In March the week-long festival of letters, My White Best Friend and Other Letters Left Unsaid comes to The Bunker. How do you start the conversation with someone you love about how their beliefs, their unthinking actions, their politics undermine, hurt, erase you?

With performers including Inès de Clercq (Broadchurch, ITV; Jerusalem, Channel 4), Rosie Day (Watership Down, BBC; Outlander, STARZ), Tom Moutchi (Famalam, BBC; Twitstorm, Park Theatre) and Zainab Hasan (Tamburlaine, RSC; Shakespeare Trilogy, Donmar Warehouse) each evening promises to be fascinating and thought provoking because every night new letters will be given to performers to read for the first time onstage.

Rachel De-Lahay and director Milli Bhatia have commissioned eleven writers to pen these letters saying the unsaid to the people that matter most. These will be reflecting on intersections of identity, and explore lived experiences – of people of colour, people who identify as non-binary or LGBTQIA+, of people’s whose voices have been side-lined.

De-Lahay’s provocative act of letter writing engages with racial tensions, microaggressions and emotional labour, asking the privileged to step back to allow rest of the room to take up space.

My White Best Friend and Other Letters Left Unsaid

The Bunker, 53A Southwark Street London SE1 1RU

Performance Dates Monday 18th – Saturday 23rd March 2019, 7.30pm

Box Office Tickets are £10 and available from https://www.bunkertheatre.com/ and 020 7234 0486.

2019 marks 50 years since the debut flights of the Boeing 747 and Concorde.

It also marks 100 years since Alcock & Brown departed on the first non-stop transatlantic flight.

Flight is something that has fascinated us for centuries, until here, in our century, it has become commonplace. But what do we really know?

Flight – The Evolution of Aviation is a tour through the hinterland of flight with illustrations to warm the cockles. This book absorbed generations within my family, from a 70 year old to an eleven year old –and what’s more, each wanted to find out, flesh out, areas of interest. So as an introduction to, and overall view, of flight it is absolutely perfect.

Read about The Wright Brothers, The Aeroplane  during the 1^st and 2^nd world wars. Air travel in in the post-war world, and on, and on.

And what about the hot-air balloons and onto the technology behind military jets and space rockets.

Yes, all here. Enjoy.

Price £20..00 pub. Carlton Publishing Group. Distributed by HarperCollins.

When I first qualified as a doctor nobody talked about cancer. Staff and relatives hid the diagnosis from the patient – too shocking to bear, or share. Often one only knew that someone had had cancer after they’d died.

Today we are much more aware of success stories, due to improvements in treatment but also to a more open attitude. Many people have written their cancer ‘stories’, insights into living with the big C, and some doctors, like myself, who have had cancer, have written guides to help others.

India Desjardin’s book is a welcome addition to the growing cancer genre. An established author, her ‘A Story About Cancer (With a Happy Ending)’ was inspired by a young girl she met, who had leukaemia. Sympathetically illustrated by Marianne Ferrer, it addresses the feelings, fears and insights of a teenager going through what no young adult should have to face – the possibility of imminent death.

The book touches on the raw honesty of youth – why are hospitals always decorated in boring colours?

The story reminds us that young adults are much more aware than we may wish in these stressful situations. Yes, they know exactly what ‘that look’ in people’s eyes means; they also understand why Mum needs to keep telling them they are brave, even though it drives them crazy; they have the wisdom to understand that being strong and positive isn’t always the answer, sometimes even the most positive people die.

The author addresses the thoughts that adults pray their children don’t have – like would it be better for everyone if they died? She covers a teenager’s need to deal with being ‘different’ at an age when everyone is desperate to fit in.  Romance. Can anyone fancy someone with a bald head?

Finally waiting for those crucial results – an integral part of living with cancer. In this story the news is good.

Teenagers, like everyone else, can vary in their approach to cancer literature. Some find the resonance of someone understanding their issues helpful, and this book could break through the isolation common amongst cancer sufferers of any age. Response to such a book will depend on individual circumstances though and it may not be for everyone. For the right person this book is beautifully written and illustrated, delivering gentle messages for people who may not be in a state to absorb copious detail.

By Dr K Thompson, author of From Both Ends of the Stethoscope: Getting through breast cancer – by a doctor who knows

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01A7DM42Q http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A7DM42Q

http://faitobooks.co.uk

One of my favourite places in Thirsk, and something of a rarity these days – is a thriving independent bookshop, one which works hard to achieve its award winning success. The White Rose BookCafe sells not only books, but gives you a chance to put your feet up, sip a coffee and sample good food, then you can go back to browsing. But let’s not stop there, the owners and staff have fingers in many bookish pies –  arranging talks which attract fabulously popular authors who like to chat to their readers and a super-fast book dispatch service, and… Well, let’s just have a closer look:

Jan and Joanna Trollope

White Rose Book Cafe came into being 23 years ago when Sue Lake and her late father Steve Clements opened the door and welcomed in their first customers. It has thrived every since, partly because they have been forward looking, and have  invested in the technology that gives the staff access to all British and American books, and which helps them to dispatch orders, often overnight. Roll over Amazon… But it’s more than that. A bookshop has to somehow be at the heart of the community and interact with it, and this one certainly does that, in spades.

Sue and Bob Champion

White Rose BookCafe draws customers from far and wide not just for the books, or food but also for the talks they arrange:

Just look at the 2018  line up of authors, poets & musicians – Joanna Trollope, Tommy Banks, Mary Jayne Baker, Gemma Hogg, Bob Champion, Carol Ann Duffy, Imtiaz Dharker, John Sampson, Jackie Kay, Gillian Clarke, Kate Fox, Em Lynas, Dan Smith, Chloe Daykin, Chris Callaghan, Peter Robinson, Jane Clack, Damon Young, Salley Vickers, Kate Atkinson, Julian Norton, Peter Wright, Jonathan Tulloch and Herd on the Hill, Nick Ahad, Vicky Foster, Alfie Crow & James Turner.

Add to this their support of  authors at Ripon International Festival, the Deer Shed Festival, Countryside Live, Thirsk Christmas Weekend, & they also welcome visits from local primary schools.

Julian Norton launching his latest book: Horses Heifers and Hairy Pigs

What about Book Groups? Well, of course. Not one, but  3 thriving Book Groups regularly meet in the Story Room upstairs. The bookshop’s  40 seating café (winner of Tea Room of the Year 2018, voted for by Flavours of Herriot Country Awards), and mezzanine floor housing older children’s books, and nonfiction, story room and not forgetting the large garden terrace.

Peter Wright

Sue Lake of White Rose BookCafe, Thirsk says that “In 2016 our sales of the new book by Yorkshire Vet, Julian Norton had outstripped sales of Harry Potter books here” she added “ We were absolutely delighted when Julian asked us to hold a Party to launch his new book Horses, Heifers and Hairy Pigs: The Life of a Yorkshire Vet.”  We launched Julian’s new books in 2017, 2018 & will be working with him in 2019, as well as our other famous vet and talented writer Peter Wright.’

They have over 800 Privilege Card Members who receive monthly offers and events information, helping to spread the word about their business and thriving local community.

So these are the facts, but let me tell you that White Rose BookCafe is more than this. It has heart, its staff are a joy; relaxed and friendly, its choice of books wide, and if they haven’t got it, they’ll get it – quickly, and their windows make even the youngest child want ‘That book, Mummy.’ In this day and age, this is priceless.

White Rose Books, 79-81 Market Place, Thirsk, North Yorkshire YO7 1ET    01845 524353

I suppose it is natural to place the care of children at the heart of a thriller as, unless you are a particularly hard-hearted reader, it’s a good way to get you, the reader, to care quickly about the characters. Here are three books considering the relationship between mother and child.

My Name is Anna by Lizzy Barber

In Florida, Anna is eighteen and just starting to rebel against her extremely strict Mamma, who is obsessed by cleanliness and purity and God. She has never been allowed to visit Florida’s biggest theme park so why, when she takes a forbidden trip there, does it seems familiar?

In London, Rosie was just a baby when her older sister was stolen on holiday. Fifteen years later her parents are still trying to find their child, whilst Rosie has to deal with the being an object of curiosity and the toll the search has taken on her parents marriage. She decides to uncover the truth herself…

Okay, so you don’t get any prizes for working out the connection here! But this is a fast paced and interesting exploration of the lives of two teenagers in very different circumstances, alternate chapters being each girl’s story, and written in the first person present, giving that real feeling of the spontaneity of teenagers. Both girls are struggling with their identity as they grow towards adulthood and the pain and confusion of being in the shadow of events that happened before you can remember is keenly felt.

A gripping read and, if the ending feels a little contrived, still thoroughly enjoyable.

Century/Penguin Random House hb £12.99

The Boy at the Door by Alex Dahl

Here is the book for the lovers of Scandi drama.

In an idyllic small Norwegian town, Cecilia seems like the perfect wife and mother, just waiting to pick up her girls from swimming before getting to home to a cool glass of wine in her elegant living room. But when she reluctantly agrees to do a simple favour and drop a small boy home, her life is turned upside down and her past threatens her well-contrived life.

Cecilia is a great character. A true anti-heroine who has everything controlled from her decor, to her children, to how much affection she permits herself to show her husband. She is really quite unlikeable but her actions throw her life into confusion and we start to see different sides to her. The narrative switches between Cecilia, Tobias the little boy, and the historical diaries of Annika a drug addict. Cecilia is the strongest voice, the others feel like a device to help us as readers uncover the plot but they are the weakest part of the book, which is otherwise absolutely gripping, unsettling and unpredictable as we find out exactly what lies beneath Cecilia’s perfect life.

HeadofZeus pb  £7.99

Gone By Midnight by Candice Fox

In tropical Queensland, four young boys are left alone in a hotel room whilst their holidaying parents dine downstairs. But when a parent checks on them at midnight, one of the boys has disappeared. The boys swear they didn’t leave the room, the CCTV shows no sign of him. There is no trace of the boy or his body.

The boy’s mother calls in detective Ted Conkaffey and his unconventional boss Amanda to help the search, much to the dismay of the local police chief. But both Ted and Amanda have histories of their own that might impede the investigation.

This is the third outing for Ted Conkaffey and this has all the hallmarks of a great easy-to-read thriller. A detective with a troubled past, an eccentric sidekick, a difficult relationship with the local police, and a great mystery at the centre. Lots of fun with twists and turns, problems solved as soon as they arrive by helpful friends and sometimes enemies. All in all implausible but well written in a fast paced style. A great one for a holiday. Just keep an eye on the kids….

Century/Penguin Random House hb £12.99

Oh I do like these quirky uplifting ‘up-lit’ novels. They put me in mind of the film, based on the book by Deborah Moggach The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, with an aching depth cloaked in charm, a novel in which you care enormously about the characters; characters who seem much as we are at certain times; slightly flawed, slightly lost.

Potato farmer, dear Mr Doubler, cares little for quantity, for he is an EXPERT and therefore quality is his goal, and boo, who cares that he is the second most successful potato farmer in the county? But is quality enough to fill a life?

Mr Doubler, bless him, is a widower. His wife cultivated friends, he his potatoes. So when his wife ‘passes on’ so too do her friends and for some while Mr Doubler is happy with his life which functions pretty well, courtesy of his housekeeper Mrs Millward. But lordy loo, what happens when Mrs Millward is no longer his mainstay, the daily visitor opening the door into his life?

Yes, indeed, what will happen to Mr Doubler? Everyone needs friends, a community, will he find these? In fact, is he up to attracting friendship or will it have to be thrust upon him?

Beautifully written, at a fabulous pace, and with delicate rhythm the author, Seni Glaister graces the pages with her warmth and liking for the world she has created. The scenes are well set, and vivid.

I loved it. You will too. It is a book for January, when there is a hint of spring in the lengthening days, and the bulbs which have the temerity to challenge the cold and dark and break the surface. Oh, yes, Mr Doubler, thrust your way into the light too.

Congratulations, fabulous book. And surely a film?

Mr Doubler Begins Again by Seni Glaister pub HQ HB £12.99 ebook £9.99 Audio £12.99

Annie Clarke’s first novel Girls on the Home Front will be published in May 2019 by Arrow.