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Paperback. Etat : New. Main. 'Read not more than one of her stories a day, and allow them to work their spell slowly: they are made to last' GuardianWhen her father marries his second wife, Chrissy gets a new step sister. Three years older than her, Queenie is beautiful and kind, someone everybody wants to be friends with. Chrissy worships her. But when Queenie runs away at eighteen, their lives quietly diverge.Joyce Carol Oates has described Alice Munro's work as 'tales of domestic tragicomedy that seemed to open up, as if by magic, into wider, deeper, vaster dimensions.' Queenie is Munro at her subtle, heart-breaking best.'One of the great short story writers not just of our time but of any time' New York Times Book Review.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. On the 9th of June 1865, Charles Dickens was travelling aboard the Folkestone to London Boat Train with his mistress and her mother, when it derailed while crossing a viaduct near Staplehurst in Kent. The train plunged down a bank into a dry river bed, killing ten passengers, and badly wounding forty. Dickens was profoundly affected by the disaster, and a year later, he published The Signalman, a supremely atmospheric ghost story in which the narrator, while investigating a dank and lonely railway cutting, meets the signalman who works there. His new acquaintance appears to live under the shadow of an unbearable secret, haunted by an apparition whose appearance prefigures terrible rail accidents. Drawing on Dickens own experiences, and introduced by Simon Bradley, author of The Railways, The Signalman is both an important piece of rail history, and a sinister tale which will make you think twice next time you enter the quiet carriage.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. On the 9th of June 1865, Charles Dickens was travelling aboard the Folkestone to London Boat Train with his mistress and her mother, when it derailed while crossing a viaduct near Staplehurst in Kent. The train plunged down a bank into a dry river bed, killing ten passengers, and badly wounding forty. Dickens was profoundly affected by the disaster, and a year later, he published The Signalman, a supremely atmospheric ghost story in which the narrator, while investigating a dank and lonely railway cutting, meets the signalman who works there. His new acquaintance appears to live under the shadow of an unbearable secret, haunted by an apparition whose appearance prefigures terrible rail accidents. Drawing on Dickens own experiences, and introduced by Simon Bradley, author of The Railways, The Signalman is both an important piece of rail history, and a sinister tale which will make you think twice next time you enter the quiet carriage.

Hardback. Etat : New. Coventry, Lydia (illustrateur). Main. 'Utterly charming and uplifting' The Good Book GuideVoted Britain's favourite poem, 'Warning', written in 1961, is known and loved the world over for its message of old age as a time for indulgence and fun.In the poem's respectable middle-aged woman, as she imagines herself in old age as a cheeky rebel with outrageous clothes and dotty behaviour, poet Jenny Joseph has created a character whose thoughts have been quoted at conferences and funerals, used to cheer up sick friends and remembered with pleasure by children and adults alike around the world.Here, 'Warning' appears as a beautiful updated edition with new illustrations; the perfect gift for a friend or relative who wants to grow older free from expectations, with a joyful and rebellious spirit.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE BERBICE SLAVE REBELLION Winner of the 2021 Cundill History PrizeWinner of the 2021 Frederick Douglass Prize 'A gripping tale about the human need for freedom . spellbinding' NPR'Impressively detailed . Kars provokes the reader into seeing the many sides involved in this bloody and desperate struggle with empathy and pity . excellent' Paterson Joseph, actor and author of The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho'A masterpiece . a story for the ages' Elizabeth Fenn, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Encounters at the Heart of the WorldIn February 1763, thousands of slaves in the Dutch colony of Berbice - in present-day Guyana - launched a massive rebellion - and very nearly succeeded. For an entire year, they fought their enslavers, dreaming of establishing a free state, what would have been the first Black republic. Instead, they vanished from history.Blood on the River is the explosive story of this forgotten revolution, an event that almost changed the face of the Americas. Historian Marjoleine Kars draws on long-buried Dutch interrogation transcripts to reconstruct a rich day-by-day account of this extraordinary event, providing a rare look at the political vision of enslaved people at the dawn of the Age of Revolution. An astonishing original work of history, Blood on the River will change our understanding of revolutions, slavery and the story of freedom in the New World.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. As cities expand and rents rise, what does it really mean to have a home?'A marvel, by an inspiring and deeply humane writer' - Philippe SandsA home is important because it offers sanctuary and privacy. It can help improve mental health and emotional resilience, and it can help break people out of cycles of poverty. Yet in the past 30 years we've seen home ownership dwindle as council housing stocks deplete and more of us are caught in insecure tenancies. And it's not just London - there isn't a single major city in the world today not suffering from an affordable housing crisis. Why does this matter - and what can be done?Drawing on his own history of housing insecurity and his professional career as a planning barrister, Hashi Mohamed examines the myriad aspects of housing - from Right-to-Buy to Grenfell, slums and evictions to the Bank of Mum and Dad. A Home of One's Own is a deeply personal study of the crisis confronting global metropoles - and an exploration of the ways we can remove barriers, improve equality and create cities where more people have a place to call their own.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. 'Hugely readable and profoundly important . Perry's masterly piece of postmodern gothic is one of the great achievements of our century' Observer, Fiction Book of the Year 'Beautiful, devastating, brilliant' Marian Keyes 'Astonishingly dark . exquisitely balanced' Francis Spufford 'Richly atmospheric, daring and surprising' Melissa HarrisonSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2019 DYLAN THOMAS PRIZEOne winter night in Prague, Helen Franklin meets her friend Karel on the street. Agitated and enthralled, he tells her he has come into possession of a mysterious old manuscript, filled with personal testimonies that take them from 17th-century England to wartime Czechoslovakia, the tropical streets of Manila, and 1920s Turkey. All of them tell of being followed by a tall, silent woman in black, bearing an unforgettable message. Helen reads its contents with intrigue, but everything in her life is about to change.

Hardback. Etat : New. Main. A tiny book with a big heart - a favourite gift for weddings, best friends and ValentinesWhen I think something is importantYou think it's important tooWe have good ideasWhen I say something funnyYou laughI think I'm funnyAnd you think I'm funny tooThis is the book that Thelma would give Louise, Bill would give Ted, Charlie Brown would give Snoopy, and you can give to whoever you love. Adorable, a little bit spiky, with lovely illustrations, this is a classic reading for weddings, a charming book for kids and the perfect present for the people who love you best.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. *** LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER AWARD ****** A SUNDAY TIMES CRIME PICK OF THE MONTH ***'A scorchingly good novel' - MICHAEL ROBOTHAM'Disher is the gold standard for rural noir' - CHRIS HAMMER'An utterly compelling mystery with rare heart and humanity' - DERVLA MCTIERNAN________________________________________AN ACT OF INEXPLICABLE CRUELTY. A FAMILY DESTROYED.Constable Paul Hirschhausen runs a one-cop station in the dry farming country south of the Flinders Ranges. He's still new in town but his community work - welfare checks and a light touch - is starting to pay off. Now Christmas is here and, apart from a grass fire, two boys stealing a vehicle, and Brenda Flann entering the front bar of the pub without exiting her car, Hirsch's life has been peaceful.Until he's called to an incident on Kitchener Street, a strange and vicious attack that sickens the community. And when the Sydney police ask him to look in on a family living on a forgotten back road, it doesn't look like a season of goodwill at all.A hugely atmospheric police procedural set in the dust of the Australian outback. Perfect for readers of Jane Harper, Chris Hammer and Dervla McTiernan.________________________________________'In this brilliant novel, Disher takes his readers on a harrowing journey' - JOCK SERONG'An atmospheric and nail-biting novel by one of Australia's finest writers' -THE TIMES 'Disher is brilliant at rural noir, capturing the stifling atmosphere of a small town where resentments simmer' - SUNDAY TIMES.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. 'An indispensable guide to the law and your rights, giving you a lawyer in your pocket for a multitude of legal questions and problems that crop up in everyday life. . Exceptional' - The Secret Barrister'Brilliant and generous and very necessary' - Sarah Langford, author of In Your Defense 'A triumph of a book. It should form the basis for a national curriculum in law.' - Joanna Hardy-SusskindFrom barrister Christian Weaver comes an indispensable guide to your basic legal rights.We engage with the law every day: when we leave the house, and even when we don't, we're bound by rules we don't even notice. Until they're used against us. Knowing our rights means taking control of our lives. In this handbook, lawyer Christian Weaver brings together everything you need to know to claim your space in the world. Whether you are arguing with your landlord, looking for a refund, going to a protest or being harassed, this essential guide illuminates the full power of the law, and arms you with your rights, including:- in a relationship- at home- out on the street- when you've spent money, owe it or are owed itFrom housing to relationships, police conduct to travel, this guide will give you the confidence and clarity to take control in any situation.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. Freya is an ordinary girl living in modern Britain, but with a twist: people still worship the Viking gods. One evening, stuck with her dad on his night shift at the British Museum, she is drawn to the Lewis Chessmen and Heimdall's Horn. Unable to resist, she blows the horn, waking three chess pieces from their enchantment; the slaves Roskva and Alfi, and Snot the Berserk. They are all summoned to Asgard, land of the Viking gods, and told they must go on a perilous journey to restore the gods to youth.If Freya refuses she will be turned into an ivory chess piece but, if she accepts her destiny and fails, the same terrible fate awaits her.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. A Waterstones Thriller of the MonthShortlisted for the Orwell PrizeA Sunday Times Book of the Year'Political crime fiction of the highest order' - SUNDAY TIMES'A propulsive and compelling novel' - GUARDIANNine-year-old Levi King knew he should have left for home sooner; instead he found himself all alone, adrift on the vastness of Caddo Lake. A sudden noise - and all goes dark.Ranger Darren Mathews is trying to emerge from another kind of darkness; his career and reputation lie in the hands of his mother, who's never had his best interests at heart. Now she holds the key to his freedom, and she's not above a little blackmail to press her advantage.An unlikely possibility of rescue arrives in the form of a case down Highway 59, in a small lakeside town. With Texas already suffering a new wave of racial violence in the wake of the election of Donald Trump, a black man is a suspect in the possible murder of a missing white boy: the son of an Aryan Brotherhood captain. In deep country where the rule of law only goes so far, Darren has to battle centuries-old prejudices as he races to save not only Levi King, but himself.'One of America's finest novelists' - DAILY MAIL'A searingly exciting story' - SUNDAY EXPRESS.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER: an uplifting account of hope and healing by GP Gavin Francis'I cannot think of anybody - patient or doctor - who will not be helped by reading this short and profound book' - Henry Marsh'Such a wise, gentle, quietly hopeful book. Exactly what I needed' - Rachel Clarke'A lovely little book' - Michael RosenWhen it comes to illness, sometimes the end is just the beginning. Recovery and convalescence are words that exist at the periphery of our lives - until we are forced to contend with what they really mean. Here, GP and writer Gavin Francis explores how - and why - we get better, revealing the many shapes recovery takes, its shifting history and the frequent failure of our modern lives to make adequate space for it. Characterised by Francis's beautiful prose and his view of medicine as 'the alliance of science and kindness', Recovery is a book about a journey that most of us never intend to make. Along the way, he unfolds a story of hope, transformation, and the everyday miracle of healing.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. 'A handbook for the modern world' i Paper'Elegant . calm and generous' Mary Beard, GuardianThe must-read, pocket-sized Big Think book of 2020One of the Guardian's 'Best Books to Inspire Compassion'One of Independent's Books of the Month A Cosmopolitan 'Revolutionary Read'Ours is the age of contagious anxiety. We feel overwhelmed by the events around us, by injustice, by suffering, by an endless feeling of crisis. So, how can we nurture the parts of ourselves that hope, trust and believe in something better? And how can we stay sane in this age of division? In this powerful, uplifting plea for conscious optimism, Booker Prize-nominated novelist and activist Elif Shafak draws on her own memories and delves into the power of stories to bring us together. In the process, she reveals how listening to each other can nurture democracy, empathy and our faith in a kinder and wiser future.

Hardback. Etat : New. Coventry, Lydia (illustrateur). Main. 'Utterly charming and uplifting' The Good Book GuideVoted Britain's favourite poem, 'Warning', written in 1961, is known and loved the world over for its message of old age as a time for indulgence and fun.In the poem's respectable middle-aged woman, as she imagines herself in old age as a cheeky rebel with outrageous clothes and dotty behaviour, poet Jenny Joseph has created a character whose thoughts have been quoted at conferences and funerals, used to cheer up sick friends and remembered with pleasure by children and adults alike around the world.Here, 'Warning' appears as a beautiful updated edition with new illustrations; the perfect gift for a friend or relative who wants to grow older free from expectations, with a joyful and rebellious spirit.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. The searing, must-read feminist essay from the author of A Girl is a Half-formed Thing'Fearless . A fierce and fascinating manifesto in McBride's persuasive prose' Sinéad Gleeson'Formidable' VogueIn this galvanizing essay, Eimear McBride unpicks the contradictory forces of disgust and objectification that control and shame women. From playground taunts of 'only sluts do it' but 'virgins are frigid', to ladette culture, and the arrival of 'ironic' porn, via Debbie Harry, the Kardashians and the Catholic church - she looks at how this prejudicial messaging has played out in the past, and still surrounds us today. McBride asks - are women still damned if we do, damned if we don't? How can we give our daughters (and sons) the unbounded futures we want for them? And, in this moment of global crisis, might our gift for juggling contradiction help us to find a way forward?'A satisfying feminist polemic' Susie Orbach'Remarkable' Scotsman'Eimear McBride is that old fashioned thing, a genius' Guardian.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. An unmissable essay from the Sunday Times bestselling author of Don't Touch My Hair and What White People Can Do Next'A magnificent text' KATY HESSEL'This is so sharp, and funny, and will be so generously liberating for so many - read it!' KATHERINE RUNDELL'A must-read' PSYCHOLOGIESFor too long, beauty has been entangled in the forces of patriarchy and capitalism: objectification, shame, control, competition and consumerism. We need to find a way to do beauty differently. This radical, deeply personal and empowering essay points to ways we can all embrace our unruly beauty and enjoy our magnificent, disobedient bodies.'This call to joyful disobedience is proof that Dabiri is one of our most important thinkers and writers . Fresh, new and important' IRISH TIMES'Radical, incisive, thoughtful . I can't recommend enough' VICKY SPRATT.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. A WATERSTONES BEST POLITICS BOOK OF 2024This is an exceptional moment for democracy.In the year of elections, read Margaret Atwood, Mary Beard, Lea Ypi, Elif Shafak and more on what democracy means - and why it matters. In 2024, nearly half the world will take part in a national election, with billions heading to the polls. It's a thrilling, unprecedented opportunity for change - yet democracy is also under threat.Women are at the forefront of the fight for democratic rights, as well as being the most vulnerable when those rights disappear. Here, eleven extraordinary women - leaders, philosophers, historians, writers and activists - explore democracy's power to uplift our societies. Between its ancient origins and its modern challenges, they share a vision for a better future - one we can build together.

Hardback. Etat : New. Main. A classic poem with a timeless message, presented in a small and beautiful gift book. Rose Milligan never intended to publicly share her poem 'Dust If You Must', but a series of events led her to publish it in The Lady magazine in 1998. Her charming message about what we value in life resonated with audiences, and it has since been read on BBC radio, posted on Instagram, printed on tea towels, read at funerals and put to music. Now appearing as a book for the first time, beautifully illustrated throughout by illustrator Hayley Wells, Dust If You Must is a timeless reminder to focus on the things we can enjoy in the world, rather than the things we think we need to do.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. 'One of the best new books on economics' - Financial Times'This book is a tour de force' - David Miles, Professor of Financial Economics at Imperial CollegeWhy the Trump tax is a disaster for the US and the world - from award-winning journalist Philip CogganEconomic policy set at the whim of one man.Tariffs up one day and down the next.Businesses bewildered, consumers alarmed.As Donald Trump wages his trade war, what will become of a global economy dependent on close trading links?Leading financial journalist Philip Coggan lifts the lid on Trump's economic gamble, why it's a universal threat and how we can make sense of this new 'age of chaos'. This is his clear-sighted and powerful rallying cry in defence of global trade - and why it matters for the world.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. This hilarious collection of short stories from the award-winning humorist Simon Rich includes the story that inspired the Seth Rogen comedy An American Pickle. Having skewered the problems of falling in and out of love in The Last Girlfriend on Earth, Simon Rich's next book is another subject we can all relate to: parents and their kids. From the perils of raising an actual monster in Manhattan - it's pretty hard to find teachers who really understand the talents of a five-year-old with horns and a taste for blood - to Sell Out, the story of Simon's ancestor, returned to life decades after an industrial accident involving pickling brine, these stories are inventive, witty and sometimes a bit too much like real life.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. 'Needle-sharp analysis from the front line' Ian Rankin'Utterly compelling' Henry Marsh'Wonderful . A heartbreaking chronicle of the NHS's near-demise, and a call to action' Leah Hazard'A reminder of what is important, what we hold dear, and who we are' Christie Watson'Compassionate, clever, curious, principled, humane . A succinct, elegant and beautifully written account of what the NHS should and could still be' Rachel ClarkeBritain's health service is dying. Gavin Francis shows us why we should fight for it. Since its birth in 1948, the powers that be have chipped away at the NHS. Now, Britain's best-loved institution is under greater threat than ever, besieged by a deadly combination of underfunding, understaffing and the predatory private sector. In the wake of the pandemic, we have come to accept a 'new normal' of permanent crisis and years-long waiting lists. But, as Gavin Francis reveals in this short, vital book- it doesn't have to be this way, and until recently, it wasn't. Drawing on the history of the NHS as well as his own experience as a GP, he introduces us to the inner workings of an institution that has never been perfect but which transformed the lives and health of millions, for free - and which has never been more important.For those who believe in the future of the NHS and its founding principles, this is essential reading from the bestselling author of Recovery and Intensive Care.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. 'Not all Essex girls are party girls. They can be sages, martyrs, leaders. In her neat and provocative little book, Sarah Perry celebrates their courage and vivacity.' Hilary Mantel A defence and celebration of the Essex Girl by the best-selling author of The Essex Serpent Essex Girls are disreputable, disrespectful and disobedient. They speak out of turn, too loudly and too often, in an accent irritating to the ruling classes. Their bodies are hyper-sexualised and irredeemably vulgar. They are given to intricate and voluble squabbling. They do not apologise for any of this. And why should they? In this exhilarating feminist defence of the Essex girl, Sarah Perry re-examines her relationship with her much maligned home county. She summons its most unquiet spirits, from Protestant martyr Rose Allin to the indomitable Abolitionist Anne Knight, sitting them alongside Audre Lorde, Kim Kardashian and Harriet Martineau, and showing us that the Essex girl is not bound by geography. She is a type, representing a very particular kind of female agency, and a very particular kind of disdain: she contains a multitude of women, and it is time to celebrate them.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. Freya is an ordinary girl living in modern Britain, but with a twist: people still worship the Viking gods. One evening, stuck with her dad on his night shift at the British Museum, she is drawn to the Lewis Chessmen and Heimdall's Horn. Unable to resist, she blows the horn, waking three chess pieces from their enchantment; the slaves Roskva and Alfi, and Snot the Berserk. They are all summoned to Asgard, land of the Viking gods, and told they must go on a perilous journey to restore the gods to youth.If Freya refuses she will be turned into an ivory chess piece but, if she accepts her destiny and fails, the same terrible fate awaits her.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. Alan Bennett is the author of Writing Home, The Madness of George III, Talking Heads, The Clothes They Stood Up In and much else besides. Miss Shepherd lived in a Robin Reliant opposite Bennett's house in Camden Town. After a series of attacks on her van, he suggested she move, with her van, to his front drive. Initially reluctant, she agreed - and Bennett landed himself a tenancy that went on for fifteen years. The Lady in the Van is probably Alan Bennett's best-known work of non-fiction, and follows his other little blockbuster The Clothes They Stood Up In.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. Longlisted for the 2019 Portico Prize The extraordinary life of history's first modern lesbian who inspired the popular television series Gentleman Jack.Anne Lister's journals were so shocking that the first person to crack their secret code hid them behind a fake panel in his ancestral home. Anne Lister was a Regency landowner, an intrepid world traveller . and an unabashed lover of other women.In this bold new biography, prizewinning author Angela Steidele uses the diaries to create a portrait of Anne Lister as we've never seen her before: a woman in some ways very much of her time and in others far ahead of it. Anne Lister recorded everything from the most intimate details of her numerous liaisons through to her plans to make her fortune by exploiting the coal seams under her family estate in Halifax and her reaction to the Peterloo massacre. She conducted a love life of labyrinthine complexity, all while searching for a girlfriend who could provide her with both financial security and true love.Anne Lister's rich and unconventional life is now the subject of the major BBC TV drama series Gentleman Jack.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. Science tells us grand things about the universe: how fast light travels, and why stones fall to earth. But scientific endeavour goes far beyond these obvious foundations. There are some fields we don't often hear about because they are so specialised, or turn out to be dead ends. Yet researchers have given hallucinogenic drugs to blind people (seriously), tried to weigh the soul as it departs the body and planned to blast a new Panama Canal with atomic weapons. Real scientific breakthroughs sometimes come out of the most surprising and unpromising work. How to Make a Tornado is about the margins of science - not the research down tried-and-tested routes, but some of its zanier and more brilliant by-ways. Investigating everything from what it's like to die, to exploding trousers and recycled urine, this book is a reminder that science is intensely creative and often very amusing - and when their minds run free, scientists can fire the imagination like nobody else.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. FROM THE ORWELL PRIZE-WINNER AND NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTA TLS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 'Palestine's greatest prose writer' Observer'A valuable read. As well as talking through the history, Shehadeh is reaching out to Israelis and searching for some kind of dialogue' Armando Iannucci When the state of Israel was formed in 1948, it precipitated the Nakba or 'disaster': the displacement of the Palestine nation, creating fracture-lines which continue to erupt in violent and tragic ways today. In the years that followed, while the Berlin Wall crumbled and South Africa abolished apartheid, the Israeli government rejected every opportunity for reconciliation with Palestine. But Raja Shehadeh, a human rights lawyer and Palestine's greatest living writer, suggests that this does not mean the two nations cannot work together as partners on the road to peace, not genocide. In graceful, devastatingly observed prose, this is a fresh perspective in a time of great need.'Powerful' New Statesman'A buoy in the sea of bleakness' Rachel Kushner, author of Creation Lake'Shehadeh is a great inquiring spirit with a tone that is vivid, ironic, melancholy and wise' Colm Toibin, author of The Magician.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. 'Curious and unflinching . deftly executed and cringingly funny' Guardian'Truly excellent' Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker PrizeWhether working in food service or in high-end retail, lit by a laptop in a sex chat or by the camera of an acclaimed film director, or sharing a flat in the city or a holiday rental in Mallorca, the protagonists of the ten stories comprising Paul Dalla Rosa's debut collection navigate the spaces between aspiration and delusion, ambition and aimlessness, the curated profile and the unreliable body.By turns unsparing and tender, Dalla Rosa explores our lives in late-stage Capitalism, where globalisation and its false promises of connectivity leave us further alienated and disenfranchised. Like the legendary Lucia Berlin and his contemporary Ottessa Moshfegh, Dalla Rosa is a masterful observer-and hilarious eviscerator-of our ugly, beautiful attempts at finding meaning in an ugly, beautiful world.'Voyeuristically addictive, funny, and deceptively simple' Halle Butler, author of The New Me.

Paperback. Etat : New. Main. In his trademark style, Richard Mabey weaves together science, art and memoirs (including his own) to show the weather's impact on our culture and national psyche. He rambles through the myths of Golden Summers and our persistent state of denial about the winter; the Impressionists' love affair with London smog, seasonal affective disorder (SAD - do we all get it?) and the mysteries of storm migraines; herrings falling like hail in Norfolk and Saharan dust reddening south-coast cars; moonbows, dog-suns, fog-mirages and Constable's clouds; the fact that English has more words for rain than Inuit has for snow; the curious eccentricity of country clothing and the mathematical behaviour of umbrella sales. We should never apologise for our obsession with the weather. It is one of the most profound influences on the way we live, and something we all experience in common. No wonder it's the natural subject for a greeting between total strangers: 'Turned out nice again.'.