Herald - Issue 410

Page 22 • The HERALD • 5th August 2021 Calling All Bookworms The Confessions of a Chameleon The New Forest Kids’ Activity Book Reverend Peter Murphy’s life was a colourful one. Not only was he a ‘Man of the Cloth’ but also a ‘Man of the Sea’ and many in Hythe will remember him as a ‘Man of the People’. During lockdown 2020 Peter nalised his autobiography, a book that had been in the pipeline for some years. At 4 months of age he was evacuated from Guernsey in a kipper box. During his life he became passionate about the sea, the forest and horses and walking alongside people in his non-judgmental way. ere are many anecdotes along the way and you can download Peter’s book called ‘Confessions of a Chameleon’ at: www.bit.ly/MufBook. It is free of charge but donations to the RNLI Calshot Station are invited using the same link as above. The New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst has published a new book: a children’s souvenir guide to the New Forest. Featuring the Centre’s children’s mascot, Piper the Pony, ‘ e New Forest – Kids’ Activity Book’ is aimed at children aged between 8 and 12 and it provides entertaining facts about the animals and plants of the New Forest throughout the seasons. ere are games, puzzles, jokes and pictures to guide children to discover more about what makes the New Forest such a special place. Authored by Gill Knappett, the book aims to provide educational information about the heritage and nature of the Forest in an amusing and engaging way. Nick Gowman, who has created the unique and charming cartoons, said: “It has been an absolute honour and pleasure to illustrate this activity book for the New Forest Heritage Centre. The characters almost came to life by themselves and allowed me to have fun injecting some real personality into each one. Piper was great fun to develop, moving through various incarnations, until we had the ideal New Forest Pony, with happy and oversized features.” e book is published in association with Pitkin Publishing, and is available to buy at the Herald O ce, Hythe or from the New Forest Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst for £5. It is hoped that other local outlets will stock it, and anyone interested should contact the Centre at: o ce@newforestheritage.org.uk Follow Piper the Pony through Forest Adventures Daisy – A book by Veronica Ewen Veronica Ewen, from Chandlers Ford, has written a wonderful ctional book, centred around a girl called Daisy. Daisy is an only child and was born on the coldest day of the year in 1944. Her earliest memories are of the small farm cottage on the edge of the New Forest, between Fawley and Calshot, where she lived. Her childhood was an idyllic one, where Veronica attended the infant school at Fawley and then Hardley Secondary Modern in Holbury. On leaving school, she worked with her father on the farm, milking cows, rearing calves, pigs and chickens until she married and moved to Chandlers Ford. Centred around the 1950’s, Daisy has two best friends, Nina, who lived in Tin Town and Ida, a German girl who came from Fawley. ere is also mention of an elderly friend called Miss Rose, who lived nearby and loved telling stories about her time as a lady’s maid. e story also involves much local history, based around the time when the RAF station was at Calshot and the Sunderland seaplanes were at Calshot Spit. e book also features Lepe, Lymington and Lyndhurst. It was the time of cart horses, swimming in the creek, going to bed by candlelight and drawing water from the well. Anyone living locally will recognise the many local places in the book which is available for sale in e Herald o ce at a cost of £8.50. Please pop in for your copy, you won’t be disappointed. A Seal Swam In FromThe Sea You can continue to save the Hythe Ferry by buying a copy of a new children’s picture book. A Seal Swam In From e Sea is written and illustrated by local author Simon Chadwick, and was originally created for Hythe Library’s story trail to be told across a number of shop windows in Hythe village. Simon’s now compiled it into a book, with £5 from every copy sold going towards the Save e Ferry campaign. e book is inspired by the recent sightings of seals out on Southampton Water, and features local landmarks such as the Daymark, Hythe Pier and the ferry itself. e book can be purchased from: Hythe : Blissful Moments, Ferry office, Herald office, Oyster Financial Planning and Toys Ahoy; Dibden Purlieu : WHSmith Local; Holbury : Sandra’s Florist and Blackfield : Compuco or online from: www.ceratopiabooks.co.uk A Few of my Favourite Things Amanda Ross-Etheridge has worked for the NHS for the past 18 years, now based in Dorset her childhood roots are deep set in the Waterside area, growing up in the family home in Dibden. Amanda’s mum was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s several years ago and being incredibly close to her mum Amanda wanted to do everything possible to raise awareness and vital funds to support the A l z h e i m e r ’ s Society. C h o o s i n g to channel emotions into something positive, Amanda started writing a poetry book, and her mum would be extremely proud to learn that Amanda succeeded in getting the book published. Amanda is donating £1 from every sale to the worthy cause. e Poet explains: “Not only do I want to raise as much as I can for charity, I also hope that the book and the poems may make a few people’s days and put a smile on as many faces as possible. If I spread a little joy and fun and I manage to raise some money for charity at the same time, then I shall feel that my job is done.” ‘A Few of my Favourite Things’ is currently on sale at various stockists including Austin Macauley, Amazon, WHSmith, and Waterstones. You will find one of Amanda’s poems ‘Rise’ from her book in the ‘Poetry Corner’ section towards the back of this edition.