Mike Parker

'A marvellous book... an uplifting tale of tranquillity sought and found in the nearest Britain gets to paradise.' Simon Jenkins 'There are worlds on worlds within this lyrical and profoundly cultured book. In an age of toxic artifice, this is the most necessary medicine- the tenderness of reality and the living, elemental, world.' Jay Griffiths 'Such a delightful book about beauty, joy, love and home... to be celebrated and read.' Sara Maitland 'A great queer rural triumph of a book - wonderfully passionate, funny and insightful. It overflows with love.' Tom Bullough A multi-layered memoir of love, acceptance, finding home and the redemptive power of nature. In early 2006, Mike Parker and his partner Peredur were witnesses at the first civil partnership ceremony in the small Welsh town of Machynlleth. The celebrants were their friends Reg and George, who had moved to deepest rural Wales in 1972, not long after the decriminalisation of homosexuality. When Reg and George died within a few weeks of each other in 2011, Mike and Peredur discovered that they had been left their home- a whitewashed 'house from the children's stories', buried deep within the hills. They had also been left a lifetime's collection of diaries, photographs, letters and books, all revealing an extraordinary history. On the Red Hill is the story of Rhiw Goch, 'the Red Hill', and its inhabitants, but also the story of a remarkable rural community and a legacy that extends far beyond bricks and mortar. On The Red Hill celebrates the turn of the year's wheel, of ever-changing landscapes, and of the family to be found in the unlikeliest of places. Taking the four seasons, the four elements and these four lives as his structure, Mike Parker creates a lyrical but clear-eyed exploration of the natural world, the challenges of accepting one's place in it, and what it can mean to find home.

On the Red Hill

Observant, passionate, witty, offbeat, Mike Parker tours Powys from the border towns of Hay on Wye, Presteigne and Knighton, through the interior and on to the furthest points of Newtown, Penybont, Ystradgynlais and Brecon. What surprises does he stumble upon among the mountains, forests, streams and farms of this mysterious countryside?

Real Powys

Yesterday's general store was today's Costco, Home Depot and Superstore rolled into one - and then some. General stores sold a little of everything through the years - groceries, hardware, dry goods, caskets, corsets, spinning wheels, furniture, appliances, feeds, seeds, kerosene, gasoline, lotions and potions for man or beast, and of course candy, ice cream and pop. "General stores usually had the look of an overstuffed warehouse, and if you wanted something, they had it buried somewhere ... you only had to ask." Not only was the general store a one-stop shop, it was a place to meet and greet, gossip, solve world problems and tell tales, tall and true, a pillar of rural community life until done in by mail order catalogues, big box stores and shopping malls. Mike Parker mourns the passing of general stores more than most because his family owned and operated the Bear River Trading Company for forty years, a "sprawling emporium" that traced its beginnings to the age of sail. Until Mike?s dad retired in the late 1970s, the Bear River Trading Company was still a place of business where commercial salesmen called, wheels of cheese were displayed in a glass case, bulk kerosene was sold from the barrel and nails from a bin, purchases were wrapped in butcher?s paper and tied with twine, customers phoned in weekly grocery orders for home delivery and the "men folk" gathered to swap hunting and fishing stories. The days of the general store may be long gone but thanks to Mike are not forgotten. Illustrated with more than 500 images, A Little of Everything has something for everyone. For those who remember the sights, sounds and smells of an old-fashioned general store, this book will be a walk down memory lane. For those less fortunate who missed out on the waning days of the general store or are just looking for a good read with a touch of history, A Little of Everything opens another window to the past in Mike's long-time quest to shine light on Nova Scotia's old days, old ways.

General Stories of Nova Scotia- Remembering the Old Days, Old Ways

A Little of Everything

From the Act of Union to Anne Robinson, "e;Neighbours from Hell?"e; looks at English attitudes to the Welsh. Drawing on the author's experience of the comedy circuit, cartoons, the popular press and postcards; from "e;Tours of the Picturesque"e; to the novels of Niall Griffiths, the range of reference is as broad as the writing style is witty. Stereotypes explored include the Welsh character (shifty, oversexed or verbose); the Welsh language (dead, ugly or secret code for extremists), and the landscape. Mike Parker examines treacherous policy decisions sacrificing communities to reservoirs, forestry and military ranges. And he warns of future loss through blinkered tourist and property marketing. This is fine and funny polemic with a purpose, by the author of "e;The Rough Guide to Wales"e;.

Neighbours from Hell

“My name is Mike and I am a map addict. There, it's said!” Maps not only show the world, they help it turn. On an average day, we will consult some form of map approximately a dozen times, often without even noticing: checking the A-Z, the road atlas, or the Sat Nav, scanning the tube or bus map, a quick Google online, or hours wasted flying over a virtual Earth, navigating a way around a shopping center, watching the weather forecast, planning a walk or a trip, catching up on the news, booking a holiday or hotel. Maps pepper logos, advertisements, illustrations, books, web pages, and newspaper and magazine articles: they are a cipher for every area of human existence. At a stroke, they convey precise information about topography, layout, history, politics, and power. They are the unsung heroes of life, and this guide sings their song. There are some fine, dry tomes out there about the history and development of cartography: this is not one of them. This exploration mixes wry observation with hard fact and considerable research, unearthing the offbeat, the unusual, and the downright pedantic in a celebration of all things maps. In Map Addict, we learn the location of what has officially been named by the OS as the most boring square kilometer in the land; we visit the town fractured into dozens of little parcels of land split between two different countries and trek around many other weird borders of Britain and Europe; we test the theories that the new city of Milton Keynes was built to a pagan alignment and that women can't read maps. Combining history, travel, politics, memoir, and oblique observation in a highly readable, and often very funny, style, Mike Parker confesses how his own impressive map collection was founded on a virulent teenage shoplifting habit, ponders how a good leftie can be so gung-ho about British cartographic imperialism, and wages a one-man war against the moronic blandishments of the Sat Nav age.

A Tale of Obsession, Fudge and the Ordnance Survey

Map Addict

A Tale of Obsession, Fudge & the Ordnance Survey

Paul Whitfield

This guide covers everything, from Wales' pumping nightlife and rural cosmopolitanism to its crags and castles. Critical reviews are given on accommodation and restaurants suiting all pockets, from budget to luxury. There are detailed descriptions of numerous walks, from gentle lakeside strolls to serious mountain scrambles, and water sports, including surfing and the locally pioneered sport of coasteering.

The Rough Guide to Wales

'My name is Mike and I am a map addict. There, it's said...'

The story of Britain's road development graphically and beautifully illustrated on our maps is also the story of its political, economic, and social history. And the car, more than any other single factor, has shaped our landscape and changed our maps. Busy, bustling, often creaking at the seams, most of us have a love-hate relationship with our roads. Like it or not, our modern lifestyles depend on them not only for getting from A to B, but for the distribution of almost everything we buy. Yet once upon a time, the building of roads was seen as a glorious and heroic enterprise. Britain's motorways "the cathedrals of the modern world" are the ultimate expression of our modern age. From the old ways to the motorways, "Mapping the Roads" charts the ambitions and hopes of the nation through our maps."

Building Modern Britain

Mapping the Roads

Born and raised in Bear River, Nova Scotia, Mike Parker has been called Nova Scotia's Storyteller, a reference to the diversity of themes covered in his many books of popular history. The best-selling author has been researching and writing about his native province for more than twenty years. This is his thirteenth book. Mike is affiliated with the Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canada Studies at Saint Mary's University as a research associate. He is a graduate of Acadia University and a long-time resident of Dartmouth.

Sawmill Ghost Towns of Nova Scotia

Buried in the Woods

__________________________ 'A moving story of love, tradition and landscape.' Evening Standard, 'Books of the Year' 'A moving, multilayered memoir... extraordinary, ambitious... its scope is immense. A book that is deep in riches.' Simon Callow, Guardian ‘A marvellous book... an uplifting tale of tranquillity sought and found in the nearest Britain gets to paradise.’ Simon Jenkins ‘There are worlds on worlds within this lyrical and profoundly cultured book. In an age of toxic artifice, this is the most necessary medicine: the tenderness of reality and the living, elemental, world.’ Jay Griffiths __________________________ A multi-layered memoir of love, acceptance, finding home and the redemptive power of nature. In 2006, Mike Parker and his partner Peredur were witnesses at the civil partnership of their friends Reg and George, the first in the small Welsh town of Machynlleth. Years later, when Reg and George died within a few weeks of each other, Mike and Peredur discovered that they had been left their home: a whitewashed ‘house from the children’s stories’, buried deep within the hills. On the Red Hill is the story of Rhiw Goch, ‘the Red Hill’, and its inhabitants, but also the story of a remarkable rural community and a legacy that extends far beyond bricks and mortar. It is a story that celebrates the turn of the year’s wheel, of ever-changing landscapes, and of the family found in the unlikeliest of places. __________________________ ‘A delightful book about beauty, joy, love and home... to be celebrated and read.’ Sara Maitland ‘A great queer rural triumph of a book – wonderfully passionate, funny and insightful. It overflows with love.’ Tom Bullough

Where Four Lives Fell Into Place

In WILD ROVER Mike tells a gripping story of how these paths became part of our cultural landscape and why, at the tender age of 45, he suddenly finds himself at a crossroads. Provocative, funny and written lovingly, this book is a celebration of our amazing network of trails, their sheer antiquity and penetration into every corner of the land -- from the Thames Path to craggy mountaintop passes in the Highlands. It examines the chequered, and surprisingly turbulent, history of our precious paths, from the Enclosures Acts of the eighteenth century to the 1932 Mass Trespass on Kinder Scout in Derbyshire; the hard-won post-war establishment of great National Trails like the Pennine Way to latter-day battles by the likes of Nicholas van Hoogstraten and Madonna to keep ramblers off their land. The story ranges far and wide, to all corners of the country, and beyond, and back through the centuries. Mike engages with poets and artists, farmers and ramblers, landowners and Rights of Way officers, enthusiasts and campaigners, historians, archivists and anyone else who crosses his path (or even tries to block it).

Mike Parker

Books

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