The rural landscape of John Phillpott’s boyhood has changed irrevocably over the last half-century.The elm – that celebrated ‘Warwickshire Weed’ of folklore – has been lost to disease, urban sprawl continues apace and motorways now disturb the tranquillity of fields that once knew only the sound of cattle, birdsong and the rumble of the farmer’s tractor.But paradise lost? Not quite, because the river flows on through the valley as it has done for millennia, the rook ‘parliaments’ can still be seen high overhead and the bells of the church that has stood on the hill looking out over the Swift Valley for a thousand years still call out to the faithful.Beef Cubes and Burdock is an affectionate glance over the shoulder back to a time when the pace of life was still dictated by the rhythm of the seasons rather than the touch of a computer keyboard.
John Phillpott was born and brought up in Churchover, a small village in north Warwickshire. He became a trainee reporter on the Rugby Advertiser in 1965 at the age of 16. Since then, he has worked on many Midlands newspapers, variously as reporter, feature writer, chief sub-editor, letters editor, reviewer and columnist. John is now semi-retired and lives in Worcester with his wife, Cheryl. They have two daughters and two grandchildren.
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10 reviews
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A pleasant few hours drenched in nostalgia. The author takes us back in time to another world, a post-war world in the rural English Midlands. In a time before media globalisation a young person’s world was his immediate surroundings. In a country village a boy quickly became familiar with the nature on offer in the vicinity, learning from the village elders in the time-honoured manner. Play was with your village peers, shaped by comic heroes and those of the silver screen, which was beginning to rival the popularity of the picture house.
Repetitions (ok we get what a yellowhammer sings) were a minor irritation. And you accept that memory airbrushes the mundane and the sheer boredom; after all, who wants to read about those?
I loved the book throughout. It is unashamed, idyllic nostalgia painted in pastel colours, and we could do with more of it.
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A delightful, well-written book which revived many happy memories of those times not so long ago when youngsters were able to explore fearlessly from dawn to dusk the countryside environment and parents didn't need to fret about their safety. The book is obviously of great interest to those who lived in and around the Warwickshire village of Churchover in the mid 20th century but it will appeal to many who live or lived in similar rural environments. One has to reflect on whether today's modern age of internet activity is so much of a leap forward after all.
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