We haven't had a chance to go to the Greenwich Maritime Museum in a suburb of  London but the shop provides a glimpse into the exhibits and holdings. The shop displays, for instance a solar compass:  "The nautical compass was used in the 16th century and was of critical importance in navigation and cartography. It is both a compass and sundial and can tell the time straightaway."

(Editor's Note: Don't be discouraged by the fact that, after clicking on the images, that little of the object is seen; just click again in the seemingly vacant space! We also have ordered clothes for our grandchildren many times  from Mini Boden and small packages come quickly.)

"The Astro-Disk is a stylish and informative guide to the stars and constellations. View the night time sky at any time of night, any night of the year, simply by matching the time and date on the two disks. This spectacular working model of the heavens includes a finely detailed star disk and an overlay horizon disk."

Ruth Belville,  The Greenwich Time Lady in paperback : "Using a pocket watch named 'Arnold’, the Belville family provided Greenwich Time to paying customers across London. Ruth, the last of the time-sellers, finally retired in her 80s, in 1939, bringing to a close a remarkable episode in the history of timekeeping and of London life."

For a truly unique gift, adopt a penguin and receive a gift tin with the following:  After registration you will receive: •A personalised certificate displaying your name and your penguin’s name •A colour photograph of your chosen penguin •A complimentary ticket valid for any SEA LIFE centre.

The paperback  (on sale for £3.50) Naval Wives and Mistresses focuses on the second half of the 18th century, a period when Britain was almost continuously at war, this book looks at different social groups, from the aristocratic elite to the labouring and criminal poor, prostitutes and petty thieves. Drawing on a range of material from personal letters to trial reports, from popular prints to love tokens, it exposes the personal cost of warfare and imperial ambition. Jane Austen and the Navy (another paperback on sale) is based on family and naval records.  "This is not the navy of Nelson's great victories at sea but the Navy at home, of sailors amongst their families and friends, set against the background of war and revolution, observed as always, with Austen's shrewd and detailed eye." Also, don't overlook The Female Shipwright:  In 1759, at the age of nineteen, Mary Lacy donned a pair of men's breeches, adopted the name of William Chandler, and went to sea. Her autobiography (first published in 1773) chronicles her sea-faring adventures and gives a fascinating insight into the hardships of ordinary sailors in the 18th-century Navy. For her, these were compounded by having to pretend to be a man.

For chidren, the pirate page carries a pirate ducky as well as a pirate hot water bottle, that classic English comfort item.

At present, the exhibition is on the North-West Passage; "a new exhibition about our ‘arctic obsession’ with the North-West Passage, and the lives of the Inuit who have lived there for thousands of years."

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