"The Hill"

We have walked on Leckhampton Hill, just outside Cheltenham, countless times with the dog - but only yesterday evening did I get a real feeling for "The Hill" in all its manifestations. We were at the launch of Angela France's new poetry collection (published by Nine Arches Press), a wonderful almost encyclopaedic examination in poetry of  the flora and fauna, the geology, the history and the people of this amazing area which has held a special place in the hearts of locals since protesters stood up for their rambling rights over a century ago when faced with an intransigent landowner who tried to enclose the hill.

Angela's readings were accompanied by film and voice-overs based on verbatim archive material - the speech by the "King of the Common", Walter Ballinger, who led the protesters, letters to the local paper, solicitors replies. It was a fascinating tour around time and place. As Claire Crowther puts it in her review "This magical book shows poetry can still perform its ancient task of recording history memorably." And even if you're not local and not conversant with the protesters' story, there is so much to enjoy in the poems - you'll meet foxes and farm workers, Good Friday revellers and Roman snails, dry stone wallers and teenagers up to what teenagers get up to away from adult eyes. Well worth a good read.

Angela signing copies of "The Hill"