He wants his tapes and pamphlets back.
One of my favorite Britishisms, probably coined in the 80’s. OED defines it:
colloq. (chiefly Brit., orig. R.A.F. slang). to go ( also turn) pear-shaped: to go (badly) wrong, to go awry.
The origin of the term is the subject of some debate; Wikipedia lists six possible explanations, none of them particularly convincing.
