The Life and Loves of Saint Columba

‘Years ago, I was captivated by a magical day spent on Iona and dreamed of writing a book on St Columba, an inspirational man far ahead of his time, who challenged the institutions of church and state, and created a monastery that became a beacon of spiritual and artistic light during the dark ages.’  Tim Hetherington
In this bold take on the life of Saint Columba – the founder of the religious community on the Scottish island of Iona and one of Ireland’s three patron saints – Tim Hetherington eschews the pieties of a conventional hagiography in favour of a more down-to-earth view of the saint and the religious, social and political world of Ireland and Scotland in the sixth century AD. Originally named Crimthann – the fox – and a member of the powerful Ui Neill Clan, Columba’s remarkable gifts of intellect and character were quickly noted and nourished by the leading clerics of the day. But his impetuous nature and family loyalties led him to involvement in political intrigues and conflicts.
Denounced by Church leaders, Columba left Ireland with twelve monks and founded the monastery on Iona. Over the years he established the Christian Church throughout Dalriada, the Irish kingdom in Western Scotland, and then in the rest of Scotland ruled by King Bridei of the Picts. Columba aligned himself closely, perhaps too closely, with the Dalriadan royal family. But the sheer force of his personality and his dedication to spreading Christianity by written works as well as by word of mouth ensured his special place in history.
Masterfully blending extensive research and novelistic imagination, The Life and Loves of Saint Columba is full of fascinating insights into the nature of faith and spirituality. This is a must-read for anyone interested in Christianity or Irish history.

The Little Book of Elderflowers and Berries

The amazing elder tree produces wonderful, fragrant, cream flowers followed by rich, burgundy-coloured berries. Used as culinary ingredients, both can be turned into so many exciting recipes. The contrasting flavours are quite different, and this is reflected in how they are used.
Elderflowers are fragrant and light, giving inspiration for cool sorbets, foamy desserts, cheesecakes and creamy panna cottas. Elderberries are rich and dark with an intense flavour. These can be used to make wonderful drinks as well as cakes, pastries, bread and savoury dishes.
All recipes are illustrated with full colour photographs.

The Little Book of Sloes and Crab Apples

Sloes are not just for making gin, they are an extremely interesting fruit with an intense flavour. Together with crab apples, these magical ingredients have inspired me to create thirty original recipes. Crab apple recipes include Toffee Apple Cupcakes, Strudel and Preserves. Sloes I have used to create drinks, chocolates with gin-soaked sloes and recipes for the festive season.
All the recipes are visually illustrated with full colour photographs and are easy to prepare and make.

The Little Cat With Stars in his Eyes

A little Cat who sleeps all day
And never seems to want to play.

He just lies around without a care
On the warmest bed or the softest chair.

But when the sun goes down at the end of the day,
The little Cat wakes and slips away.

He hurries to a hilltop high,
Where he sits beneath the twinkling sky.

To watch the stars as they play and chat
Means all the world to this little Cat.

Returning home at morning’s light,
Where he sleeps right through until the night.

When once again his heart desires,
To see the stars…that he so admires.

The Living History of Medicine

The history of medicine is a living one and involves much more than reflecting on the battles that have been won or lost in the ever-changing struggle against disease. The living history really lies within man himself and too often the human side of this story is neglected. As doctors, we have been trained to focus on the signs of disease and consequently, we pay little attention to the people who discovered them. When we read in our pathology texts about the interesting triad of defects in an illness such as Hand-Schuller-Christian disease, we tend to forget about the doctors who faced great personal hardships to bring us the information we now use to treat the disorder.

Dr Treacy is recognised as one of the most influential aesthetic practitioners in the world. He was awarded ‘Top Aesthetic Practitioner in the World’ (2019) and ‘Doctor of the Year’ UK & Ireland (2019). In this fascinating book, he takes us on a journey with Osler’s famed ‘Goddess of Medicine’ and explains how she is continually on the move, fleeing from battles, tyranny, and oppression, seeking to find a home where man can have study pathology in peace. She has moved from Edinburgh to Dublin, from London to Vienna, from Berlin to Maryland, then onwards to California to guide doctors in the wonders of new technologies, translating the genetic blueprint, manipulating defects in the data code of our existence and help us all fight the more complex diseases like the coronaviruses of the new millennium.

The Lonely Pea

Parents, have you ever noticed that even when you’ve really gone to a lot of trouble cleaning up after dinner, there always seems to be a single pea left behind? One pesky pea that refuses to meet his fate on the plate.
And have you ever imagined how that pea must feel?
No? Just me?
Well, let me enlighten you...

The Lost Man and Other Tales

When our two children were small, we lived on a small farm near Exeter. The farmyard was immediately outside the house which meant I could spend a little time with our two sons at their teatime and go indoors again when they were bathed and put to bed. My wife would read to them, and then I would. As they got older, I would tell them stories too, often involving input from them too. Hence, the idea of creating stories as well as just reading other people’s writing.

A few years later, I felt the need for the extra income, so I did a one-year teacher training course at St. Luke’s College and took a part-time job at our local secondary school, teaching slow readers. A colleague there, a teacher of English, heard of my occasional scribblings and asked for some short stories for her to use in class. This worked surprisingly well.

For a number of reasons, we sold the farm in 1978 and moved to a house with a three-acre paddock near Kingsbridge. I became a full-time teacher with multiple handicapped teenagers. Not much time for writing. Also, in later years, when we were gardening beside the River Dart a few miles downriver from Totnes, there was no time for writing.

However, when we sold our smallholding and retired to Totnes in 2000, I took up writing again and got down to it more seriously. This book is the result of my scribbles over the last 20 years.

The Lost Shell

“The Tantrum” is no stranger to most of us!

In supermarket queues the sight and sound of a prostrate three-year-old giving it all in the pursuit of emotional release, is not something to forget! Yet, this plucky little person is expressing how it feels to be in the grip of a tangle of unidentifiable emotions, unable to communicate when asked “What’s the matter?” In the simple story of The Lost Shell, a Granny uses story to find a way through the confusion of a child’s pent-up emotions, preceding the birth of a sibling. The Lost Shell is designed to be enjoyed by carer and child together, and allows the child to read the pictures and tell the story in their own words.

In talking about the story and pictures the child may identify with some of the emotions shown there. Among the possible feelings may be anger, sadness, loss, separation, love, comfort, change, joy, friendship, co-operation, curiosity, generosity, kindness, fear, achievement, and satisfaction in initiating bonding (making friends) with another. A child may recognise only a few of these feelings, but the list might prove useful to the carer, perhaps in identifying some familiar feelings of their own! We are never too old to learn. How many of us “grown-ups” have nearly “lost it” on occasion and even sensed the tantrum at our shoulder! The Lost Shell can become a delightful resource to share over and again, building mutual self-awareness while fostering the emotional intelligence, vital to navigating the future - without running aground on Tantrum Island!

The Luggage Lifter

Meet Harold, a young man who occupies a room in a bleak tenement in the edgy Blitz-damaged East End. Harold’s good humour and air of optimism belie the unfortunate circumstances which blighted his childhood, left him orphaned and shaped his view of the world. An intelligent, resourceful and amiable character, operating around the London hotels and railway stations, he turns luggage lifting into an art form. When he discovers a stash of letters in a leather steamer, an act of kindness sets off a chain of events which gathers its own momentum and leads to romance. But the escalation in his criminal activities, together with the finding of a large haul of used banknotes can only spell trouble. The attention of the police and the menace of the Moretti brothers, who claim the money, coincide, and arrest seems a safer outcome for Harold. He survives a prison term but soon learns that shaking off his unresolved past is more difficult, especially when trying to do the right thing leads to complications in his love life. Just when a sense of well-being beckons, matters spiral out of control and push Harold to the brink…

The Man who Cleaned Gravestones

Why would a retired detective be cleaning gravestones? Bob Macinaly had to retire from the job he loved after having been shot by a bank robber. He had taken a holiday in Mallorca trying to get his life back together. By chance, he found himself in a Salvation Army charity shop and purchased a second-hand book. A letter hidden inside changed his life forever. As a police officer he moved from one case to another and very seldom could he follow up on the unseen victims left behind, namely the close families who would suffer forever whilst the convicted murderer would live out life in, some would say, comparative luxury.

From now on this would be different; he would become close to human trafficking and the evil controllers and the crime lords making millions at the cost of human lives.

The Measure

One early winter’s morning, a teenage boy is found lying outside the gates of a monastery. The monks take him in, and eventually, in terrible distress, he tells them that he has killed his father. This story follows the life of the boy’s father and the discovery the boy makes about his father’s past.

The Men With No Names

People of the world all look to find their own position; firstly through family and friends, then the neighbourhood and finally work. Others prefer the commune of religion. All these influence the way they live and think, which in turn, allows them to find a cause close to our heart. But give people a democracy and you allow them to bloom, not just in their cause, but rendering them more freedom of thought.
What could be better?
The Men With No Names follows democracy in an insular town in Britain. This allows each person to have their opinion or put forward their own cause towards their fellow neighbours, as well as suggesting or rejecting ideas by the town mayor and council.
Looking at the town’s folk from afar is one man who has seen the world and has his quiet opinions, also influenced by his own experiences of war, but far beyond what he had expected.
The book looks at past history that repeats through each generation, the struggles of the people to find who they are, and finally, to who are the heroes in our world, and those who think they are heroic in their cause.
There is always more to learn, but the main concern is that most people only use the narrow mind that they know.