The hare, a night creature and country-dweller, is a rare sight for most people. We know them only from legends and stories. They are shape-shifters, witches’ familiars and symbols of fertility. They are arrogant, as in Aesop’s The Hare and the Tortoise, and absurd, as in Lewis Carroll’s Mad March Hare. In the absence of observed facts, speculation and fantasy have flourished. But real hares? What are they like?

John Lewis-Stempel review – a fortress against The Wood by John Lewis-Stempel review – a fortress against

In England, the song of the chiffchaff heralds spring. In la France profonde the signs are more exotic, as John Lewis-Stempel discovers one February morning when his horse crashes through an electrified fence and bolts into a walnut orchard. A charming account of how a farmer swapped Herefordshire for a life in rural France... Readers of his many books and his Times nature columns will know how easily Lewis-Stempel's writing marries the lyrical with the descriptive... And his capacity for wonder never flags. The Times His column on nature and farming in Country Life won him Magazine Columnist of the Year in the 2016 BSME Awards. [3] His monthly column in The Countryman magazine began in March 2023.To see a hare sit still as stone, to watch a hare boxing on a frosty March morning, to witness a hare bolt . . . these are great things. Every field should have a hare.’

La Vie By John Lewis-Stempel | Used | 9780857526458 | World La Vie By John Lewis-Stempel | Used | 9780857526458 | World

La Vie describes a year of his family living in the village, putting down roots and enjoying their new life. For many years a farmer in England, John Lewis-Stempel yearned to live in a rural landscape as he did in childhood. The writing is as smooth as a glass of vintage wine...Even if it doesn't make you want to move to France, you'll still wish you could open your window at night and hear that nightingale singing to you. Daily Mail

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I first heard of Lewis-Stempel through my subscription to The Times newspaper. He writes some of the nature watch pieces. Lewis-Stempel is a farmer of mediaeval heritage, with his family owning the same land for 700 years. But he has bought a house in the Charente region of France. This house comes with a potager, various farm buildings, and other accoutrements of a house built in rural France during the Belle Époque. The book recounts a year in his life: January-December. His latest work, La Vie, (2023) describes his experience in 'la France profonde'. [7] Personal life [ edit ] Or maybe not. Contrary to popular prejudice, sheep are among the smartest animals in the farmyard, fiercely loyal, forming long and lasting friendships. Sheep, farmed properly, are boons to biodiversity. They also happen to taste good and their fleeces warm us through the winter - indeed, John Lewis-Stempel's family supplied the wool for Queen Elizabeth's 'hose'.

La Vie by John Lewis-Stempel review — my year as a French peasant

In this book, he describes a year on his farm, the birdsong, the wildlife, the crops, the villagers and some of the nuances of French culture, all in his beguiling, poetic style.It reminded me all over again of why I threw up everything for the magic of La Belle France‘ Carol Drinkwater, author of The Olive Farm I believe this to be one of John's best yet. Really enjoyed the whole read. Absolutely lovely writing (as usual) and a real sense of place, lifestyle , culture and self sufficiency. I will dip in and out of this for that feel good factor for times to come I think. An utterly beguiling immersion in La France Profonde, keenly observed and beautifully told’ Felicity Cloake, author of One More Croissant for the Road

La Vie: A year in rural France by John Lewis-Stempel

Find sources: "John Lewis-Stempel"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( April 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us Lewis-Stempel’s best book in an age; my favourite, certainly, since Meadowland. I’m featuring it in a summer post because, like Peter Mayle’s Provence series, it’s ideal for armchair travelling. Especially with the heat waves that have swept Europe this summer, I’m much happier reading about France or Italy than being there. The author has written much about his Herefordshire haunts, but he’s now relocated permanently to southwest France (La Roche, in the Charente). He proudly calls himself a peasant farmer, growing what he can and bartering for much of the rest. La Vie chronicles a year in his quest to become self-sufficient. It opens one January and continues through the December, an occasional diary with recipes.Everyone who is British living in France profonde utters, as axiomatic, ‘France is like the Britain of our childhood’, by which they mean, depending on their certain age, the 1950s or the 1970s or 1990s. British nature writer John Lewis-Stempel is a man who takes birdsong seriously. In the Preface to this book, he highlights the song of nightingales as a reason to relocate to rural France. As a sort of Afterward, he compiles a list of all of the birds see on his own patch at La Roche in the Charente region. Throughout the novel, he notes which birds are singing; and just occasionally, those brief times in the annual calendar when there is seemingly no birdsong at all. His writing has an eternal feel. Even when writing about man, he writes about an ancient rhythm of life. This is not a book about the fast-paced modernity most of us live in. Lewis-Stempel described himself as perhaps the last religious nature writer. His faith, as well as a yearning for a way of life lost even in the depths of rural Herefordshire (England), are clear to see. Life and death are dealt with beautifully. Ever since I bought a house in rural France I have been attracted to this sort of guidepost book; my ignorance of France is not quite total, but there are innumerable blanks to fill. Sometimes a knowledgeable foreigner is best-placed to describe and explain the cultural differences in his adopted country. I feel enriched, bit by bit, by descriptions of food, custom, terroir, language and manners as interpreted by a sensitive and observant insider/outsider. He has written on a range of subjects from Native Americans to fatherhood, but specialises in military history and natural history under his family name. He is a former columnist for The Sunday Express (for which he still writes features), and currently a columnist for Country Life and The Times. His Times column, Nature Notebook, focuses on both nature and farming across the UK. [2]