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What's in a name? Well, plenty, according to this interesting little booklet. The word 'dunce' meaning slow-witted or dull is from the name Duns Scotus, a brilliant medieval teacher; Dick Whittington, mayor of London, did exist but is not the legendary poor boy with a pet cat seeking his fortune; Robert Louis Stevenson's infamous character Dr. Jekyll was based on a real man; Old 'Uncle Tom Cobbleigh' was a hotblooded and amorous red-headed man; Lady Godiva did get her gear off as a result of a bet with her husband - and Mother Goose did write a swag of nursery rhymes! Loads of interest in a small package. -
Over 150 original images guaranteed to cross your eyes, baffle your brain and frustrate your friends - there's even one dated from the time of the Ancient Romans. In colour and black and white. -
Yes, everything you thought you knew is STILL wrong! As made famous on QI - Quite Interesting with Stephen Fry. You'll be amazed at which country has the lowest age of consent; and that you should definitely NOT urinate on a jellyfish sting to ease the pain; and you will also discover when a spiral staircase is not a spiral staircase. Great potential for trivia buffs.
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From 'Did Harry Potter kill Hitler' to 'Can we play cricket in your bookshop?', here's a bewildering, slightly alarming and definitely hilarious selection of the most ridiculous conversations from the shop floor! And these gems and gold nuggets have been supplied from booksellers across the world...and truly, they border on the realms of fantasy. Notable weird things include a request for a book on the workings of an internal combustion engine suitable for a three-year-old, the lost ferret and speculation that The Hungry Caterpillar was possibly bulimic...honestly, no-one could invite this stuff.... -
Kenneth Williams, star of stage, radio, screen and Carry On put together a collection of witty, wicked put-downs, retorts, comebacks - and all those great responses we never think of at the time! These have been collected from far and wide across the world of film, literature, politics and celebrity. From Dorothy Parker, observing a notorious society flirt: That woman can speak eighteen languages and can;t say 'No' in any of them. Or Groucho Marx, to a delighted author: From the moment I picked up your book until I put it down, I was convulsed with laughter...some day I intend to read it... After W.C. Fields made his feelings about children widely known, he was asked how he really liked children: His response? "Boiled or fried..." Illustrated by ffolkes. -
First published in 1948, this book caused a sensation. Waugh, on a visit to California, was fascinated by the elaborate graveyards, pet cemeteries and overblown rituals of death. It inspired him to write this witty 'tragedy' of Anglo-American manners set against the background of embalming rooms and incinerators. -
Before the Darwin Awards, there was Ripley's world of fascinating facts about risks, breaks, quirks, freaks and miracles. Such as... Minnie Gawell, who, in drawing a raffle, picked her own numbers four times in succession; if Bram Stoker had not eaten crab for his dinner (which gave him awful nightmares) the world would never have had Frankenstein; and the refugees from floods in Pakistan who received a supply of brassieres. Over 300 pages of the very weird but very true. With illustrations and photographs. -
History as you've never learnt it before - from the invasion of Briton to Alfred the Cake, to Anne (A Dead Queen), The Merrie Monarch and WilliamandMary who were a pair of Oranges. A lot of it reads like a Blackadder script with typical English humour.With comic illustrations by John Reynolds. -
Pale Rider: Alan Dean Foster
$10.00A nameless stranger rides into the corrupt and explosive gold-rush town of Lahood, California. His arrival coincides with the prayer of a young girl who is hoping for a miracle to end the sudden and random violence in the community. Fifteen year-old Megan quietly recites from the Bible: "And I looked, and beheld a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death and Hell followed with him.' A story of confrontation in a lawless time, the nameless stranger becomes a catalyst for hope and retribution. A struggle between ruthless corporation gunmen and innocent independent miners takes on a new meaning with the appearance of the enigmatic horseman... A novelisation based the screenplay of the film Pale Rider by Michael Butler and Dennis Shryack. Follows the film almost exactly. The book contains stills from the film. -
Coronation: Paul Gallico
$10.00June 2, 1953. It's a great day for the Commonwealth - it's the coronation day of the young, beautiful Elizabeth II. Will Clagg, steelworker, his wife Violet, their two children Johnny and Gwinny and Grumbling Granny are determined to see this wondrous event. No matter how long the day, nor the obstacles to be encountered...Each member of the family learns a great deal on this important day, and returns home laden with life-long gifts they never expected. -
Or: Twenty Reasons Why Growing Old is Great! Virginia takes the reader on a wacky journey where growing old is not a loss but a gain. If your memory's going, you can forget all the ghastly men you slept with...you can have the fun of comparing all your ailments with other oldies...and you can be a legitimate bore since you're in your 'anecdotage'. Includes fun little verses as well. A really good guide to growing old disgracefully. -
A guide book for those things that could only be found in Australia: Snake Gully's 'Dad and Dave' statues near Gundagai; the famous 'Dog on the Tuckerbox'; The Big Cod at Tocumwal and the Big Yabby at Wentworth; The Big Sapphire near Anakie and much more...and not forgetting the infamous 'Furphy.' This book is definite proof that Australians really are a 'weird mob'. Illustrated with cartoons and colour and black and white photographs. -
The Falcon: E.V. Timms
$10.00A tale set in the reign of Charles II - kings and princes, cavaliers and courtesans, flashing blades and raking shot from tall ships. There are plots and counter-plots simmering under the glittering mask of court life and all Englishmen see a deadly threat in the ambitions of Louis XIV pf France. First published as Whitehall in 1931. -
Mary and Tony's parents do not take them to the seaside as usual for their holiday. Instead, they are going to have their holiday at Fallow Farm where they'll learn about animals both tame and wild. This would not be a story with enough sophistication for modern children, but the illustrations alone make this a very worthwhile book. -
Lietenant Garrett Byrne has just recently been promoted to take command of a squad of black soldiers. Irish-born and no-nonsense, he clashes frequently with his second-in-command, and struggles with his feelings over being placed in charge of such a squad. His troop is assigned the duty of guiding and protecting a band of reservation Comanches who want to hunt buffalo. Along the way, they encounter hide hunters, a white homestead family with a mother and two small children, and a band of Indian-hunting Texas Rangers. It's a volatile mix was the journey becomes a grim tale of chase and survival amid racial hatred and violence.
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Since everything old is new again, you can liven up your next 'do' with novel party games from the fabulous Fifties. Includes pencil and paper games, word games, team games, treasure hunts and mimes. Good clean fun all round. -
Here is a veritable tossed salad of resort guests: old, young, eccentric, snobbish, pleasant and revolting and a good mix of employees to create a real microcosm of human nature. There's Miss Dukemer, the worldly wise cashier; Purcell, the Assistant Manager who likes ladies and liquor; the rich Mellott sisters who share their suite with a Siamese cat; the wealthy couple who order one small breakfast between them; the elevator boy who has a hair fetish; the newly weds who aren't sure what goes where and many more memorable and eccentric characters. -
Considered a must for every child's Christmas stocking. Tiger Tim's annual has stories, games, puzzles, cartoons, jokes and riddles - something for all ages and just the thing to keep children occupied in the post-Christmas aftermath, especially in England. -
Five years after the success of The Sentimental Bloke, Dennis continued the tale of Rose, the girl Ginger Mick left behind. Inclined to recklessness and 'like to come to 'arm' the Bloke appoints himself chief rescuer - like some 'tin knight of old' and later, bumbling match-maker. But Doreen is there, of course, to save the day. An Australian classic. With delicate black and white illustrations and a glossary of the slang of the times.
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A very unusual and compelling tale of the Three Wise Men and their possible origins: Melchior, the ascetic scholar; Gaspar, the barbarian; and Balthazar, the slave who has escaped from a cruel, vicious mistress. The story begins with Mary, preparing for her marriage to Joseph and learning of her appointed task from the Archangel Gabriel; then the scene moves to Korea, where Melchior, the aged astronomer, has left his home to follow the star whose coming had been so long foretold. Each man reveals his motives and emotions as they make a hazardous physical journey - there are robbers and inn-keepers, Romans and Greeks, princes and Jews - but there is also the spiritual journey of each of these men...the journey that will lead them to a humble destination of the greatest importance. -
A Grumpy perspective on the daily grind. Whether we are celebrity chef or hapless waiter, engineer or oily rag, commissioning editor or TV producer, all of us have a whole daily wagon-load of s**t to deal with in the name of work. From boardroom to boredom, from 'what's the point?' to PowerPoint, from 9 to 5 to P45. And that's what this book from uber-grump Stuart Prebble is all about; the utter everyday relentless crapulence of working for 'the man', or indeed 'the woman'. It's not possible in a book of this size to include ALL the grumps arising from the working day - the office politics, the shortcomings of IT, the interminable meetings and some of your colleagues' weirder habits, but he is giving it a go. Grumpy? I'll say we are. Illustrated by Noel Ford. -
In this volume: Badger On The Barge: Miss Brady lives on a barge, with a b adger. She doesn't like people much, especially children and that includes Helen. But she needs her help and for Helen, that's better than staying at home. Reicker: Sean learns to deal with violence through his encounter with an old German prisoner of war and farmhand. The Egg Man: Jane learns how secrets and regrets can ruin a life. Jakey: An old, fiercely independent boatman shows Steven that hope and faith come from the inside. The Topiary Garden: Liz meets Sally Beck, who was once a boy, and makes sense of her own frustrations. A thematic collection of the special relationship between the young and the old and suitable for any age. -
So Sue Me: John O’Grady
$10.00O'Grady sez: 'These essays, or whatever they may be, represent my thoughts and conclusions on various things and people. My eldest son wanted me to write my autobiography - 'The story of your life, Pop,' he said. 'And tell the truth'. He can go and jump in Lake Burley Griffin. I offer instead on what that life has taught me. And over sixty years of knocking around and being knocked around, a man acquires a sort of philosophy. Basically, mine is that nothing in life is worth getting steamed up about, and most things are only good for a laugh. So sue me!' O'Grady offers what life has taught him about chooks, language, weddings, women, God, censorship, writers, art, politicians, sex and funerals. -
Over a hundred enigmas to solve, as well as logical puzzles, magic squares, brain teasers, riddles and more to wake up, perk up and bend the grey matter. Thrown deep into the fascinating and mysterious world of the Celts, can you dodge the traps of these tricky games and enigmas? There's no magic sickle or druid's potion to help you; rather a (hopefully) alert mind, a little reflection and a lot of cunning will be needed to get to the bottom of these Celtic enigmas. -
A hilarious illustrated English 'history' of drinking, with illustrations by Larry and fanciful chapter headings such as: British Boozing Begins; Roman Revels; Saxon Swilling; The Birth of Brewing and Strong Bere for the Quene among many other humourous references. -
It's a large helping of Pythonesque madness as Palin and Jones cover all the really important things: Alcoholic Dogs, Bournemouth, Conjuring, Dancing (Ballroom), Essay (School), The Famous Five Go Pillaging, Grannies, Heroism (across the Andes by Frog), I.Q., Music (Dr Fegg's Nasty Symphony), Parlor Games (Pass The Bengal Tiger), Questions (Silly), Rats (Pantomime), String (1001 Things to do With), Things To Stick Your Head Into, Violent Anger and Why It Is Good For You, What the Queen Had For Lunch and Zsa Zsa Gabor's Sex Life. Illustrated and comes complete with a variety of instructions and methods of how to destroy the book. https://cosmiccauldronbooks.com.au/p/brand-new-monty-python-papperbok-graham-chapman-john-cleese-eric-idle-terry-jones-michael-palin-terry-gilliam/ https://cosmiccauldronbooks.com.au/p/lady-cottingtons-pressed-fairy-book-terry-jones/ -
Final Exits: Michael Largo
$10.00Death walks behind us and it's anywhere. This book is a cross between the Darwin Awards and actual statistics dealing with the way we die, from the absurd to the tragic. Categories include: Bed and breakfast establishments; old fridges; stowaways; stampedes; hiccoughs; and some very surreal events involving office photocopiers. There is also coverage of burial customs, famous last words and more than 400 black and white photographs and illustrations.
