Cellan-Jones, Rory – The Bell Bookshop

Sophie From Romania

Emma — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

‘Fills my heart with so much joy’ Niall Harbison, bestselling author of Tina
‘In a dark time, a daily dose of hope’ Jojo Moyes

How do you welcome someone new into your heart and home? A week before Christmas, newly retired BBC journalist Rory Cellan-Jones receives a special delivery that will change his life.

This is the story of rescue dog #SophieFromRomania.

In January 2022, the Cellan-Jones-Coyle family said goodbye to their beloved elderly Collie cross, Cabbage. She and Rory had become inseparable during daily pandemic walks, which alleviated his Parkinson’s symptoms. After a grief-stricken year, Rory and his wife Diane come across a listing for ‘a kind girl who loves everybody and is just looking for her forever home’.

Bright-eyed, big-eared and trembling, Sophie arrives in London on 17 December 2022. Rory holds the Romanian rescue in his arms, excited for their first walk together – but the road ahead will be a long one . . . This book follows the real journey of Sophie’s adoption – from her battles with anxiety, to the joys of play and her first time outside – as Rory and Diane work with expert dog trainer Si to win Sophie’s trust and navigate Rory’s Parkinson’s disease.

This is a moving story of love, kindness and a lot of patience, paying tribute to rescue dogs and their tender community.

Sophie from Romania

Emma — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In January 2022, the Cellan-Jones-Coyle family said goodbye to their beloved elderly Collie Cross, Cabbage. Newly retired, Rory had become inseparable from her during daily pandemic walks which alleviated his Parkinson's Disease symptoms. After a grief-stricken year, Rory and his wife Diane contemplated opening up their hearts again and came across a dog listing for 'a kind girl who loves everybody and is just looking for her forever home'. Bright-eyed, big-eared and trembling, Sophie arrives in London in a van from Central Europe on 17th December. 'Sophie from Romania' follows the journey of her adoption - from her battles with anxiety, to the joys of play and her first foray outside - as Rory and Diane work with expert dog trainer Si to win Sophie's trust, and navigate Rory's Parkinson's diagnosis.

Ruskin Park

Emma — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Rory Cellan-Jones knew he was the child of a brief love affair between two unmarried BBC employees. But until his mother died and he found a previously unknown file labelled ‘For Rory’ he had no idea of their beginnings or ending, and why his peculiarly isolated childhood had so tested the bond between him and his mother. ‘For Rory,’ his mother had written on the file ‘in the hope that it will help him understand how it really was …’ This is a tender account of what Rory uncovered in the papers, letters and diaries; a relationship between two colleagues (two romantics) and the restrictive forces of post-war respectability and prejudice that ended it. It is also an evocation of the progressive, centrifugal force at the centre of all their lives – the BBC itself. Both compelling and moving, the drama moves from wartime radio broadcasts, to the glamour of 1950s television studios, to the golden era of BBC drama. His father may have directed The Forsythe Saga and Rory may have watched h