writing

Book Review: The Light in the Dark – A Winter Journal – by Horatio Clare

It’s not often that I leave a book with a lump in my throat but that’s the case with Horatio Clare’s recent journal The Light in the Dark. Brutally honest and emotionally harrowing Clare cuts to the heart of what it means to live with a mental health condition but also shows how the natural worldContinue reading “Book Review: The Light in the Dark – A Winter Journal – by Horatio Clare”

Music, Art, Creativity and the Countryside

Countless great pieces of music and art are influenced by the natural world and rural landscapes. The works of Ralph Vaughan Williams for example, or Beethoven’s 6th Symphony or Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude are all influenced by the outdoors. Elgar was influenced by his beloved Malvern Hills, Benjamin Britten by the Suffolk coast and Holst theContinue reading “Music, Art, Creativity and the Countryside”

Book Review: ‘Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey’ by Madeleine Bunting

‘’Many people travel in search of the exotic and the unfamiliar. I was travelling in search of home, in the hope of knowing and understanding where I could call home.’’ Love of Country tells the story of several journeys made by Madeleine Bunting to the islands off the west coast of Scotland, known as theContinue reading “Book Review: ‘Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey’ by Madeleine Bunting”

Book Review: ‘Strands’ by Jean Sprackland

In beachcombing, if we look closely enough, we find philosophy, history, art. The meditative, contemplative act of scanning the shoreline, enables discoveries of an alternative version of places that we think we know. Usually mundane objects become exotic if we choose to see them in such a way. To collect these items is timeless andContinue reading “Book Review: ‘Strands’ by Jean Sprackland”

The Myth of England

To me, England is the country, and the country is England. And when I ask myself what I mean by England, when I think of England when I am abroad, England comes to me though my various senses – through the ear, through the eye and through certain imperishable scents. .The sounds of England, theContinue reading “The Myth of England”