At the age of nineteen, Laurie Lee left the village of Slad in Gloustershire to go to London. From there he would go to Spain before being evacuated and returned to Spain again to help fight in the civil war. The books about his life there, Cider with Rosie and his journey through Spain, As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and the final book, A Moment of War, would become best sellers.

After a lifetime of doing things including working for the government at one point, he returned to live out his final days. This book is a transcription of some of the interviews that he did with David Parker, for a documentary for the BBC. In here he speaks about his favourite pub, the Woolpack, school life, the local church and the village pond.

It has been a while since I have read any of Lee’s work and reading this reminded me just how warm his language is. It has some entertaining moments inside, but as it was a transcription, it did feel that it was lacking some of the depth that you’d get from a book that he had written. Definitely one for the dedicated Lee fan. ( )