Author: helengibsondavies

Lockdown has given me time to do things that I have got out of the habit of doing regularly.  Thankfully the weather has been lovely and I got back into the habit of reading every day.  In fact Ive spent many happy hours , in the garden, with my head stuck in a book, like I used to do when I was younger.  Some of the books that have kept me ut of mischief are pictured above.

Who Owns England was a real eye opener.  William the Konk handed out land like sweeties to reward his loyal nobles and this hereditary land is still in the landed gentries hands.  Next came : 

The British Enclosure Acts removed the prior rights of local people to rural land they had often used for generations. As compensation, the displaced people were commonly offered alternative land of smaller scope and inferior quality, sometimes with no access to water or wood. The lands seized by the acts were then consolidated into individual and privately owned farms, with large, politically connected farmers receiving the best land. Often, small landowners could not afford the legal and other associated costs of enclosure and so were forced out.

A typical round of enclosure began when several, or even a single, prominent landholder initiated it … by petition to Parliament.… [T]he commissioners were invariably of the same class and outlook as the major landholders who had petitioned in the first place, [so] it was not surprising that the great landholders awarded themselves the best land and the most of it, thereby making England a classic land of great, well-kept estates with a small marginal peasantry and a large class of rural wage labourers.

Then of course theres the land commandeered for the forces.  A great many areas of England were compulsory purchased and some whole villages emptied for use for army training during the second world war – never to be given back.

Lists of landowners are amount of land they own are in the book.  These were gained by the freedom of information act but some areas are hard to obtain information for.

A great website for this topic = https://whoownsengland.org

The Idea of the Brain is a look at how the brain has been studied and what we have so far learnt, which is not a great deal. It details the “advances” we have made so far.  A lot of it was over my head but its very informative and made me realise what an interconnected, complicated organ it is and that my generation will never know how it works.

Permanent Record was eye opening.  I know that governments can now keep tabs on us, but to read what Edward Snowdon found and how he has suffered for blowing the whistle, is scary.  Its autobiographical and because of that very readable.

Outgrowing God is another brilliant book by Richard Dawkins.  Ive read many of his books and find them all very logical, scientific and readable.  Plenty of scientific logical thoroughly well thought out explanations why there cannot be a god.  This along with a history of religion and how it has been used.  ( twisted, turned and mainly made up)!

The Cedar Cage was a weird one for me but I bought it because its based on the Norfolk coast near Wells on Sea, which is an area Im familiar with and love.  A bit of a ghost story.

Wild Hares and Hummingbirds is a lovely relaxing read all about a village in the Somerset Levels – its countryside and wildlife.

The Salt Path is another great read.  This is about a couple who loose their lovely farm home, through no fault of their own.  The husband has a incurable disease but they decide, as they are homeless, they may as well pack rucksack and go and walk the South Coast Path, from North Devon, through Cornwall and finish in Dorset.  The story is about how they survive, who they meet and how they cope. 

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