAMS
Village Wales
£14.99
ISBN 978 1 905582 03 7

A new book by travel writer and photographer David Williams provides a delightful insight into village life in Wales and explores local life.

From Snowdonia to Gower, this magnificent colour book showcases the architecture, gardens, harbours, shops, signs, churches, pubs and monuments symbolic to Welsh village lifestyles. The book includes Pendoylan, Llangynidr and Tintern. ....................................................................................................................

MICHAEL DAVIES
Discovering Welsh Houses
£14.99
ISBN 978 1 905582 13 6

A guide to some architectural gems found in Wales.

Presenter and architect Michael Davies writes about and photographs eighteen buildings; homes, lighthouses, and a telegraph station - all have featured in the popular television programme of the same name. Each building is inhabited and has its own personal story to tell.

For more information on the books featured here and other publications by Graffeg please visit their website at www.graffeg.com
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DEREK BROCKWAY
Whatever the Weather
£14.99
ISBN: 9781843238218

Autobiography and weatherwatching from Wales’s favourite Weatherman.

Even as a little boy, Derek Brockway was obsessed with the weather. It is no surprise then that he went on to become one of the most popular weather forecasters on TV in Wales through his work on the BBC.

Whatever the Weather looks back over Derek’s life, from his childhood in Barry, to his present job forecasting for BBC Wales. But intermingled with his story is a broader look at weather phenomena that stand out in recent Welsh history. Heatwaves, storms, droughts, floods and blizzards all appear, with heart-warming stories of survival and camaraderie, intermingled with tales of heartbreaking loss that remind us of the awesome force of nature.

Publication Date: October 2007. Available to order now.

BOOK SIGNING
Derek Brockway
Wales

Derek will undertake an extensive program of signing events in bookshops across Wales in the run up to Christmas 2007.

Please see local press for more details from October onwards.
For more information please contact Gomer Press on 01559 363090
or email lowriwalters@gomer.co.uk
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POETRY & PROSE
Departed Spirit

Please take time to listen
Hear what I have to say
I know I’m not there to guide you
And you know I was taken away

But I can still see and hear you
If you let me I could touch your hand
I am not really that far away
I know you will understand

There is so much more I can show you
And a lot more still I could tell
If you need me I will always talk to you
From that place where Angels dwell

The love that I have still holds you
You should feel me with your every move
My spirit still surrounds you
I am everything without need to prove

The one who holds all the answers
The keeper of a very special key
So if you feel the need to question
Then please just talk to me

POET PROFILE
Philip A Jenkins
St Nicholas

I live in the Vale and for the past seven years have run my own fitness supply, installation, service and consultancy.

In pursuit of leisure, my wife and I have travelled extensively, while at
home we enjoy gardening and walking our dog. I’m in my mid 60’s
and from an early age appreciated that poetry afforded me an
appropriate medium through which I could express my innermost
thoughts and emotions. The theme of my poems encompasses both low
and high points in my personal life whilst reflecting the ever-changing
world in which we live.

My philosophy on life is ‘tomorrow is not promised us, so let us take
today and make the most of it.’