Halfman, Halfbook

4 out of 5 stars

The publisher provided a copy of this, free of charge, in return for an honest review.

There is a strange irony in that the UK is the least forested country in Europe, and yet we have some of the oldest trees and some of the most ancient of woodlands. How we have ended up in this unique situation is the subject of this book by Watkins, as he considers the practical, cultural, social and artistic reasons behind this.

His first chapter is concerned with the origins of forests and woodlands, and he begins with the human traits of wanting to categorise and name everything. This is not just naming a tree, Dave, for example, but the scientific rationale behind naming the genus and species. Like all things, it began fairly simply, but over the years as scientific knowledge has increased and new techniques have been developed, the genus has changed a number of times for some species.

Watkins explores what makes a woodland ancient and the science that looks at species density with respect to how long the given area has been in existence. The understanding of the complex species interactions means that we now have a much clearer definition of what ancient woodlands are and the keystone species that we need to see to gauge their age.

Moving from woodlands and woodland pasture that are a sustainable resource, to trees that are purely grown as a cash crop has led to wholesale change in the way that woodlands are managed and run. The economic spectres of profit and efficiency loom large over the sector, and this generally means that these are run as monocultures. Unwanted plants are obliterated and kept away with pesticides. Come the time to harvest the wood, machine harvesting is brutal and can make what was once a pleasant area look like the site of a battlefield.

Non-native trees are often planted as they offer certain qualities which the owners are looking for. This has two disadvantages: native creatures that need native woodlands can barely exist, plus they bring a range of their own diseases and problems. The example that Watkins gives concerns eucalyptus plantings in Portugal where the conditions have caused wildfires and several deaths.

He goes on to discuss the Sitka spruce that have been planted extensively in the UK. These absorb a lot of carbon when they are growing, but after harvesting, they are processed into paper and other consumables. This means that the captured carbon is not used in buildings or other places where it could be stored.

It was on a walk around Badbury Rings that I first learnt about woodland pasture. This is a mix of trees and open ground, in this instance meadowland, and animals could be grazed on there. The trees were often pollarded as it meant that the new shoots wouldn’t get eaten when the tree resprouted. Most farms have abandoned this type of field system now for the sake of efficiency and moving machinery around trees isn’t easy. Sadly, we get the worst of all worlds.

Watkins explores the effect that four specific animals can have on woodlands and forests: deer, boar, beavers and pigs. These principles are why places like Knepp are working well, these large herbivores are changing the dynamic of the way that the landscape operates and functions as an ecosystem. I didn’t realise that there were over 5000 pigs in the New Forest for pannage (a wonderful word) in times past.

Forests and woods and specific trees can suffer from all manner of diseases and other issues. We have had Dutch Elm disease in the past, and are currently seeing Ash dieback affect numerous trees. The global timber market has ensured that pathogens that we would never have seen have been imported here and are having a fairly detrimental effect on our trees and woodlands.

The rapidly changing climate with disrupted weather patterns is leading to more intense storms and long periods of drought, causing the rise of wildfires. Sadly, these are most common in southern Europe, though they are starting to rise in frequency here too.

The wanton and pointless destruction when the Sycamore Gap tree was felled caused an immense amount of anguish and outrage when it happened. The two men responsible for it were convicted and imprisoned, but I think that they should have been made to plant 1000 trees each instead.

I have seen video of the way that modern forestry machinery can fell, strip, cut to the desired length and stack logs. It is as impressive as it is brutal. Wakins spends time with Gladstone and his unnatural obsession with cutting trees down. He then goes on to explore women’s limited, but thankfully expanding, roles in modern forestry and woodland management.

For those who have the luxury of leisure, they have the time and the money to appreciate forests for their aesthetic qualities. He ventures into the health benefits of being in a woodland, in particular Piney Copse that was bought by E.M. Forster and was subsequently donated to the National Trust

Palm trees have always (in my opinion) added a level of tropical exoticness to places, no more so than on the Ligurian coastline. I see a lot of palm trees in gardens in my part of Dorset in gardens of houses of a certain age; must have been the thing to plant in its time.

Most people have heard of sacred groves, and this is because trees are often revered. This is not just a European concept; this reverence for trees can be found all over the world. At Knowlton, near me, there are two yew trees that sit alongside the henge and ruined church, which I feel have some special qualities. Watkins concentrates on the Cedars of Lebanon in this chapter, which for some people are particularly significant.

I thought that this was an interesting book by Watkins. It didn’t quite go in the direction that I thought it ‘wood’ instead, he meanders and wanders down a different set of paths as he searches for stories about trees, copses, woodlands and forests. If trees are your thing and you want to read another perspective on how humanity has interacted with them over time, then I’d recommend reading this book.

3.5 out of 5 stars

The publisher provided a copy of this, free of charge, in return for an honest review.

The story opens with an account of a man being hanged for murder. The narrator describes him as the best man he has ever known. A question forms in my mind: why would a man described as being like this be executed for murder? Intriguing.

The narrator and the man facing execution, John Travers, have a friendship that goes back to childhood. Tragic circumstances meant that they both moved back to the UK, having been in India. They were living in Surrey and were as close as brothers. They both applied to Sandhurst together.

The narrator, Tom Toogood, is then best man for Travers when he marries Muriel. It was at this point that he first met Muriel’s mother, Helga, too, and she was a woman that he had some strong opinions about.

Now they were married, he left them to get on with their lives, and they slowly drifted apart as friends. One day, out of the blue, he received a telegram from John saying:

MURIEL SERIOUSLY ILL THINK MENTAL HEALTH

FOR GOD’S SAKE COME AT ONCE. JOHN

He hurried to their house in Bournemouth where he found both John and Muriel ill. Helga was caring for them and really didn’t want to see Tom, a doctor now, there at all. It was a strange set of circumstances, and as he began to unpick what was going on, it would become stranger still.

The complex relationship between the four main characters unfolds and unravels as the story’s pace quickens. And I am not going to add any more than that, as it will spoil the story…

I thought that this was a fairly good book, even though it is pretty predictable. But even though I guessed what had happened, the how and why of how the author got us from the opening scene to the dramatic ending is what made the book for me. It can be very dark at times; after all, it is a very early example of a psychological thriller, but I didn’t find it that scary. What I would say, particularly on this edition, is to read the introduction after you have read the book. However, the author does say when to stop reading it, and when to read the story.

4 out of 5 stars

The publisher provided a copy of this, free of charge, in return for an honest review.

Contrary to my initial expectations, Mister Peacock is not a bird. Rather, he is a crocodile. And a big one at that; fifteen feet long and supposedly of a great age. The pool he lives in is by Mangho Pir’s Shrine, a space that was originally shared by both pilgrims and crocodiles, however after a few incidents, a wall was erected so pilgrims could undertake their rituals without being eaten.
It is an auspicious start to Mayne’s explorations of the saints and mystical Sufi shrines of the Indus valley in Pakistan.

Mayne takes the train to Sehwan; he is heading to the house of Pir Gul Muhammad Shah, after a distinguished gentleman promised him an introduction. Alighting from the train, he finds a tonga driver and asks him to take him to the address.

Arriving outside, he is hoping that the introduction letter has arrived prior to him, if not he will be looking for other accommodation. It had and he was welcomed and put up in the Otaq, a guest house that is separate from the main accommodation. He is keen to get on and see the sign, but as an honoured guest, he has to be attended by servants who are there to cater for his every need.

He does eventually make it to the shrine and manages to sit contemplating life the universe and everything, while watching specks of dust floating in the beams of sunlight streaming through. The place is really busy, with lots of people popping in for their own reflective moments. It is so relaxing that he dozes for while, before a cleaner comes and moves him on.

While his appreciates the accommodation, it is not the easiest place to stay. He tries to get out when possible and walks around the town and then out to another tomb that overlooks a dried riverbed. After a short while, he makes the decision to leave and shocks his hosts. They think that he is unwell and call in a masseur to care a treat him. Mayne is slightly intimidated by the size of the guy who turns up, but makes to make his excuses and leaves.

Following a conversation about hermaphrodites with a man called Terence, Mayne goes to the Ghazi Baba Shrine next. He passes and dervish on the way in, and climbs up past a tree that is filled with all manner of objects throughout its branches.

The next shrine is laid out in a style similar to the others that he has seen in the region. The only difference with this shrine is that the wind causes it to vibrate and resonate. He sits with the dervish for a while contemplating life, and then the Pir Sahib arrives. He insists on showing Mayne around.

Mayne’s next shrine is Pagàro. He had visited it first a while ago. He feels it is a dead place; the few people there are reluctant to engage with a stranger like him. The courtyard is empty and he imagines what it would be like if it was full of people noise and smells. The absence of people didn’t stop it having an element of magic of its own.

This time the 7th Pir had sent a jeep to bring him over. The road there is very dusty and on the journey, him and his companions slowly get paler and paler as the dust settles on them. He settles into the modest accommodation provided. He is soon called for to meet his host, but he ends up sitting and waiting two hours, so decides to go for a walk around the village instead.
The 6th Pir Pagàro had immense power and Mayne takes time to in the book to expand on the history of the man, including much about his imprisonment and subsequent release. However, the man still craved ultimate power and that would be his undoing.

Mayne returned from his walk and still ended up waiting for s short while before being informed that the Pir was now ready to see him. He was a large man who had a calm authority about him.
Mayne heads to a train station, but knowing that there isn’t going to be a train for a while, decides to take a walk. He ends up at Massum’s Tower, where he took the opportunity to climb it to see over the city of Sukkur. He goes for a coffee and ends up bumping into Kaka Sahib. They stop for food and have a long discussion about various things.

I thought that this was a fascinating journey into Pakistan in the 1950s. Mayne is an empathic traveller, curious about the people of the region and their ways. He immerses himself in their way of life with the hope of learning much more about them. Being able to speak the language, means that he brings an extra insight to the narrative that we wouldn’t necessarily get with other travellers and authors. I liked this a lot and thing it is well worth reading.

3 out of 5 stars

The publisher provided a copy of this, free of charge, in return for an honest review.

On a hot, still evening at dusk, a woman leaves her house to go out for a walk. After a while, she hears someone coming up behind her. The figure passes quickly. She notices that they are wearing a grey cloak, but there are no other recognisable features.

She returns to her house, only to find this figure in the grey cloak in her porch. It is then that she realises that the figure in the cloak is a woman. She sees her reach out and touch the window, before suddenly turning round and walking quickly down the path, past where she is standing.

As she approaches her front door and opens it. Then she sees what the figure in the porch had been looking at. There are men with her husband looking at a skeleton on the table. She goes into the room to find out what is going on, and it turns out these remains were discovered under a wall, and there was a lead tablet with an inscription on.

She knows some of the men around the table, one of whom she knew very well from her past. Soon after she joins them, he talks to her over coffee separately; she humours him a little, but it is a past that she doesn’t want to return to.

After the gathering, they box the bones up carefully, and two of the men carry the bones back to another house. As they walk, they are aware of another person or presence near them, but they can’t see anybody.

Over the next few days, the summer heat builds and builds and reaches unbearable levels. Everyone in the town is a bit frazzled and on edge. More and more residents are seeing the figure in the grey cloak, and they walk around the town, and it is beginning to unnerve some people. The tension increases with the heat.

There were parts of this story that I liked a lot. The archaeological mystery, the tensions between the characters and the mysterious haunting. The author has made the story very atmospheric, and the plot could be a little unnerving at times. I did think that it had some flaws though; there was a plethora of characters, and perhaps because I wasn’t fully engaged with it meant that I couldn’t always work out who was who in the plot. I don’t mind books where the author has a range of characters, including some that you are not supposed to like, but I did think that most characters in here were insufferable. However, this may have been the author’s intention! Not a bad read overall.