Ever thought of kayaking down the canals ?
The nearest I got to it was when I went on a "cruise & crotchet" trip on the Manchester Ship Canal earlier this year.
The cruise was great my crotchet was rubbish.
British Author, tv presenter and horticulturist Alys Fowler kayaks along the Birmingham waterways and has written a book about it.
I loved it, even though I nothing about the area or about the plants that grow in and around the water.
Alys writes in a very descriptive way. Each page sucks you in and you saver the words rather than rush through them..
Then the unexpected happens Alys starts to realise things about herself. I won't say anymore in case you want to read it.
Now here's the rub. While I formed a picture in my mind of the colour and shape of the kayak it would have been nice to see a photo of Alys sat in it like the one above.
My second rub is the fact that I'm not a horticulturist and so I couldn't visualise the plant life Alys sees in and along the canal. It is beautifully described but if sketches or photos had been added it would have been a perfect read.
I'm going to print off the photo above and add it to the book and may well sketch/paint images of the plants onto the pages as well.
That looks like a book I'd love to read, but it's a shame there are no photos or sketches of the plants. I guess that would bother me ... xxx
ReplyDeleteVavv. Thats Good. If i make money, i want to see there
ReplyDeleteI read a Guardian article about this, it was fascinating. Reading this reminded me. Adding the flora to the book is an excellent idea!
ReplyDeleteI've got her gardening and foraging books and with her being a Guardian columnist, read the extracts from this latest book when it was featured a few months ago.
ReplyDeleteBirmingham's got more canals than Venice! xxx