Talking Location With … M J Robotham – VENICE
GIVEAWAY – 3 copies of Light Rains Sometimes Fall – WEST NORWOOD
12th September 2021
We are delighted to be able to offer 3 copies of Light Rains Sometimes Fall: A British Year in Japan’s 72 Ancient Seasons by Lev Parikian, memoir of nature observations in WEST NORWOOD, LONDON.
UK ENTRY ONLY
See the British year afresh and experience a new way of connecting with nature – through the prism of Japan’s seventy-two ancient microseasons.
Across seventy-two short chapters and twelve months, writer and nature lover Lev Parikian charts the changes that each of these ancient microseasons (of a just a few days each) bring to his local patch – garden, streets, park and wild cemetery.
From the birth of spring (risshun) in early February to ‘the greater cold’ (daikan) in late January, Lev draws our eye to the exquisite beauty of the outside world, day-to-day.
Instead of Japan’s lotus blossom, praying mantis and bear, he watches bramble, woodlouse and urban fox; hawthorn, dragonfly and peregrine. But the seasonal rhythms – and the power of nature to reflect and enhance our mood – remain.
By turns reflective, witty and joyous, this is both a nature diary and a revelation of the beauty of the small and subtle changes of the everyday, allowing us to ‘look, look again, look better’.
It is perfect gift to read in real time across the British year.
Buy this book. Plant it somewhere handy and whenever you’re in need of a “spark of joy” pick it up and read a few pages. Its wit will make you smile. It will transport you to a wilder, gentler, more beautiful world.’ Ann Pettifor
HOW TO ENTER:
You need to be a member of TripFiction. Simply go to www.tripfiction.com and scroll down to the JOIN NOW tab. And we do check!
Then, tell us in the COMMENTS below, the most beautiful thing you have observed in nature in recent times – could it be the turning colour of the trees? Or a stunning bird? Or just a beautiful landscape? Enter by midnight, 25 September and the three winners will be chosen at random.
With thanks to Elliott & Thompson Ltd.
Winners:
El Rhodes
Suzanne
Laura Pritchard
It sounds ridiculous but during the first lockdown on my daily walk I saw this little purple flower in some council-maintained hanging baskets. They were exactly the kind we had in the house I grew up in – a real Proustian moment that just made me want to see Mum so much.
Puffins flying in and out of their nesting places in the cliffs!
A beautiful sunset, we visited family members in Mauritius some time ago, and the sunset there was magical.
The sun just seemed to fall behind the horizon with a wonderful burst of beautiful colours,orange,red, and blue lighting up the sea and sky.
The reds of early autumn
A red sky at night
An Autumnal rainbow over our local park which looked stunning.
A hare on a misty morning
the coastline and pine trees at Formby Beach
A beautiful giant dragonfly I found resting on a pavement!
We have a pair of robins in our garden and this year we saw the little ones having their first flying lessons and being fed by mum and dad
Watching a spider weave a web always amazes me
bats flying right above my head in the local wood where I walk my dog
coming out of lockdown and seeing my three grandchildren climbing trees in the local wood
the most beautiful thing you have observed in nature in recent times . . .
as it is now autumn the glorious display of colours is amazing
A bee sitting next to me on a bench having a wash x
Have just come back from France – visiting family for the first time in 20 months! Visited Luchon in the Pyrenees – the scenery (and company) was amazing.
A beautiful sunrise on my drive to work.
The family of swans we have watched grow and develop from five tiny cygnets into five magnificent birds as big as their parents. Last year the same pair had a magnificent seven babies.
Hello, we have a honeysuckle plant in our garden that has some lovely yellow and white flowers on it at the moment. It smells so great and I love seeing the flowers.
I love watching the robin and blackbirds in my garden
Last autumn I saw the beautiful autumnal colours on the leaves on the trees at Winkworth Arboritum
I’ve loved watching all the butterflies throughout summer ❤️
Recently on holiday, we visited Reelig Glen which has several of the tallest trees of their variety in the UK. It was stunning.
A magpie in the local trees
The snow covering the local nature reserve
The butterflies! I keep seeing them everywhere these days, so beautiful and graceful
Beautiful sunrises 🙂
Might not be the most exciting, but the leaves turning in the local park. Exciting feeling that Autumn is here.
The beautiful sights of the Snowdon mountain range
i’ve been cycling for the past 16 months and I circle a country side route that is close to me, in Marcj this year I became obsessed with spring, I had never thought about the seasons that much but with Pandemic, I was obsessed with spring starting. i couldn’t believe how it unfolded in all these stages. I was obsessed with trees that took ages to leaf! but every day I would be watching and when the trees started to show signs of life, I would be filled with emotion. I’ve never had that connection with nature before.
Has to be bees collecting nectar from buddleia in our garden.
There is a small Brook in a field near my mums. A tree over hands it and in summer all the wild flower are in bloom. Its like something out of a fairy tale.
Living in Scotland we are surrounded by beauty. But one evening we turned a corner on a single track lane. The light was breaking through the clouds into a field of sheep and bouncing perfectly off the mountains in the distance. We stood transfixed for so long until the clouds moved, shifting the light.
I love observing the Robins in local woodland walks!
I climbed Snowden with my hubby in early September to on a beautiful clear day, and the views of the Welsh hills and countryside all the way up (and down) were stunningly beautiful (if a little terrifying since I’m scared of heights!)
Love the misty mornings in our local park in Autumn – its so peaceful and beautiful
Nothing beats a beautiful sunset.
The most beautiful thing I have observed in nature in recent times is simply the changing of the seasons on my local walks – observing how the landcape changes is very soothing
For the last few weeks we have had a hawk ( unidentified as yet), soaring in the sky above our house and nearby farmland. It seems to appear at some point every day and just circles then swoops for a while – such a pleasure to watch
I love that mantra –
‘look, look again, look better’.
And who wouldn’t be beguiled by that amazing cover art.
This may not be the most beautiful landscape in the world, but it rates as one of the most visited attractions on the National Trust website.
Stourhead, is literally on our doorstep so we can visit every day if we want to. There is something different to see no matter what the season. There are plenty of spaces of solitude where you can sit and read, or paint and draw the beauty around you, even maybe just sit in tranquillity and take in the peace and quiet. The photo opportunities are endless too!
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead
Love watching the squirrels in our local park
Deer throught misty trees at sunrise in my local country park.
A spiders web on a dewy morning
I was on a country walk and saw a calf born, was amazing!
The fresh morning dewdrops glinting on cobwebs in the garden – so magical!
I sat next to a black butterfly that landed on my recently departed daughters bench that she bought for my new garden. She never got to sit on it with me but I believe that was a sight from her that she was watching.
1 Comment
Oh my goodness, so poignant. Beautiful…
This morning was really misty and beautiful. Getting autumnal vibes!
A cobweb covered squirrel trying to climb in through my top kitchen window!
There have been some absolutely beautiful sunrises I’ve seen recently now it’s rising later just a I get up each morning.
We’ve already had a few dewy autumnal mornings and that gives me the opportunity to enjoy the sight of a dewy cobweb glistening in the sunshine
Not being allowed to travel far has given me ( & others ) the opportunity to watch not just the changing seasons and it’s effects on everything growing in the garden but also the many different and beautiful birds who decided to stop by.
The amazing variety of hostas that have given us pleasure in the garden this year.
Last week, a sparrowhawk sat on our fence watching our bird feeders while we were sitting out in the sunshine. He stayed for about half an hour and didn’t seem to realise that we were there. It was a shame I didn’t have my camera to hand as he was absolutely stunning and couldn’t have been any closer!
We have seen some lovely butterflies in our garden recently
We have a very big hedge behind our shed that the sparrows love and are always flitting in and out of, recently I was sat against the wall with my book and a cup of tea when I heard a whoosh sound, looked up to see a Sparrowhawk trying to catch one, I hope it didn’t as I didn’t see it take off after.
Our planters in our garden this year have given us bold colour and consistency throughout the summer. They are still a joy to behold. Lifting your spirits in difficult times. Inpantiens, begonias, dahlias and Rudabekias take a bow. Still dazzling us with your beauty. Thank you.
The beautiful sight in my life happens daily, we grew lots of Salvia “Hotlips” plants from cuttings & placed them under our bay window where they’ve rioted. Bees visit by the score, so lovely to watch.
On holiday last week in Devon I saw a deer in a wooded area, and it was magnificent.
The birds in our garden ,butterflies and bees on the lavender, the grandkids picking raspberries..haven’t been far during covid , but I would have been a wreck without being out there
I found a wood tiger moth resting in our porch last week – it was so pretty that I had to take a photo of it.
I was on holiday here in Scotland and we went to the beach, we were watching the birds then we saw something in the water, it was a seal. As we watched there were more and more, at one point there were at least 30 seals swimming and watching us. There was also a seal pup on the sand bank just watching the others. The loveliest thing I’ve seen in a long time and made me so happy.
The skies are emptying, the kids have gone back to school, everything is being gathered in, ready. But I see the small things creeping in the spaces that other, bigger things have left behind. I smell woodsmoke on the breeze, and watch the season crisp. I taste tomorrow in the silences, and answer autumn’s harvest call.