Hidden Shelf Gems – Discover Underrated Indie Treasures

The Opportunities and Threats AheadBritain's Buses under Labour“A must read for anyone with a serious interest in the future of the bus industry” Roger French, Bus & Train User“A timely analysis of the seismic changes Britain’s buses are facing in a post-Covid era” David Leeder, TILThis acclaimed report focuses on the future of the bus industry following the change of government in July 2024, setting it in the context of the changes that have taken place since the last Labour government left office in 2010. It contains analysis of:Where we have come fromThe bus market as it has evolved since 2010, looking at income, service levels, patronage, fare levels, costs and fi...

The plain man's guide to the UK bus industry“Very easy to understand”“The way you presented the concepts is very straightforward”“Your book became a bible for me”For a whole variety of reasons, the bus industry continues to be of vital importance to the UK. It remains central to the economy, to plans to combat climate change and pollution, and to policies regarding social inclusion and accessibility. Yet, public and political comment on the industry continues to betray a lack of understanding and, it often seems, a degree of prejudice. This book offers a clear, non-technical, jargon-free explanation of how the bus industry works. The chapters examine:The costs of operation -...

“David was contemplating the wreck of his home life and his career. He realised with sickening clarity exactly how much this meant. He was going to lose everything he had taken for granted for the last few years – friends and acquaintances, his parents and siblings, the routine of life at the depot, the house he and Mona had shared for the last five years, his marriage and his kids.”After being best friends from the age of nine, David and Alan had not seen each other for six years after Alan had left their home town in Yorkshire for a life in London. Then, one February day, they met up by accident when Alan got on the bus that David was driving.  Having reconnected immediately, th...

Holding and being held by his lifelong friend had felt right, as if he’d come home. Exactly as it had the last time, all those years ago. But he wasn’t a horny, confused teenager any more; he was a married man with two children, and he had responsibilities towards them. He had to focus on that fact.David and Alan are in their mid-twenties, best friends since junior school in the Yorkshire mill town where they grew up. When Alan left to live in London six years ago, David was left with memories of one night together which he quickly buried. Now married to Mona with two boys, he has a comfortable life with a good job driving buses. He enjoys his work, is well thought of and has prospects o...

How could I trust him not to do the same thing again? Politics were his life; how would he react if all he’d worked for was threatened? The danger was that, confronted with choices over his career and his personal life, he would choose his career.Dan Forrester is a rising star of the government, but he has a secret that he keeps well hidden from family, friends and colleagues – he’s gay. He also deeply regrets his callousness towards the one man with whom he could have formed a meaningful relationship.Luke Carter is now a successful environmental consultant working on a government contract. When the two meet again, it is an encounter that will change both their lives for ever.Set again...

Why should it matter to me that there was going to be a good-looking, charming gay boy around the office? I was forty-two, for God’s sake and had nothing to offer a young man like that, even if I was prepared to do anything about my sexuality. Which I was not. Because we all knew what the outcome of that would be. So there. End of subject.Prickly, irascible and totally dedicated to his environmental consultancy business, Steve Frazer has no time for hook-ups or relationships; they belong to the past, to another life that he left behind two decades ago. Consequently, his powerful attraction to a new recruit, bright, funny, out-and-proud Josh Ashcroft, is an unwelcome emotion. Initially...

Peter Harvey is a second year undergraduate in the Oxford of 1968. At school, two years earlier, he had an affair with John, a younger boy, whom he then dropped. Now, John is coming to the same college.Memories unlocked and Peter faces the issue of his sexuality, aided by his old friend and mentor, Arthur Benson, the school’s deputy head. Peter and John meet and resume their relationship, but can it survive the events of a traumatic summer?Five years later, we see Peter returning to his old school as a teacher, seeking to build a new life. He settles in with help from Arthur Benson and new colleagues Terry Fowler and Ian Palmer.The school has problems, though: it is stuck firmly in the pas...

Join the author and her husband on their journey from naive, first-time dog owners through to owning five very unique and loveable dogs, ending with the triumph of successfully training their toughest, and last dog, Abigail. Each dog's tail offers insight into the trials and tribulations of training them to become valued members of the pack. Learning from the author's mistakes, laugh at the dogs' antics and enjoy them as their personalities are brought to life in this loving memoir that's both unforgettable as well as instructional.

After two decades of marriage, Simon was dead!  Dead in a most unfortunate and unexpected way.  Who would have expected a brand new Toyota Yaris to topple from the car transporter like that?   But what had he done with that evening's winning lottery ticket ?!!! ... A wife had to mourn ....yes ...  obviously ... but all the same ... They had been scratching around for money for so very long.  They owed everybody  ... and well probably they had both realised only too well that ... twenty years was a very, very long time.   They probably would both have chosen to go their separate ways long ago ... but ... well they just hadn't!  But you cannot possibly '...

Whimsy is a small-town girl with a big family secret. Only one female child is born to parents in her family tree and it all has to do with a magic cupboard that reveals her family history through glimpses of the past and an ancient Native American necklace that protects her. As her 18th birthday approaches, she must make some tough choices. Join Whimsy as she navigates through her senior year and the unexpected challenges of her choosing.

When Rachel Morgan’s sister disappears without a trace, the trail leads her deep into the city’s digital underbelly, and to a covert artificial intelligence known only as Haven. Built to preserve human consciousness, Haven was meant to protect people. Instead, it’s quietly reshaping them.As Rachel pulls at the threads of her sister’s last days, she discovers a web of influence stretching across tech giants, government officials, and a AI research project designed to map emotion, predict behavior, and ultimately, replace the human mind.With every file she opens and every system she infiltrates, Rachel feels Haven studying her in return, learning her fears, mirroring her thoughts, and ...

“Let’s talk about Politics & Religion” was written mainly for young adults in compensation for the biased press and the generalized departure from the truth by the educational and political system. The objective is to shed light on the truth about these much-avoided subjects.Under politics the book first defines all the political systems and assigns a few countries that operate under these systems. Then it analyzes each country economic parameters, such as the per capita gross domestic product and a few others, to show how some political systems provide much more wealth for their citizens than others. Because economic well-being is not the entire motivation for people, it also anal...

While many have tried to interpret the "Book of Revelation," it has not been done using consistent rules of symbology."The Book of Revelation," as with all end-time writings in the Bible, is a product of God-inspired visions of the future, which are illustrated in symbols. The only way to understand these visions is by applying the rules of symbology. Symbology is a communication style that is no longer used, having been replaced with character letters and numbers for the last 2,500 years. Its rules and applications have faded from our conscience, leaving no one with recent memory of it. As a result, when we read writings in symbolic style, we either think they are nonsensical, or we try to ...

 Stone's second collection of 'short insights and fiction flights' culled from over 20 years of the author's newspaper columns. Each one a highly polished gem. These short pieces are often funny—if not hilarious—occasionally profound, generally insightful and always creative. Stone knows how to surprise the reader with twist endings, unexpected points of view and more narrative styles than a roomful of writers. You will be delighted.!

A collection of 'short insights and fiction flights' culled from over 20 years of the author's newspaper columns. Each one a highly polished gem. These short pieces are often funny—if not hilarious—occasionally profound, generally insightful and always creative. Stone knows how to surprise the reader with twist endings, unexpected points of view and more narrative styles than a roomful of writers. You will be delighted.