Toasting the Bride is NOT a look-it-up book! Neither is it a simple autobiographical novel. Rather, the book is a selective assemblage of natural philosophical wisdoms; the cultural basis of personal beliefs and identity; and, the living story of personal experiences. Thus, in effect a practical commentary on our modern man's politico-economic social culture.

In the matter of personal experience, I am uniquely qualified to write about Africa and about America as well. In me, the phrase "African-American" is alive with vivid experiences. I have spent equal halves of my hitherto eventful life in Africa; and in the United States of America. I have citizenship in both worlds, and have been uniquely impacted by both through bouts of traumatic experiences. Presently and coninuing, one-America-gets to house my body; the other-Africa- my soul. In the ensuing strange marriage of the two cultures, the line between the bride and bridegroom is fluid at best. I can, therefore, constructively praise and/or criticize both, interchangably, with civilized equanimity; and without fear, favor or shame. I can "Toast" or "toast" the Bride, specific circumstance warrenting.

The book is to inform and to query alike. Although the material presented is predominantly a product of the African culture, it is not parochially African in its view of human life and Nature; nor in the content of the personal experiences presented. The book draws heavily from the literary wisdoms of philosophers - both old and new - to articulate the language and extract a body of knowledge suitable for describing, and coincidental to expressing, the deeper side of personal life experiences. It also juxtaposes traditional African spiritual idealism with modern American material realism to establish context.

The reader is not to equate the different chapters as simple matching titles of the knowledge they contain. Although these chapters are meaningful and intelligible in themselves, the reader is persuaded to accumulate them progressively as the background necessary for understanding the relation of each to the whole.

Toasting the Bride challenges the reader to know more about certain naked hypocricies of the Americal legal system, in terms of its strengths and weaknesses, and to formulate educated personal opinions about the American social culture. Then, to imbibe some universal lessons of life by partaking in the more vivid accounts of my personal experiences; and by pondering on the harder questions of living, in general, which are progressively generated therein in the book.

This is the true story of Charles Hayes, a man who, from the time he was a school-boy essay-winner in England, set out to become a writer and news broadcaster. A lifetime of adventure led him, as a young articled clerk in a London lawyer's office, to WW2, when he became an Infantry Officer in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. After his experiences in Burma, he was sent in 1946 to Simla in the Himalayas where, a year later, he was present at the partition of Pakistan and India.

On his release from the army, he boarded a ship in India bound for England with his wife and two young children. After a four-day stop-over on the East African coast they decided to go no further. He accepted a post as District Officer in Kenya, a country which he was destined to enjoy for the next 35 years.

With a 'golden' voice, he was the perfect 'stringer' for BBC - the British Broadcasting Service for Foreign News, sending daily reports to the world and was an avid news writer for several English and South African newspapers. He also used his voice, and his love of acting, to star in many theatrical productions and films shot in Kenya.

By the early 1950s, as Mau Mau (The War of Liberation) threatened Kenya, Hayes was instrumental in starting the first Kishwahili newspaper and, as Editing Director, soon developed the Standard Newspapers (Nation Series) Ltd. , publishing daily and Sunday newspapers in the English Language. In the early 1960s, His Highness, the Aga Khan, bought shares in the company which now has the largest newspaper coverage in East Africa.

On his retirement in 19890, Hayes immigrated to British Columbia, Canada, with his third wife and young daughter, to start a small-town weekly newspaper, The South Okanagan Review, which was published for 15 years.

Between 1996 and his death in April 2000, at the age of 85, Hayes wrote a book on Kenya and 3 books on British Columbian pioneers.

This Love Letter as a Biography captures the spirit of the Indian and African adventures and experiences of a remarkable gentleman, Charles Hayes.

He went on to become the first camouflage artist in the Navy during WWI. He decorated Ringling's mansion, painted murals in churches and his final job was working for John D. Rockfeller as head of painting and decorating at the historic village in Williamsburg, Virginia. Bob Webb lived life to the fullest and left grand memories; his effusive nature was big and tender, generous yet frugal.

He also left a legacy in his art works; long to be remembered from Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia; in historic places, mansions, libraries, churches, and many public places where his art played an important part.

He went on to become the first camouflage artist in the Navy during WWI. He decorated Ringling's mansion, painted murals in churches and his final job was working for John D. Rockfeller as head of painting and decorating at the historic village in Williamsburg, Virginia. Bob Webb lived life to the fullest and left grand memories; his effusive nature was big and tender, generous yet frugal.

He also left a legacy in his art works; long to be remembered from Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Florida, and Williamsburg, Virginia; in historic places, mansions, libraries, churches, and many public places where his art played an important part.

A story of faith. The story starts from a child's early life on a farm and progresses through the twenties and thirties to outbreak of World War Two. The girl's curiosity drives her through many adventures on the farm. An explosion claims the lives of the young parents, 34 & 39. Her mother succumbs to the burns six hours later her father dies of concussion.

The thirteen year old, eldest of six children, struggles to deal with the aftermath of an estate without a will. She challenges her aunt in court, and the children become wards of the welfare system. They are advised to consider their siblings dead with their parents. Four are placed in separate foster homes. The toddler and a nine year old brother remained in hospital, having suffered major burns.

The narrator describes her sojourn of four years with three foster families. The many real-life adventures she experiences are true and told in detail. Some are hilarious, some are dangerous and life-threatening, but all are building blocks of a strong and down-to-earth character that reflects a part of the growth of the country. The author gives colourful descriptions of beautiful landscapes, of changing skyscapes and endless horizons with seasonal phenomenon of weather.

As a youngster, she was greatly influenced by her father as she followed him whenever possible while her mother and hired girl (nanny) cared for the house and siblings. Her father taught the importance of observation and use of all six senses. Her natural talents surged forth as she tried to capture the scenes and images around her with keen attention to detail. She is attuned to the subtle opalescent lighting of the prairie atmosphere. Dawn, twilight, and daytime colours demand her sensitivities, and nights that are enhanced by the explosion of Northern Lights implanted feelings that are expressed in her paintings, especially the filtered mists and promises of sunlight in her forest scenes. Her father also sets an example of Faith. Faith in God and Man, Faith in Nature and Oneself. Truth and obedience were expected of his family. Above all there was love and the joy of working beside each other.

The narrator has to come to terms with her emotions and concerns. She has to learn to read the personalities of the people she lives with and blend into the atmosphere like a chameleon, to stay in the background and not cause a disturbance that would bring on disapproval, particularly at her second foster home. Her positive nature and faith serve her well, through adventures and responsibilities. She finds joy in nature, animals and people who respond to her ever-present smile and song. Her main concern is the need for an education to fill the desire to fly about in the endless skies; to travel and perchance cross paths with her siblings.

Plans make a quick turn about when Britain declares war as Lila makes her way to Regina and Scott Collegiate. There she sees the door open to her dreams of flying when "The Commonwealth Air Training Scheme" is established in Regina within walking distance of Scott Collegiate.

This book, the first of a trilogy, launches the author into a life of learning, excitement and adventure, at a time when a person treasured the day and accepted whatever tomorrow would bring.
-L.R. (Melnik) Young

Born in Hanover in 1887, Schwitters fled Germany in 1937, going first to Norway, then to Britain, where he was interned for a year and a half as 'an enemy alien'. He was discharged from the Hutchinson Square Internment Camp on the Isle of Man in 1941 and lived for a time in London, where he forged links with a group of surrealist artists and poets many of whom were fellow fugitives from the Nazis. In London he was rebuffed by Kenneth Clarke, was refused work as a window dresser by Selfridges and met the teenage Jazz musician, George Melly. Together with his companion, Edith Thomas, he settled in Ambleside in the English Lake District in 1945 where he died in 948.

Famed for an innovative Dada 'Merzbau', created within his house in Hanover, Schwitters began a second Merzbau in Norway but was forced to abandon the work when he fled to Britain. Both works were subsequently destroyed.

In Ambleside he painted landscapes for tourists, portraits for 'locals' and collages for himself. He also began another Merzbau in a barn at Elterwater near Ambleside. But Schwitters died before the Merzbarn was finished; the work was removed to the Hatton Gallery at Newcastle University in the 1960Õs where it can be seen today.

Schwitters is known as 'the creator of Merz' (his own form of Dadaist art) and for his saying, 'I have so little time'. His Dadaist poem, 'an Anna Blume', won him international fame in the 1920's. He was a prolific writer.

This book seeks to express, in layman's terms and simple language, something of what Kurt Schwitters achieved in his lifetime. It is a 'Merz' book; it throws together words/articles/quotes/opinions and transforms them into a printed/written collage.

It is an essential handbook for the 'man in the street'.

My next stop was New York and then Paris where I worked with artists Jean Tinguely, Yves Klein, Robert Filliou and met their American friends, such as John Cage, Andy Warhol and the beatnik writers, William Burroughs and Gregory Corso.

In 1962, I traveled to London where the anti-war movement was in full swing. Even in that politically active environment, there was little to indicate that England was on the threshold of a cultural revolution. London burst forth with avant-garde art galleries, art centers, dance clubs, bookshops and the Underground newspaper IT. The young shed their dowdy post-war clothes for the multicolored petals of the emerging hippie counterculture and soon I was designing and printing my own fabrics as well as wholesaling to other boutiques, notably Kings Road and Carnaby Street, the centers of everything "in". With the fading of the hippie dream, I moved back to Paris, where I added fashion futurist to my activities. Within a few years, my firm became the major forecaster of fabric and color trends for top designers.

The quintessential hippie icon was the Rainbow. It covered fabrics, record covers, and graphic designs. It symbolized freedom and our desire to discover life's potential, not just the pot of gold. It was a time of carefree days and unashamed utopianism. We fought for just causes, made love, and made merry while we lived on innocent dreams of being revolutionaries.

'Behind the Painted Smile' is a hard-hitting and shocking account of prolific artist Gary Cartwright's sometimes traumatic life and its affects upon his work. This no-holes-barred account, taken from his personal diaries tells of his struggles, through the ups and the downs, the laughter and the tears. Caught up in a violent relationship; being mentally and physically abused.

Struggling with the issues of terminal illness, suicide, death, drug abuse and everyday news headlines, all of which feature somewhere within his work.

It tells of his trials and tribulations to keep his head above water to survive, earning himself a reputation for his thought provoking paintings that have made front page news and been the subject of much debate, some of which are now in Museums and Private Collections in England and Europe.

Told in graphic detail, this is not a book for the faint hearted as it sends you on a rollercoaster of emotions.

It gives you a better insight into the artist himself, his life and his work.

"A not to be missed book that you will read over and over again."

A search for biographical information about an artist from Fife, Scotland who lived most of his adult life in Liverpool.

He finally achieved his aim to move to London to gain recognition but returned to Merseyside to die.

This is the true story of Charles Hayes, a man who, from the time he was a school-boy essay-winner in England, set out to become a writer and news broadcaster. A lifetime of adventure led him, as a young articled clerk in a London lawyer's office, to WW2, when he became an Infantry Officer in the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. After his experiences in Burma, he was sent in 1946 to Simla in the Himalayas where, a year later, he was present at the partition of Pakistan and India.

On his release from the army, he boarded a ship in India bound for England with his wife and two young children. After a four-day stop-over on the East African coast they decided to go no further. He accepted a post as District Officer in Kenya, a country which he was destined to enjoy for the next 35 years.

With a 'golden' voice, he was the perfect 'stringer' for BBC - the British Broadcasting Service for Foreign News, sending daily reports to the world and was an avid news writer for several English and South African newspapers. He also used his voice, and his love of acting, to star in many theatrical productions and films shot in Kenya.

By the early 1950s, as Mau Mau (The War of Liberation) threatened Kenya, Hayes was instrumental in starting the first Kishwahili newspaper and, as Editing Director, soon developed the Standard Newspapers (Nation Series) Ltd. , publishing daily and Sunday newspapers in the English Language. In the early 1960s, His Highness, the Aga Khan, bought shares in the company which now has the largest newspaper coverage in East Africa.

On his retirement in 19890, Hayes immigrated to British Columbia, Canada, with his third wife and young daughter, to start a small-town weekly newspaper, The South Okanagan Review, which was published for 15 years.

Between 1996 and his death in April 2000, at the age of 85, Hayes wrote a book on Kenya and 3 books on British Columbian pioneers.

This Love Letter as a Biography captures the spirit of the Indian and African adventures and experiences of a remarkable gentleman, Charles Hayes.

Lying in my bed that had become more like a prison than a place of rest, I realized the extent of damage I would face for a lifetime imposed upon me by criminals. I was angry at a system that failed to deliver anything resembling Justice. I was permanently crippled, suffering unbearable pain and the guilty were free.

Bedridden and housebound, I grieved my life that had been destroyed. It hurt to let go of all that I had worked so hard to acquire, and face the endless days alone, without a purpose, or a life worth living. When life gave me lemons, I had made lemonade, but now the pitcher which contained it had been smashed and broken. I cried out in anger and despair to my Creator, "Please God, do not let this be how my story ends. Give me a way, which I can rejoin the living - a purpose to fulfill - a reason to live!" I knew from past experience that anger and all the negative monsters that love to accompany it would be the ruination of my soul - the only thing I had that was still intact, if I did not let it go. Forgiving the criminals who had given me this life sentence would not be easy, but I vowed to forgive them and I begged my Lord to guide me. I said to my maker, "Show me the way Lord, they destroyed the container that held my sweet lemonade, it is all gone. Give me your strength and I promise, this time I will make a real mean batch of punch."

I began to feel God's presence, and listening to the still small voice within I chose to begin painting. After accomplishing 36 paintings a year and a half later, I became inspired to write this book. I hope it will inspire others who have recovery challenges of their own. It is in helping others that I have found my reason to go on. I hope that through my art, the Healing Center that I host on the internet at my website www.markeryk.com, and by sharing my story with you in this book, that I will in effect transcend the emptiness of being shut in, and once again participate with and enjoy the mainstream of life. New Life.

Toasting the Bride is NOT a look-it-up book! Neither is it a simple autobiographical novel. Rather, the book is a selective assemblage of natural philosophical wisdoms; the cultural basis of personal beliefs and identity; and, the living story of personal experiences. Thus, in effect a practical commentary on our modern man's politico-economic social culture.

In the matter of personal experience, I am uniquely qualified to write about Africa and about America as well. In me, the phrase "African-American" is alive with vivid experiences. I have spent equal halves of my hitherto eventful life in Africa; and in the United States of America. I have citizenship in both worlds, and have been uniquely impacted by both through bouts of traumatic experiences. Presently and coninuing, one-America-gets to house my body; the other-Africa- my soul. In the ensuing strange marriage of the two cultures, the line between the bride and bridegroom is fluid at best. I can, therefore, constructively praise and/or criticize both, interchangably, with civilized equanimity; and without fear, favor or shame. I can "Toast" or "toast" the Bride, specific circumstance warrenting.

The book is to inform and to query alike. Although the material presented is predominantly a product of the African culture, it is not parochially African in its view of human life and Nature; nor in the content of the personal experiences presented. The book draws heavily from the literary wisdoms of philosophers - both old and new - to articulate the language and extract a body of knowledge suitable for describing, and coincidental to expressing, the deeper side of personal life experiences. It also juxtaposes traditional African spiritual idealism with modern American material realism to establish context.

The reader is not to equate the different chapters as simple matching titles of the knowledge they contain. Although these chapters are meaningful and intelligible in themselves, the reader is persuaded to accumulate them progressively as the background necessary for understanding the relation of each to the whole.

Toasting the Bride challenges the reader to know more about certain naked hypocricies of the Americal legal system, in terms of its strengths and weaknesses, and to formulate educated personal opinions about the American social culture. Then, to imbibe some universal lessons of life by partaking in the more vivid accounts of my personal experiences; and by pondering on the harder questions of living, in general, which are progressively generated therein in the book.