COUNTRY PEOPLE:
AN ENDANGERED SPECIES, Tony
Hodgson
Tony Hodgson has recently moved to Berwick, after a lifetime as
avicar in many rural parishes. His anthology, Country People,
is athoughtful mosaic of rural writing, and adds up to a subtle
statementabout the intricate balance of the country way of life
that we arein danger of losing. he writes: 'This anthology is
not an exercisein nostalgia nor in recrimination. It is an attempt
to chronicle thelives of people who have lived and worked in the
rural areas ofBritaina nd Ireland through the last few centuries.'
Very wellillustrated with photos and line drawings and specially
commissionedpaintings by Henry Croly. 14.95
THE BIG HOUSE:
HELENA MCEWEN
An evocative novel of childhood in Scotland, The Big House willintrigue
local people with the issue of how much of it isautobiographical.
Helena Mcewan was brought up at Marchmont (the bighouse) and tragically
lost a brother and a sister. The Elizabeth ofhte novel also suffers
the death of her brother and her sister. Isthis Greenlaw's first
roman a clef? 12.99
JIM WALKER'S SECOND BOOK IS HERE. Jim's historic photographs of Berwick (9.99) have been immensely popular and very evocative. Jim is a distinguished photographer and a collector of photographic history. He has dug deep into his collection to offer perhaps 250 images of Berwick and its surroundings, with sections on traditional industries, sports and leisure and shipping.
His second book published mid December with more images of the past of the town, this time complemented by Jim's own contemporary photographs of the same scenes. This makes for some fascinating contrasting pairs. Cows were grazed on Magdalen Fields, which are now devoted to golf. Somerfield supermarket is on the site of the cattle mart. A young woman walks her dog now and in Edwardian times on the walls. The overall impression is of great change and paradoxically of great continuity. It would, incidentally, be wonderful to see some of Jim's photographs on a larger scale. How about an exhibition? Berwick upon Tweed Then and Now, (9.99)
Edwin Bowes has also written about images of Berwick, but this time they are not photos but paintings. The artist L S Lowry spent may holidays in Berwick and painted street scenes and marine pictures; his familiar industrial landscapes are by no means the total extent of his work. We have exuberant pictures Spittal and Tweedmouth, rather sinister pictures of the sea and many street scenes of Berwick. This excellent pamphlet is in full colour and written by a Berwick native, who is also a leading expert on Lowry. (3.95)
A SUPER NEW BOOK on Cockburnspath has just arrived. Beautifully designed and with deeply original research, this would make a marvellous present for exiles from Lothian and the Merse. Sally Smith has broken the mould as far as local history is concerned. Her book has a long and elegantly written text and looks beautiful: it's copiously illustrated and very well designed. Her book is organised round themes; biographies, walks, archaeology, agriculture, industry and so on. We were intrigued by the willow cathedral that Sir James Hall had constructed in 1813. Hall believed that the arches and decoration of Gothic architecture derived from the form of trees. He had a model cathedral built to demonstrate the point. Essential reading. (14.99)
This might be a minority taste, but Derek Walton's Northumberland Aviation Diary is heading up the sales list of local books. Subtitled Aviation Incidents from 1790/1999, this is a scrap book of events involving flying that builds into a picture of the county's aviation history. 1790 did you say? It seems that a Mr Asgill of Wooler was a rival of the Montgolfiers and constructed an airship in the form of a fish. The writer is suspiciosly badly informed about the success of this enterprise. (14.00) Don't forget the other recent aviation title, A Border Too High from Peter Clark. (8.00)
Still of interest are David Brenchley's wonderful history of eighteenth century Berwick under the title A Place by Itself. (17.95) and the charming Northumberland in Watercolour (14.95) from Daphne Harrison: these are titles with long lasting appeal.
We have two sumptuous photo essays about the county. Both are unenterprisingly titled Northumbria, and the choice between them depends on personal taste. Rob Talbot and Robin Whiteman (15.99) and Lee Frost (20.00) are the respective authors. We simply cannot decide which we like most!
Author and publisher Norrie McLeish has added The Haunted Borders to his list. He tells the stories of a dozen or so local ghosts and gives details of the sites where you can hunt them up. Sightings are not guaranteed however!
Local transport has proved a popular theme. N D Mackichan has compressed years of research in The Northumberland Central Railway, the line that runs along the A697 for part of its route. (7.95) Road travel is covered by J J Mackay's Border Highways, which would make an excellent book for the glove box of anyone on a touring holiday. (8.50)
Road transport in Northumberland is represented by Bob's Bridges. Robert Robson was foreman of the County's bridge team and spent a lifetime learning about them - and restoring them. (14.50)
For those on two feet, Edward Baker has a new title, Walks in the Secret Kingdom. (6.95) Although some of his routes are described as strenuous, many more are medium to easy and make ideal walking for families or for the not so fit!
Have we had Easter Yet? is the title of Alison Pryde's first collection of poetry. This delightful book has poems with local subject matter (a rueful account of the harsh reality of the shepherd's life comes to mind), but Alison's subjects are very wide ranging. There are poems about her trip to New Zealand, there are poems that ruminate on the vicissitudes of life, and there are exuberant poems that play wittily with the language. Others create a mythic world where geography and mythology are closely linked: Northern Epiphany, for example, imagines Herod and the Magi in the Cheviots. Click to read her poetry.
Don't forget the lads from Llanerch who brought you new paperback editions of Northumbria in the Age of Bede (9.99) and Northanhymbre Saga (9.99) They have recently reprinted Hastings Neville's classic of Borders life A Corner of the North.