“This imaginary colour film of the past would need to have a soundtrack too, which would record the crunch and crackle of iron tyres on a macadam road, the sudden hush as the wagon turned off into a field, leaving just the creak of the wooden framework, and the clack of the hubs against the axletrees, or the swish of hooves and wheels through stubble. It would record also the voice of the driver as he spoke to the horses, a murmur of words which we should not recognize as words today, an earthy form of plainsong, as he guided the team over ruts, humps and hollows, through the twists and turns of the slow trek from field to barn.”