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Sometimes I sits and thinks
A collection of anecdotes, it’s the distillation of a lifetime’s experience of peasant agriculture in the North of England. I’d like to say ‘All human life is here,’ but frankly there’s more about Border Collies, Cattle and Sheep.
81 pages, Paperback
Published January 9, 2020
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3 people want to read
About the author
Jim Webster
90 books73 followersOld enough to know better and young enough not to care. I'm married with a wife and three daughters.
Since I left school I've supported myself with farming, freelance writing and some consultancy.
The consultancy dried up a bit so having time on my hands I wrote the fantasy novel 'Swords for a Dead Lady'. This is on Amazon as an e-book. It didn't hurt so I did it again, and 'Dead Man Riding East' is also available on Amazon. A third book, 'The Flames of the City,' and a fourth book, 'Learning a Hard Trade', set in the same background, are now available.
Then as a bit of a change I produced a shorter book, 'The Cartographer's Apprentice' which is something of a 'prequel' to the story of Benor Dorfingil.
The whole 'facebook/twitter/blogging' experience is something I'm not very good at. I'd far rather chat to people on forums, or better still talk over a pint or a really good cappuccino.
Since I left school I've supported myself with farming, freelance writing and some consultancy.
The consultancy dried up a bit so having time on my hands I wrote the fantasy novel 'Swords for a Dead Lady'. This is on Amazon as an e-book. It didn't hurt so I did it again, and 'Dead Man Riding East' is also available on Amazon. A third book, 'The Flames of the City,' and a fourth book, 'Learning a Hard Trade', set in the same background, are now available.
Then as a bit of a change I produced a shorter book, 'The Cartographer's Apprentice' which is something of a 'prequel' to the story of Benor Dorfingil.
The whole 'facebook/twitter/blogging' experience is something I'm not very good at. I'd far rather chat to people on forums, or better still talk over a pint or a really good cappuccino.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 23, 2017
and sometimes I just sits.
This is a selection of anecdotes about life as a farmer in Cumbria. The writer grew up on his farm, and generations of his family before him farmed the land. You develop a real feeling for the land you are hefted to and this comes across in these stories. We hear of the cattle, the sheep, his succession of working dogs, the weather and the neighbours, in an amusing and chatty style as the snippets of Jim Webster’s countryman’s wisdom fall gently. I love this collection.
This is a selection of anecdotes about life as a farmer in Cumbria. The writer grew up on his farm, and generations of his family before him farmed the land. You develop a real feeling for the land you are hefted to and this comes across in these stories. We hear of the cattle, the sheep, his succession of working dogs, the weather and the neighbours, in an amusing and chatty style as the snippets of Jim Webster’s countryman’s wisdom fall gently. I love this collection.
June 6, 2017
A great collection of bite-sized tales from the author's farming life.
Sheep and collie dogs are prominent, but the occasional passerby gets a wry mention.
My favourite is about the bunch of runners who race past him without speaking (noses firmly in the air), except for one friendly Irish lad who is trailing behind them...
Wry observations of animals and humans!
See my review also at:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06...
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06X...
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/...
Sheep and collie dogs are prominent, but the occasional passerby gets a wry mention.
My favourite is about the bunch of runners who race past him without speaking (noses firmly in the air), except for one friendly Irish lad who is trailing behind them...
Wry observations of animals and humans!
See my review also at:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06...
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B06X...
https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/...
April 12, 2017
Wouldn't have his job for a big clock!
A collection of blog posts that give a real insight into the harsh world of a small farmer. But this book is much more than that, imbued as it is with Jim's trademark sly humour and his evident love of his countryside and his livestock. Excellent holiday reading.
A collection of blog posts that give a real insight into the harsh world of a small farmer. But this book is much more than that, imbued as it is with Jim's trademark sly humour and his evident love of his countryside and his livestock. Excellent holiday reading.
April 18, 2017
Gosh, finished this ages ago! It's a quick but thoughtful read, gently humorous and very atmospheric. A collection of blogposts with reflections on farming, the world, and the humility required to work with border collies.
August 17, 2021
Jim Webster is a writer and farmer from Cumbria in the UK. Jim has a great English sense of humour and I find his books hilarious. I have read a few of his books set in the fantasy world of Port Naain and which feature Tallis Steelyard, Benor and Maltjie.
This book, Sometimes I sits and thinks, is a little different as it uses the authors own life and experiences as a farmer as a basis. Mr Webster's points about some of the issues and pitfalls facing farmers in the UK are wrapped in a blanket of humour and served as an interesting literary dish, but they are still revealing.
One of the most interesting aspects about farming revealed in this book is that it has become so much harder to make a living from farming over the past twenty years. While the prices of hired help, machinery, animal feed, and just general living have escalated significantly, the prices of basic foodstuffs have not followed suit. I think it is a great shame that food security is not more important in the commercial world. After all, what would we eat if there were no farmers?
Some of the anecdotes included in this book that made me laugh long and hard, were as follows:
When young Jim tells his teacher he cannot stay after school to be punished because he has to get home to milk the cows as his father is away - there's no real arguing with that point;
When young Jim's headmaster and his family come walking up the lane where Jim is directing the cows through the gate. The family decide to watch and one of the cows subjects his headmaster to a cow mucus shower;
When young Jim sells some school mates a bit of his fathers ammonium nitrate and they start an explosions business;
Older Jim's stories about the sheep and the lead troublemaking sheep called Ya bluidy auld witch are equally entertaining. So very funny to read about their antics, being fairly dim creatures that do not take well to change, but I have told you enough, you'll have to read the book to find out more about the sheep.
This book, Sometimes I sits and thinks, is a little different as it uses the authors own life and experiences as a farmer as a basis. Mr Webster's points about some of the issues and pitfalls facing farmers in the UK are wrapped in a blanket of humour and served as an interesting literary dish, but they are still revealing.
One of the most interesting aspects about farming revealed in this book is that it has become so much harder to make a living from farming over the past twenty years. While the prices of hired help, machinery, animal feed, and just general living have escalated significantly, the prices of basic foodstuffs have not followed suit. I think it is a great shame that food security is not more important in the commercial world. After all, what would we eat if there were no farmers?
Some of the anecdotes included in this book that made me laugh long and hard, were as follows:
When young Jim tells his teacher he cannot stay after school to be punished because he has to get home to milk the cows as his father is away - there's no real arguing with that point;
When young Jim's headmaster and his family come walking up the lane where Jim is directing the cows through the gate. The family decide to watch and one of the cows subjects his headmaster to a cow mucus shower;
When young Jim sells some school mates a bit of his fathers ammonium nitrate and they start an explosions business;
Older Jim's stories about the sheep and the lead troublemaking sheep called Ya bluidy auld witch are equally entertaining. So very funny to read about their antics, being fairly dim creatures that do not take well to change, but I have told you enough, you'll have to read the book to find out more about the sheep.
July 3, 2022
Brilliantly written, honest, funny and if you're from this little bit of land you'll have been intrigued by the title - sold by the end of the very first line "There's a lamb climbing out the oven"
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews