A Tale of Trees: The Battle to Save Britain’s Ancient Woodland by Derek Niemann
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Woodlands nestle deep within our national psyche; they have been the origins of myths, fairy tales and legends for millennia. They have fed us with the fruits from the under-storey, sheltered us with their trunks and the off0cuts have kept us warm. The more ancient a forest, the more we seem to love it. Vast oaks, swathes of bluebells and woodland animals just add to the deeply ingrained feelings we have for these places.

Woodlands that we almost lost for ever.

Post World War Two, these most ancient of place came under sustained attach from government, farmers and even the Forestry Commission; the very people supposedly charged with looking after these assets. The spectre of profit over ecosystems loomed large, and in thirty years, yes just thirty years we lost half of our ancient forests. In this tale of doom and gloom were sparks of hope though. People who were passionate about their local woods stood up to landowners and the government; rogue commission employees to matters into their own hands and the rise of the conservation and wildlife trusts lobbied and bought woods and coppices under threat.

Some of the events he writes about are quite shocking, copses that were hundreds of years old, decimated in a few days. Other stories of rogue Forestry Commission employees, who though it was wiser to ignore the wishes of the management and the stock plan saved some of these woodlands. The deep passion Niemann has for his subject is evident throughout the book, His soft lyrical voice has given us a really wonderfully written book on the ancient forests that dot our landscape, and the fight that people have undertaken to save them and bring them back from the brink of the abyss. They still aren’t completely safe, but the evidence showing the benefit to our landscape and wellbeing is now evident, and these green jewels of our countryside have a much better future.

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Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is 1917 and Laurie Lee and his family have just arrived in the village of Slad in Gloucestershire for the first time. Their new home is nestled deep in the valley, warmed by open fires and water is got from a pump outside the back door. It is two families that have come together, the elder children are from the first marriage; his father re-married when their mother died, and had a second family before going off to war. Even though his father is not there, it is a happy childhood. The war reaches its end and the village celebrates; the family lives in hope of seeing their father again now it has ended. It was not to be.

Soon he was old enough to attend school. It was split into two classes, infants and Big Ones, separated by a partition. It was here that he was brought together with all the characters of the village and started to forge friendships that would remain with him. The teachers were very different to those today, harsher and often brutal, they had little scope for tolerance, demanding only obedience. Life in a rural community was as much about the daily life and way that the seasons slowed moved on slowly. Singing carols around the village at Christmas starting with the squire, skating on the frozen pond, to the balmy days of summer spent playing games in the fields.

Its roots clutched the slope like a giant hand, holding the hill in place. Its trunk writhed with power, threw off veils of green dust, rose towering into the air, branched into a thousand shaded alleys, became a city for owls and squirrels. I had thought such trees to be as old as the earth, I never dreamed that a man could make them.

Lee is such a lyrical author, writing about this tiny piece of England that was forever changed after the First World War. It is not shown through rose tinted glasses; this was tough at times, death was a frequent occurrence in his family and with neighbours and other villagers. The hard work was tempered by simple pleasures. This glimpse of a time long past, of a place that he loved and made him the man he was to become when he walked away at the age of 19. Thoughly enjoyable book that is really too short.

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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rosemary Harpe is beginning to think she might not make her rendezvous with the spaceship Wayfarer, wormhole builders. The pod she is in runs on cheap fuel and she is not sure that the drugs she is using to make the journey palatable, completely work… When she emerges from consciousness all she can think about is will her new brand new identity work when she gets to the ship? She makes it safely and after passing the Bioscan is welcomed about the Wayfarer. He fellow crew consist of humans, Ashby, the captain, Corbin the algae expert, Jenks and Kizzy who are the techs. With them are other species, Sissix a reptilian, Dr Chef and Sinat Pair called Ohan whose particular skill enables them to navigate through the wormholes.

Her new life is carrying out clerical and admin stuff for the ship and keeping well out of the way from her previous life. But life for the crew is about to change completely, they have the opportunity to punch a wormhole through to the Toremi, a race that have recently indicated that they want to be a part of the wider interspecies cooperation. This chance offers financial security, but it is a huge risk too; Ashby decides that he has to take it. So begins an adventure that will stretch and threaten them as they discover who their friends really are.

This is a really enjoyable drama set in space, with a diverse and unusual set of characters with flaws and qualities alike. The pacing was good, with quieter more reflective periods in-between moments of rapid action. I liked the way that Chambers wrote about the tech and physics, none of it felt implausible and she manages to convey what is happening without taking reams of text to explain it. The story wrapped up nicely, but it did feel like some of the story was being held back for the next ones in the series though. Good stuff, definitely will be reading the next ones in the series. 3.5 stars

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Web Of Deceit: Britain’s Real Foreign Policy by Mark Curtis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The definition of diplomacy has been described as the ability to tell a person to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip. When you think of a titled British ambassador, you have the image of a soft talking Sir Humphrey as a gentle ambassador for British interests abroad. Curtis has spent hours pouring over formerly secret government files released under the Thirty year rule; turns out the reality is very different from the image that they have cultivated…

From the evidence the he has amassed Curtis argues that the UK is an ‘outlaw state’, an ally of many repressive regimes and a frequent a violator of international law. He catalogues the shocking human rights abuses carried out by foreign countries with tacit approval of the UK government. The unpalatable details of historical events in Indonesia in 1965; Diego Garcia; Iran and British Guiana, Kenya, Malaya and Oman are covered in detail. The Uk has also supported repressive governments in, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel. This policy of having a political elite in charge of a country to control the population purely so British business and economic interests can take precedence over that particular countries wishes is abhorrent.

It makes for quite depressing reading and is a slamming indictment of the UK government and Foreign Office. Whilst this was primarily aimed at the New Labour government; who thought that inserting ethical before foreign policy would make it so. It doesn’t, if you have not changed the fundamental principles of the policy. Sadly, I cannot imagine that it is any better under the present encumbrances… It is a bit dated (I have had it sitting on my shelf for years!), but still an eye opening read.

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Hidden Histories: A Spotter’s Guide to the British Landscape by Mary-Ann Ochota
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The British landscape as we see it today smothers a whole load of history. But if you look very carefully at the scene in front of you, you can start to see hints of the features that lie just beneath. But what are they? This is where Hidden Histories can help. Ochota has compiled a guide to discovering what the lumps and bumps that dot our countryside really are, so you can tell your cursus from your barrow, standing stones from a rubbing stone and your stretchers from your English bond. For each of the sections, you are provided with lots of details on what to look for, how to make an assessment of just what it is you are looking at and how to determine just how ancient it really is.

The book is packed full of excellent photos as well as artworks, maps and detailed drawings of all sorts of places, buildings, landscapes and features. I particularly liked the way that he has chosen her top five of a specific feature, so you can go and have a look yourself. It is a very good guide for getting you out into the landscape to look at it with a different set of eyes and to discover the history that you probably haven’t noticed before. 3.5 stars

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