COUNTRY MATTERS. By Ian Niall.

1984 1st edition. 8vo (154 x 235mm). Pp190. B/w illustrations by Donald Watson. Review slip laid in. Orange-brown boards, spine titled in gilt.

"A selection of Ian Niall's best, most evocative pieces. They cover many aspects of country life from the nostalgia of a child's Christmas in Galloway through a host of superbly rendered character sketches ...some fine descriptions of remembered harvests, trout fishing in the Welsh hills, and all sorts of animals from polecats to grand ploughing horses of bygone years". Chapters include; Memories of a white Christmas; An old farm kitchen; The high-stepper; The day of the pony; Bees in the blood; A wood that died; Pine martens in secret places; The road across the moss; Tinkers on the road; The passing of the ballad singer; The decline of the blacksmith; Catching a tram; Horse for sale; The killing of a hill fox; Memories of cattle shows; A grand harvest day; Death of a little railway; Rat-catching days; On being able to plough; Fuel for the winter fires; Snowed in at Christmas; Village news by word-of-mouth; The old poacher; The stonebreaker as idol; The legend of Little Turpin; Two of a kind; Paid to grieve; Old Frank's Pony Express; The snare of the fowler; Encounter with Jack Ty Bach; Tall tales of strong men; A poacher's passing; Latter-day Nero; With sawdust in his moustache; An angler's confession; The Christmas pike; Gone upstream; Short cuts to a full creel; Crepuscular ways of the sea trout; A good day for trout; The salmon's war of wits; Tools of the villain's trade; Fishing on a Midsummer night; Fishing in coloured water; Fishing from the shore; Nymph and shepherd. *Inscribed, "Ian Niall, Nov 1984. For Jack [Heddon] - not the whole story of my misspent life but a good part of it!