Reading this book is like a holiday - an interlude of pure pleasure. In it Laurie Lee has collected all of his occasional writing that he cares to preserve, and proves himself to be as much a magician in essay form as he is in his full-length prose works. Some of these pieces come from a world which is now well known and loved by almost that of the Gloucestershire childhood celebrated in Cider with Rosie . One is tragic and deeply moving, inspired by a visit to Aberfan a year after the disaster there. Many were brought home by Laurie Lee the traveller, from Holland, Tuscany, Mexico, Ireland, the West Indies, a film festival in Cannes. In all of them he displays the gifts that make him one of the best-loved writers now at work in Britain. This is a collection to buy in pairs - one for the bedside, and one to give to a friend. Cover design and illustration by John Gorham.