River Diary

by Ronald Blythe

Sees Ronald Blythe observe the progress of one whole calendar year in the river valley where he has lived and worked among artists, writers, farmers and, increasingly, commuters.

Genres: Nature

147 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 29, 2008

About the author

Ronald Blythe CBE was one of the UK's greatest living writers. His work, which won countless awards, includes Akenfield (a Penguin 20th-Century Classic and a feature film), Private Words, Field Work, Outsiders: A Book of Garden Friends and numerous other titles. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded their prestigious Benson Medal in 2006. In 2017, he was appointed CBE for services to literature

Reviews

[Karen Floyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fifth volume of Ronald Blythe's collected columns, Word from Wormingford, written weekly for the Church Times for over 20 years. In them we follow him through the year, participating in his many activities, listening to his thoughts, seeing what he sees, meeting the people he knows. He is writer, walker, gardener, book reviewer and critic, lay canon and reader, preacher and historian. lover of books, music and cats. He lives by himself, with his white cat, in an ancient farmhouse in the Stour Valley, only a few miles from where he was born and grew up. His reading and thinking range as widely as his walks. He is a noticer and a rememberer, and seems to have a gift for friendship. He is a great companion for this journey through the year.
"Most writers' memories," he says, "are jackdaws' nests of infant as well as grown-up facts which are unlikely to separate themselves when they are grown up." Later he says, "But the caring for and hoarding of small and precious memories is really a duty in each one of us, for it is these which re-shape art and philosophy."

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Blythe's writing, though I wish he might extend his chapters a bit. A nice tie between rural culture and the church year.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another typically wonderful account of the rural and ecclesiastical year in deepest Suffolk. One mark docked, though, as two entries were repeats of those in another of Mr Blythe's books.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lyrical, the author's love of the world around him in the course of one year really shines through