Britain’s best loved rural writer chronicles the progress of the seasons in the Stour valley village where he has lived and worked among artists, writers, farmers and, increasingly, commuters. For all the changes in the contemporary countryside, timeless qualities remain and both are captured here with a poet’s understanding and imagination. The year takes its shape from the seasons of nature and the feasts and festivals of the Christian year. Each informs and illuminates the other in this loving celebration of nature’s gifts and neighbourly friendship. Literature, poetry, spirituality and memory all merge to create an exquisite series of stories of our times. These short essays first appeared in the ‘Word From Wormingford’ column, a popular back page feature of the Church Times.

Ronald Blythe is one of the UK’s foremost literary figures. His work, which has won countless awards, includes Akenfield (a Penguin 20th Century Classic - it was also made into a feature film), Private Words, Field Work, Outsiders: a Book of Garden Friends and numerous other titles. He is a recipient of the prestigious Benson Medal awarded by the Royal Society of Literature. He lives near Colchester.