Böcker av Leslie Kent

Woodlands have dominated much of the British landscape for thousands of years since the recession of the last ice age, and yet so few of us spend enough time in them to understand how much of our native wildlife is adapted to live with trees. The inspiration of naturalists, poets and artists, woodlands have often been removed, changed or marginalised to make way for 'progress', and from within our suburbs and garden plots we rarely spend time appreciating their wildlife, and yet it is still there waiting to be discovered. This book is a guide to where you can find that often hidden wildlife. Leslie Kent, a Biology teacher by trade and amateur ecologist, reveals just how easy it can be to find wild things even in the middle of a city, if only you take the time to look for it.

Now ill, and for a time presumed dead, the limitations of Sol's life at Bothan Faobhar throw him back to the bright lights of London. What is he prepared to compromise in his new found world on the northern limits of the UK's mainland to regain the relationships he had in the past? Is that much compromise even possible? And then there are the differing protocols for living in the city and for life in a rural community, not to mention Sol's foolhardy approach at times. This is the continued story of Sol. It is a tale of reconciliation between what we want and what we need. But it is mostly about a man who needs to learn what these are and the wild things that surround him as he discovers this. It is also about Lyme's disease.

Finale for B This is the final story in the Symphony for G series set on the far North West coast of Scotland in the Faobhar glen. Finding the support of friends and working out a future for himself and that part of the estate he owns, Sol realises that like in all good communities it is the pulling together that finally counts. There are unexpected allies, beasts in the woods, visitors from across Britain interested in the past, the present and the future of the glen, and of course EPL, the oil giant in control. This is the continued saga of Sol and his introspective life at Bothan Faobhar looking at how the man from the city finally understood the man he wanted to be. It's also a book about Sol attending a wedding.

Near to the end of her life, Maggie waited for Death. It was the only thing to look forward to, especially when looking back on the regrets of a past life directed by others and dominated by the mistakes she had made. But then Beatrice walked into her life. This younger, second generation, Caribbean woman and a child of unknown parents, had faced her own trials based on the colour of her skin and lived with the consequence and judgment of regrets of her own. But she cared. The Magpie Girl is a story about people and relationships that span lifetimes, and the scars we carry through our lives, often inflicted by others. Above all, it is about it never being too late even if death is close and time appears to be running out. It is also a story about magpies, birds that are judged well before they are understood.

Life seems idyllic at Bothan Faobhar until Sol receives an invitation to the wedding of his ex-partner who still lives back in the city of London. Only then does he realise that there is little chance for him to find a life partner of his own out in the wilderness of the estate. With mounting pressure from a hostile bid for the land by a global oil giant capable of changing the fortunes for the locals, and the will of the people to contend with, this is the continued story of Sol's life at Bothan Faobhar and his battle for the fate of its wildlife and wilderness. With the return of Pilgrim, the long lost traveller whose presence only spells trouble, and the decline of the biodiversity of the forests due to human impacts, Sol must find a team of people who believe in the same cause as he does. In this battle to save the woods, the wildlife and the very future of the Faobhar glen, Sol discovers yet more about the true value of things. Pilgrim's Song is also a story about a wild beast.

What could be simpler than buying a house in the country? When Sol, a city financier, purchases Bothan Faobhar on a whim, he discovers a world where the neighbours are both distant and at odds with his urban ideals. With no mobile signal, no electricity, water that runs brown, it is an existence that he quickly realises he is ill-prepared for. Can someone like Sol survive here? And then there is the mysterious previous occupant, G, who seems not to have left. Who is G? Why does he stay in contact with Sol? And, why does everyone think that the house chose Sol and not the other way around? This is the story of Sol's introspective journey from self-obsessed investor to outwards-looking naturalist with a deepening knowledge and interest in the wild world just beyond his own doorstep, starting with the visitation of a Scottish wildcat. It is about the wildlife of Britain, rural communities and folk music, and the need to protect them all from certain extinction. It is also about a man who buys a house.