Books, books, books!

At Manadon Bookstore, we have lots of books about Birmingham and its heritage.  If you are thinking of visiting Birmingham, here are a few tips on what to look out for.

Britain’s second largest city after London is Birmingham.  Birmingham is the cultural centre of the West Midlands and offers the casual visitor an enormous range of exciting opportunities and things to do. Offering an unsurpassed range of shops and shopping centres, and literally hundreds of activities and things to do, Birmingham is the ideal tourist destination; a city that is always guaranteed to keep you occupied.

As a city, Birmingham is packed with places to visit, enabling you to get a real taste of the city’s culture. Just a few of the places include:

Birmingham Cathedral :  Built in 1725, this is one of the city’s most beautiful historic buildings, complete with four Pre-Raphaelite stained-glass windows.

The Royal Air Force Museum: Treat yourself to a stunning display of aviation history and witness over seventy aircraft situated within three separate wartime hangars. You’ll see Spitfires, Hurricanes, Vulcans and more.

Cadbury’s World: One of the country’s biggest and most popular museums. You’ll find out about the history of chocolate, and how it originated in South America, as well as seeing a genuine production line.  Of course, a visit isn’t complete without sampling the produce…!

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery: Witness a huge variety of exhibits that range from spooky Egyptian mummies to a wooden toy collection for the kids. Treat yourself to some culture and examine the largest collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings in the world.

Birmingham Botanical Gardens: An astonishing fifteen acres of beautiful gardens are available for exploration, as well as four glasshouses containing exotic plants.

When it comes to finding something to do, you’ll find that Birmingham has it covered.

For books about just about anything, please go to Manadon Bookstore.

Fly Fishing in Britain & Ireland

There is no other sport as versatile or as popular in Britain as fishing.  Fishing is a sport that can be undertaken as cheaply or as expensively as you wish. Five year olds in jeans, tee-shirt and an old pair of wellies can tie a piece of string to a stick, bend a paper clip, attach a worm and have as much fun as the millionaire fishing enthusiast with a sea-going luxury fishing boat, complete with lines, tackle, rigging, harpoons, shades and champagne!


Fishing can range from being simply a sport or hobby, to a full-time serious occupation. One of the most popular methods of fishing is fly fishing. Fly fishing is done with a specially designed rod and reel combination that allows the sportsperson to cast their line in the direction of a spot on the water and then slowly reel it back in.

Fly fishing is appropriately named.  In contrast to lure fishing, fly fishing requires the fisherman to fool the fish into thinking that the fly is one of the fish’s favorite meals, skimming along the surface of the water.  Lure fishing appeals to the lazy underwater fish, often attracted by shiny metallic objects and enticed to bite on the hook with some delicious, or delicious appearing bait.

Fly fishing is designed to attract fish at specific times of day by their feeding instincts. The lures for fly fishing are called flies, and are in fact a cheaper way to fish, generally speaking, than the lures needed in lure fishing.

Fly fishermen often tie their own fishing flies, using material from around the home, or bought from specialist suppliers.  Fishing flies are designed to appear as the kind of prey that fish in the specific area are feeding on at a given time. This can include all manner of insects and insect larvae.

Although  other types of fishermen may not agree, fly fishing is a much more challenging form of the sport.  The fly fisher must constantly have his/her arm in motion, casting the line, playing it out and reeling it in patterns made to simulate the movement of the prey.  When a fish is hooked, it takes a skilled fisherman to land the fish.

Fly fishing also involves a certain amount of study, in order for the outing to be successful.  Fishermen must do their research into what kind of species of fish they are hoping to catch, and in turn what kind of species their targets are feeding on. This information can change seasonally, day to day, and even has different applications during different feeding times.

Fly fishing is an excellent way to get outside and enjoy the fresh air while participating in an enjoyable sport, and getting some exercise at the same time.  Fishing takes a lot of practice, but is highly addictive and is a sport that with never go out of fashion.

For books about fishing in Britain, plus many other British interests, please visit our website at http://manadon-bookstore.ebid.net/