From Amazon UK:
The Reverend George Bramwell Evens was better known to his 13 million radio listeners as 'Romany of the BBC.' His weekly programme, 'Out with Romany' was one of the most loved on Children's Hour and gave his audience a short respite from the nightly horror of wartime Britain.
Evens' mother was a gypsy and he himself owned a gypsy caravan, or vardo, which he used as a base for his nature studies, and around which many of his tales were woven.
'A Romany in the Country', his third book written for adults, is read by Terry Waite, CBE, fittingly, as during his years in captivity Waite re-read in his mind the books he had enjoyed as a youngster, with the Romany series figuring high amongst them.
It is said that Romany possessed a distinctive, deep voice, with Northern overtones; true also of Terry Waite, who gives a performance characteristic of the author himself. All of the favourite country personalities are here; the gamekeeper, the poacher, the farmer, the fisherman, each given a credible accent in Terry's sympathetic presentation.
The four tapes consist of what might be termed 'mini stories', each capable of standing alone, which enables the listener to hear as much or as little as time permits, without detracting from the continuity of the whole. An example is the relocation of the weasel. Romany encounters John Fell, the gamekeeper who is in hiding behind a dry stone wall. To his astonishment, Romany, who joins John, sees a weasel carrying her young, one by one, into the depths of the wall. The gamekeeper is particularly interested because he knows that a family of rats, enemies of his pheasant chicks, are also located there. He tells Romany "Ye can tak' it from me that in less than a month she'll have cleared 'em oot, so I'm not wastin' me poison on 'em!"
Romany was a master at interpreting everyday occurrences in the countryside, without sentimentalising or humanising animal behaviour, yet his stories are absorbing to today's listener. He was the forerunner of today's modern media naturalists, and extremely successful in his own right. However, when his writing skills are coupled with Terry Waite's natural reading style, we have an unbeatable duo. I look forward to the possible publication of more of his works.
The Reverend George Bramwell Evens was better known to his 13 million radio listeners as 'Romany of the BBC.' His weekly programme, 'Out with Romany' was one of the most loved on Children's Hour and gave his audience a short respite from the nightly horror of wartime Britain.
Evens' mother was a gypsy and he himself owned a gypsy caravan, or vardo, which he used as a base for his nature studies, and around which many of his tales were woven.
'A Romany in the Country', his third book written for adults, is read by Terry Waite, CBE, fittingly, as during his years in captivity Waite re-read in his mind the books he had enjoyed as a youngster, with the Romany series figuring high amongst them.
It is said that Romany possessed a distinctive, deep voice, with Northern overtones; true also of Terry Waite, who gives a performance characteristic of the author himself. All of the favourite country personalities are here; the gamekeeper, the poacher, the farmer, the fisherman, each given a credible accent in Terry's sympathetic presentation.
The four tapes consist of what might be termed 'mini stories', each capable of standing alone, which enables the listener to hear as much or as little as time permits, without detracting from the continuity of the whole. An example is the relocation of the weasel. Romany encounters John Fell, the gamekeeper who is in hiding behind a dry stone wall. To his astonishment, Romany, who joins John, sees a weasel carrying her young, one by one, into the depths of the wall. The gamekeeper is particularly interested because he knows that a family of rats, enemies of his pheasant chicks, are also located there. He tells Romany "Ye can tak' it from me that in less than a month she'll have cleared 'em oot, so I'm not wastin' me poison on 'em!"
Romany was a master at interpreting everyday occurrences in the countryside, without sentimentalising or humanising animal behaviour, yet his stories are absorbing to today's listener. He was the forerunner of today's modern media naturalists, and extremely successful in his own right. However, when his writing skills are coupled with Terry Waite's natural reading style, we have an unbeatable duo. I look forward to the possible publication of more of his works.
