Warm, vivid and rich in detail, this collection of stories captures everyday life on a traditional Welsh Marches farm before modern methods transformed the countryside. Told with clarity and affection, the book celebrates the rhythms of farming without sentimentality.
Organised around the passing seasons, the narrative follows the author’s childhood and teenage years among stockmen, horsemen, shepherds, and farm workers, all under the steady gaze of his father. Alongside sheep and horses, the farm was home to a renowned herd of pedigree Hereford cattle, sought after by buyers from across the globe.
Framing these memories is the shadow of a grandfather the author never met, Johny Go Buy ’Em, who travelled slowly from farm to farm on a Welsh cob, acquiring livestock and quietly building his reputation and fortune.
David Jones, now retired from farming and business, continues to live close to Hay-on-Wye, the landscape that shaped his youth.
