Author name: NftC

Ravilious - Wiltshire Landscape

Shams, Shellbacks and Sons of Rest – a Tramp Terminology.

This incomplete glossary has been compiled from the works of Jim Phelan ( 1895–1966). For those who have yet to encounter him, Phelan was a tramp author  who produced a number of autobiographies, novels and film scripts during the 20th century. In his autobiographical material, he explains the meaning of a number of tramp words and …

Shams, Shellbacks and Sons of Rest – a Tramp Terminology. Read More »

Caravans, by Eric Ravilous.

An Incomplete Romani Glossary.

The following glossary was taken from ‘A Time from the World’, by Rowena Farre. Though of non-Romani origin herself, she frequently joined various groups of the travelling community, including the Romani, Tinkers (itinerant tinsmiths), Mumpers (tramps who overwintered in the countryside), and often travelled solo too.  ‘A Time from the World’ was republished in 2013 by …

An Incomplete Romani Glossary. Read More »

'Rooks amongst Branches', Ralston Gudgeon (1910-1984), oil on canvas.

‘Wild Life in a Southern County’ by Richard Mabey.

‘Richard Mabey is among the best writers at work in Britain. I don’t mean among the best nature writers, I mean the best writers, full stop.‘ So says Tim Dee, in his review of Richard Mabey’s latest collection, ‘Turning the Boat for Home‘. I’m happy to agree, and even happier to share one of the essays …

‘Wild Life in a Southern County’ by Richard Mabey. Read More »

'Wild Life in a Southern County', by Richard Jefferies

Wild Life in a Southern County, by Richard Jefferies

‘‘Jefferies’ attention to what he saw is rapt, exact, almost painterly’’ Richard Mabey When Richard Jefferies moved away from his family’s smallholding in north Wiltshire and settled in London to pursue a career as a writer, he began this breath-taking series of sketches which imagined every contour of the landscape he left behind: hedgerow, rookery, warren …

Wild Life in a Southern County, by Richard Jefferies Read More »

Turning the Boat for Home A life writing about nature Richard Mabey

Turning the Boat for Home, by Richard Mabey.

Britain’s most-influential nature writer reflects on a lifetime of close observation and celebrates the positive force of the natural world. From the rediscovery of foraging that led to Food for Free, through his groundbreaking expeditions in the ‘edgelands’ in the 1970s, to his reflections on the musicality of bird-song, he has consistently explored new ways …

Turning the Boat for Home, by Richard Mabey. Read More »

Greenery, by Tim Dee.

Greenery, by Tim Dee.

A masterpiece of nature writing from the author of The Running Sky. One December, in midsummer South Africa, Tim Dee was watching swallows. They were at home there, but the same birds would soon begin journeying north to Europe, where their arrival marks the beginning of spring. Between the winter and the summer solstice in Europe, …

Greenery, by Tim Dee. Read More »

Scroll to Top