Böcker av Malcolm Gerloch

Arnold and Molly Forbutt's love of stray cats brings down disapproval on their innocent heads and Arnold's response is such as to set him up against the antisocial media being used to disseminate popular challenges. A quite necessary progression to Texas, space travel and a journey to Mars only goes to show how logic can lead one astray. This gentle, loving and magical tale of an old man's insistence upon form runs along at a cracking pace, and to an only-too-necesssary conclusion. This is a comedy, a social commentary, and an adventure: above all, it is a love story.

Jubilee is an amusing tale of when Sam with his family and two cats - Flea and Ridden - are invited to the Queen's platinum Jubilee celebration after winning a contest set by the organisation over which the Duchess of Cornwall presided. The family finally gets to meet the Queen of England and the two cats win the royal family's admiration. Not only are they awarded medals for their cute antics and for winning the contest, they make their own place on the royal balcony during the air force flypast.However, the happy memories of this event turn sour the next day when police raid the family's hotel room and arrest them all, including the cats, for not following quarantine procedures. The cats are to be taken away for three months and the family can only beg the Queen to confirm their reason for being in the country. In a comical twist comes the family's salvation. Read on to find out what it is.

Faced with the loss of his ancestral home following the huge increase in death duties in mid-twentieth century Britain, Michael Montayne forges an unusual enterprise with his best man, whose family turns out to have been shamefully entangled with Michael's for generations past. The Montayne's home is transformed into a private retreat, club and grand hotel for acceptable, wealthy guests who may partake of its comfort, exquisite food and wine and, above all, Michael's company - and of one or two other secret facilities - by invitation only.This is a story of love and tenderness, humour and good humour, trust and honour, and of money and betrayal, played out by a potpourri of memorable characters from around the world and from a wide variety of backgrounds, whose adventures take us aboard canalboats and cruise liners, up a mountain and around a golf course. 'The Hut is You!', an old friend tells Michael; if only he would believe it.

This autobiographical, non-technical and mostly light-hearted account of three lecture tours through Continental Europe in the late '70s and early '80s by a Cambridge research chemist describes professional and personal interactions with many colourful and extraordinarily talented hosts. There are descriptions of meals, art galleries, ecclesiastical architectural gems, of a wonderful bed, and even of an eccentric toilet. Here are some aspects of the professional life of a don which include glimpses of how his college was run and of fun he had with college butlers. There is also an insight into the flavour and theatre of viva examinations for the PhD degree for chemists as conducted in Britain and France.Central to this tale, however, are events experienced in several German universities, told against the personal backdrop of the author's slowly shedding immaturity. In particular, there are accounts of visits to the Fence between the former East and West Germanys before, and soon after, that border was opened. The writer describes his nervousness and, on one occasion even fear, while in that country, and his thrashing about, seeking reasons for his ennui, a question answered, he concludes, in the closing paragraphs of this book.

Friendship between a cat and a mouse, between an owl and a mouse, between a cat, an owl and snakes? Ridiculous! Can all these creatures speak to, and understand, each other? Can they and their human friends read each other's minds? Why would they want to? Meanwhile, Ridden survives a threat of murder and Hollywood woos both of our gregarious, loving cats. There's nothing boring about this pair!There's a lot of fun in these stories. And a lot of love.

Flea and Ridden, the most entertaining cats in the fictional world, embark on their greatest adventure yet: joining their slaves - sorry, owners - on a road trip across the country. They weren''t invited, of course, but that''s not going to stop them and can you blame them? Holidays are for cats too, you know.

Jewellery goes missing and our agile cat, Flea, is officiously accused of theft once again. Our whole family is in uproar at this insult. Meanwhile, her brother, the marmalade-coloured Ridden, goes missing for four very long, days and the whole family is bereft with worry. Eventually, the solution to the one provides the solution to the other and the wonders of miniature cameras provide all the evidence necessary to exonerate Flea and to restore her glittering reputation. All that, while we learn something about the habits of bowerbirds.

Stories within stories, streams of consciousness and flights of imaginative fancy... These eight pieces, some related and some not, weave their way through some of the trials of human existence. They encourage us to consider the way we choose to live and interact with technology and how we judge others in the modern world, and tell us of the details of lifestyles gone by, highlighting the differences between the life of a young person then and now: culturally, financially and socially. Meet a writer in a bar impressing a lady with his imagination, a fair-minded shopping mall manager, a bird-man, some disembodied voices, European turn-of-the century immigrants and many other characters. Read about an escape on a train, dreams which might not be dreams and the strange things that make different people laugh, interspersed with philosophy and musings on the world.

Flea is more than a kitten; she has grown into an agile and beautiful young lady. She chats to her friend, a laughing kookaburra, in places no cat is expected to reach. This wilful madam can be naughty too and the time comes when she brings shame on her family. But her over-enthusiastic brother, Ridden, rushes to her defence. She is forgiven but then tragedy strikes her loving family. How will it all end?FLEA is a charming and funny tale that will appeal to children, those who read to children and anyone who has ever owned (or been owned by) a cat.

A story of kindness, fun and an unusual friendship, BIRD is not a book to miss. We follow Bird, a confident and cocky currawong who claims to know everything while his friend, Cat, is happy to let him believe so. The pair end up on several unlikely adventures together after Bird convinces Cat to jump the fence into next-door's garden and escape two overly-affectionate puppies. Between teaching Cat to fly and relaying stories about how he became the boss after a mob of cockatoos were shooed off by Cat's human friends, the pair always find time to share breakfast together.A tale of understanding and empathy, BIRD is one that both children and adults will enjoy reading. And the mischief doesn't end with Bird - his children are learning how to be just like him! Can one garden cope with it all? Well, why don't you ask Bird? After all, he knows everything.