Sandi Toksvig

This long-awaited memoir from one of Britain's best-loved celebrities - a writer, broadcaster, activist, comic on stage, screen and radio for nearly forty years, presenter of QI and Great British Bake Off star - is an autobiography with a difference: as only Sandi Toksvig can tell it. 'Between the Stops is a sort of a memoir, my sort. It's about a bus trip really, because it's my view from the Number 12 bus (mostly top deck, the seat at the front on the right), a double-decker that plies its way from Dulwich, in South East London, where I was living, to where I sometimes work - at the BBC, in the heart of the capital. It's not a sensible way to write a memoir at all, probably, but it's the way things pop into your head as you travel, so it's my way'. From London facts including where to find the blue plaque for Una Marson, 'The first black woman programme maker at the BBC', to discovering the best Spanish coffee under Southwark's railway arches; from a brief history of lady gangsters at Elephant and Castle to memories of climbing Mount Sinai and, at the request of a fellow traveller, reading aloud the Ten Commandments; from the story behind Pissarro's painting of Dulwich Station to performing in Footlights with Emma Thompson; from painful memoires of being sent to Coventry while at a British boarding school to thinking about how Wombells Travelling Circus of 1864 haunts Peckham Rye;from anecdotes about meeting Prince Charles, Monica Lewinsky and Grayson Perry to Bake-Off antics; from stories of a real and lasting friendship with John McCarthy to the importance of family and the daunting navigation of the Zambezi River in her father's canoe, this Sandi Toksvig-style memoir is, as one would expect and hope, packed full of surprises. A funny and moving trip through memories, musings and the many delights on the Number 12 route, Between the Stops is also an inspiration to us all to get off our phones, look up and to talk to each other because as Sandi says: 'some of the greatest trips lie on our own doorstep'.

The View of My Life from the Top of the Number 12 Bus: the long-awaited memoir from the star of QI and The Great British Bake Off

Between the Stops

'Toksvig's Almanac is intended merely as a starting point for your own discoveries. Find a fabulous (or infamous) woman mentioned and, please, go looking for more of her story. The names mentioned are merely temptations. Amuse-bouches for the mind, if you like. How I would have loved to have written out in detail each tale there is to be told, but then this book would have been too heavy to lift.' Let Sandi Toksvig guide you on an eclectic meander through the calendar, illuminating neglected corners of history to tell tales of the fascinating figures you didn't learn about at school. From revolutionary women to serial killers, pirate nuns to pioneering civil rights activists, doctors to dancing girls, artists to astronauts, these pages commemorate women from all around the world who were pushed to the margins of historical record. Amuse your bouche with: Belle Star, American Bandit Queen Lady Murasaki, author of the world's first novel Madame Ching, the most successful pirate of all time Maud Wagner, the first female tattoo artist Begum Samru, Indian dancer and ruler who led an army of mercenaries Inês de Castro, crowned Queen Consort of Portugal six years after her death Ida B. Wells, activist, suffragist, journalist and co-founder of the NAACP Eleanor G. Holm, disqualified from the 1936 Berlin Olympics for drinking too much champagne These stories are interspersed with instructive tips for the year, such as the month in which one is most likely to be eaten by a wolf, and the best time to sharpen your sickle. Explore a host of annual events worth travelling for, from the Olney Pancake Race in Wiltshire to the Danish Herring Festival, or who would want to miss Serbia's World Testicle Cooking Championship? As witty and entertaining as it is instructive, Toksvig's Almanac is an essential companion to each day of the year.

An Eclectic Meander Through the Historical Year by Sandi Toksvig

Toksvig's Almanac 2021

There are two basic types of animal in Nature's Kingdom. The first, like lions and turtles, produce many offspring and simply hope that some will survive. The second, like elephants and people, produce one or two at long intervals and make great efforts to rear them. My mother belonged in a class of her own. She produced two at short intervals and made no effort to rear them whatsoever. Thus Dorothy, aged ten, finds herself making her own way in Sassaspaneck, New York in 1968. Her English father, who never talks above a whisper due to a youthful injury with a cricket ball, has tucked her and her mother away where the potential for embarrassment can be limited. All the other children in town have gone to camp, so Dorothy must provide her own entertainment. She comes across a small, faded zoo on the outskirts of town, and as she begins to get to know the eccentric group of women who live there she begins to discover a world way beyond the one she has glimpsed so far.

Whistling for the Elephants

Ten-year-old Bamse and his Jewish friend Anton participate in the Danish Resistance during World War II.

Hitler's Canary

For as long as history has been recorded, girls haven't had much of a look in amongst all the great men we remember. But that doesn't mean they weren't there. And it doesn't mean that they didn't achieve great things, come up with wonderful inventions or win battles! Lots of people have heard of Joan of Arc, Boadicea and Florence Nightingale, but . . . Did you know that there were actually female Gladiators - Gladiatrices? Or that Nimkasi was the Sumerian Goddess of Beer? Or that it was Mary Jacob Phelps who invented the bra? In this book, Sandi Toksvig shows that His-tory is actually Her-story. Though they're often ignored or overlooked, they have changed the world. There's no question about it . . . Girls are best!

Girls Are Best

London 1897 and a young girl, Valentine Grey, arrives in England. She's been brought up in the remote and sunny climes of India and finds being forced into corsets and skirts in damp and cold country insufferable. The only bright spot: her exciting cousin, Reggie. Reggie, and his lover Frank seek out the adventure the clandestine bars and streets of London offer and are happy to include Valentine in their secret, showing her theatre, gardens - even teaching her how to ride a bicycle. And then comes the Boer War and Reggie's father volunteers him; the empire must be defended. But it won't be Reggie who dons the Volunteer Regiment's garb. Valentine takes her chance, puts on her cousin's uniform, leaving Reggie behind and heads off to war. And for a long while it's glorious and liberating for both of the cousins, but war is not glorious and in Victorian London homosexuality is not liberating . . .

Valentine Grey

Chain of Curiosity

Denemarken is bezet door de nazi's. Thomas en zijn joodse vriend Anton raken betrokken bij het verzet. Als de nazi's joden gaan oppakken, wordt het voor Anton nog twee keer zo gevaarlijk. Vanaf ca. 12 jaar.

Hitlers kanarie / druk 1

Unusual Day (Corgi Pups)

How do you get rid of unwanted guests? What do you do if there's a racket in the quiet carriage? How should you eat peas, and behave in queues? How to behave, like how to punctuate, is an aspect of life that many are no longer taught - and getting it wrong is the stuff of comedy at best and humiliation at worst. Thankfully, Sandi Toksvig has come to the rescue with her entertaining guide to modern manners,with tips on what to do whether you're talking to a bore, or forgot their name in the first place. (Just call them 'darling'.)The award-winning Radio 4 broadcaster and writer offers guidance on the social pitfalls of every phase of life, from christenings to condolence letters. With characteristic wit and perceptiveness, and revealing the trickiest of her encounters along the way, she highlights decency rather than convention and provides an essential guide to twenty-first century behaviour.Now this down-to-earth, hilarious guide is available in perfect pocket-sized paperback size.

The Minefield of Modern Manners

Peas and Queues

When Amber, the littlest Viking, set out from Scandinavia to seek her fortune she must have got lost on her way! Now she's in Pegwell Bay with no one but her pet squirrel for company. When Katie, Gary and Joshua find her stranded on the beach, they decide to look after her. Now there's a Viking living in their garden! Having a Viking in the family isn't always easy. But when the garden is threatened by a nasty neighbour, Amber has some unusual - and hilarious - solutions to their problems . . .

The Littlest Viking

When Amber, the littlest Viking, set out from Scandinavia to seek her fortune she must have got lost on her way. Now she's in Pegwell Bay with no one but her pet squirrel for company. When Katie, Gary and Joshua find her stranded on the beach, they decide to look after her.

11-year-old Slim Hannigan and her family left their home in Ireland to travel to America - in search of a better life. It has been so long and such a journey that Slim Hannigan and the rest of her family can't even imagine what home looks like anymore. And there are many, many miles across America for them to travel before they reach their destination. Between them and the home of their uncle lie thousands of miles of dangerous land, wild animals and strangers who do not wish them well. Slim has to draw on bravery like she's never known to keep her family together and to keep them moving forward.

The End of the Sky

Sandi Toksvig - broadcaster, writer, actor, and seeker of all things whimsical, has turned her probing mind to many of the most intriguing questions of our times in the pages of the Sunday Telegraph for many years. Now, for the very first time, these musings have been collected in one hilarious collection. In The Chain of Curiosity, Sandi takes the reader on a side-splitting journey through life's peculiarities in a book packed with wit, wisdom and wonderment. From pondering the joys of World Pencil Day to examining the intricacies of applause etiquette, and from tip-toeing around the delicate art of school report vocabulary to researching the oddest way to meet a sticky end, the tickling tidbits and intriguing revelations contained within the book will delight Sandi's fans, both old and new.

The Chain of Curiosity

"My brother stood up so quickly he almost knocked Mama over. 'Why aren't you doing something? Do you know what the British are calling us? Hitler's canary! I've heard it on the radio, on the BBC. They say he has us in a cage and we just sit and sing any tune he wants.'" Bamse's family are theater people. They don't get involved in politics. "it had nothing to do with us," Bamse tells us. Yet now he must decide: should he take his father's advice and not stir up trouble? Or should he follow his brother into the Resistance and take part in the most demanding role of his life?

A Daring Tale of Wartime Adventure

How do you get rid of unwanted guests? What do you do if there's a racket in the quiet carriage? How should you eat peas, and behave in queues? How to behave, like how to punctuate, is an aspect of life that many are no longer taught - and getting it wrong is the stuff of comedy at best and humiliation at worst. Thankfully, Sandi Toksvig has come to the rescue with her entertaining guide to modern manners,with tips on what to do whether you're talking to a bore, or forgot their name in the first place. (Just call them 'darling'.) The award-winning Radio 4 broadcaster and writer offers guidance on the social pitfalls of every phase of life, from christenings to condolence letters. With characteristic wit and perceptiveness, and revealing the trickiest of her encounters along the way, she highlights decency rather than convention and provides an essential guide to twenty-first century behaviour. Now this down-to-earth, hilarious guide is available in perfect pocket-sized paperback size.

Peas & Queues

Because of the potato me and my family left our home and travelled 6,000 miles to find a new life . . . Slim Hannigan and her family are poor but happy. Theirs is a life filled with love and laughter - and a pet pig called Hamlet. But things change overnight, and suddenly they find themselves facing hunger and danger like they have never known . . . So they leave their village in Ireland to journey to America where, they hope, family and fortune await them. Slim soon finds herself living a life that feels just like one of those far-fetched stories her Da has always told. Can one brave girl keep her family together no matter what is thrown at them . . . ?

A Slice of the Moon

A ferociously gripping play that tackles the challenging moral issues of contemporary military occupation and its effect on the mental health of serving soldiers with startling insight. Falklands War veteran Major Oscar Hadley is sent to a combat zone to probe allegations of severe misconduct by Eddie Clark, a young squaddie from Burnley and part of a self-styled ‘Bully Boy’ unit of the British Army. As the interrogation develops, Oscar begins to discover that ‘truth’ in a modern insurgency can be a point of view rather than a fact.

Sandi Toksvig

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