DOCTOR
Greg Stokes
Three hilarious tracks from the Black Country comedy writer.
1) Doctor
- Greg Stokes reads this
favourite from the Lamp Tavern shows. It
starts with Bert and Edna bemoaning the fact that Dudley
Council have started putting sculptures on the car parks now, but soon, a
visitor from th’off needs to see the Doctor...
(First performed at the Lamp Tavern, Dudley, 23/12/05)
2)
The
Reduced War Of The Worlds -
Greg Stokes narrates an alternative War of the Worlds in which the
Martians land on Kates Hill. With
Louise Stokes as Julie, Brendan Hawthorne as Oggler and the many voices of Greg
Stokes as the gunner, the Martians, the Vicar, and many others.
(First performed at the Lamp Tavern, Dudley, 28/04/06)
3)
Doctor
- Greg is joined by Louise
and Brendan for an alternative version of Doctor.
CD, 53min 09 sec, £4.00 (plus 70p p&p) RRT £5.00
THE BOOK CELLAR
Barry Morris
The
first in a collection of sublime, outlandish and supernatural tales. Barry
Morris uses his unique style, taking the reader on frenzied voyages to far-off
lands and fractured time anomalies, and leisurely walks through the everyday
happenings of ordinary people.
The anthology contains a wide variation of
stories including: The Book Cellar, a seemingly condemned bookshop
receives a visit from a mysterious stranger; No Extra Time, a reluctant
Football Association referee is transported back to the killing grounds of the
western front to resolve a long running dispute, and The Importance Of Being
Ernie, a high functioning premium bonds computer acquires sentience after
forming a relationship with a disabled woman. Plus: The Talisman, will an
apparently bogus amulet finally yield good fortune? Gate 17, an enigmatic
messenger takes a disenchanted England football supporter on a nightmare
excursion; Suicide Ride, a shell shocked war veteran replays his final
moments as he heads for an underground station; Stolen Childhood, an
entrepreneur’s identity is threatened after a burglary, and Swansongs,
two lateral stories detailing the history of a 1950’s Buick Sedan and the life
of a Bewick’s Swan as they undertake their final journeys.
The
anthology also includes a collage of chronicles from the author’s life.
Royal 8vo paperback book, 152 pages, £8.00 (plus 80p
p&p)
ISBN 978 1 904552 09 3
THE BAWDY BLOODY BLACK COUNTRY
Carol Midwood
"Young Will Taylor should never EVER have
shagged Sarah Dunn..."
From Bold William Taylor.
Carol Midwood has taken the songs of Black Country Night Out legend Jon Raven depicting the seemier side of 19th century Black Country life and converted them into a fine collection of short stories.
The BAWDY tales include NINE TIMES A NIGHT and THE BUXOM DAIRY MAID.
The BLOODY tales include THE WEDNESBURY COCK FIGHT and THE TALE OF TRUBSHAW AND GREEN.
But they are all BLACK COUNTRY tales and they are all side splittingly hilarious.
A must have tite for all lovers of Black Country humour.
A5 booklet, 52 pages, £3.00 (plus 50p
p&p)
ISBN 978 1 904552 15 4
TALES WITH A TWIST
Tossie Patrick
"The inside of the Manor had been
kept in the old style but with all modern conveniences hidden by the
decor..."
From The Halloween Weekend
Seven stories from the pen of Tossie Patrick. On the surface, they are everyday tales. But things are not always as they appear as Tossie explores the supernatural. Includes The Halloween Weekend, The Cabinet, The Inheritance, Roundabouts and Swings, The Portrait, Happy Memories and The Wedding Dress.
A5 booklet, 36 pages, £3.00 (plus 50p
p&p)
ISBN 978 1 904552 20 8
SECOND CITY STORIES
Greg Stokes
'In the lifetime of one government, decades of relative prosperity dissolved as even the mighty west midlands went down the tubes.'
From Popper States in Second City Stories
A collection of 29 short stories from Greg Stokes all set in England's second city, Birmingham. Greg writes; "I was born and bred in the Black Country, the old, and some would argue the first, industrial region in the English west midlands. There are as many definitions of what exactly constitutes the Black Country as there are people in it. There is one commonality however, it ay bloody Birmingham. Birmingham is our next door neighbour whom we are first to deride, and first to protect if the insult comes from further afield. As with all neighours, we know each other well. I have worked there, courted there, and married into a Brummie family. There is far more that binds us together than the banter would suggest drives us apart. There are differences however. Birmingham is a huge city of a million souls and at one time a thousand trades. It is truly the regional capital, and the second city of England, with all the facilities that go with that. It has evolved into a vibrant international city of the twenty first century. The politics of the late twentieth century however, the politics of Thatcher, put Brum and the Brummies under the cosh. The process of social engineering has been continued under Blair’s New Labour. Sometime in the mid nineties I decided that I’d put together a collection of stories all set in Birmingham. While the stories range from the Victorian period to the present, there is a theme through to book that highlights the nastiness of Thatcherism as it affected the city, and the society that Blair, son of Thatcher, is perpetuating. Some of these stories were written back in the 1980s." For full synopsis click here.
A5
comb bound book, 144 pages, £6.00 (plus 80p p&p)
ISBN: 978 1 904552 14 7
THE GRANT
Greg Stokes
Hear Greg Stokes perform two of his hilarious Les and Sheila stories on this CD. Two years ago the Baggies played Newcastle in the Carling Cup and Greg Stokes' family went up for the match, taking in the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in the morning. Never a fan of modern art Greg penned The Grant the following month. In this story the lead character decides to build a garden shed and stick it in an art gallery. The announcement of the 2005 Turner Prize short list saw a garden shed in with a shout. To show that we in the Black Country thought of it first, the Kates Hill Press decided to bring out a CD recording of the story. The big difference between us and the Turner Prize people is of course that we know that we are taking the piss! The CD also includes The Big Apple in which Sheila and Les explain how New York came by that name. The second part of The Grant which Greg performed at the Lamp on 22nd July 2005 completes the collection.
CD; 53 min 30 sec; £3.00 (plus 50 p&p in u.k) RRP £5.00
THE GULF
Greg Stokes
" "The decision to bring Fatima to London had been taken a while ago. Still no sign of pregnancy, she would see a consultant gynaecologist in Harley Street in the morning."
From Two Teenagers, a story from The Gulf.
A collection of 29 short stories from the pen of Greg Stokes set in the oil rich Gulf state, the United Arab Emirates, and England’s Black Country when the coal has gone and industry is in decline. The is a stark gulf between the two locations and the two cultures.
But the title story, The Gulf, shows their histories to be very similar with local lords fighting over land which held mineral wealth they weren’t aware of. The next four stories span both countries and move at turns from presidential palace in Abu Dhabi to council tenement in Smethwick, from expensive clinic to children’s home.
The remaining 24 stories are in pairs,
one set in Arabia and one in the Black Country, which look at common themes such
as would be artists, local elections, royalty, and feuds. Like all Greg Stokes’
work, some are full length stories while others are snapshots of people, places,
or events. Some look at the expat lifestyle, while others look at the local
culture which westerners find difficult to fathom. At a time when there is fear
of Islamic fundamentalism in the west, Stokes, who lost his father to such
extremism in the Reagan/Thatcher war on terrorism, paints a picture of a
religion with a huge welfare principle and a people who, while we might not
fully understand them, are not to be feared at all.
For full synopsis click here
A5 comb bound book; 156 pages; £6.00 (plus
80p p&p)
ISBN 1 904552 04 8
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BLACK COUNTRY STORIES AND SKETCHES
Greg Stokes
"I've had a basinful. Low wages, filthy conditions, while you lord it over us… er… me."
Rodney Tumeley in The Glorious Revolution
A colourfully written collection of 29 short stories and word sketches reflecting aspects of Black Country life, past, present, and future.
Includes the much admired "Christmas Card to Lev" in which the football fans of Dudley undertake to send greetings to the Russian goalkeeper who delighted the Molineux crowd in the 1950s; "The Minor and the Miner's Son" which takes the reader from the steps of Wembley 1968 to the bitter miner's strike of 1984; "The Glorious Revolution" set in the future when the only industrial workers left are in the heritage museums; the haunting "On Leave"; the hilarious "Baldwin's Monument"; the melancholy "Boy in the Basement"; "The Blue Teapot" recorded for people with visual impairment; and many more.
For
full synopsis click here.
A5 paperback 128 pages; £4.99
(plus 70p p&p)
ISBN 0 9520317 0 1
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STORIES OF THE OLD BLACK COUNTRY
Clarice Hackett
"As earth closets went...this one wasn't too bad...rather smelly, but so was
everyone else's
Eggy in Eggy Goes Hop Picking
Four short stories set in the late 19th/early 20th century Black Country.
EGGY GOES HOP PICKING recalls the days when the annual hop picking trip was the annual holiday.
In BLACK COUNTRY JUNGLE too much time in a kid's hide-away leads to trouble for Billy. Can things be mended?
MATILDA'S STORY sees Enoch look for love. Other people have other ideas when he finds it.
WHAT'S IN A NAME tells why Aunt Dustere was called that.
A5 Booklet; 32 pages; £2.00 (plus 40p p&p)
ISBN 0 9520317 5 2
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STORIES OF THE OLD BLACK COUNTRY-VOLUME TWO
Clarice Hackett
"He's a bit on the big side, even for a pit-bull."
The landlord in The African Pit- Bull
Six more short stories vividly bringing to life the Black Country of times gone by.
THE AFRICAN PIT BULL recalls the days when dog fighting was common.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN OF SHEBA set in more recent times, a canalside tale.
FALLING IN LOVE WITH DAISY and LOVE AND LYDIA are love stories of a different kind.
TAMING THE BULL, a Black Country version of an old folk tale.
WHAT A GAME tells of a ladies football team--in the 1920s.
A5 booklet; 32 pages; £2.20
(plus 40p p&p)
ISBN 0 9520317 8 7
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