Tales from a Stone Cottage: Hilarious stories of village life, as featured in Country Living magazine

by Aly Wilks

Tales from a Stone Cottage came into being when Aly won a competition to become Country Living Magazine's new columnist. The magazine searched for a column that would chart 'life in the country - the changing seasons, the foibles of neighbours (if you dare) - '. Aly dared, and the result was her initial article on the Cow Scale, a scoring system which has kept her sane in many strange places. This and the following columns are enhanced by Celia Witchard's cheerful illustrations and chronicle village life, particularly the bits that make Aly laugh. Aly describes characters which are an amalgam of villagers she has been fortunate enough to have known throughout her life. Grumpy Mr Addington, Julia the hedge fund manager and Frank who loves ferrets will be recognised both by those who live in the depths of England's green and pleasant land and by those who prefer to watch from a safe distance. Connoisseurs will also enjoy meeting Aly's real-life cast of animals, which include killer geese, scatty sheep and a horse with attitude. If your heart is in the country, or if it's quite a long way away from the country but enjoys a collection of witty stories, this book is for you!

160 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2012

Reviews

[Jenny Sanders]

Aly Wilks won a competition to become a new columnist for 'Country Living' magazine and this is a compilation of her articles covering one seasonal year.

Lovely observations of characters in her Wiltshire village, some are exaggerated but mostly based on fact. I enjoyed the interactions, fun and games, and the evident delight Aly had at being so warmly received into this rural semi-idyll. However, since each piece is by necessity only the length of a single article I often find that we were just getting started on an intriguing story when it finished rather abruptly. So long as you manage your expectations realistically, this is a fun read especially for night time relaxation.

I would love her to take her characters and weave some more in depth adventures with them or just tell the stories with a smidge more detail over another 500 words or so.

[Felistuous]

It's always enjoyable reading about rural life in different countries.
This little book is perfect for just reading a little at a time and the writing is so very british.

[Magdalena]

Great book, I'd recommend it to anyone!

[Wendy]

Just the kind of village I would like to retire to!