All things bright and beautiful

I have just finished reading the James Herriot series. Spot got these as a Christmas present and I was desperate for him to finish so I could begin!

I recall reading one of the first ones years ago; probably when the BBC TV series was at its most popular. But I've never read them all.

It's no wonder these books were adapted into the TV series. The way Herriot describes the people and places almost makes you want to head back in time and space to where and when these books were set. Maybe Tristan Farnon would manage it?!

Reading the books, I laughed and cried. I recalled how beautiful the Dales are and Herriot does do them justice, which is no mean feat. Mainly, reading them took me to a past era. One where horses were (pardon the pun) the work horses of farms, among many other occupations. An era where small farmers struggled to make a living in harsh conditions. An era where we were, perhaps, more in tune with the natural world, but written when that knowledge and in-touch-ness was on the wain.

Is it an era I'd like to go back to? No. Not really. Things may have been simpler, but I couldn't do this. And I'd be a housewife all the time. Thanks, but no thanks.

The main thing on reading these books which struck home to me is our connectedness to animals. As pets, as beasts of burden (once here and still in much of the world), as part of nature to wonder and awe at. I hope I never loose that sense of wonder at the world and I can show it to future generations. Because "The Lord God Made them All".