Kiran sidhu is clearly an accomplished and skilled writer,who gives poetic and insightful thoughts,letting you into her life and what it is like to live and breath in the country.For me this is a book that gives hope,it casts acceptance we’re there is dark and like a breeze in any season,the story whaffs over you in subtle and meaningful ways,and brings new thoughts to life,thoughts and feelings that have simmered over time, come to the surface. Max Hunter recorded Mrs Norma Kisner of Springdale Arkansas, singing a fragment of Unconstant Lover in 1960. [20] I eventually fell into a firm routine with this book, reading only a chapter a day or so, and savouring the insights within - just mulling them over like turning a lovely pebble in my mind’s hand - and just allowing myself to empathise and feel. Heart Valley, based on Wilf the farmer and written and co-produced by Kiran Sidhu, won Best Documentary Short Film at Tribeca Film Festival 2022 a b Palmer, Roy (1979). English Country Songbook. London. {{ cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher ( link)

Goldsmith, Thomas (6 February 2005). "The beauty and mystery of ballads". The Raleigh News & Observer. p.G5. The song has been covered by many musicians in several different styles. In North America, an early notable recorded version was performed in 1929 by Appalachian folk musician Clarence Ashley with an unusual banjo tuning. [22] Then I found myself Google Mapping the area on Satellite mode (I live in Carmarthen, which in fact is not far, and I do find maps fascinating to explore). This is how much Kiran drew me into her place. Among others, there are Donna and Andy who run the farm and B&B Caer Cadwgan, Sarah, Rod and Glen who share the same driveway as Kiran and Simon (great for sledging down), colourful Hara who brings the party to life, Andrew who tells the SAS story, Tess who takes Kiran swimming on New Year’s Day.

From the writer of The New Yorker short film, Heart Valley - WINNER OF 2023 BAFTA CYMRU AWARDS FOR BEST SHORT FILM Kiran is a self-confessed city girl, brown in a valley of white, and she questions her Indian heritage and culture. She is challenged by the concept of home, looks to hiraeth and, rather bravely, leans into country living full throttle as she searches for the answers. Kiran wants to experience life again, but from a different viewpoint.

It is a brave write and heartbreaking to read, the emotions stifled in the heavy air which cloaked the hospital room. I enjoyed reading this book,I am a slow reader,but with the chapters being short,it was easy to dip in and out at my own pace and perfect for a break.The book starts with some pictures,which entice you in and help you relate to the book as you go along.I found this book a nice surprise, it is not a bells and whistles book ,it is about living in the country ,it has depth,humour,and an honesty that you don’t often hear,that weaves it way through the book. Kiran Sidhu never thought she could leave London, but when her mother passes away, she knows she has to walk out of her old life and leave her toxic family behind. She chooses fresh air, an auditorium of silence and the purity of the natural world - and soon arrives in Cellan, a small, remote village nestled in the Welsh valleys. a b Sullivan, Steve (2017). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings. Vol.3 and 4. Rowman and Littlefield. pp.61–62. ISBN 978-1-4422-5449-7.Hamish Henderson recorded Willie Mathieson from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, singing The Evening Meeting in 1952. [19] Kiran studied philosophy and had always wanted to travel, believing it to be the best education. ‘But here was a man who said he was content – far more content than I am – in his small life, one of little travel. And as my mother had died I was open to life in a very new way. I studied anyone I met, wanting to learn about their way of life. Wilf challenged me. His existence challenged me.’ Kiran lived in London and she recounts the horrific experience of losing her Mum to whom she was very close. After an initial period of mourning she and her partner went on holiday to “the Wilds of Wales”. After a while they decide to relocate to “the wilds of Wales.”

It is both heart wrenching and primal to read, and it captures me from the start. Though the content is deep, the pace flows easily throughout. Her mother, Piari, grew weaker through December 2014, died on Christmas Eve and was buried over the new year. Through the last section of the book, Kiran evocatively brings to light the battle her mother and family faced. It started off well, the author's mother dies and she moves away from London to the Welsh hills to flee her toxic constrained family. And so we get lovely descriptions of the Welsh countryside, the lovely Welsh people, lovely Welsh kindness, the lovely Welsh animals, the lovely Welsh seasons (do you see a pattern here?!) And yet it's not enough. It's difficult to tell at first whether Kiran is living in Wales properly as she initially mentions spending only weekends there. Presumably then she moves there full time, who knows? The pain of her mother's death is terrible and she can't stop ruminating on her mother's illness, death and her family's treatment of her after her mum's death. Without wanting to sound heartless, we get it! Death is shit, losing a parent is shit, grieving is shit, families are shit. Writing a book that sounds whiny, whimsical and childishly naive is shit!She chooses to watch a pig slaughter, swims for the first time in a cold Welsh sea, clips a goat’s hooves, feeds an orphaned lamb, partakes in the rescuing of a red kite. Unconstant Lover". The Max Hunter Folk Song Collection. Missouri State University . Retrieved 19 April 2017. Karen Millen, creator of the eponymous fashion brand has created a new collection over 40-years after she set up her first shop. She sold the business in 2004, but in later years she filed for bankruptcy. Now aged 61, Millen is returning to designing clothes. She joins Anita to talk about the highs and lows of her life so far, and starting over. Many times throughout the book, Kiran describes how Wilf quietly opens her eyes to the beauty of nature in the valley which is ‘cut in the shape of his heart’. I don’t think there is a more beautiful way of describing a person’s love for their home.

I wondered what I missed in life by thinking that the wisdom of others whose lives were different to mine could not have any bearing on my life. How wrong I had been.” I found myself following the illustrated map at the beginning of the book so I could picture Kiran on her daily walking route, visiting the neighbouring farms and landmarks as she did. The song ends in a sad verse about emigration. There is a fine recording of this song from Luke Kelly of The Dubliners. Autumn brings with it a melancholy feeling which pervades into the depths of winter and leaves Kiran with such a sense of loss.It is an evocative, well written account of Kieran’s journey of grief. It is divided into the seasons; spring, when she and her husband moved to West Wales, summer, autumn and winter. Kiran Sidhu describes her natural environment in vivid detail and the human connections she forms. Her life and person gradually opens like a flower.” Integrated into the narrative is her bereavement journey.