The Brighton bombing in 1984 was the most audacious terrorist attack ever on the British Government. Certainly it was the most ambitious since the Gunpowder plot of 1605.  The Provisional I.R.A. detonated a bomb at the Grand Hotel on 12th October 1984. Most of the Government were staying at the hotel at the time. The Conservative party was holding its annual conference in the town. Five people were killed in the explosion, and more than thirty were injured.  It came very close to wiping out most of the Government, including the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.  The I.R.A.’s Patrick Magee had booked into the Grand Hotel under the false name of Roy Walsh, about a month before. He planted a bomb with a long-delay timer, hidden under a bath in one of the rooms. He was given eight life sentences for the crime, but released from prison in 1999 under the Good Friday Agreement. He served just fourteen years behind bars.It was one of two IRA bombs aimed directly at the collective Government of the day. The other was in February 1991 when, at the height of the Gulf War security alert, the I.R.A. fired a mortar bomb directly at Downing Street. The War Cabinet was in session to discuss the threat from Saddam Hussein. The bomb was only yards from hitting the Prime Minister and his senior colleagues. The Grand Hotel bombing and the Downing Street bombing were ‘different’ to the IRA’s other attacks. They were aimed directly at the heart of the democratically elected Government of the day, particularly the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Other IRA bombings either caused greater loss of life, resulted in more injuries or were of a far greater financial cost. For example, attacks at Omagh in 1998 killed twenty-eight, the explosion in the City in London in 1993 cost one billion pounds and the Manchester Shopping Center bomb in 1996 saw two-hundred people hurt. Devastating as these attacks were, it can be argued that they were aimed at getting attention, disrupting democracy, costing the country money and bullying their way to the political decision making process.

Terror Attack Brighton - Blowing up the Iron Lady

History

Hughes, Kieran

Europe

Pen and Sword Social History

Everything you need to know about musical theater in one handy guide by leading expert Maureen Hughes who has herself created 8 musicals and teaches musical theater. The Pocket Guide to Musicals covers everything from the composers and lyricists to a comprehensive A-Z listing of musicals from around the world. Accessibility is a key selling point with fact boxes highlighting key or curious facts about the subject. The Pocket Guide to Musicals is compulsory reading for anyone studying musical theater and its size makes it a perfect gift for anyone intending to go to the theater at or who wants to discover as much about the topic as possible – in a handy, pocket-sized guide.

Pocket Guide to Musicals

Arts & Photography

Music

Remember When

Everything you need to know about plays and playwrights in one handy guide by leading expert Maureen Hughes who has had one of her 8 musicals produced in the West End and teaches musical theater. Covering everything from the top playwrights through the centuries to a comprehensive A-Z listing of plays from around the world. Accessibility is a key selling point with factboxes highlighting key or curious facts about the subject.

Pocket Guide to Plays and Playwrights

Humor & Entertainment

Everything you need to know about classic literature in one handy guide by lecturer Maureen Hughes. Covering everything from the authors to the plays themselves and their common themes, accessibility is a key selling point with factboxes highlighting key or curious facts about the subject. Its size makes it the perfect stocking filler for the Christmas market or at anytime of the year for those wanting more information about what they’re reading or studying – in a handy, pocket-sized guide.

The Pocket Guide to Classic Books (Pocket Guides)

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

'Proud to be British' is the perfect book for everyone who lives in our wonderful country. Here the British will discover what they already suspected, and that is that many of the GREAT historical figures of all time were British, many of the GREATEST inventions were British, as well as many other patriotic facts. They will also be reminded of all great and unique customs and traditions inherent in our beautiful land, and probably learn of some they never knew existed too, as well as laughing at the things that only The British could do! 'Proud to be British' is also an excellent companion for all tourists and new inhabitants who are struggling to come to terms with and understand the way in which we British live and conduct ourselves and our lives.

Being British

Each Christmas entire families in the UK troop off to see, what one could almost say is ‘the obligatory’. annual entertainment, known as Pantomime. It is a traditional, seasonal way of life for the British envied the world over, and one which only the British seem to understand! Pantomime serves both to entertain and to introduce each new generation to the joys of theater in the most unique of ways, for this is not a type of theater one merely watches, but one in which the audience participate – often in the most seemingly boisterous and bizarre of ways. The whole experience is steeped in tradition, traditions which only the British seem to understand, which is probably why we are proud to call it a ‘British Experience. ’ In The Pocket Guide to Pantomime Maureen Hughes takes a brief look at the history of Pantomime as well as taking a humorous look at some of the above mentioned traditions; she also gives a synopsis of each of the well-known Pantomimes whilst exploring the eccentric world of the characters who appear in them. There is also a short piece on just some of the most well-known and loved of the actors who each Christmas take on the part of Pantomime Dames across the UK, as well as a look at others who have contributed to this magical world of fun and eccentricity. It is thought by some to be frivolous and pointless piece of theater, but a browse through this informative book and you will soon find that Pantomime is an art form all of its own, requiring the most dedicated and talented of actors/actresses who are prepared to honor and perpetuate this wonderful tradition as it is passed down from one generation to the next.

A History of Pantomimes

Everything you need to know about ballroom dancing in one handy guide by arts expert and Pocket Guide Series best-seller, Maureen Hughes, this book on Ballroom Dancing differs to many others on the market in that it does not set out to teach the reader how to dance, for the market is saturated with just such books. No, this one gives an overview of the sport and offers the reader a wide selection of information to support both the enthusiast and the curious.

The Pocket Guide to Ballroom Dancing (Pocket Guides)

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Books by Hughes, Kieran