Hunting Songs Volume One: The Lakeland Fell Packs
Wendy Fraser
- I
- have
- frequently
- been
- at
- meets
- or
- supporters
- events
- (including
- balls)
- that
- have,
- at
- some
- point
- during
- proceedings,
- included
- a
- song
- or
- two,
- so
- I
- was
- delighted
- to
- be
- asked
- to
- review
- a
- copy
- of
- Hunting
- Songs
- Volume
- One:
- The
- Lakeland
- Fell
- Packs.
- This
- collection
- of
- songs
- from
- a
- number
- of
- packs
- across
- the
- Lakeland
- area
- of
- the
- UK
- has
- been
- gathered
- by
- Ron
- Black,
- with
- editing
- and
- illustrations
- provided
- by
- Wendy
- Fraser....
- it
- is
- packed
- with
- a
- wealth
- of
- songs
- from
- the
- featured
- packs
- which
- have
- formed
- part
- of
- the
- local
- oral
- tradition
- for
- decades
- or
- even
- hundreds
- of
- years.
- Unlike
- some
- collections
- in
- the
- past,
- Black
- and
- Fraser
- have
- left
- many
- of
- the
- dialect
- words
- and
- region-specific
- phrases
- in
- place
- instead
- of
- trying
- to
- sanitise
- the
- songs
- into
- modern
- English,
- and
- this
- adds
- greatly
- to
- the
- charm
- of
- the
- book.
- The
- glossary
- is
- a
- handy
- touch,
- allowing
- readers
- from
- other
- areas
- to
- understand
- the
- words
- in
- full.
The
- introductions
- to
- the
- various
- sections,
- ranging
- from
- historical
- notes
- to
- biographies
- to
- personal
- remembrances,
- are
- well-structured
- and
- easy
- to
- read,
- in
- some
- cases
- revealing
- details
- that
- might
- not
- be
- widely
- known
- outside
- the
- area.
- I
- can
- imagine
- these
- being
- used
- as
- the
- source
- of
- questions
- for
- hunting
- quizzes
- across
- the
- UK,
- and
- perhaps
- further
- afield.
- There
- are
- some
- widely-known
- favourites
- in
- the
- collection,
- such
- as
- John
- Peel,
- and
- others
- that
- are
- not
- familiar
- outside
- of
- Lakeland,
- and
- this
- mixture
- makes
- the
- book
- very
- engaging
- with
- an
- easy
- to
- read
- narrative
- enhanced
- by
- Fraser's
- drawings.I
- am
- very
- much
- looking
- forward
- to
- the
- release
- of
- Volume
- 2
- and
- hope
- that
- hunting
- people
- everywhere
- enjoy
- Volume
- 1
- as
- much
- as
- I
- have.Dr
- H
- Brook,
- Bailys
- Hunting Directory
