Having produced absorbing memoirs about his childhood experiences and his career in the Probation Service, John Hedge has undertaken a very different project – to use the medium of poetry, his own and the work of others, to capture something of the ‘overarching themes, passions and commitments’ of his life in a more literary form. The result is this varied collection of poetry and prose extracts, covering themes which range from railways to cats and churches and from birdwatching to football, cricket and the English countryside.