‘violet crossed the mountains by mule train’

When I was aged 10, the farmers used to come round the schools to pick volunteers to work on the farms during the summer holidays, mainly to help bring in the harvest. The country was still building u

To mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, John Eskdale and other survivors share their harrowing memories of war and stories of hope

Iris climbed down from the donkey cart that had given her a lift from Penzance station, being careful not to ladder her best stockings, and walked up the narrow lane to Nantolven Farm. There was no si

THE light was beginning to fade, and as Irene started to scratch her bare arms, she remembered anew one of the few things she disliked about being in the countryside. “The midges are out,” she complai

Moments enjoyed, lessons learned, handy advice, weird stuff that happened: welcome to the little bits and pieces that don’t make big stories, but do make all the difference.

I must extend my huge thanks to Jon Winder for his excellent article Swings and Roundabouts (July). I am currently scribbling notes which I hope to turn into a memoir of my childhood, and one chapter