El catálogo es perfectamente reconocible, su base, literatura británica preferiblemente (Bennet, Spark, Gibbons, Woolf, Nobbs… etc…) aunque podemos ver publicados otros títulos de diferentes nacionalidades como polacos (Lem), rumanos (Catarescu), japoneses (Soseki) y un largo etcétera, el único requisito es la calidad de las obras. De hecho también abogan por novelas contemporáneas de autores españoles como Fernando San Basilio o Pilar Adón. El resultado es variado y, desde luego, de un alto nivel cualitativo. Tending the flame for Lee has also involved creating Extinction Rebellion demonstrations. “Their journey as a brand new biggest ever community-led organisation in the world is phenomenal,” says Lee but he concedes that, post-Covid, “it’s uncertain what their journey ahead will be”. He’s now working with Music Declares Emergency to seek a carbon-neutral industry. “We’re living in a time of great transformation. Whether it’s fast enough, I don’t know. But we’re seeing real change at board level in multimillion dollar organisations, and that’s wonderful.” With both woodlands have been thinned in recent years, thinning will continue, if appropriate at the time, on a five year cycle for conifers and 10 year cycle for broadleaves. The secret of Nightingale Wood was a joy to read, it had realistic and relatable characters which enhanced the emotional storyline. I have always enjoyed reading history books, and this added fuel to the fire of my love. I’m passionate about the characters: Henry, the baby Piglet, Henry’s Mum and I especially like Moth. They are all headstrong and determined- an inspiration to children.

But she always has Robert, her dead brothers’ voice in her heart and her Fairy Tales - Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Secret Garden and The Jungle Book – to keep her going. Perhaps because all their flaws and vanities are held up for our laughing scrutiny, they all end up being sympathetic characters, in their way. They're also very familiar characters: we may think we've come a long way but seriously, I think it's fair to say that there are plenty of Viola's, Tina's, Mr Withers, Victor's, Phyllis's and Hetty's around today. Which just emphasises how shrewd Gibbons' eye really was. So we laugh and wince at the same time.

I have marked many quotes showing Stella Gibbons' way of describing characters, but there is no point in writing them all here. Let's just look at one, that is rather disturbingly still valid. Sitting in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Brede High Woods is a nature-lover's paradise. Rare beetles, prehistoric lampreys and even wild boar are just some of the incredible animals to call it home, and the network of paths wind through ancient woodland, sandy heaths and open grassland.

Nightingale Valley is a hidden gem in Brislington and is largely not known. It has a mixture of terrains – small fields, woodland and steep valley slopes with the Brislington Brook running through. Gibbons's writing has been praised by critics for its perspicacity, sense of fun, charm, wit and descriptive skill—the last a product of her journalistic training—which she used to convey both atmosphere and character. [82] [83] Although Beauman refers to "malicious wit", [84] Truss sees no cruelty in the often barbed humour, which reflected Gibbons's detestation of pomposity and pretence. [82] [85] Truss has described Gibbons as "the Jane Austen of the 20th century", [82] [n 7] a parallel which the novelist Malcolm Bradbury thought apt; Flora Poste in Cold Comfort Farm, with her "higher common sense", is "a Jane-ite heroine transformed into a clear-eyed modern woman". Bradbury also observed that many of Gibbons's novels end in Austen-like nuptials. [86] The 17th century farms were now concentrating on cows and cheese (not milk, which could not be kept), and many of the farms had a purpose built “cheese room”. A ‘halt’ station was constructed at South Marston, carrying perishable goods to market by rail. In fact, the railway heralded a golden age for the cheesemakers of South Marston. By the 19th century, Wiltshire cheese had attained some renown, becoming as famous as Cheddar. However, by the early 20th century, the population of the village reduced as farming declined and the agricultural community dwindled as employment opportunities grew in the Great Western Rail Works in Swindon. Despite this, South Marston has largely retained its rural aspect, and development has benefited from significant dedication of landscaping and planting. Church Farm Lane in the 1980s gave the Village Garden to the parish, and the war memorial was relocated at its centre.The family at The Eagles was assembled in the drawing-room at that dreary hour when tea is long over and dinner not yet in sight. It was a tranquil scene; it would have annoyed a Communist. Five non-productive members of the bourgeoisie sat in a room as large as a small hall, each breathing more air, warmed by more fire and getting more delight and comfort from the pictures and furniture than was strictly necessary. In the kitchen underneath them three members of the working class swinked ignobly at getting their dinner, bought with money from invested capital. But perhaps this is not a very interesting way of regarding poor Mr Wither and the rest…. As for me I enjoyed the book, and the main character of this book is Henrietta (they call her Henry for short). Henry, her mum, dad, grandma and sister moved out of London and into a new house, called the ‘Hope House’. Ever since they moved to Hope House; strange things have been happening. I am fascinated by Stella Gibbons' style of narrating and seeing people. She wasn't polite or nice to her characters. Sometimes she was simply harsh. So, meeting them, getting to know them can be difficult. I so wanted to like them, but Mrs Gibbons seemed to do all she could to make it hard. And, although, it often gave me the unpleasing feeling that humans are horrible (or at least ridiculous) species, on the other hand, I loved it. Reading it was like watching painful/harsh truth, that in the end gives one some kind of (perhaps a bit twisted) hope. It is hard to explain it. I remember that the similar impression I had after The Matchmaker. If you are into bird watching, make sure to visit the wood with your binoculars on hand. You never know what you may spot!

Like every musician, Lee’s collaborations with the migratory nightingale, which flies from sub-Saharan Africa in rapidly-diminishing numbers each April to sing and raise young, endured a year of Covid-related cancellations. His tour to promote last year’s critically acclaimed album Old Wow was scrapped; his book postponed until now. “I lost loads of work, loads of gigs and all my income,” says Lee, with a grimace and a smile, “and I’ve had a wonderful time.” He spent more time in nature with his toddler daughter and swam in rivers he’d always meant to. He also discovered a new way of working online. When I visit a nightingale or record an elder singing some ancient song this is … just a different language of song Truss, Lynne (2006). Introduction. Cold Comfort Farm. By Gibbons, Stella. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-144159-7. Safeguarding the built heritage is also important and the listed buildings in or close to the village include Nightingale Farm, Longleaze Farm, Manor Farmhouse, Red House, Church Farmhouse, Gordon Cottage and, of course, the oldest building in South Marston – the church of St Mary Magdelene. Nightingale song is rich, melodic and complex, full of liquid, bubbly notes. It can sound powerful and confident compared to the more delicate songs of other birds. It's also different every time.South Marston has a rich history that includes Saxons, Romans, medieval farming, a Manor House, cheese, Spitfires, and the author Alfred Williams. a b c d e f g h i j k l Neville, Jill (May 2006). "Gibbons, Stella Dorothea". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (onlineed.). Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/ref:odnb/39831. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) (subscription required) Drabble, Margaret, ed. (1985). The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866130-4.

Not far away from The Eagles, and another rung or two up the social ladder are the Springs, Mrs Spring, her bookish niece Hetty and her son Victor, handsome and full of confidence, he is the undisputed Prince Charming of the neighbourhood. Victor is unofficially engaged to Phyllis a rather hilariously awful character that Gibbons is so good at creating. Victor Spring may be the Prince Charming of the piece, but he certainly appears to not be in any way a hero. At a ball which serves to bring some much needed distraction to the inhabitants of The Eagles, Victor first really notices Viola, despite having already given a lift to her and Tina when caught in a rain storm – his intentions however are anything but honourable. Last spring, he rapidly turned some nightingale concerts into online broadcasts. Lee built a digital studio in a wood and found a nightingale to sing with, while human collaborators played along from their homes via a live feed. The two feeds were married and broadcast online. “It allowed me to bring in guests who would have never participated in it,” says Lee. Last year’s Earth Day concert featured Pet Shop Boys, Bernard Butler, Lily Cole and Robert Macfarlane. “Some incredible people embraced it because they could. And so it opened many doors in that sense.” Deedes, W.F.; Wake, Sir Hereward, eds. (1949). Roll of Officers in the King's Royal Rifle Corps, 1939–45, in Swift and Bold: The Story of the King's Royal Rifle Corps in the Second World War. Aldershot: Gale and Polden Ltd.Light, effervescent, wonderful colour palette - would have one expecting something Woodhousian, wouldn't one? Nightingales are migrant breeders, arriving in the UK from mid to late April. Males then sing to defend territories and attract mates until early June or so. Stella Dorothea Gibbons (5 January 1902– 19 December 1989) was an English author, journalist, and poet. She established her reputation with her first novel, Cold Comfort Farm (1932) which has been reprinted many times. Although she was active as a writer for half a century, none of her later 22 novels or other literary works—which included a sequel to Cold Comfort Farm—achieved the same critical or popular success. Much of her work was long out of print before a modest revival in the 21st century.