I fell in love with these books the minute I saw them, and if you love Norfolk, love the wildlife and love the coast, heathland and woodland, then I know you’ll love these books too!

www.explorenorfolkuk.co.uk/wildlife-books

The Worshipful Companies is a collection of images and poems about wildlife you find at the north Norfolk Coast. The juxtaposition of word and pictures upon the page is intended as artwork in its own right – a whole that is greater than the sum of its part – for these pieces to evoke a sense of this special place and the birds at home here, during any and every time of the year.

Suffolk Norfolk Life

Fabulous photographs of birds are matched by poems, summoning the watery, feather-flocked, reed-fringed landscapes in words. The Worshipful Companies, by Stuart Medland, is a beautifully produced collection of words and pictures, telling some of the stories of Norfolk’s birds and other wildlife in prose, poetry and images through the year. Stuart was a Norfolk primary school teacher and since retiring has created two beautiful books – this latest reflecting his love of the natural world. A talented photographer and writer, each picture is accompanied by evocative, often-quirky text. Images of lush-plumaged ruffs are accompanied by information about the birds, and the poem:

“The fops have lost the plot – all codpiece, head to toe –forgotten the brief, the Point of it All. Such Come-hither dither; up-to-the-nines in their finery (ever so satiny vanity) – taken a shine to themselves…”

EDP Norfolk magazine

This is a lovely book to flick through. It is well presented and it scores highly on originality, as a very personal set of ideas and thoughts. It will, I think, best suit the more reflective types who are interested in how others see birds and the connections they can inspire in our minds. If you simply want a book about birds in Norfolk, describing their behaviour and where you might expect to find them, this may not be for you. But if you have a log fire, a spare winter evening and half a bottle of red wine, this is perhaps the perfect complement.

Here is the full review

Ian Carter via Mark Avery's blog