Cricket book captures 175 years of village life
A new book celebrating 175 years of village cricket opens up a window on life in Somerset through the Victorian and Edwardian eras to the present day.
The book, published by Congresbury Cricket Club in association with Congresbury History Group, tells much more than the story of cricket in the village over the generations.
A new book celebrating 175 years of village cricket opens up a window on life in Somerset through the Victorian and Edwardian eras to the present day.
The book, published by Congresbury Cricket Club in association with Congresbury History Group, tells much more than the story of cricket in the village over the generations.
“The more research I did, the more people I spoke to, the more I realised how the fabric of village life and the development of cricket were intertwined,” said local historian and author Clive Burlton.
The book, with 112 pages, 60,000 words and 250 images draws on the archives held by both the cricket club and the history group as well as recounting the memories of villagers and players, past and present.
Clive, a club vice president, explained: “Among the many nuggets we’ve found is a photograph and an account of a 1907 men v women cricket match in the village with men batting left-handed with broomsticks!
“We also found recipes for all sorts of cakes and pies written by village ladies with known links to cricketers of the time which sparked the idea for a cricket tea bake-off at the Congresbury Fete on June 29.”
The oldest document uncovered is the scorebook from 1919. The first match after World War One was against Weston-super-Mare – the two clubs met again in April this year in a pre-season friendly almost 100 years later.
The book tells far more than the story of Congresbury CC, looking at the development of cricket in North Somerset from the middle of the 19th century with extensive use of newspaper archives since the 1850s.
175 Years of Village Cricket will be launched at The Old School Rooms in Congresbury on Friday June 21 with a presentation by Clive Burlton starting at 7.30pm. Doors open at 7pm.
The book was designed and produced by Bristol Books and can also be obtained online at www.bristolbooks.org
Community Trust benefits from sales of Dolman book
Marina Dolman presented Bristol City Community Trust with profits of the book “Harry Dolman: The Millionaire Inventor Who Became “Mr Bristol City”.
Marina Dolman presented Bristol City Community Trust with profits of the book “Harry Dolman: The Millionaire Inventor Who Became “Mr Bristol City”.
Published by Bristol Books, it describes how Mr Dolman rose from his humble rural roots in Wiltshire to be a multi-millionaire businessman and inventor is based on previously undiscovered hand written diaries penned by the man nicknamed ‘Mr Bristol City’ himself.
The sale of the book generated a profit of £8000, which has generously been donated by Marina Dolman MBE and Bristol Books to the Trust to support their work in the local community.
Marina told the Trust, “I am absolutely thrilled with the response to Harry’s book, and I am extremely pleased to be able to donate the proceeds to support the work of the Bristol City Community Trust.”
Author of the book Martin Powell commented, “It is totally appropriate that the proceeds from sales of the Harry Dolman book should go to the Bristol City Community Trust as Harry was passionate about supporting the local community.
“Keeping the memory of Harry Dolman alive and ensuring all he did for Bristol City and football in Bristol was the main motivation behind the book.”
Bristol City legend Brian Tinnion represented the club at the cheque presentation along with officials of the Community Trust along with the Ashton Gate shop staff, who sold the bulk of the books and where it is still available.
Marina Dolman brought along Harry’s Rolls Royce with the registration HD 11, which was a familiar sight at Ashton Gate in the 1970s.
The book by Martin Powell and Clive Burlton was published by Bristol Books. For further information please click here.
A new souvenir guide to M Shed
Bristol Books have published a new souvenir guide to Bristol’s flagship museum: M Shed.
Bristol Books have published a new souvenir guide to Bristol’s flagship museum: M Shed.
M Shed Souvenir Guide is so much more than a guide book. Packed with great images, objects and stories about what makes Bristol ‘Bristol’, it also:
Explores Bristol’s historic harbourside, its trains, boats and cranes.
Provides insights into M Shed’s galleries and their content.
Highlights a variety of M Shed’s ‘Not to be missed’ objects.
Suggests different ways for visitors to explore the collections.
Unlocks the detail of its amazing panoramic view.
Recommends places across the city to discover more.
M Shed Souvenir Guide is available to buy at the M Shed shop for £5.
Movers and shakers: Fan’s eye view of Bristol’s musical megamix
Seven decades of Bristol music featuring city-based artists from Russ Conway to Massive Attack has been jammed into a new book chronicling Bristol’s fiercely independent musical scene.
Seven decades of Bristol music featuring city-based artists from Russ Conway to Massive Attack has been jammed into a new book chronicling Bristol’s fiercely independent musical scene.
Bristol Music: Seven Decades of Sound is a joint publication between Tangent, Bristol Books and the M Shed penned by city music aficionado, editor and former Ashton Court festival committee member Richard Jones.
The pocket-sized guide takes readers on a citywide tour for a fan’s eye view of Bristol’s musical mainstream – from the skiffle and rock n roll pioneers through to pop crooners, legendarily heavy rockers, to punk, reggae and hip-hop - checking out bands, DJs and producers along the way.
It has been launched to accompany the exhibition of the same name at the city’s M Shed.
Richard Jones said: “While a book of this size can’t hope to cover every last combo that ever trod the boards around the city, we have tried to capture the essence of the Bristol Sound – and interpret how different bands and groups of fans have contributed to it.”
Anarchic, cross-fertilized and highly incestuous, Bristol’s music scene has thrown up any number of big name bands often recruiting drummers, guitarists and singers from among their contemporaries.
Richard said: “It was a real challenge unpicking who played with who and for how long – or when and where a particular genre such as hip-hop first emerged from the city suburbs.
“Very often, bands emerged from small-time gigs to become the must-see band. Some of them, such as Acker Bilk, Massive Attack, Portishead, the Wurzels, Chaos UK and Roni Size went on to make their mark on the national and even international music scene.”
Seven Decades of Sound charts Bristol’s musical hierarchy from 1955 – dropping in on legendary venues such as the Dug Out, the Bamboo Club, the Granary and Old Duke as well as the more familiar Colston Hall and Hippodrome.
The book includes artefacts from the M Shed archive, including posters and fanzines and an alphabetical timeline of the most successful Bristol-based artists.
This is the first co-publication from city publishers Tangent and Bristol Books in conjunction with M Shed.
Clive Burlton, a director from Bristol Books, said: “While Tangent Books has built its reputation around the city’s artistic and political landscape, Bristol Books is best known for its local history studies – although our portfolio also covers Bristol musical legends such as Adge Cutler and Fred Wedlock.”
Bristol Music: Seven Decades of Sound, compiled by Richard Jones (978-1-910089-75-0), £8.99 is available from M Shed, www.bristolbooks.org, www.tangentbooks.co.uk, Foyles, Bristol, Bristol Tourist Information Centre, the People’s Republic Of Stokes Croft and Co-Lab, Bristol.
The logo for the exhibition and book cover was designed by well-known Bristol street artist Felix Braun who is also the author of Children Of The Can: Bristol Graffiti And Street Art Tangent Books).
Bristol Music: Seven Decades of Sound runs at M Shed until September 30.
A new special edition for test-tube baby Louise
To mark the 40thanniversary of her birth, a special edition of her 2015 biography, including a new chapter and new photographs, has been published in paperback.
Forty years on from the media sensation of her birth, interest in the world’s first test-tube baby Louise Brown continues unabated.
Visiting four continents as an ‘ambassador’ for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) this year alone, Louise continues to be headline news across the globe.
Now, to mark the 40thanniversary of her birth, a special edition of her 2015 biography, including a new chapter and new photographs, has been published in paperback.
Louise Brown 40 Years of IVF: My Life As The World’s First Test-Tube Babyreveals the impact of being in the media spotlight and her lifelong connection with the IVF community.
“The past three years have been a complete whirlwind,” said Louise, “and I’m delighted that the new edition brings my story up to date. It’s been non-stop. People see me and my family as the catalyst for IVF techniques that have revolutionised fertility treatment.
“I get invites from all over the world and have met with embryologists, IVF doctors and nurses, couples – even the first IVF baby born in the USA, Elizabeth Carr. I hope by sharing my story I can reach out to others and be an inspiration for the millions of families struggling with the challenge of infertility today.”
Louise was born at Oldham General Hospital 1978, her birth made possible by IVF pioneers Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwardsand their unsung assistant Jean Purdy.
Her late parents Lesley and John became the first people to successfully undergo IVF after attempts to conceive naturally failed.
More than 5 million people [Science Museum release now says 6 million] worldwide have now been born through IVF but in July 1978 when Louise was born it was a sensation with moral and ethical questions in the media and across society.
“IVF is now accepted without question in this country as a way to overcome fertility problems,” added Louise, who is married with two children of her own.
“It wasn’t always like that and my family had to face political and religious objections when actually all Mum and Dad wanted was a baby. The world has changed and we now have same sex couples having children through IVF techniques.”
As a baby Louise toured Japan, the USA, Canada and Ireland clocking up 29,425 miles in an aeroplane before she was six months old.
Steptoe and Edwards are central to Louise’s story and her relationship with them is a remarkable story.
The birth of Louise has been ranked alongside man landing on the moon as one of the most significant events for mankind in the 20thcentury.
Louise Brown 40 Years of IVF: My Life As The World’s First Test-Tube Babyin paperback was written in conjunction with Louise’s long-term media agent Martin Powell, and published by Bristol Books.