Jazz trombonist Chris Barber formed his first band in the late 1940s, but it is the band that he has led from 1954, after parting company with trumpeter Ken Colyer, that has established all kinds of records for success and longevity. The 54 year partnership with trumpeter Pat Halcox is the longest continuous association in jazz history. The Barber band achieved chart success on both sides of the Atlantic, with "Petite Fleur," and from the middle to late 1950s it was the most popular music act in the UK. The band was one of the first British jazz groups to tour extensively in the United...

Wales is a land haunted by its own past, with a treasure trove of beautiful and magical places - some rarely visited. Chris Barber guides explorers to prehistoric megaliths, remote stone circles, burial chambers, secret caves, lonely lakes and 'bottomless' pools. Many sites in Wales are associated with King Arthur, Merlin and other remarkable magicians, the Devil, fairies and water nymphs. Linked with the Golden Age of Celtic Saints are primitive churches, ancient crosses, inscribed memorial stones, island sanctuaries and holy wells, which all have romantic legends adding to their mystery....

Erected by man for some long forgotten purpose, there are large numbers of enigmatic standing stones, stone circles and burial chambers to be found in Wales. This book provides descriptions of some of the largest, tallest and best preserved examples that can be visited. Many of them are remarkable feats of construction, involving the hewing, transport of large blocks of stone over long distances, to be erected for some long-lost purpose. Chris Barber examines numerous legends, once believed to be true that are associated with the stones. Some stones are said to uproot themselves on certain...

To commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of its closure, Chris Barber offers a fascinating insight into the history behind this picturesque railway line.