{"title":"Laurie James","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"safeguard-coaches-of-guildford-book-laurie-james-9781445616902","title":"Safeguard Coaches of Guildford","description":"2014 marks the ninetieth anniversary of Safeguard, which has been in business from the mid-1920s. Laurie James uses archives, memoirs and photographs of Safeguard vehicles and its owners, the Newman family, to tell its story. Safeguard is unusual in that it is still very much a family business and has stayed true to its roots in the Guildford area. It is one of the few traditional independent transport firms from the earliest days of bus operation. Throughout times of hardship and uncertainty, Safeguard has maintained a reputation for excellence, not only with its customers, but with its staff, welcoming them into the company family. The loyalty they garnered from the people of Guildford has enabled them to survive. They have ensured that their activities have kept abreast of the changing needs of their passengers, including embracing new technological developments.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49575537279249,"sku":"GOR006633640","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445616904.jpg?v=1777714896"},{"product_id":"horsham-s-independent-bus-services-book-laurie-james-9780752444413","title":"Horsham's Independent Bus Services","description":"This book looks at the varied bus companies that once served this Sussex market town from the turn of the twentieth century to the present day. Laurie James tells of the ups and downs of the humble companies that operate bus services in and around Horsham. Profusely illustrated with many images, the book will be of interest to both locals and bus enthusiasts alike.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49582350565649,"sku":"GOR005258117","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0752444417.jpg?v=1750849239"},{"product_id":"somerset-s-buses-book-laurie-james-9780752431710","title":"Somerset's Buses","description":"A history of Somerset's buses.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49590472704273,"sku":"GOR004135631","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0752431714.jpg?v=1751424082"},{"product_id":"woking-buses-1911-1939-book-laurie-james-9781445608297","title":"Woking Buses 1911-1939","description":"The motor bus did not come to Woking until 1911. Unlike many other areas the town was not subsumed into the network of the major territorial operators for a considerable time. It was on the extreme fringe of the empires of Aldershot \u0026amp; District and London General and it was not until the mid-1920s that Aldershot \u0026amp; District was able to anchor itself firmly in Woking while London General had to wait until 1931. Being on the boundary of two major operators who were providing little, meant that the Woking area (and Guildford too) became ripe for exploitation by local proprietors. Men were returning from the Forces after the war with their demobilisation gratuities. A fourteen-seat bus on a lightweight American chassis was relatively cheap, so the cost of market entry was not prohibitive. It was, however, a cut-throat business with numerous proprietors competing on the most lucrative routes almost on a dog-eat-dog basis. One Councillor described the Woking - St John's - Knaphill route as a 'little goldmine', making competition fierce and surely against the public interest in terms of providing a regular, reliable service.  The history of A\u0026amp;D and London General has already been documented but little in-depth has been written about the so-called 'independents'. This book sets out to remedy this and to put the activities of the larger companies into local context. The book concerns itself with the period before the Second World War, up to the time of the disappearance of the last of the independent operators.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49599425904913,"sku":"GOR004423895","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49627300954385,"sku":"GOR011821902","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1445608294.jpg?v=1750757139"},{"product_id":"sandwiched-book-laurie-james-9781631527852","title":"Sandwiched","description":"Laurie James spent most of her life wondering what it means to belong; loneliness dictated the choices she made. She rarely shared this secret with others, however; it was always hidden behind a carefree and can-do attitude. When she's in her mid-forties, Laurie's mother has a heart attack and her husband's lawyer delivers some shocking news. She suddenly finds herself sandwiched between caring for her parents, managing unruly caregivers, raising four teenage daughters, and trying to understand the choices of the husband she thought she knew. Laurie's story is about one woman's struggle to 'do it all' while facing the reality that the 'ideal life' and 'perfect family' she believed could save her was slowly crumbling beneath her. Laurie tries everything to keep her family together - seeks therapy, practices yoga, rediscovers nature, develops strong female friends, and begins writing - but as she explores the layers of her life and heals her past, she realizes that she's the only one who can create the life she wants and deserves. Sandwiched is a memoir about what it means to let go of the life you planned in order to find the life you belong to.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50397627416849,"sku":"CIN1631527851A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50397633904913,"sku":"CIN1631527851G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1631527851.jpg?v=1763719206"},{"product_id":"kemps-chiltern-queens-book-laurie-james-9781905304776","title":"Kemps \u0026 Chiltern Queens","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51514031505681,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51514031833361,"sku":"GOR012529825","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53117203349777,"sku":"GOR014735416","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1905304773.jpg?v=1750899568"},{"product_id":"lavington-devizes-motor-services-book-laurie-james-9781445639185","title":"Lavington \u0026 Devizes Motor Services","description":"The story of the introduction of motor transport in rural north Wiltshire in the early years of the twentieth century and into the interwar years.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51851646370065,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51851646468369,"sku":"GOR011666545","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53203807207697,"sku":"GOR012621442","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781445639185.jpg?v=1760522017"},{"product_id":"buses-and-coaches-in-and-around-walton-on-thames-and-weybridge-1891-1986-book-laurie-james-9781526776051","title":"Buses and Coaches in and around Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge, 1891-1986","description":"Although the Surrey towns of Walton-on-Thames and Weybridge were for many years served by the London bus network, there were also a number of small scale locally based operators running bus services, before selling out to London Transport in the 1930s.  Such companies ran coaches for private hire, contracts and pleasure outings, commencing just after the First World War.  This book seeks to newly record the history of these proprietors and put the activities of the London General Omnibus Company and later London Transport into local context.  The story starts in the 1890s with horse drawn buses linking with the local railway stations and carries the reader through the dawn of the motor era, the rise of the charabanc, entrepreneurial opportunities in the 1920s and consolidation in the 1930s, World War Two and the gradual decline of bus services from the 1960s. It culminates in a return to a de-regulated operating environment in 1986.  Capturing the story of Ben Stanley's Coaches (amongst other pioneers) by using primary source material , the book covers more than just routes and vehicles - it attempts to show how road passenger transport was influenced by local social historic and economic activity.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51889122476305,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51889122541841,"sku":"GOR012967843","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781526776051.jpg?v=1754667719"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/collections\/author-books-by-laurie-james.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}