James Rebanks

As a boy, James Rebanks's grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in the Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, it was barely recognisable. The men and women had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled; the skies had emptied of birds and their wind-blown song.English Pastoral is the story of an inheritance: one that affects us all. It tells of how rural landscapes around the world were brought close to collapse, and the age-old rhythms of work, weather, community and wild things were lost. And yet this elegy from the northern fells is also a song of hope: of how, guided by the past, one farmer began to salvage a tiny corner of England that was now his, doing his best to restore the life that had vanished and to leave a legacy for the future.This is a book about what it means to have love and pride in a place, and how, against all the odds, it may still be possible to build a new pastoral: not a utopia, but somewhere decent for us all.

Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years. A Viking would understand the work they do: sending the sheep to the fells in the summer and making the hay; the autumn fairs where the flocks are replenished; the gruelling toil of winter when the sheep must be kept alive, and the light-headedness that comes with spring, as the lambs are born and the sheep get ready to return to the fells.

We are all in need of lights to follow.One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on.Back at home, Rebanks couldn’t stop thinking about the woman on the rocks. She was fierce and otherworldly – and yet strangely familiar. Years passed. Then, one day, he wrote her a letter, asking if he could return. Bring work clothes, she replied, and good boots, and come her health was failing. And so he travelled to the edge of the Arctic to witness her last season on the island.This is the story of that season. It is the story of a unique and ancient landscape, and of the woman who brought it back to life. It traces the pattern of her work from the rough, isolated toil of bitter winter, building little wooden huts that will protect the ducks come spring; to the elation of the endless summer light, when the birds leave behind their precious down for the woman to gather, like feathered gold.Slowly, Rebanks begins to understand that this woman and her world are not at all what he had previously thought. As the weeks pass, what began as a journey of escape becomes an extraordinary lesson in self-knowledge and forgiveness.

I am the luckiest man alive, because I get to live and work in the most beautiful place on earth: Matterdale in the English Lake District. When I was a child we didn't really go anywhere, except a week in the Isle of Man when I was about ten years old, and I never left Britain until I was twenty. Even now, years later, the best bit of any travelling is coming home. Bringing us into the world of shepherd's baking competitions, sheep shows and moments out on the fell watching the sheep run away home, James Rebanks interweaves thoughts and reflections on the art of shepherding with his photographs of the valley, people and animals that make up the daily life of the fells. A life lived by the three hundred surviving fell farming families, this is a book of photos and words filled with reverence and love.

Please Note That The Following Individual Books As Per Original ISBN and Cover Image In this Listing shall be Dispatched Titles In This The Place of Tides [Hardcover] English Pastoral [Paperback] The Shepherds Life [Paperback] James Rebanks 3 Books Collection Set (The Place of Tides, English Pastoral & The Shepherds Life): The Place of One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild Eider ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been in decline. Still, somehow, she seemed to be hanging on. English As a boy, James Rebanks's grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in the Lake District hills was part of an ancient agricultural a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, and hedgerows teeming with wildlife. And yet, by the time James inherited the farm, it was barely recognisable. The Shepherds Some people's lives are entirely their own creations. James Rebanks' isn't. The first son of a shepherd, who was the first son of a shepherd himself, he and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Their way of life is ordered by the seasons and the work they demand, and has been for hundreds of years. 9780241426937/9780141982571/9780141979366

Trois générations de fermiers anglais se sont succédé sur la même terre. James Rebanks était encore adolescent lorsque son grand-père lui a transmis son savoir. Cet homme était le dernier maillon d'une agriculture millénaire. Pour lui, les champs et les bêtes avaient un nom, le paysage vibrait, les mouettes se nourrissaient des vers que sa charrue sortait du sol.Quand vient le tour du père de James, le monde agricole n'a que le mot " progrès " à la bouche. Les petites fermes sont acculées. Il faut se moderniser, rationaliser, s'agrandir ou périr. C'est une souffrance et une perte de sens.Lorsque James hérite du domaine, il décide d'intégrer les acquis de la science et de l'écologie pour réensauvager sa terre. Il fait de son exploitation une utopie, un modèle d'agriculture du xxie siècle.Écrivain exceptionnel, James Rebanks est lu par des centaines de milliers de lectrices et de lecteurs. Il nous réconcilie avec le monde paysan et transmet une philosophie de vie dont chacun peut s'inspirer.

Discover the year through the eyes of a shepherd on the Lake District fells with this unique calendar from the author of The Shepherd's Life , featuring an original poem by James Rebanks for each month, and the author's own photography.Taking us from snow-capped hills in January, through lambing season and a riot of June flowers, to the shorter days and wood smoke of Autumn, The Shepherd's Calendar is a glorious celebration of a life in nature.