Irish Baby Names (Foulsham, £4.99): LONG gone are the days of Sid and Bert and Gert and Daisy, and even the likes of Wayne and Dwayne and Jade and Kylie in the baby names stakes.
Now, it's all Siobhan and Eileen and Connor and Declan as Irish names prove as popular as a pint of the black stuff. Celtic rules OK, and this book will not only help you to pick a beautiful sounding name, and learn its origin and meaning, but advise you how to pronounce it correctly. What's in a name? You'll soon find out.
HOW to beat the Blues by Steve Wharton (Foulsham, £5.99)
THE blues, nerves, depression, whatever you call it, will affect most of us at some time and to a certain degree at some stage in our lives. If you don't want to withdraw from life or turn to drink, try vibrational thinking, which allows you to control the negative aspects in your life and to release the positive forces and so put you back into control. Be positive, be happy.
Steve Craggs
THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY: Propagating Plants and Pruning and Training (Dorling Kindersley, each £16.99)
TWO practical guides, set out in the inimitable Dorling Kindersley style, covering the groundworks of successful gardening. A definitive guide to pruning trees, shrubs, roses and climbers, Pruning and Training features an A-Z approach to over 800 species with detailed information on the general pruning principles for each group and the growth habits and needs of individual plants.
The guide also gives information on more advanced techniques such as coppicing, topiary and pergola training for the more advanced gardener.
Propagating Plants features more than 1,500 garden plants organised alphabetically within each plant group, ensuring easy access to the information.
Key techniques are illustrated with step-by-step photography and artwork, including both basic and advanced methods, from sowing seeds to grafting and budding.
THE BAPTISTS OF NORTH EAST ENGLAND by David F Neil (54 Bradley Avenue, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne and Wear DH5 8JY, £8)
THIS is a factual account of the origins and ongoing life of the Northern Baptist Association and the churches which were members of that organisation.
Mr Neil, who hails from Houghton-le-Spring, covers the years 1650 to 2000. From small beginnings, the story evolves over 350 years, charting the way in which gifted leaders and godly men and women shaped the future of the church.
And Mr Neil is well qualified to pen this compact history. He has served in two pastorates as well as holding posts within the Baptist Association.
The author looks at churches facing decline and change and poses questions about the causes of such challenges.
Published: 23/05/2006
