A William Condry Reader By Jim Perrin

Published by Gomer Press hard back

ISBN 978 1 84851 883 4

222 pages Price £14.99

I must start by saying ‘This is one of my best reads this year if not for a long time’. It is a book with the best of Bill’s writing in several newspapers especially the Guardian dating back from 1950s to the 1990s. The work does not age as wildlife and especially birds pour out of every page and may be summed up by a short piece on page 98 describing the search for a rare fern which he did not find. He went on to quote a modern Greek poem about the search for the Island of Ithaca. ‘The search has given you the beautiful voyage. Without her you would have never taken the road’ Just what nature does for you! As a Brummie Bill was well liked in the Welsh countryside and I was fortunate to meet both him and Penny when I was the assistant warden at Ynis hir where Bill was not only the first RSPB warden but managed to get the reserve for the RSPB from the previous owner. There are extracts from his trips to Africa and Spain as well as a race to find a bird with £20.00 travelling all the way to France! There are so many good bits you just have to read it yourself!