Showing results by author "Sally Cook" in All Categories

Sandman tells the story of the origin of the Sandman, cultural sleeping habits around the world, sleeping in the Middle Ages, sleep remedies and potions, how humans fall asleep and where. and cultural customs and views regarding sleep as well as the plethora of things which keep us awake...

The Sea At Our Door is an autobiographical look at growing up almost as a child of the beach and sea between the ages of 10 and 14. The author swam, used a paddleboard with her brother, steered a raft with young siblings, rowed offshore and lay down fishing nets for families on the beach to haul...

The author is in court with a murderer, she is invited to drink tea from a urine filled pot, she covers theatre and cinema reviews as a London reporter, she works amid opulent carpets and heavy old typewriters with former criminals below in the printing works. She rides a Honda 90 motorbike across the English Fens on her way to cover stories in March, birthplace of the fabled March hare. She writes stories about a drunken turnip planter, a man named Jack Spratt, and another man who didn't travel as far as his own bees.

House of String takes an autobiographical look at childhood before television, Internet and Smart phones. It describes inventive games such as billycart escapades, creating a backyard circus and covering bedrooms in a network of elasticised string. It embraces the sense of freedom where nobody...

This audiobook is about living as a young white woman with a tribe in pre-independence Papua New Guinea where the tribe had limited European contact but welcomed me to share their village life, customs, travels by outrigger canoe, and ceremonies. Their coastal language was only spoken within a small radius, with each tribe having its own totems and traditions. The story tells of a Romeo and Juliet-style suicide tragedy, but also highlights the joys....

A man my mother considered her boyfriend during World War II was killed at point blank range escaping from Stalag Luft III. His name was Jack Francis Williams and he was shot by the Gestapo 12 days after participating in the Great Escape. This story examines the actual letters and cards he sent my mother, and with that, the building of an unexpected story.

Rhythm of Fire tells the story of 11-year-old twin boys who inadvertently kill an old woman. She dies of smoke inhalation in her rural shop crammed with Christmas decorations, A complex story unfolds leading to her identity and some unexpected developments following her tragic death.

Roadworks and train station overhauls are confusing this author who has driven into oncoming traffic, avoided a kangaroo crossing a new roadwork barrier, got lost and couldn't find her train station carpark and who believes her amygdala must be growing as she negotiates new roundabouts, traffic lights, new road hazards and witches' hats. Follow her journey.....

A Sunburnt Tongue looks at the rare instances of people waking up post surgery and speaking entirely different languages to their native tongue. It looks at talking in unfamiliar accents following brain trauma and looks at exanples of talking in childhood in foreign, unexpected accents, It also...

Bad Luck Spiral looks at some phenomenally unlucky people in history, the origins of bad luck from antiquity, the association of certain animals with the devil, the meaning of bad luck in certain cultures, unlucky numbers and associations and the role of witchcraft for three hundred years in...

Illiterate looks at the local and global issue of illiteracy in 2026. It looks at the difficulties and problem solving involved in being illiterate or having a low level of literacy. It looks at famous men and women throughout the centuries who have overcome illiteracy, becoming leaders in their...

Floating tells the story of lying in a float tank in zero gravity with no sounds and nothing but darkness and the highly creative potential of this weightless, silky environment It looks at how and why the float tank was invented and some of its current uses including inspiration for actors...

Queuing is about the history of queuing, strange things that have happened in queues, the longest queues ever, when did humans form the first queues, which animals queue and why. What have been the most unusual queues and where, The future with virtual queuing...

Remote looks at the extensive use of the word and in particuar the invention and increasing use of remote controls from flushing toilets and closing garage doors to drone warfare to plantary exploration. The story lools at future uses of remote controls, their contribution to an enormous...

Just Do It implies high action, taking a leap, defying the odds, making a go of things. But there is the nagging daily obligation of Just Doing everyday chores. What are these and what were they for the average person in the Middle Ages in Europe. And what nay Just Doing It mean in the next 24...

Haberdashery looks at elements of the Rag Trade from Medieval times with the earliest haberdashers of the 1300s to tailoring in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries along with secret pattern making, famous drapers such as famous writer H.G. Wells and the earliest tailoring guidebook of the...

Luis Armstrong's trumpet is buried undeground, so is a blackened fingernail from a Hiroshima survivor. And who would think that one of Cher's dresses would be buried as well as a script for Gone With The Wind. And then there are the items deliberately sent into space as well as accidental...

Two young lovers have a number of adventures together, much to the approval of those around them. They watch movies together, dance together, share beach and park catch ups, frolicking like no others. But one evening one of them becomes stuck under an old building where not even the fire brigade nor the emergency services can get them out. But as the last light fades there is a solution.

This story tells of a powerful older woman who has maintained her life through the war years and beyond via her love of reading and poetry. But 88-year-old Harriet is something of an enigma even to her daughters and granddaughter. Unusual events happen during this tale of love and loss even beyond Harriet's eventual death.

Melody's Radar tells the story of a downtrodden single mother who is sick of being pushed around and takes matters into her own hands. She tries to set a good example for her five-year-old daughter Amelia but the trouble is that Melody doesn't know when to stop. Her intensity becomes scary for anyone who is on her radar but her lack of personal understanding means she doesn't fully grasp the affect she is having, sometimes causing menacing ripples.