John Fowles and Cornwall
Like many people I was saddened to hear of the recent death of John Fowles the novelist who lived in Lyme Regis. Over the years I had met him on many occasions usually at his home. You dropped in when…
Artisan Perry – the new Pimms?
James Crowden explores the wonderful world of perry and perry pears. For many people early summer heralds long drawn out evenings, picnic parties by the river, weddings and outdoor jazz concerts. Local strawberries are just in season, the air is…
Passionate about Apples
Do the names Manaccan Primrose, Breadfruit, Captain Broad, Cornish Gilliflower, Colloggett Pippin, Cornish Mother, Queenies, Ben’s Red, Tommy Knight and Tregonna King mean anything to you? No they are not racehorses nor even fishing boats but Cornish apples. Everybody raves…
Book Review – Dart by Alice Oswald
A fine catch, this book of honed verse that glitters and glides like the river itself, and plots the course of the Dart from source to mouth. The fruit of several years patient work Alice Oswald’s book was launched at…
Cider blossoms – juice on the loose
James Crowden investigates the enticing world of 'real' cider. Ten years ago if you admitted to being a cider drinker people would have assumed that you were either a teenager in a bus shelter or a farm worker on your…
Afghan Air
Westcountry writer James Crowden looks at some of the problems of fighting an air war in Afghanistan After weeks of bombing in Afghanistan it is debatable that the air war is being won. There have been so many own goals…
Somerset Cider – Pressing Matters
Feature written for the Somerset Life Magazine October 2001. Nobody can write about Somerset without mentioning orchards and cider farms. They are so much part of the landscape and history of the county that to ignore them is a criminal…
War and Peace: From Istanbul to Islamabad
From the Western Morning News, September 2001. After the tragic events in New York last week, the Somerset writer James Crowden looks at the wider historical issues that surround any potential retaliation against Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan. It doesn’t…
Afghanistan: Bureaucracy & terrain. Hints for Special Forces.
Somerset writer James Crowden, who travelled widely in Afghanistan during the 1970’s offers the US troops and special forces some hints on coping with the country’s bureaucracy and the terrain. The public might, with some justification after all the Presidential…
When The Troops Go In
As the deployment of ground troops in Afghanistan, including commandos from the Westcountry, looks imminent, Somerset writer James Crowden looks at what they can expect to find on the ground. The public might, after all the Presidential and Prime Ministerial…