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When Sarah was born with Down's Syndrome her parents, Andy and Allie Merriman, felt their world was shattered. Yet this is the triumphant story of a family's responses to Sarah, their growing love and their learned ability to cope with other people's dismay, pity and bafflement. Sarah is ordinary in many ways. Naughty, playful, energetic and affectionate - and perfectly ordinary to look at. But, like all with Down's Syndrome she is extraordinary and she always will be. Already Sarah has been talent-spotted and has been the star of a BBC Radio comedy series centering on the disruptive and enhancing effect a Down's Syndrome child can have on the family.
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Margaret Rutherford was without a doubt one of Britain’s best-loved comic actresses. But behind the kindly, serene front Rutherford presented to the world lay a life of trauma and repeated nervous breakdown – the legacy of the legacy of family tragedy that saw her father murder her grandfather during a bout of mental illness and her depressive mother later kill herself. Andy Merriman’s acclaimed biography intrigued and shocked readers with these revelations when it was published in hardback. Now out in paperback, it is also a portrait of one of our most individual actresses. Rutherford appeared in such thoroughly English classics as Blithe Spirit, The importance of Being Earnest, Passp...
For over 30 years Hattie Jacques was a familiar presence on radio, television and film. This biography reveals the secrets of the sometimes strange and often sad private life that was concealed behind the matronly facade.
Once the Second World War had broken out, it soon became clear that morale would be crucial in the military effectiveness of our armed forces. And so was born the Entertainment National Services Association, or ENSA â?? to send the nationâ??s best singers, dancers, musicians and comedians, from Noël Coward to Gracie Fields, to entertain the troops, however far away they might be. Over the course of the war ENSA gave their first break to such postwar stars as Tommy Cooper and Frankie Howerd, as well as enshrining the young Vera Lynn forever as the forcesâ?? sweetheart. When Allied troops landed in Normandy in 1944, George Formby followed close behind, while a distinguished troupe under Laurence Olivier was performing Shakespeare to British soldiers in Hamburg within weeks of the German surrender. Now, Andrew Merriman has talked to surviving ENSA veterans from Vera Lynn to Dame Beryl Grey, to piece together the extraordinary adventures of the ordinary men and women sent out across the world â?? even to inhospitable, dangerous Burma â?? whose contribution to the war effort was song, dance and laughter.
Jim Cregan's career as a rock guitarist, songwriter and producer has spanned over fifty years, touring and recording albums with stars such as Elton John, Cat Stevens, Family, Willie Nelson, Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, Joe Cocker, The Gypsy Kings, and Katie Melua. However, he is perhaps best known for his forty-year association with Rod Stewart, not only as his guitarist but also being best friends and godfathers to each other's children. In his autobiography Jim Cregan lifts the lid on his extraordinary life, recounting his experiences with music's biggest stars, from his first band at the age of 14 playing in youth clubs in Poole to performing in front of 350,000 people in Rio de Janeiro. In And on Guitar . . . Cregan holds nothing back: from his early life and anecdotes about his family to shenanigans on the road and extraordinary tales of hedonism, love and loss, his stories feature a Who's Who of music's biggest stars.
His fans have spoken, but despite their requests, Peter Davison has gone ahead and written his autobiography anyway. It wasn’t the book they tried to stop – it was more like the book they didn’t want him to start. An aspiring singer-songwriter, once dubbed Woking’s answer to Bob Dylan (by his mum, who once heard a Bob Dylan song), Peter actually penned a hit for Dave Clark but soon swapped a life on the pub circuit to tread the boards. From colonial roots – his dad was Guyanese and his mother was born in India – the family settled in Surrey where Peter’s academic achievements were unspectacular – he even managed to fail CSE woodwork, eliciting a lament from his astonished tea...
This title leads readers to the best in the USA's number two destination state, from South Florida and the Gulf Coast to Central Florida and the great north. It covers all the top attractions: Miami and South Beach, the Everglades, the Keys, Daytona Beach, and the worlds number one vacation destination - Orlando and its theme parks.
Kevin Kilbane is Ireland's third most capped player of all time, with 110 appearances for his country, including an incredible 66 consecutive matches. He played more than 600 matches at professional level, and in Ireland is nothing less than a folk hero. But things could have been very different. Kilbane grew up the hard way, enduring a tough Lancashire childhood with his Irish immigrant family. It was only his prowess on the pitch, and subsequent signing with his childhood club Preston North End, that gave him the opportunity to escape poverty. Kilbane has since built a formidable reputation as an honest, dedicated professional who always gave his very best. he became a firm favourite with ...