For nearly forty years up to his death in 1967, John Moore regularly wrote articles and short stories for newspapers and magazines in addition to his output of books. Like his books these articles had a rural flavour and many appeared weekly as his Country Column in the Birmingham Evening Mail. Some in part subsequently found their way into some of his country books, but generally most have lain for many years, unread in the archives.

A selection of these have now been brought together in this volume producing a collection of articles remarkable for their unfaded freshness and vivid commentary on country life as it was over fifty years ago. Shining through the articles is John Moore’s forward thinking on such matters as conservation and the protection of the countryside, subjects which were ascribed little importance at the time but which have subsequently developed into prominent issues.