Memories of a Lamplugh Farmer

 Carting through the River Esk

Memories of a Lamplugh Farmer by Bob Jackson
Review by Alan Cleaver

Bob Jackson

THIS is one of the most charming books I have ever read. A real treasure that I'll be taking off the bookshelf to re-read time and time again.
As a townie, I've always dreamed of the romantic life of the Cumbrian farmer; that secret world full of its own mysteries and own language. So when I heard the reminiscences of Lamplugh farmer Bob Jackson were being published I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. I wasn't disappointed.
OK, so there's harsh reality alongside the romance but I'd swap even that for my lifetime stuck in traffic jams and staring my life away into a computer screen.
It was Rev Jim Marshall who persuaded Mr Jackson to put pen to paper and contribute a regular article to the parish magazine; this book is a compilation of those articles.
The style of writing echoes the dialect of West Cumbria and the themes of the article reflect the farming year in this rural part of the county. Mr Jackson paints a picture with a fine brush and highlights the details us 'townies' would miss, be it the different rare flowers in the meadows or the ploughing of the land and sowing of seed at the start of the year.
Where I see a hedge, Mr Jackson sees the hedge, the dyke it's on and a kest that needs sodding. It's poetry really. And while a glossary might have been helpful, I'm not sure it matters. It's enough just to let the words flow over you. That said, I think an audio book would be wonderful partner to the text book.
The Jackson family is rooted in the farming landscape and he touches on personal and family life too. Mr Jackson farms with God by his side and such faith, often in the face of great adversity, is humbling to behold. 
I'm not sure of Mr Jackson's education but he writes better than me and I claim to have been a 'writer' for most of my professional life. I'm guessing it's a natural gift for Mr Jackson borne out of his detailed knowledge of his subject matter.
Here's an extract to give a flavour of the book...

"Every season is different and this one is no different as  the snowdrops got a good start and were already showing white by Christmas. They are no further forward by the start of February due, I think, to the cold during January. In our part of the world it wasn't hard frost, just enough to put a brake on the growth of plants and save them from worse things happening."

The calendar year and Mother Nature dictate the tempo of Mr Jackson's life and work. A good understanding of what's happening in the countryside is clearly vital to farmers and Mr Jackson reminds a modern world that working with the environment needs to be a carefully balanced partnership.

This is a limited edition run of a few hundred copies so you wont see Memories of a Lamplugh Farmer in the Sunday Times Top 10 best-sellers list. I'd urge you therefore to grab a copy while you can. Sit in front of a roaring log fire, pour yourself a glass of good red wine and prepare to savour every word in this wonderful tome.

Memories of a Lamplugh Farmer is available from Lowes Court Gallery, Egremont; The New Bookshop, Cockermouth; The Beacon, Whitehaven; Michael Moon's, Whitehaven; other bookshops and  Amazon, priced £7.

- Alan Cleaver

Sacred North - a review

Sacred North by Fr John Musther, with photographs by Phil Cope. Review by Alan Cleaver

Fr John Musther is known to many as the parish priest of the Orthodox parish in Keswick. But even those not in the Orthodox church may have seen Fr John wandering around town in his distinctive blue robe, the large Orthodox cross round his neck - and his delightful long white, whispy beard!
He is as gentle as he is tall and has introduced many to his faith through his writings. In his last book, Springs of Living Waters, Fr John guided us through the Cumbrian landscape to show us the many holy wells that still survive, centuries after they were sanctified by Saint Mungo, St Begha, St Catherine and others. 
To the Orthodox church, Saints are not distant, unreachable figures high up in heaven. They are friends who walked the same paths we walk today - and still have something to tell us.
In his new book, Sacred North, Fr John - accompanied by his wife Jenny and photographer Phil Cope - have travelled further afield to show us the holy sites throughout Cumbria and beyond.
The 300-page full colour tome includes Keswick's very own St Kentigern's Church and Derwentwater's St Herbert's Isle.
St Kentigern (also known as St Mungo meaning 'my dear one') was an itinerant bishop who wandered the north in the late sixth century and  it is said he preached from a clearing (or thwaite) at Crosfeld leading eventually to the church at Crosthwaite. The size of the church is evidence of the many pilgrims who have come here throughout the centuries.
St Herbert is less well known but lived on the Derwentwater island that now bears his name making him another of Keswick's very own saints.
The sumptuous photographs and detailed text invited the reader to once again explore these sites and perhaps even wander further with Fr John to Northumberland, the Western Isles, Shetland and some of the most remote places in Great Britain. Indeed, it is fair to say that Fr John and his team have almost literally travelled to the ends of the world. Here are islands so remote they can only be reached by chartering a boat - and only then if the weather permits a landing.
This is a remarkable undertaking but the result makes all the effort worthwhile. This is a coffee-table book - but you'll need a very sturdy coffee table as it weighs in at nearly 3lbs! It is Fr John's gift to those of us who wish to learn more about our nation's spiritual history but don't have his stamina for a pilgrimage to those distant lands. And it's a book you'll read while offering up a silent prayer of thanks to Fr John and his friends.

• Sacred North is £25 from bookshops

- Alan Cleaver