Nature. Writer. Reader. Rural. Guardian Country Diary, BBC Countryfile, RSPB. Award winning On Gallows Down. Ghosts of the Farm coming 30/11! Climate Fic Prize Judge. North Wessex Downs. https://nicolachester.com/ https://linktr.ee/nicolachesterwriting
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#GhostsoftheFarm had its 1st & early special outing! What an event! A Weekend to Remember on the #HighclereCastle #DowntonAbbey estate we lived & worked on. Thrilled to meet these wonderful women, #DaughtersofBritain Land Girls in their historic garb & their Fordson tractor #booksky Coming soon! 1/3
Brilliant, rousing, moving @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social. As a Librarian, it also made me cry: the imagination 'that has empathy for the refugee .. the child in Gaza, the prisoner...that can work to grasp the dimensions & impacts of the climate crisis & our eternal inseparability from nature..'
As a reader, a nature writer, community activist & as a librarian (all imperfectly of course) I think I sobbed, nodding vigorously, throughout the whole of this. Thank you.
Lovely lovely books nominated for the @rjaward.bsky.social.
Ooh, what a list! Fantastic!
They are indeed! The #DaughtersofBritain do demonstrations & reenactments - knowledgeable & lovely.
Oh my, this is such a beautiful, warm, wise & funny read for these troubled times @theguardian.com. I'd expect nothing less from the brilliant @cauverymadhavan.bsky.social (her books, inc #TheInheritance & #TheTainted are wonderful.) But even so, such an insightful, generous, heartening read ...
Excellent!
Thank you so much Ian! You've always been so supportive! I've got jelly knees & goosebumps now ...
Oh eeek! Mine too - got jelly knees when I think about it! x
Thank you! Honestly, they were just brilliant, & so knowledgeable. I remember that episode!
Oh yes please Ollie, that would be AMAZING! Thank you! Shall we get a date in?
Huge thanks to the lovely @waterstones.bsky.social #Newbury branch, who pulled out all the stops to get the book there ahead of time in a Highclere exclusive, with #OnGallowsDown & #WildService too! Thanks Liv & Autumn!
Much talk during the day of the existential & societal challenges we face now, inc the rise of fascism, & crisis in food, farming, climate & climate justice. Much talk of vigilance for peace. Many of the themes in my true story of remarkable, forgotten farm women. @chelseagreenbooks.bsky.social 2/3
#GhostsoftheFarm had its 1st & early special outing! What an event! A Weekend to Remember on the #HighclereCastle #DowntonAbbey estate we lived & worked on. Thrilled to meet these wonderful women, #DaughtersofBritain Land Girls in their historic garb & their Fordson tractor #booksky Coming soon! 1/3
Yesterday, I spoke about my new book at a lovely, historical commemoration & celebration around the end of WWII. Current situations, inc Gaza & Ukraine, & other existential threats, such as the climate & nature crisis, & the rise of facism; were all alluded to, poignantly & urgently, if quietly; 1/3
xxx
if you worry speaking up or taking peaceful action for those things might affect a DBS check & employment opportunities, or impact dependents etc, you’re not alone. There are other ways to act & ‘be.’ Joining or supporting the @greenparty.org.uk @zackpolanski.bsky.social now is a very good one.
the persistent & constant striving for peace & understanding was very much a part of the message & day. Away from this event, others, friends, were making courageous stands. If you’re feeling hamstrung by politicians you thought’d do better for vulnerable people, society & the environment; 2/3
Yesterday, I spoke about my new book at a lovely, historical commemoration & celebration around the end of WWII. Current situations, inc Gaza & Ukraine, & other existential threats, such as the climate & nature crisis, & the rise of facism; were all alluded to, poignantly & urgently, if quietly; 1/3
Oh Alice! That’s funny - & kudos to you for admitting it - it did make a sort of sense anyway, & made me think! Xx
@andrewj27.bsky.social @markavery.bsky.social @iantattum.bsky.social @nicolawriting.bsky.social @hannahbournetaylor.bsky.social
Absolutely Alice!
The crime isn't dodging tax, the crime is dodging tax badly.
‘The old summer’s-end melancholy nips at my heels. There’s no school to go back to; no detail of my life will change come the onset of September; yet still, I feel the old trepidation.’ — Sara Baume
No. Nor Afghanistan, Iran or Russia.. I’m not talking about myself here - & am very aware things are far, far worse elsewhere, as is my daughter. Things have also been worse here. Just because things are much worse elsewhere, doesn’t mean we should accept poor & backwards behaviour here, surely?
Bravo @hughbon.bsky.social
Oh, hurrah!
Why do some managers still think staff are going to perform better if they are shouted at & spoken to in a demeaning or sarcastic way, & belittled? Especially if those staff members are young & new to the workplace? Honestly thought we’d got better at peopling. Picking up the pieces … grrrr.
Congratulations Adam! Can't wait to read... might have to sneak off and hide it from my teetering tbr pile.
This tree fell across a path on Greenham Common 40yrs ago. For many years thereafter, I flew over it on lots of different horses, sometimes leading a string of riders. Fell off in other places, but not here. It was bigger then. Can still feel the rush of wind, the exhilaration of commitment to fly.
This tree fell across a path on Greenham Common 40yrs ago. For many years thereafter, I flew over it on lots of different horses, sometimes leading a string of riders. Fell off in other places, but not here. It was bigger then. Can still feel the rush of wind, the exhilaration of commitment to fly.
& @joeharkness.bsky.social's insight & experience, to sing out about those connections & spotlight them. It’s a book full of hope, excitement & possibility, because of that. Illuminating & dynamic, for people, for nature & the future of those two entwined & diverse, vibrant entities. Bravo Joe.
In exploring nature connection through neurodivergency, we're shown a new prism through which to see & understand the world, which benefits us all. The links, vital & quite extraordinary, may have been there, largely unacknowledged, since time immemorial: but it takes a book such as this 2/3
Just read #NeurodivergentbyNature @joeharkness.bsky.social @chiffchat.bsky.social. A thoughtful, deeply personal, widely researched book, often funny & revelatory. It resonated, & I learnt much, too. It makes the intrinsic relationship between people & nature clear, in a fresh, important way. 1/3
Oooh! Exciting!
This is an emotional read, from @nicolawriting.bsky.social. Beautiful reflections on what it means to belong to a place, the wrench of change and a new chapter. It is no surprise to me that birds turn up so often! Good luck Nic! #naturewriting #senseofplace nicolachester.com/2025/08/20/a...
Thank you so much Michael! A sparrow house, an owl house, an aerial for starlings, a windmill for kites!
Thank you Jane - you are amazing; it must be so tough. All the love, strength & wonder back to you xx
This’ll be a good listen! Saving for later!
Just so joyfully positive, isn’t it! And rare for that!
So much so …
They sound such incredible people. Bravo for bringing them out into the light!
Ah thank you … heartening revelation to find that two women farmers, a romantic couple, were loved & accepted in such a rural place. Absolutely the heart of the village, whereas the Bloomsberries appeared superior & frosty & were disliked for that!
Solidarity Sophie. Grrrr … for so many reasons.
It's a calm, bright Tuesday morning in #Orkney and #BookyMcBookface our Mobile Library is away out west delivering bound pages of knowledge, entertainment and joy to the lucky people of Dounby, Birsay and Sandwick. ❤️ If you see Booky today then go and say hello 👋
For the 1st time in 20yrs, one way or another, today is not a ‘back to school’ day. Many good & right things have happened in that time; but also, the relief is palpable in my body, soul & spirit. We have got through. The damp gully woods on Greenham Common are undergoing a second spring.
Can’t wait for @damianbarr.bsky.social’s #TheTwoRoberts, & this piece is excellent. Much chimes with my queer women farmers of the rural homefront in #GhostsoftheFarm (though in a far quieter way!) who were so different from their ‘Bloomsberry’ neighbours. But so much chimes with then & now, look!
OMGosh but this is brilliant. Much is chiming, on a far quieter, muddier rural homefront, with my marvelous queer farming women, also rather ignored by their Bloomsberry neighbours. And yes, so much of theirs, & the two Roberts’ world, chiming with ours now.
Oh Jane, you’ve had such a very tough time. These are wonderful. Sending love x
Oooh, stunning Ian!
Absolutely… thank you x
It’s a very dear & special place indeed!
For the 1st time in 20yrs, one way or another, today is not a ‘back to school’ day. Many good & right things have happened in that time; but also, the relief is palpable in my body, soul & spirit. We have got through. The damp gully woods on Greenham Common are undergoing a second spring.
Oh wow! Love shorties! Thank you … it’ll be a few more weeks. Long process!
My 10yr old+ writing hut is down (with difficulty). Wrote 2 books, countless articles & columns in it. Rode wild storms into the night in it, when it felt more like a boat at sea. Sparrows have tap danced on its roof, rats below; barn owls alighted. It will come with us, a mile down the lane.
Oooh, excellent!
Thank you Diana - everybody’s barn owls!
Thank you so much Kate x
Thank you … it’s a bit hard. Took my writing hut down today. But only a mile down the lane, at the ‘other end’ of where new book is set, & can still see the hill. Hanging on to that x
Ah, yes!
Absolutely…
And Dave of course!!
Oh, thank you so much! Good to find you again!
If you'd like to know about fluffy owlets turning their toast-speckled heads upside down, you'll enjoy this lovely piece.
Thank you Laura!
Oh yes, do! I’ve only just begun (more to come) but books like this from @joeharkness.bsky.social & Caro Giles imminent #Unschooled change things. Just finished Nicola Garrard’s #OntheEdge too - which is kind of related (YA/ crossover fiction) but about disadvantaged rural young people & wow…
Thank you …
New woodpigeon mantra from now on …
Ha! My new woodpigeon mantra from now on!
Meant to add #booksky @chiffchat.bsky.social!
Diving into #NeurodivergentbyNature from @joeharkness.bsky.social (isn’t it a beauty?) And already, so much resonates, validates & also illuminates. Particularly in education. Having worked in a secondary school myself & with a daughter’s experience; much to learn & connect here.
Home birds. It’s taken this long, how can we leave them? Who will be their protectors now? Squeaking the owls in, one last time, for my own, grown, owlets for @environment.theguardian.com Country Diary.
These field notes from @borthwickdave.bsky.social are deeply pertinent, melancholy & moving. ‘You cannot predict when you might be asked to leave. In this, you realise, you share commons with those whose stories you cannot trace.’ It dawns on me this too is what I seek. The ghosts before us.
A deeply beautiful & melancholy read Dave, thank you. Something I identify with so hard. And it dawns on me that this precarity, this not knowing when we must go at any point, is why I seek, like you, those traces of belonging & past evidence. New blog, new book is full of that. Unmoored.
This… you never know when, but you can’t ever put down the weight of its almost-certainty. Dave writes so beautifully, with such a deep awareness & knowledge of this place…
Oh no Dave … I’m so sorry. My biggest fear, a lifetime’s depth.
A fierce, squirly little thunderstorm close upon us, with almost continuous thunder for about ten minutes, attended by ravens, shouting! Waited in the strawy dry barn before riding out. Millie had extra apples & watched the herd in the field flatten their ears & turn their bottoms to the rain.
Oh! It’s such a stirring, literary landscape of the imagination- how wonderful to make those connections. They are the strongest bonds.
Ha!
Oh my! That’s moved me to tears! Good on them both…
Dream of rewilding, but it’s out of reach? There’s a way we could all access land, to rewild, to be a guardian for nature and future generations. Reform the commons Sign up to our newsletter to find out more tinyurl.com/CFCommons
A fierce, squirly little thunderstorm close upon us, with almost continuous thunder for about ten minutes, attended by ravens, shouting! Waited in the strawy dry barn before riding out. Millie had extra apples & watched the herd in the field flatten their ears & turn their bottoms to the rain.
Oh wow, this is just incredible!
Thank you so much Nick!
Oh my! And what a wonderful throw!
Hello, hello! I've updated Events on my lovely new website, because the #GhostsoftheFarm are coming! I mashed it, but the very brilliant Nick @handpressed.net has quietly gone & tapped it all into shape, so it looks professional. He'll help you out too! #booksky nicolachester.com/events/
Oh my! Things happening quickly!
Oh wow! Love the image of the wind blankets. Feel the same Jen!
A sweet relief to feel the rain. A neighbour farmer usually makes 250 big round hay bales - & gets two cuts. This year, there’ll be one cut, & the grass so sparse he’s made just 75 bales. Winter fodder was already being fed weeks ago & these mares & foals on winter pasture. Hope for an autumn flush.
This is how we do it; joined up thinking & land restoration, in community ownership - bigger & better for people & wildlife. Lovely positive stuff from Paul Evans for @environment.theguardian.com Country Diary.
Ha, that’s true! And yes, long behind me now too!
This house is a wind singer. It loves a strong southerly, & gets excited by it, stirring us all up, banging its doors about & singing its dramatic, minor key harmonies. When the children were small, this was the friendly window ghost. It urges us outside, so as not to miss a thing in this world.
Geese in flight / the swelling of pears / that you might live inside / a soft, heightening of wind / the draining of green
Love this ...
▫️ all the silent seas ▫️ [reposting by special request - and with many thanks]
all the way home communes of starlings lined thick along wires - electricity, phone & fibre - every making of an uprising
They do talk, these houses, don't they! Thank you so much Lesley.
This house is a wind singer. It loves a strong southerly, & gets excited by it, stirring us all up, banging its doors about & singing its dramatic, minor key harmonies. When the children were small, this was the friendly window ghost. It urges us outside, so as not to miss a thing in this world.
Want to support the campaign for a real Right to Roam across England & Wales, all while having a chance to win a bundle of beautiful nature bundles? Take part in our Prize Draw which closes at the end of the week! Supported by @foldedorset.bsky.social www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/right-to-r...