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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > The countryside, country life
Seton Gordon really created himself as naturalist, photographer and
writer, the first such in the country, his first book appearing
when he was eighteen. In all he wrote 27 books, two specifically
about the Cairngorms where he grew up and first explored and
returned to many times throughout his long life. He wrote with a
revelational wonder and freshness, writing in poetic prose
descriptions only possible by someone intimately at home in the
hills with their interacting, connected features: birds, plants,
trees, geology, weather, Gaelic culture, place names, history,
folklore - an ecologist before the word was coined. Hamish Brown
selected passages for "Seton Gordon's Scotland" and has now made a
fascinating choice from Seton Gordon's extensive writings about the
Cairngorms. There are descriptions of hill days throughout the
seasons and intimate descriptions of wildlife. Seton Gordon lived
to a great age but the Cairngorms were his first, young man's
enthusiasm. Hamish Brown, no mean mountaineer and lover of the
outdoors, has garnered biographical material and archive pictures
for a book which everyone with an interest in the Scottish hills
will welcome.
This volume comprises 190 poems by 133 poets: old favourites such
as Tennysons The Song of the Brook and Wordworths Upon Westminster
Bridge are joined by 20th century poetry from both sides of the
Atlantic, with writers including A.R. Ammon, Wendell Berry, Carol
Ann Duffy, U.A. Fanthorpe, Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes, Andrew
Motion, Sylvia Plath and William Carlos Williams. Poets muse on the
particularity of rivers, use the river as a metaphor for lifes
journey, from spring to the sea of unknowing, and explore the
magical qualities of water, its transformations and patterns. Yet
in Britain our rivers are still retreating from a post-war
onslaught: the lowering of water tables, draining of water meadows,
chopping down of trees and destroying wildlife habitats. This book
reasserts the timeless importance of rivers to our environment, to
the poetic imagination, and indeed to life itself.
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER A fascinating and hilarious glimpse
into Paul's life at home in the country with his animals Paul
O'Grady's Country Life for the first time gives a glimpse into the
home life of one of Britain's best loved stars, alongside the
animals he adores. Sometimes rural idyll, sometimes hell on earth,
Paul's life in rural Kent has been shared over the years with some
very vocal pigs, a mad cow, various rescued barn owls, the world's
most sadistic geese and Christine the psychotic sheep - among many
other animal waifs and strays. And of course Paul tells the stories
of the dogs in his life - including the tiny chihuahua/Jack Russell
cross with Napoleonic ambitions, Eddie, Miss Olga, Bullseye, Louis,
Boycie and, of course, Buster, the greatest canine star since
Lassie. In addition, Paul shares some of his favourite recipes,
explores country lore and superstitions, and extols the benefits of
growing your own vegetables, herbs and fruit. This is a
warts-and-all account of country living, as far removed from the
bright lights of celebrity as you could ever imagine. The trials
and tribulations Paul experienced on moving to deepest darkest Kent
as a dyed-in-the-wool city dweller are every bit as hilarious and
eventful as you would think. He had a lot of new skills to learn,
and fast: everything from how to churn your own butter and how to
birth a lamb to the best way to lure a cow out of your kitchen
while naked from the waist down. Brilliantly funny and full of
classic stories, Paul O'Grady's Country Life is your armchair guide
to the wonders and horrors of rural existence.
This beautifully written book chronicles a year in the life of a
large urban park on the banks of the Warwickshire Avon, and the
surprising wildlife to be found as the seasons unfold. There are
exiting discoveries, little-known facts, tips on identification,
and the legends associated with many of our wild creatures. From
long-distance migrants to spectacular predators, each month brings
something new and uplifting. "A fascinating diary of a year of
discovery". (Stephen Moss, Naturalist and Author). "A walk in the
park will never be quite the same after reading this". (Nic Hallam,
BBRC).
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