Save Trafford General Hospital!

On 5th July I was thrilled and felt extremely privileged to attend the NHS' 65th birthday celebration at Trafford (née Park) General Hospital, which is often referred to as the birth-place of our wonderful National Health Service as it was the very first hospital to join.

On arrival the strains of New Orleans' jazz vibrated up and down the parade of shops and through the milling crowd. Below is a photo of the Mark Rodger Manchester Jazz band playing below and in front of the hospital's signage.

I happily signed the birthday card; although with my arthritis, I had difficulty gripping even the oversized marker-pen as can be seen in the photo below.

I made new pals in an amiable couple Jenny & Andrew, himself a wheelie, and who both do volunteer work for WoWpetition. In the photo below, Jenny proudly displays her placard which reads:

HAPPY 65th BIRTHDAY

I [heart icon]

NHS

There was a point at which the several hundred folk there assembled were asked to hold hands and form a human chain in a public demonstration of our admiration of our NHS. Alas, as I was holding hands, I could not take a photo of the action!

After the mark of respect and solidarity, we were manœuvred into positions for a march of protest past the front of the hospital and towards a local park. Various unions as well as the public were involved, including Unite and in the photo below, members of Unison holding up a very large banner. I realise the photo has a slightly odd perspective; but remember, I am in a wheelchair!

Once in the park there was a festival atmosphere with stalls, a stage from whence bands played and also from which various speeches were delivered.

I was also there in my capacity as a volunteer for and on behalf of WoWpetition. The photo below is of our team of helpers and supporters, including inter alia myself on the left followed by Reverend Paul, Jenny and Andrew.

So why am I just now telling you of an event that occurred almost a month ago? Well, unfortunately our protest fell on deaf ears and shortly afterwards Jeremy Hunt ruled that Trafford General Hospital could be downgraded.

However, not to be beaten the Save Trafford General campaign fights on. The flier at the top of this blog-post reads:

Extraordinary

Public Meeting

 6pm, Wednesday 31st July

        Town Hall, Talbot Road, Stretford, Manchester M32 0TH

TRAFFORD Council are holding an extraordinary meeting to decide whether to apply for a Judicial Review of the Health Secretary’s decision to close A&E and other services at Trafford General Hospital.

The public are invited to give their views – you can register to speak by 5.00 pm on July 30. Email democratic.services@trafford.gov.uk.

Stand up and speak up

for your local hospital -

and your local NHS!

My comment would be: if you don't fight for it, you lose it! I hope some of you may be able to attend.

In/accessible Europe (7): Bristol Dinner Eateries

[Image description: map of Old City area of Bristol; © bristololdvic.org.uk]

Hobbling in twenty-eight degrees of heat at eight-fifteen from the Pride concert we again passed a floating restaurant moored next to Welsh Back near to Bristol Bridge. On my very first visit to Bristol, around a decade ago, I had attempted to dine there one evening but all covers were taken. In brilliant daylight, the barge did not look so clean. As the day had progressed and we had passed the self-same restaurant on several occasions, I noticed that their advertising hoarding looked more and more dishevelled. My assistant and I agreed that if the restaurateur could not be bothered to fix what first caught one’s eye, we probably could not expect decent presentation of food-stuffs. I hobbled on.

We passed Aqua restaurant with a large outdoor terrace. My helper glanced at the plates on the tables and pointed out how the food appeared to have been thrown at them. For a foodie that is a no-no - and I was not yet starving. I hobbled on.

We reached Loch Fyne which had one very high entry-step, probably do-able in my manual wheelchair and definitely accessible to me with my assistant’s assistance; but I was not making the ascent to determine that there were no places available. My assistant strolled in to make enquiries. A couple of minutes later he was back to apprise me that the maître d’ was checking. A few moments later, the lovely lass appeared to offer us a basement table - alas out of the question for me as there was no lift (elevator). The manageress was really apologetic and hoped we would visit again upon next visiting. She did however recommend a Spanish tapas eatery on The Grove. I hobbled on.

Tiring now, in pain and becoming petulant in the humid atmosphere, we detoured into Queen Square for a wee rest. The air was cooler and fresher under the mature trees lining the plaza. I recuperated. I hobbled on.

We passed several more restaurants: some of which were accessible from an entry perspective, but no accessible WC facilities (which is fine if one does not need them!); others were up several flights of stairs. Even a newer restaurant had no lift. Mud Dock had four flights of stairs and no lift!

The tapas restaurant had caught our eye earlier in the day when zooming past in one of the taxis we had taken. It appeared quite expansive with several patio windows opening inwards as well as two or three open entrances. As we neared one could smell the garlic. Upon reaching the building all one could feel was the intense heat streaming out of the edifice’s orifices. The place was packed. But there was no laughter and little chatter. Folk sitting at the French windows were distinctly leaning out, all lobster-red, sweating and looking thoroughly uncomfortable if not downright miserable. As I limped past each opening a repeat of the initial furnace blast. There was absolutely no way I was even entering the establishment.

We agreed to go back to the hotel. However bland the menu appeared, on this occasion - what was later confirmed by meteorologists as the hottest day of the year thus far - air-conditioning was the priority. En route we decided to take a very slight detour along Narrow Quay to check out the water-front dining spots, just in case. On the far side of Pero’s Bridge were several businesses serving food, some accessible per my guide. However, they all were heaving and the raucous cacophony was even deafening on our side of the quay... We turned to head reluctantly to the hotel. As we did so, we were faced with one final restaurant (photo below © The River Grille)

The River Grille was neither empty (surely a bad sign when everywhere else was so busy) nor fully packed out. There were no open windows, so we made the assumption that it probably was fully air-conned. Then we noticed diners were chatting calmly, smiling, some even laughing. That did it: we entered.

Penny, the lovely maître d’ immediately smiled and gently welcomed us. A table for two was no problem. Gin & tonics straight away - again no problem - and we had a choice of gins. They even had my fave of the mo, Tanqueray. Diet tonic was also available. I was liking the joint already! Penny enquired after any other beverages we might like. I requested a bottle of Prosecco be placed on ice. Unfortunately, not a line that was on the menu. However Penny recommended a Cordoníu Cava that was surprisingly light and fruity despite the brut epithet. We left the Cava unopened and chilling in its bucket. Sipping our G&Ts we perused the menus (table d’hôte and à la carte) whilst listening to the tinkling keys of the mezzanine-bar piano. The pianist (photo below) charmed us with light classics and film scores. Unobtrusive and a quite delightful surprise!

A waitress brought over a small plate of tomato bread with dipping oil & balsamic vinegar (photo below) upon which we happily nibbled. My assistant would later have a second serving, at which point the waitress herself admitted it was delectable and that she too had a fondness for it.

As a starter, I selected Loch Duart smoked salmon, fennel shavings, local crab-meat & watercress (photo below). The colours captivated the eye and the flavours tantalised the palate. My assistant plummed for the hake & salmon fish-cake, mousse & watercress. The plates were cleaned. For a first course it was just the right quantity to stimulate the taste-buds and get the saliva flowing.

For my main course, having first checked that they were home-made, I ordered the gnocchi as a starter but with an additional side-salad. Again this was not an issue and I was advised that many diners choose similarly. I use gnocchi as my barometer against which to judge a restaurant: if they do not live up to the standard of my Grandmother, I do not return. In this instance, it is true that my Grandma makes better gnocchi. Chef’s version had a very heavy-handed, doughy texture. However, the flavour was great and so my plate was emptied (photo below). My side-salad of rocket, Parmesan and balsamic vinegar was a veritable symphony of flavour: pepperiness; sweet- and sourness; sweetness. Minor criticisms here were that the salad was somewhat drowned in liquid and there was just too much cheese - not a criticism one could normally make anywhere else!

My assistant had the pork saltimbocca, pea mash & capers (photo below). Once again the platter was licked clean.

Desserts were fantastic (photo below)! I went for the Earl Grey Tea ice-cream with pear tarte Tatin & caramel drizzle. If I had not been so full, I could have eaten it a second time even though it takes fifteen to twenty minutes to prepare, as I was so expeditiously warned before placing my order. Assistant chose the lemon meringue (the straws are the meringue), lemon jelly & lemon sorbet. OMG: puddings to die for!

Throughout the repast, the service was unobtrusive and kept to the minimum without us feeling ignored. Each course averaged at about half-an-hour, which is my preferred time giving one plenty of time to digest and, naturally, to converse.

According to Bristol’s disability access guide (available from their tourist information office), the restaurant does have a disabled WC; but one has to enter the hotel attached as the restaurant’s rest-rooms are upstairs. However, on this occasion they were not needed.

Ambience, service, temperature (on this occasion), price and of course the cuisine were just spot-on. Fully sated. Quite content. Totally recommend The River Grille at the Bristol Hotel. I for one shall become a loyal habitué.

Criquaer's Book List

This list of some 500 tomes reflects those books that I have enjoyed and re-read or those that have had some significant influence on my thinking or impact on my psyche. The reader will note the list includes various literary genres including: anthology, art, autobiography, biography, children’s, classic, comedy, contemporary, detective, devotional, dictionary, faction, fairy tale, fantasy, French, German, historical, history, magic realism, mystery, philosophy, play, poetry, popular, queer, religious, science fiction, sexuality, short story, Spanish, theology and even one Western! In other words, my tastes are rather eclectic.

I learned to read and write with the assistance of my maternal grandmother. Crippled with arthritis, she could not hold pens; so she wrote the letters with her fingers on my back. I suspect this had something to do with my word-based memory.

My first real memory of the joy of books is from Christmas Day after my fifth birthday. I had requested books from Father Christmas. To my utter astonishment I was presented with a book-shelf’s worth of Enid Blyton’s works in hardback. I devoured them. She may be distinctly unfashionable these days, but a couple have made my roll of honour.

By Christmas in the year I was eight, I had completed my junior school’s entire reading scheme. Up to the age of eleven I chose freely from the shelves in classrooms and the school library. This gave me the opportunity to read the majority of children’s classics as well as delving into dusty encyclopædias.

With my weekly visit to the public library, I also ploughed through everything not on loan. Eventually, I was even granted the special dispensation of one adult ticket so I could borrow from their much more extensive collection of science-fiction novels. 

To iterate my eccentricity, in my secondary-school years I would regularly read a page of my English dictionary then extinguish the light before slumbering; well, on nights when I was not memorising French or German vocabs!

My current home has a library on the first floor with a lovely view over the communal green. However, the reclining-chair faces inwards so as nothing can distract from the joys of the printed word. Alas, the library is insufficently capacious to contain my whole collection. Every room in the house has a bank of books, even if merely a pile in each of the bathrooms.

Many of the works I hold dear, I re-read periodically. They are constant friends which can be relied upon to fulfil the need for Gemütlichkeit - comfort and familiarity and cosy emotions.

The images and various translations of the same work ought to give one an idea of my all-time favourite read (*). I hope my list includes one of your favourites - but if not let me know what you would select and why!

A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White (1982)

A Child in Time by Ian McEwan (1987)

A Children's English History in Verse by Ernest Pertwee (1906)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843)

A Dictionary of Angels including the fallen Angels by Gustav Davidson (1967)

A Distant Likeness by Paul Bailey (1973)

A Handbook of Angels by H.C.Moolenburgh (1995)

A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh (1934)

A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham (1990)

A Matter of Life and Sex by Oscar Moore (1992)

A Meeting by the River by Christopher Isherwood (1967)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare (1590/6)

A Model World and Other Stories by Michael Chabon (1991)

A Month in the Country by J.L.Carr (1980)

A Nail, A Rose by Madeleine Bourdouxhe (1992)

A Passage to India by E.M.Forster (1924)

A Pelican at Blandings by P.G.Wodehouse (1969)

A Place I’ve Never Been by David Leavitt (1990)

A Planet for the President by Alistair Beaton (2004)

A Room with a View by E.M.Forster (1908)

A Season in Sinji by J.L.Carr (1967)

A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (1964)

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (2006)

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (1887)

Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction by Sue Townsend (2004)

Affliction by Russell Banks (1989)

Agatha Raisin and A Spoonful of Poison by M.C.Beaton (2008)

Agatha Raisin and the Day the Floods Came by M.C.Beaton (2002)

Agatha Raisin and the Love From Hell by M.C.Beaton (2001)

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage by M.C.Beaton (1996)

Agatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon by M.C.Beaton (2005)

Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener by M.C.Beaton (1994)

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C.Beaton (1992)

Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist by M.C.Beaton (1997)

Agatha Raisin and the Vicious Vet by M.C.Beaton (1993)

Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden by M.C.Beaton (1999)

Agatha Raisin: There Goes the Bride by M.C.Beaton (2009)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)

All the Conspirators by Christopher Isherwood (1928/57)

Almodóvar mon amour by Jaime Royo-Villanova (2006)

Almonds and Raisins by Maisie Mosco (1991)

Amsterdam by Ian McEwan (1998)

An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (1895)

Angels by Francis Fenn (1980)

Angels by Caroline Johnson (1993)

Angels and Men by Ladislaus Boros (1976)

Angels & Saints by George Otto Simms (1988)

Angels Angels All Around by Bob Hartman (1993)

Angels: God's Secret Agents by Billy Graham (1975/85)

Angels: Ministers of Grace by Geddes MacGregor (1988)

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: The Life and Death of the Little Prince by Paul Webster (1993)

Aquamarine by Carol Anshaw (1992)

Arkansas by David Leavitt (1997)

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne (1873)

Art & Lies: A Piece for Three Voices and a Bawd by Jeanette Winterson (1994)

Art in Vienna 1898 - 1918 by Peter Vergo (1981)

Arthur: Book 3 of the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead (1987)

At Risk by Stella Rimington (2004)

As the Pig Turns by M.C.Beaton (2011)

Atonement by Ian McEwan (2001)
Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade by Patrick Dennis (2010)

Baal by Bertolt Brecht (1918/23)

Babycakes by Armistead Maupin (1984)

Be My Enemy by Christopher Brookmyre (2004)

Before She Met Me by Julian Barnes (1982)

Biedermann und die Brandstifter by Max Frisch (1953)

Black Dogs by Ian McEwan (1992)

Black Mischief by Evelyn Waugh (1932)

Black Robe by Brian Moore (1985)

Blandings Castle and Elsewhere by P.G.Wodehouse (1935)

Blue Horizons by Rabbi Lionel Blue (1989)

Boating for Beginners by Jeanette Winterson (1985)

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (1945)
British Comic Stories by [Ed.] Patricia Craig (1991)

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx (1997)

Bucket of Tongues by Duncan McLean (1992)

Byron Poems by [Ed.] A.S.B.Glover (1954)

Caracole by Edmund White (1985)

Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (1998)

Carry On Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse (1925)

Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (1963)

Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality by Prof. John Boswell (1980)

City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende (2002)

Cobalt by Nathan Aldyne (1982)

Codex by Lev Grossman (2004)

Colin: A Novel by E.F.Benson (1923)

Colin II by E.F.Benson (1925)

Collected Short Stories by E. M. Forster (1947)

Collins Easy Learning Spanish Dictionary, 2nd ed. (2001)

Coming From Behind by Howard Jacobson (1983)

Continent by Jim Crace (1986)
Contemporary Australian Short Stories by [Ed.] Murray Bail (1988) 
Contemporary Spanish Cinema by Barry Jordan & Rikki Morgan-Tamosunas (1988)

Conversations with Lord Byron on Perversion by Amanda Prantera (1987)

Courier Sud by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1929)

Cowboys & Indians by Joseph O’Connor (1991)

Das Brot der frühen Jahre by Heinrich Böll (1955)

David Copperfield by Chalres Dickens (1849/1850)

*De Kleine Prins by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1942)

Dead Souls by Ian Rankin (1999)

Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh (1928)

Departures & Arrivals by Eric Newby (1999)

Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui by Bertolt Brecht (1941/58)

Der gute Mensch von Sezuan by Bertolt Brecht (1939/43)

Der kaukasische Kreidekreis by Bertolt Brecht (1943/48)

Der Tod in Venedig by Thomas Mann (1912)

*Der Kleine Prinz by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1942)

Der Tunnel by Friedrich Dürrrenmatt (1952)

Die Dreigroschenoper by Bertolt Brecht (1928)

Die Physiker by Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1962)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick (1968)

Don't Step on the Lines by Ben Richards (1997)

Down There on a Visit by Christopher Isherwood (1962)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)

Drei Männer Im Schnee by Erich Kästner (1934)

Dual Attraction: Understanding Bisexuality by Martin S. Weinberg, Colin J. Williams & Douglas W. Pryor (1995)

Duende: a Journey in Search of Flamenco by Jason Webster (2003)

Duffy by Dan Kavanagh (1980)

Dune by Frank Herbert (1963/5)

Dying Young by Marti Leimbach (1990)

E.M.Forster: A Life by P.N.Furbank (1977/8)

E.M.Forster: A Passage to India by [Ed.] Malcolm Bradbury (1970)

Earth King by Michael Youssef (1988)

 

*El Principito by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1942)

Emil und die Detektive by Erich Kästner (1929)

Enduring Love by Ian McEwan (1997)

Engel Erfahrungen und Reflexionen by Sophy Burnham (2003)

Entertaining Mr. Sloane by Joe Orton (1964)

Equal Affections by David Leavitt (1989)

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett (1987)

Exhumations by Christopher Isherwood (1966)

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (2005)

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)

Fairy Tales by Peter Cashorali (1997)

Family Dancing by David Leavitt (1984)

First Love, Last Rites by Ian McEwan (1975)

Fiskadoro by Denis Johnson (1985)

Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes (1984)

Flesh and Blood by Michael Cunningham (1995)

Floral Street by Simon Burt (1986)

Flowers for the Judge by Margery Allingham (1936)

Forest of the Pygmies by Isabel Allende (2005)

Forgetting Elena & Nocturnes for the King of Naples by Edmund White (1973 & 1978)

Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith (2005)

Frisk by Dennis Cooper (1991)

Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler (2003)

Full Moon by P.G.Wodehouse (1947)

Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (1982)

Gabriel's Lament by Paul Bailey (1986)

Galahad at Blandings by P.G.Wodehouse (1965)

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland (1991)

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett (2004)

Going to the Dogs by Dan Kavanagh (1987)

Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood (1939)

Great Expectation by Charles Dickens (1860/1)

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726 & 1735)

Head to Toe by Joe Orton (1971)

Heavenly Date & Other Flirtations by Alexander McCall Smith (2003)

Heavy Weather by P.G.Wodehouse (1933)

Hector’s Hobbies by Annie Leith (1994)

Helena by Evelyn Waugh (1950)

Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard (1955)

His Last Bow: Some Reminiscences of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1917)

How to Read the New Testament by Étienne Charpentier (1982)

How to Read the Old Testament by Étienne Charpentier (1982)

Howards End by E.M.Forster (1910)

If It Die by André Gide (1926)

*Il Piccolo Principe by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943)

Impossible Vacation by Spalding Gray (1992)

In Between the Sheets by Ian McEwan (1978)

In the Houses of the West by Christopher Burns (1993)
Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews by Gary M. Kramer (2006)

Inside the Mind of Gene Roddenberry by Yvonne Fern (1995)

Issues Facing Christians Today by John Stott (1990)

Jack by A.M.Homes (1989)

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson (1992)

Judaism: the Way of Holiness by Soloman Nigosian (1986)

John Betjeman's Collected Poems by John Betjeman (1979)

John Masefield Selected Poems by [Ed.] Donald E. Stanford (1984)

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864/7)

JPod by Douglas Coupland (2006)

Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsh (1998)

La Chute by Albert Camus (1956)

Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor (1985)

Lantern Lecture by Adam Mars-Jones (1981)

Laughable Loves by Milan Kundera (1969)

Lawrence Durrell Collected Poems 1931 - 1974 by [Ed.] James A. Brigham (1980)

Le Malade Imaginaire by Molière (1673)

Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory (1485)

Le Nœud de vipères by François Mauriac (1933)

*Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943)

Leave it to Psmith by P.G.Wodehouse (1923)

Leben des Galilei by Bertolt Brecht (1937/43)

Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis (1985)

Lighthousekeeping by Jeanette Winterson (2004)

Life After God by Douglas Coupland (1994)

Life Is Elsewhere by Milan Kundera (1973)

Like Mother by Jenny Diski (1988)

Like People in History by Felice Picano (1995)

Little Indiscretions by Carmen Posadas (2005)

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)

Loot by Joe Orton (1965)

Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954)

Love: Penhaligon's Scented Treasury of Verse and Prose by [Ed.] Sheila Pickles (1994)

Loving Promises by Helen Steiner Rice (1981) 

Loving Thoughts by Helen Steiner Rice (1985)

Lucia Rising by E.F.Benson (1920/7)

Lucia Victrix by E.F.Benson (1931/9)

Lunar Park by Brett Easton Ellis (2005)

Magic Seeds by V.S.Naipaul (2004)

Manchester England: The Story of the Pop Cult City by Dave Haslam (1999)

Manfred’s Pain by Robert McLiam Wilson (1992)

Mann Ist Mann by Bertolt Brecht (1924/6)

Marmaduke and His Friends by Elizabeth Chapman (1958)

Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin (2010)

Maurice by E.M.Forster (1913/4)

Men & Friendship by Stuart Miller (1986)

Merlin: Book 2 of the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead (1988)

Metroland by Julian Barnes (1980)

Michael Tolliver Lives by Armistead Maupin (2007)

Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett (2003)

Moominsummer Madness by Tove Jansson (1955)

More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (1980)

Mountain of Spices by Hannah Hurnard (195?)

Mr Clive & Mr Page by Neil Bartlett (1998)

Mr. Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood (1935)

Much Obliged, Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse (1971)

Muscle: Confessions of an Unlikely Bodybuilder by Sam Fussell (1991)

Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder by Bertolt Brecht (1938/41)

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (1956)

My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time by Liz Jensen (2006)

My Worst Date by David Leddick (1996)

New International Version Study Bible by Kenneth L. Barker (1985)

Night Swimmer by Joseph Olshan (1994)

Night Watch by Terry Pratchett (2002)

No Love Lost by Margery Allingham (1954)

Nothing Natural by Jenny Diski (1986)

Nothing Serious by P.G.Wodehouse (1950)

Notwithstanding by Louis de Bernières (2009)

Now & Then by William Corlett (1995)

Now We Are Six by A.A.Milne (1927)

Old Filth by Jane Gardam (2004)

Old Soldiers by Paul Bailey (1980)

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (2007)

On The Road by Jack Kerouac (1947/51)

Oracle Night by Paul Auster (2003)

Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (1985)

Our Father: Matthew 6 by Ruth Connell (1983)

O-Zone by Paul Theroux (1988)

Passing Through by Don Bloch (1988)

Passion Fruit: Romantic Fiction with a Twist by [Ed.] Jeanette Winterson (1986)

Phædrus by Plato (c.370BCE)

Philosophy Made Simple by Richard H. Popkin, Avrum Stroll, A.V.Kelly (1969)

Philosophy of Religion, fourth edition by John Hick (1989)

Philosophy of Science: the Natural Sciences in Christian Perspective by Delvin Lee Ratsch (1986)

Piercing the Darkness by Frank E. Peretti (1989)

Pilote de Guerre by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1942)

Poems on the Underground by [Eds.] Gerard Benson, Judith Chernaik & Cicely Herbert (1992)

Poetry of the Thirties by [Ed.] Robin Skelton (1985)

Pool by Ajay Sahgal (1994)

Postcards by Annie Proulx (1992) 

Postcards From No-Mans Land by Aidan Chambers (1999)

Prater Violet by Christopher Isherwood (1945)

Prophet: A Novel by Frank E. Peretti (1992)

Ready to Catch Him Should He Fall by Neil Bartlett (1992)

Religions of Star Trek by Ross S. Kraemer, William Cassidy, Susan L. Schwartz (2009)

Religious Education and Human Development by Michael Grimmitt (1987)

Religious Experience Today: Studying The Facts by David Hay (1990)

Resistance by Owen Sheers (2007)

Resuscitation of a Hanged Man by Denis Johnson (1991)

Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse (1934)

Rhinocéros by Eugène Ionesco (1959)

Ring for Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse (1953)

Rites of Passage by William Golding (1980)

Robert Frost Selected Poems by [Ed.] Ian Hamilton (1973)

Robinson by Christopher Petit (1993)

Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders by John Mortimer (2005)

Saturday by Ian McEwan (2005)

Selected Poems Bertolt Brecht by [Ed.] K.Wölfel (1965)

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson (1989)

Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland (1992)

Shelley Poems by [Ed.] Isabel Quigly (1956)

Shiva 3000 by Jan Lars Jensen (2000)

Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

Significant Others by Armistead Maupin (1987)

Sing the Body Electric: A Novel in Five Movements by Adam Lively (1993)

Skinned Alive: Stories by Edmund White (1995)

Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen (2004)

Smiling in Slow Motion by Derek Jarman (2001)

Something Fresh by P.G.Wodehouse (1915)

Sons and Lovers by D.H.Lawrence (1913)

Sophie’s Bakery for the Broken Hearted by Lolly Winston (2004)

Spring Fever by P.G.Wodehouse (1948)

Star Trek: Action! by Terry J. Erdmann & Paula M. Block (1998)

Star Trek Cookbook by Ethan Phillips & William J. Birnes (1999)

Star Trek: Ships of the Line by Michael Okuda, Doug Drexler, Margaret Clark (2006)

Star Trek Star Charts: The Complete Atlas of Star Trek by Geoffrey Mandel & Doug Drexler (2002)

Star Trek: Starship Spotter by Adam Lebowitz & Robert Bonchune (2001)

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Technical Manual by Rick Sternback & Michael Okuda (1991)

Star Trek The Next Generation: The Continuing Mission by Judith Reeves-Stevens & Garfield Reeves-Stevens (1997)

Star Trek: The Starfleet Survival Guide by David Mack (2002)

Staring at the Sun by Julian Barnes (1986)

States of Desire: Travels in Gay America by Edmund White (1980)

Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse (1963)

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)

Summer Lightning by P.G.Wodehouse (1929)

Summer Moonshine by P.G.Wodehouse (1938)

Sunset at Blandings by P.G.Wodehouse (1977)

Sure of You by Armistead Maupin (1989)

Swallowdate by Arthur Ransome (1930)

Swallows & Amazons by Arthur Ransome (1931)

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (1978)

Tales of Toyland by Enid Blyton (1944)

Taliesin: Book 1 of the Pendragon Cycle by Stephen Lawhead (1987)

Ten Tales Tall & True by Alisdair Gray (1993)

Terre des Hommes by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1939)

Thank you, Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse (1934)

The Achilles Heel Reader: Men, Sexual Politics & Socialism by Victor J. Seidler (1991)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1884)

The Adventures of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (1837/9)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1892)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (1876)

The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo (1988)

The Apes of God by Wyndham Lewis (1930)

The Archon Conspiracy by Dave Hunt (1989)

The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith (2002)

The Bay of Contented Men by Robert Drewe (1991)

The Beautiful Room is Empty by Edmund White (1988)

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde (2005)

The Body & Society: Men, Women & Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity by Peter Brown (1988)

The Book of Brownies by Enid Blyton (1926)

The Book of Guys by Garrison Keillor (1993)

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera (1978)

The Book of Revelation by Rupert Thomson (2000)

The Box of Delights by John Masefield (1935)

The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi (1990)

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1927)

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D.Salinger (1951)

The Celestial Omnibus (and other stories) by E.M.Forster (1911)

The Celtic Vision: Prayers and Blessings from the Outer Hebrides by Esther de Waal (1988)

The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan (1978)

The Charioteer by Mary Renault (1959)

The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder (1996)

The Chrysalids by Wyndham Lewis (1955)

The Code of the Woosters by P.G.Wodehouse (1938)

The Collected Poems of A.E.Housmann by A.E.Housmann (1967)

The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan (1981)

The Common Experience by John Michael Cohen & John-Francis Phipps (1979)

The Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy & Philosophers by James Opie Urmson & Jonathan Rée (1989)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (2003)

The Day Job by Mark Wallington (2005)

The Day of the Triffids by Wyndham Lewis (1951)

The Daydreamer by Ian McEwan (1994)

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1776)

The Devil and Miss Prym by Paolo Coelho (2000)

The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton (1939)

The Eternal Moment and other stories by E.M.Forster (1928)

The Faber Book of Religious Verse by [Ed.] Helen Louise Gardner (1972)

The Farewell Symphony by Edmund White (1997)

The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition by Ira Steven Behr (2008)

The Final Boundary by Adrian Plass (1987)

The Folding Star by Alan Hollinghurst (1994)

The Food of Love by Anthony Capella (2004)

The Four Loves by C.S.Lewis (1960)

The Go-Between by L.P.Hartley (1953)

The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar (1992)

The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford (1915)

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)

The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde (1888)

The Hobbit or There and Back Again by J.R.R.Tolkien (1937)

The Horizontal Epistles of Andromeda Veal by Adrian Plass (1988)

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)

The Horse and his Boy by C.S.Lewis (1954)

The House at Pooh Corner A.A.Milbe (1928)

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende (1982)

The Hums of Pooh by A.A.Milne (1972)

The Iliad by Homer (710-760 BCE)

The Immoralist by André Gide (1902)

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (1895)

The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse (1923)

The Innocent by Ian McEwan (1990)

The Intimate Connection: Male Sexuality, Masculine Spirituality by James B. Nelson (1988)

The Invisible Man by H.G.Wells (1897)

The Islamic Tradition: an Introduction by Victor Danner (1988)

The King of Capri by Jeanette Winterson (2003)

The Kraken Wakes by Wyndham Lewis (1953)

The Last Battle by C.S.Lewis (1956)

The Last Hero by Terry Pratchett (2001)

The Last Juror by John Grisham (2004)

The Letters of Vincent Van Gogh by [Ed.] Ronald de Leeuw (1996)

The Life to Come and Other Stories by E.M.Forster (1903/60)

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst (2004)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis (1950)

*The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1942)

The Longest Journey by E.M.Forster (1907)

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien (1954/5)

The Lost Language of Cranes by David Leavitt (1986)

The Loved One: An Anglo-American Tragedy by Evelyn Waugh (1948)

The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (1943)

The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat & Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sachs (1985)

The Marriage of Likeness: Same-sex Unions in Pre-modern Europe by Prof. John Boswell (1994)

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)

The Master by Colm Tóibín (2004)

The Mating Season by P.G.Wodehouse (1949)

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1894)

The Memorial by Christopher Isherwood (1932)

The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker (1988)

The Midwich Cuckoos by Wyndham Lewis (1957)

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon (1988)

The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster (1985/7)

The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers Volume I by Phil Farrand (1993)

The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers Volume II by Phil Farrand (1995)

The Notebook of Malte Laurids Brigge: The Journal of my other Self by Rainer Maria Rilke (1910)

The Odyssey by Homer (late C8th BCE)

The Once and Future King by T.H.White (1938/58)

The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold by Evelyn Waugh (1957)

The Other Side of the Dale by Gervase Phinn (1999)

The Page Turner by David Leavitt (1998)

The Paperchase by Marcel Theroux (2002)

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson (1987)

The Penguin Book of English Christian Verse by [Ed.] Peter Levi (1988)

The Physics of Star Trek by [Prof.] Lawrence M. Krauss (2007)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890/1)

The Ploughman’s Lunch by Ian McEwan (1985)

The Poems of St John of the Cross by [Ed./tr.] Kathleen Jones (2001)

The Portable Walt Whitman by [Ed.] Mark van Doren (1977)

The Powerbook by Jeanette Winterson (2000)

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1905)

The Revised Standard Version Common Bible (1984)

The Rules of Attraction by Brett Easton Ellis (1987)

The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass Aged 37 3/4 by Adrian Plass (1987)

The Seeds of Time by John Wyndham (1956)

The Shape of Things to Come by H.G.Wells (1933)

The Shooting Party by Isabel Colegate (1980)

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx (1993) 

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle (1890)

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (2011)

The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint by William Shakespeare [Ed.] John Kerrigan (1986)

The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future by Michael Okuda, Denise Okuda & Debbie Mirek (1999)

The Star Trek Next Generation Companion by Larry Nemecek (1995)

The Summer of the White Peacock by Simon Burt (1990)

The Swimming Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst (1988)

The Tale of Two Bad Mice by Beatrix Potter (1904)

The Tax Inspector by Peter Carey (1991)

The Temple by Stephen Spender (1928)

The Tenth Man by Graham Greene (1985)

The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson (2006)

The Third Man & The Fallen Idol by Graham Greene (1949 & 1948)

The Time Machine by H.G.Wells (1895)

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2004)

The Truth by Terry Ptratchett (2000)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera (1984)

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle (1915)

The War of the Worlds by H.G.Wells (1895/7)

The Way Ahead: a Visionary Perspective for the New Millennium by [Eds.] Eddie Shapiro & Debbie Shapiro (1992)

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchet (2003)

The Whole Duty of Man in Today's English by Michael Charles Perry (1980)

The Wild Life of Sailor and Lula by Barry Gifford (1991)

The World in the Evening by Christopher Isherwood (1954)

Then Again by Jenny Diski (1990)

Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett (2002)

This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M.Homes (2006)

This Present Darkness by Frank E.Peretti (1986)

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll (1871)

To Each His Own by Leonardo Sciascia (1966)

To The Goat by [Prof.] Peter Levi (1988)

Tonio Kröger by Thomas Mann (1903)

Towards a World Theology: Faith & the Comparative History of Religion by Wilfred Cantwell Smith (1981)

Tristan by Thomas Mann (1903)

Trouble with Lichen by Wyndham Lewis (1960)

Troubles by J.G.Farrell (1970)

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1869/70)

Very Good, Jeeves by P.G.Wodehouse (1930)

Vice Versa: Bisexuality & the Eroticism of Everyday Life by Marjorie B. Garber (1996)

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh (1930)

Vol de Nuit Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1931)

Vox by Nicholson Baker (1992)

Vurt by Jeff Noon (1993)

Werewolves in Their Youth by Michael Chabon (1999)

What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton (1969)

Whatever Happened to Gloomy Gus of the Chicago Bears by Robert Coover (1987)

When We Were Very Young by A.A.Milne (1924)

Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M.Forster (1905)

While England Sleeps by David Leavitt (1993)

William Blake the Complete Poems by [Ed.] Alicia Ostriker (1977)

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A.Milne (1926)

Wolves Eat Dogs by Martin Cruz Smith (2004)

Women in Love by D.H.Lawrence (1920)

Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon (1995)

Work and Play by Carlo Gébler (1990)

Work Suspended and Other Stories by Evelyn Waugh (1949)

Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson (1992)

Years From Now by Gary Glickman (1988)

Yours, Plum: The Letters of P.G.Wodehouse by [Ed.] James H. Heinemann (1990)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values by Robert M.Pirsig (1974)