Author: H.W. Tilman
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 1909461377
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
'I felt like one who had first betrayed and then deserted a stricken friend; a friend with whom for the past fourteen years I had spent more time at sea than on land, and who, when not at sea, had seldom been out of my thoughts.' The first of the three voyages described in In Mischief's Wake gives H.W. 'Bill' Tilman's account of the final voyage and loss of Mischief, the Bristol Channel pilot cutter in which he had sailed over 100,000 miles to high latitudes in both Arctic and Antarctic waters. Back home, refusing to accept defeat and going against the advice of his surveyor, he takes ownership of Sea Breeze, built in 1899; 'a bit long in the tooth, but no more so, in fact a year less, than her prospective owner'. After extensive remedial work, his first attempt at departure had to be cut short when the crew 'enjoyed a view of the Isle of Wight between two of the waterline planks'. After yet more expense, Sea Breeze made landfall in Iceland before heading north toward the East Greenland coast in good shape and well stocked with supplies. A mere forty miles from the entrance to Scoresby Sound, Tilman's long-sought-after objective, 'a polite mutiny' forced him to abandon the voyage and head home. The following year, with a crew game for all challenges, a series of adventures on the west coast of Greenland gave Tilman a voyage he considered ' certainly the happiest', in a boat which was proving to be a worthy successor to his beloved Mischief.
In Mischief's Wake
Author: H.W. Tilman
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 1909461377
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
'I felt like one who had first betrayed and then deserted a stricken friend; a friend with whom for the past fourteen years I had spent more time at sea than on land, and who, when not at sea, had seldom been out of my thoughts.' The first of the three voyages described in In Mischief's Wake gives H.W. 'Bill' Tilman's account of the final voyage and loss of Mischief, the Bristol Channel pilot cutter in which he had sailed over 100,000 miles to high latitudes in both Arctic and Antarctic waters. Back home, refusing to accept defeat and going against the advice of his surveyor, he takes ownership of Sea Breeze, built in 1899; 'a bit long in the tooth, but no more so, in fact a year less, than her prospective owner'. After extensive remedial work, his first attempt at departure had to be cut short when the crew 'enjoyed a view of the Isle of Wight between two of the waterline planks'. After yet more expense, Sea Breeze made landfall in Iceland before heading north toward the East Greenland coast in good shape and well stocked with supplies. A mere forty miles from the entrance to Scoresby Sound, Tilman's long-sought-after objective, 'a polite mutiny' forced him to abandon the voyage and head home. The following year, with a crew game for all challenges, a series of adventures on the west coast of Greenland gave Tilman a voyage he considered ' certainly the happiest', in a boat which was proving to be a worthy successor to his beloved Mischief.
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 1909461377
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
'I felt like one who had first betrayed and then deserted a stricken friend; a friend with whom for the past fourteen years I had spent more time at sea than on land, and who, when not at sea, had seldom been out of my thoughts.' The first of the three voyages described in In Mischief's Wake gives H.W. 'Bill' Tilman's account of the final voyage and loss of Mischief, the Bristol Channel pilot cutter in which he had sailed over 100,000 miles to high latitudes in both Arctic and Antarctic waters. Back home, refusing to accept defeat and going against the advice of his surveyor, he takes ownership of Sea Breeze, built in 1899; 'a bit long in the tooth, but no more so, in fact a year less, than her prospective owner'. After extensive remedial work, his first attempt at departure had to be cut short when the crew 'enjoyed a view of the Isle of Wight between two of the waterline planks'. After yet more expense, Sea Breeze made landfall in Iceland before heading north toward the East Greenland coast in good shape and well stocked with supplies. A mere forty miles from the entrance to Scoresby Sound, Tilman's long-sought-after objective, 'a polite mutiny' forced him to abandon the voyage and head home. The following year, with a crew game for all challenges, a series of adventures on the west coast of Greenland gave Tilman a voyage he considered ' certainly the happiest', in a boat which was proving to be a worthy successor to his beloved Mischief.
Spirit of Mischief
Author: Sandra J. Shea and James K. Shea
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1453588477
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 148
Book Description
An Irish village has been plagued by a mischievous Imp that is imprisoned in a jug in a castle. The Imp wrecks playful havoc on the local village. When the owner Fallon O’Danley passes away, his American raised granddaughter, Meg comes back for the funeral. The whole village conspires to have Meg take the Jug with the Imp back to America. Patrick, the local mailman, tells her the jug was a favorite of her grandfathers. She drinks a toast, and becomes possessed, which turns Meg into raucous Megine, who decides it’s her duty to stay. When the Meg sneezes he inadvertently changes her into Megine and back again, which causes chaos for Patrick and the villagers. During the wake, a lightning storm creates a nearby forest fire, and all blame the imp for this catastrophe. Dash, an American filmmaker, has arrived and previously paid the grandfather for the rights to shoot a horror film in the castle. Meg is fine with this, but Megine will have “no truck with such nonsense”. Patrick tells Dash he need to woo Meg at the weekend’s “Solstice Fair” and take her back to America. The villagers say, “What Fair?” So, they must create a fair basically overnight. Patrick goes to the reluctant witch, Elsbeth for a love potion to lock the two Americans together. Patrick accidently lets the potion be drunk by Esmirelda, a shaggy Irish wolfhound, when the spiked coffee cups are left on a table at the fair, so instead of Meg falling for Dash, Dash who also drinks the potion, falls for Megine. And, Esmirelda now seems to love Patrick. After a series of misadventures, Dash tries to impress Megine by putting on the Irish kilt of her clan. Patrick brings Meg to the tent, but he is distracted by the love-struck dog. The belt on the kilt drops, through the Imp’s doings, and just as Meg lifts the tent flap, she is accidently ‘mooned’ by Dash. Patrick helps Dash to become a hero to save Meg from the Imp. They discover a scroll written in an ancient language. Only Elsbeth can read the ancient writings, which tells of how a 15th century young Irish boy was trapped in the jug. There is also a cryptic prophecy, “To release the ultimate evil, you must grasp the blessing from infinity”. Since no one has the slightest idea what that means, they all set out to capture the Imp. In the castle Elsbeth puts a crucifex on the jug, but the Imp steals the jug. Meg grabs it and runs into a balcony room with mirrors. Dash shouts, “Catch it”. The Imp catches the crucifix instead and while standing between the mirrors the prophecy is fulfilled. The Imp disappears and Kyle, the young boy appears before them. Meg has since fallen in love with Patrick. Dash will make “films that touch the heart” and has fallen for Elsbeth. But wait, there’s a twist. You see the Imp — well, you’ll just have to read it. Sure an’ may the story bring you as much joy as an Irish spring day.
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1453588477
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 148
Book Description
An Irish village has been plagued by a mischievous Imp that is imprisoned in a jug in a castle. The Imp wrecks playful havoc on the local village. When the owner Fallon O’Danley passes away, his American raised granddaughter, Meg comes back for the funeral. The whole village conspires to have Meg take the Jug with the Imp back to America. Patrick, the local mailman, tells her the jug was a favorite of her grandfathers. She drinks a toast, and becomes possessed, which turns Meg into raucous Megine, who decides it’s her duty to stay. When the Meg sneezes he inadvertently changes her into Megine and back again, which causes chaos for Patrick and the villagers. During the wake, a lightning storm creates a nearby forest fire, and all blame the imp for this catastrophe. Dash, an American filmmaker, has arrived and previously paid the grandfather for the rights to shoot a horror film in the castle. Meg is fine with this, but Megine will have “no truck with such nonsense”. Patrick tells Dash he need to woo Meg at the weekend’s “Solstice Fair” and take her back to America. The villagers say, “What Fair?” So, they must create a fair basically overnight. Patrick goes to the reluctant witch, Elsbeth for a love potion to lock the two Americans together. Patrick accidently lets the potion be drunk by Esmirelda, a shaggy Irish wolfhound, when the spiked coffee cups are left on a table at the fair, so instead of Meg falling for Dash, Dash who also drinks the potion, falls for Megine. And, Esmirelda now seems to love Patrick. After a series of misadventures, Dash tries to impress Megine by putting on the Irish kilt of her clan. Patrick brings Meg to the tent, but he is distracted by the love-struck dog. The belt on the kilt drops, through the Imp’s doings, and just as Meg lifts the tent flap, she is accidently ‘mooned’ by Dash. Patrick helps Dash to become a hero to save Meg from the Imp. They discover a scroll written in an ancient language. Only Elsbeth can read the ancient writings, which tells of how a 15th century young Irish boy was trapped in the jug. There is also a cryptic prophecy, “To release the ultimate evil, you must grasp the blessing from infinity”. Since no one has the slightest idea what that means, they all set out to capture the Imp. In the castle Elsbeth puts a crucifex on the jug, but the Imp steals the jug. Meg grabs it and runs into a balcony room with mirrors. Dash shouts, “Catch it”. The Imp catches the crucifix instead and while standing between the mirrors the prophecy is fulfilled. The Imp disappears and Kyle, the young boy appears before them. Meg has since fallen in love with Patrick. Dash will make “films that touch the heart” and has fallen for Elsbeth. But wait, there’s a twist. You see the Imp — well, you’ll just have to read it. Sure an’ may the story bring you as much joy as an Irish spring day.
Holy Mischief
Author: Mindy Makant
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 153264924X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 108
Book Description
The ELCA has been ordaining women for fifty years. Mindy Makant interviews eighty-five female pastors across the Southeast about their lives as women in ministry in a culture that has been slow to embrace them. This book is their story.
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 153264924X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 108
Book Description
The ELCA has been ordaining women for fifty years. Mindy Makant interviews eighty-five female pastors across the Southeast about their lives as women in ministry in a culture that has been slow to embrace them. This book is their story.
Mischief Acts
Author: Zoe Gilbert
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781526628794
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR_______________'A work of extraordinary ambition, brilliantly realised' OBSERVER'A mesmerising journey down the byways of English folklore' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Verbally dextrous, inventive, and hugely entertaining' THE TIMES_______________Herne the hunter, mischief-maker, spirit of the forest, leader of the wild hunt, hurtles through the centuries pursued by his creator. A shapeshifter, Herne dons many guises as he slips and ripples through time - at candlelit Twelfth Night revels, at the spectacular burning of the Crystal Palace, at an acid-laced Sixties party. Wherever he goes, transgression, debauch and enchantment always follow in his wake. But as the forest is increasingly encroached upon by urban sprawl and gentrification, and the world slides into crisis, Herne must find a way to survive - or exact his revenge.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781526628794
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR_______________'A work of extraordinary ambition, brilliantly realised' OBSERVER'A mesmerising journey down the byways of English folklore' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Verbally dextrous, inventive, and hugely entertaining' THE TIMES_______________Herne the hunter, mischief-maker, spirit of the forest, leader of the wild hunt, hurtles through the centuries pursued by his creator. A shapeshifter, Herne dons many guises as he slips and ripples through time - at candlelit Twelfth Night revels, at the spectacular burning of the Crystal Palace, at an acid-laced Sixties party. Wherever he goes, transgression, debauch and enchantment always follow in his wake. But as the forest is increasingly encroached upon by urban sprawl and gentrification, and the world slides into crisis, Herne must find a way to survive - or exact his revenge.
The Eight Sailing/mountain-exploration Books
Author: Harold William Tilman
Publisher: The Mountaineers Books
ISBN: 9780898861433
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 988
Book Description
Mischief in Patagonia; Mischief Among the Penguins; Mischief in Greenland; Mostly Mischief; Mischief Goes South; In Mischief's Wake; Ice with Everything; and Triumph and Tribulation.
Publisher: The Mountaineers Books
ISBN: 9780898861433
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 988
Book Description
Mischief in Patagonia; Mischief Among the Penguins; Mischief in Greenland; Mostly Mischief; Mischief Goes South; In Mischief's Wake; Ice with Everything; and Triumph and Tribulation.
Mischief and Mayhem
Author: L.E. Rico
Publisher: Entangled: Bliss
ISBN: 1640635904
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 285
Book Description
Welcome to Mayhem, Minnesota, home of the Knitty Kitty, The Little Slice of Heaven Pie Shop, and O’Halloran’s Pub—owned by the four young women known as the Whiskey Sisters. In the wake of her divorce, Jameson O’Halloran has gone man-vegan. And this is one diet she’s determined to stick with. Even when her long-lost ex-brother-in-law shows up looking like two scoops of double dutch dipped in chocolate... She’s not giving in. Been there and still wearing the messy T-shirt. It’s been a decade since Scott Clarke left his family and his hometown, never to return. But when tragedy strikes, he finds himself dragged back to the land of gossip, judgment, and the one woman he absolutely, positively, without a doubt can never have. His brother’s ex is off-limits. He just needs to keep repeating that to himself until it sinks in. Each book in the Whiskey Sisters series is STANDALONE: * Blame it on the Bet * Mischief and Mayhem * Mistletoe in Mayhem Boxed Set
Publisher: Entangled: Bliss
ISBN: 1640635904
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 285
Book Description
Welcome to Mayhem, Minnesota, home of the Knitty Kitty, The Little Slice of Heaven Pie Shop, and O’Halloran’s Pub—owned by the four young women known as the Whiskey Sisters. In the wake of her divorce, Jameson O’Halloran has gone man-vegan. And this is one diet she’s determined to stick with. Even when her long-lost ex-brother-in-law shows up looking like two scoops of double dutch dipped in chocolate... She’s not giving in. Been there and still wearing the messy T-shirt. It’s been a decade since Scott Clarke left his family and his hometown, never to return. But when tragedy strikes, he finds himself dragged back to the land of gossip, judgment, and the one woman he absolutely, positively, without a doubt can never have. His brother’s ex is off-limits. He just needs to keep repeating that to himself until it sinks in. Each book in the Whiskey Sisters series is STANDALONE: * Blame it on the Bet * Mischief and Mayhem * Mistletoe in Mayhem Boxed Set
Lands that Hold One Spellbound
Author: Spencer Apollonio
Publisher: University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 1552382400
Category : Greenland
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
Offers an history of East Greenland. This book summarises indigenous settlements over four millennia and describes European explorations since the Norse. It recounts each of the European and American expeditions, relying on the explorers' original accounts, as well as on the author's narration.
Publisher: University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 1552382400
Category : Greenland
Languages : en
Pages : 346
Book Description
Offers an history of East Greenland. This book summarises indigenous settlements over four millennia and describes European explorations since the Norse. It recounts each of the European and American expeditions, relying on the explorers' original accounts, as well as on the author's narration.
When Men & Mountains Meet
Author: H.W. Tilman
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 1909461237
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Book Description
'We had climbed a mountain and crossed a pass; been wet, cold, hungry, frightened, and withal happy. One more Himalayan season was over. It was time to begin thinking of the next. "Strenuousness is the immortal path, sloth is the way of death."' First published in 1946, the scope of H.W. 'Bill' Tilman's When Men and Mountains Meet is broad, covering his disastrous expedition to the Assam Himalaya, a small exploratory trip into Sikkim, and then his wartime heroics. In the thirties, Assam was largely unknown and unexplored. It proved a challenging environment for Tilman's party, the jungle leaving the men mosquito-bitten and suffering with tropical diseases, and thwarting their mountaineering success. Sikkim proved altogether more successful. Tilman, who is once again happy and healthy, enjoys some exploratory ice climbing and discovers Abominable Snowman tracks, particularly remarkable as the creature appeared to be wearing boots—' there is no reason why he should not have picked up a discarded pair at the German Base Camp and put them to their obvious use'. And then, in 1939, war breaks out. With good humour and characteristic understatement we hear about Tilman's remarkable Second World War. After digging gun pits on the Belgian border and in Iraq, he was dropped by parachute behind enemy lines to fight alongside Albanian and Italian partisans. Tilman was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts—and the keys to the city of Belluno, which he helped save from occupation and destruction. Tilman's comments on the German approach to Himalayan climbing could equally be applied to his guerrilla warfare ethos. 'They spent a lot of time and money and lost a lot of climbers and porters, through bad luck and more often through bad judgement.' While elsewhere the war machine rumbled on, Tilman's war was fast, exciting, lightweight and foolhardy—and makes for gripping reading.
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 1909461237
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Book Description
'We had climbed a mountain and crossed a pass; been wet, cold, hungry, frightened, and withal happy. One more Himalayan season was over. It was time to begin thinking of the next. "Strenuousness is the immortal path, sloth is the way of death."' First published in 1946, the scope of H.W. 'Bill' Tilman's When Men and Mountains Meet is broad, covering his disastrous expedition to the Assam Himalaya, a small exploratory trip into Sikkim, and then his wartime heroics. In the thirties, Assam was largely unknown and unexplored. It proved a challenging environment for Tilman's party, the jungle leaving the men mosquito-bitten and suffering with tropical diseases, and thwarting their mountaineering success. Sikkim proved altogether more successful. Tilman, who is once again happy and healthy, enjoys some exploratory ice climbing and discovers Abominable Snowman tracks, particularly remarkable as the creature appeared to be wearing boots—' there is no reason why he should not have picked up a discarded pair at the German Base Camp and put them to their obvious use'. And then, in 1939, war breaks out. With good humour and characteristic understatement we hear about Tilman's remarkable Second World War. After digging gun pits on the Belgian border and in Iraq, he was dropped by parachute behind enemy lines to fight alongside Albanian and Italian partisans. Tilman was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his efforts—and the keys to the city of Belluno, which he helped save from occupation and destruction. Tilman's comments on the German approach to Himalayan climbing could equally be applied to his guerrilla warfare ethos. 'They spent a lot of time and money and lost a lot of climbers and porters, through bad luck and more often through bad judgement.' While elsewhere the war machine rumbled on, Tilman's war was fast, exciting, lightweight and foolhardy—and makes for gripping reading.
Mount Everest 1938
Author: H.W. Tilman
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 190946127X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
'Whether these mountains are climbed or not, smaller expeditions are a step in the right direction.' It's 1938, the British have thrown everything they've got at Everest but they've still not reached the summit. War in Europe seems inevitable; the Empire is shrinking. Still reeling from failure in 1936, the British are granted one more permit by the Tibetans, one more chance to climb the mountain. Only limited resources are available, so can a small team be assembled and succeed where larger teams have failed? H.W. Tilman is the obvious choice to lead a select team made up of some of the greatest British mountaineers history has ever known, including Eric Shipton, Frank Smythe and Noel Odell. Indeed, Tilman favours this lightweight approach. He carries oxygen but doesn't trust it or think it ethical to use it himself, and refuses to take luxuries on the expedition, although he does regret leaving a case of champagne behind for most of his time on the mountain. On the mountain, the team is cold, the weather very wintery. It is with amazing fortitude that they establish a camp six at all, thanks in part to a Sherpa going by the family name of Tensing. Tilman carries to the high camp, but exhausted he retreats, leaving Smythe and Shipton to settle in for the night. He records in his diary, 'Frank and Eric going well—think they may do it.' But the monsoon is fast approaching ... In Mount Everest 1938 , first published in 1948, Tilman writes that it is difficult to give the layman much idea of the actual difficulties of the last 2,000 feet of Everest. He returns to the high camp and, in exceptional style, they try for the ridge, the route to the summit and those immense difficulties of the few remaining feet.
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 190946127X
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 281
Book Description
'Whether these mountains are climbed or not, smaller expeditions are a step in the right direction.' It's 1938, the British have thrown everything they've got at Everest but they've still not reached the summit. War in Europe seems inevitable; the Empire is shrinking. Still reeling from failure in 1936, the British are granted one more permit by the Tibetans, one more chance to climb the mountain. Only limited resources are available, so can a small team be assembled and succeed where larger teams have failed? H.W. Tilman is the obvious choice to lead a select team made up of some of the greatest British mountaineers history has ever known, including Eric Shipton, Frank Smythe and Noel Odell. Indeed, Tilman favours this lightweight approach. He carries oxygen but doesn't trust it or think it ethical to use it himself, and refuses to take luxuries on the expedition, although he does regret leaving a case of champagne behind for most of his time on the mountain. On the mountain, the team is cold, the weather very wintery. It is with amazing fortitude that they establish a camp six at all, thanks in part to a Sherpa going by the family name of Tensing. Tilman carries to the high camp, but exhausted he retreats, leaving Smythe and Shipton to settle in for the night. He records in his diary, 'Frank and Eric going well—think they may do it.' But the monsoon is fast approaching ... In Mount Everest 1938 , first published in 1948, Tilman writes that it is difficult to give the layman much idea of the actual difficulties of the last 2,000 feet of Everest. He returns to the high camp and, in exceptional style, they try for the ridge, the route to the summit and those immense difficulties of the few remaining feet.
Snow on the Equator
Author: H.W. Tilman
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 1909461156
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
'To those who went to the War straight from school and survived it, the problem of what to do afterwards was peculiarly difficult.' For H.W. 'Bill' Tilman, the solution lay in Africa: in gold prospecting, mountaineering and a 3,000-mile bicycle ride across the continent. Tilman was one of the greatest adventurers of his time, a pioneering climber and sailor who held exploration above all else. He made first ascents throughout the Himalaya, attempted Mount Everest, and sailed into the Arctic Circle. For Tilman, the goal was always to explore, to see new places, to discover rather than conquer. First published in 1937, Snow on the Equator chronicles Tilman's early adventures; his transition from East African coffee planter to famed mountaineer. After World War I, Tilman left for Africa, where he grew coffee, prospected for gold and met Eric Shipton, the two beginning their famed mountaineering partnership, traversing Mount Kenya and climbing Kilimanjaro and Ruwenzori. Tilman eventually left Africa in typically adventurous style via a 3,000-mile solo bicycle ride across the continent—all recounted here in splendidly funny style. Tilman is one of the greatest of all travel writers. His books are well-informed and keenly observed, concerned with places and people as much as summits and achievements. They are full of humour and anecdotes and are frequently hilarious. He is part of the great British tradition of comic writing and there is nobody else quite like him.
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 1909461156
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 278
Book Description
'To those who went to the War straight from school and survived it, the problem of what to do afterwards was peculiarly difficult.' For H.W. 'Bill' Tilman, the solution lay in Africa: in gold prospecting, mountaineering and a 3,000-mile bicycle ride across the continent. Tilman was one of the greatest adventurers of his time, a pioneering climber and sailor who held exploration above all else. He made first ascents throughout the Himalaya, attempted Mount Everest, and sailed into the Arctic Circle. For Tilman, the goal was always to explore, to see new places, to discover rather than conquer. First published in 1937, Snow on the Equator chronicles Tilman's early adventures; his transition from East African coffee planter to famed mountaineer. After World War I, Tilman left for Africa, where he grew coffee, prospected for gold and met Eric Shipton, the two beginning their famed mountaineering partnership, traversing Mount Kenya and climbing Kilimanjaro and Ruwenzori. Tilman eventually left Africa in typically adventurous style via a 3,000-mile solo bicycle ride across the continent—all recounted here in splendidly funny style. Tilman is one of the greatest of all travel writers. His books are well-informed and keenly observed, concerned with places and people as much as summits and achievements. They are full of humour and anecdotes and are frequently hilarious. He is part of the great British tradition of comic writing and there is nobody else quite like him.