Books with author Chris Collingwood

An Unsuccessful Chase.A fortnight later we fell in with and were ordered to join the squadron of Vice-admiral Parker.This arrangement was, to the Hermione’s officers at least, a source of intense gratification. For whereas, whilst we were cruising alone, our opportunities for social intercourse were limited to an occasional invitation to dine with the captain—and that, Heaven knows, was poor entertainment enough!—we now had frequent invitations to dine with the officers of the other ships, or entertained them in return in our own ward-room. But, though matters were thus made more pleasant for the officers of the Hermione, I cannot say that the change wrought any improvement in the condition of the ship’s company—quite the reverse, indeed. For, so anxious was Captain Pigot that his ship should be the smartest in the fleet, that when reefing topsails at night, if any other ship happened to finish before us, the last man of the yard of the dilatory topsail was infallibly booked for a flogging next day. And so with all other evolutions. The result of which was, that while our crew became noted for their smartness, they daily grew more sullen, sulky, and discontented in their dispositions, shirking their work whenever there was a possibility of doing so undetected, and performing their duties with an ill-will which they took little pains to conceal. This, of course, only tended to make matters still worse. The skipper could not fail to notice his increasing unpopularity, and this wounded his self-love; added to which he soon got the idea into his head—and certainly not altogether without reason—that the men were combining together to thwart and annoy him. And this only made him still more irritable and severe. It seemed at length as though matters were steadily approaching the point when it would become an open and recognised struggle between the captain and the crew for supremacy in respect of dogged obstinacy and determination. What made it all the worse was that the officers, in the maintenance of proper order and discipline in the ship, were compelled—very much against their will—to support and countenance the skipper in his arbitrary mode of dealing with the crew; thus dividing the inmates of the frigate into two well-defined parties—namely, those on the quarter-deck and those on the forecastle. We were all unpopular in varying degrees, from the captain down to the midshipmen. I have good reason to believe that the first lieutenant on more than one occasion remonstrated with Captain Pigot upon his excessive harshness to the men, and strongly urged him to try the effect of more lenient measures with them; but, if such was the case, the remonstrances proved wholly unavailing. Added to all this there was, especially after we joined the squadron, incessant sail, gun, musketry, and cutlass drill, in addition to the daily combined evolutions of the ships; all of which made our poor lads pray for a change of some sort—they cared not what—it could scarcely be for the worse, and might very reasonably be hoped to be somewhat for the better.Under such circumstances the joy of the men may be imagined when, one morning at daylight, the signal was made by the admiral to chase to the eastward. Nevertheless, our unfortunate lookout aloft was promptly booked for two dozen at the gangway that day because he had failed to be the first to discover the stranger.We were cruising at this time in the Windward Channel, the squadron being at the moment of the discovery about midway between Points Malano and Perle. We were working to windward under double-reefed topsails on the starboard tack, the trade-wind blowing fresh at about east-nor’-east.The strange sail was about ten miles dead to windward of us; and that she had sharp eyes on board her was manifest from the fact that, before we had time to acknowledge the admiral’s signal, she had shaken the reefs out of her topsails and had set topgallant-sails. Every ship in the squadron

In Grow Your Own For Kids, Chris Collins shows how to sow and grow 10 easy vegetables that kids love to eat. Simple step-by-step sequences will guide and inspire them; presenting fun challenges such as growing the tallest sunflower and the largest pumpkin. A "letter to the grown ups" will explain how parents and guardians can provide a garden for their kids, whether this is a container, a window box or a small plot outside. A shopping list, general advice and words of wisdom and encouragement will ensure that nothing goes wrong for those budding green fingers. A great add-on to the book is the Sow-your-own-Salad page with lettuce-seed impregnated paper. This cut-out page will come to life when placed in a seed pot with compost and water. The miracle of growing your own, springing from the pages of their first gardening book!

In Grow Your Own For Kids, Chris Collins shows how to sow and grow 10 easy vegetables that kids love to eat. Simple step-by-step sequences will guide and inspire them; presenting fun challenges such as growing the tallest sunflower and the largest pumpkin. A "letter to the grown ups" will explain how parents and guardians can provide a garden for their kids, whether this is a container, a window box or a small plot outside. A shopping list, general advice and words of wisdom and encouragement will ensure that nothing goes wrong for those budding green fingers. A great add-on to the book is the Sow-your-own-Salad page with lettuce-seed impregnated paper. This cut-out page will come to life when placed in a seed pot with compost and water. The miracle of growing your own, springing from the pages of their first gardening book!

Renowned garden writer Lia Leendertz (Guardian and many books) and children's television gardener Chris Collins (BBC's 'Blue Peter'), show junior greenfingers everything they need to know to get the gardening bug. RHS Grow Your Own for Kids embodies the 'Grow Your Own' ethos of food provenance, self-sufficiency, and healthy eating. It shows how to sow and grow up to 12 key vegetables including tomatoes, aubergines, peas, potatoes, monster pumpkins, mustard & cress, runner beans and courgettes. It also includes child-friendly fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, along with other plants such as sunflowers and edible flowers. Specially commissioned photography featuring children gardening illustrates the projects and introduces young gardeners to the science behind gardening.

The Christmas Kids series is intended to touch the heart, engage the mind and strengthen the spirit of readers young and old. Each book focuses on real-life issues children face and the grace of God that is made apparent in those situations. As you read and enjoy this book in the Christmas Kids series, my desire is that you are able to learn and pass on a proper perspective on difficulties and challenges in life.