Scratching Shed Publishing

Those intrepid explores from Scratching Shed found me bronzing my lean godlike body in front of a nuclear power plant. All that radiation and I’m still not a superhero. They wanted me to return and annoy the teachers and parents of the world with my in-depth poems about the things that matter most: spots, farts and burps. At first I refused the riches and wealth they offered, but I finally broke when they offered me a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich. There’s only so much a man can take. So here it is, the poetry book I said I would never write. It’s full of poems – many of which you may have read in the hugely successful Potty Poet series, plus lots of new ones that only the people who live here in my little cell with its lovely padding have read (just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there). If you really want to know what it’s like to have a spot on your bum or get your willy caught in your zip then read this book. It doesn’t contain any answers to life’s embarrassing problems but it does let us laugh at the misfortune of others.

Teeman also has a high profile in Europe, where his deep knowledge of EEC law enabled him to negotiate deals with Italian football clubs for the likes of Liam Brady and Joe Jordan. In the UK he was involved in famous court cases like the Billy Bremner libel suit against the Sunday People which resulted in record libel damages; a plot to kill President Nkrumah of Ghana; and the Leeds police trial surrounding the alleged killing of David Oluwale which, 30 years after the event, continues to haunt those involved. Teeman is also a former President of the Rugby Football League with a wealth of rugby league-related anecdotes to share. Do not miss this riveting read.

Along with this, it covers Royal Ascot at York and the St Leger at York 1945 and 2006. Also examined are track and stand developments through the years and a look forward to what the future may have in store. The book is lavishly illustrated with pictures from York Racecourse and the archives of The Press and Yorkshire Evening Press. York’s Great Races offers a unique focus on the horses who have ensured York’s place in turf history and reputation at the centre of the sport of kings. Paperback, 256 pages.

In meeting local people and seeking out Yorkshire’s most attractive places, the writers present an engagingly personal and inspiring portrait of what Yorkshire can offer to visitors once they know precisely where to look. From secret waterfalls, to remote farmhouses and fords, to picture-postcard villages, to ancient castles, to moorland peaks and tarns, to countryside churches and chapels or ruined abbeys, to picturesque pubs, Yvette and Walter discover all that’s best in rural Yorkshire and its delightful dales. Their day-long journeys include trips to Coverdale, Bishopdale, Raydale, Deepdale, Kingsdale, Birkdale, Cotterdale, Arkengarthdale and Grisedale – and many more besides. Also provided are details of where to eat and drink, where to stay overnight, or where to go walking or cycling if you want to abandon the car for a while. Beautifully illustrated, A Day in a Dale is the perfect bedside companion to have you dale-dreaming, or for taking out in the car as you visit for yourself the enchanting locations described. Paperback, full colour throughout, 256 pages.

Border City Blues is the previously untold story of rugby league football in the proud Cumbrian city of Carlisle. Author Alan Tucker – a former chairman of the club – shares his inside view of the highs and lows and ups and downs of life in English rugby league’s most northerly outpost. Complete with an introduction by the New Zealand rugby league legend Dean Bell, the bulk of the book is a season-by-season account of the city’s longest-surviving professional outfit, Carlisle Border Raiders. From their birth in the early-1980s to ‘merger’ with Barrow in 1997, it is a dramatic story of struggle against the odds and a faithfully produced insight into just what it takes to get a new sport up and running in often quite unsympathetic territory. Added to this is a detailed statistical analysis of every season in the Border Raiders’ existence, including league tables, match-by-match records and individual player contributions. Border City Blues also takes care to acknowledge the history of amateur rugby league in Carlisle, courtesy of the city’s junior, ladies and open-age teams. And it brings the story right up to date with the post-1997 launch of the Carlisle Centurions summer conference set-up. The book also provides short histories of the city’s original thirteen-a-side club, Carlisle City, who flared briefly in 1928; and the amateur side of the same name in 1950-52. All in all, this is a valuable and timely addition to the rugby league bookshelves that no treasurer of sporting heritage should be without.