Category: Notes from the sticks

Continuous as the stars that shineAnd twinkle on the milky way,They stretched in never-ending lineAlong the margin of a bay:Ten thousand saw I at a glance,Tossing their heads in sprightly … Continue readingA host of golden dandelions

THERE can’t be a more recognisable symbol of the British countryside than a thatched roof. Like this: There are estimated to be 60,000 thatched roofs in the UK, mainly in … Continue readingThatchers’ Britain

HERE’S a quiz question: Where is the centre of Great Britain? The answer is Whitendale Hanging Stones, about 13 miles from our Lancashire village, as calculated by the Ordnance Survey. … Continue readingThe heart of our green and pleasant land

LAST week I went to London for the day (not because I wanted to but because I had to). I booked on the 8.01am Avanti West Coast train from Preston … Continue readingThe tracks of my tears

I WILL be honest and say this item is just an excuse to show you some gorgeous birds. After I wrote about common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) a couple of weeks … Continue readingSome very pleasant pheasants

I HAVE grown so used to the ignorant drivel spouted by lobby groups with ‘Natural’ or ‘Wild’ or ‘Green’ in the title (for example the recent ludicrous claim by 82 … Continue readingSlugs and snails – a lifelong love

I’VE BEEN pleased over the last week or so to see and hear a cock pheasant in the field at the back of our house, although our labrador doesn’t share … Continue readingFlamboyant Mr Pheasant

NO ONE could accuse Clitheroe, our nearby market town, of being trendy, and that’s the way we like it. To prove it, just about the most popular place is a … Continue readingPie and peas with a smile on the side

I LOVE rain. One of my greatest pleasures is to sit in our tiny conservatory while it batters down above my head, watching our stream rising (often very quickly). I … Continue readingRain, rain, don’t go away

THIS is a rather smart house in our neighbouring village. Built in 2015, it has three bedrooms and a bathroom downstairs and an open plan living area upstairs with lovely … Continue readingAn inconvenience truth