The unease and darkness grows till about three quarters of the way through, the unease turns into an even darker feeling of dread. Georgie is first and foremost a horse lover. On top of that, she is one of the most highly qualified saddle fitters in the world. With a selection of saddles from a multitude of suppliers, she is not a sales rep nor a brand ambassador. In fact Elite has access to some of the most beautiful top quality saddles available on the market, offering a huge choice to ensure that riders get the saddle both their horse and themselves need. And not forgetting our young audiences, fun and games are firmly on the menu at Harlow Library on June 17. Join us for this year’s Family Fun Day, a day of free family-friendly activities including baby and toddler rhymetime, family storytime, colouring activities and Ozobots robot kits. Other activities will include a special performance by Livewire Theatre Group and a writing workshop led by Essex-based children’s author and educator Sade Fadipe. Whilst the story is a very human one, the land and the seasons play a major part in the plot development. I was reminded of Lolly Willowes (Sylvia Townsend Warner) and also All Among the Barley (Melissa Harrison), yet this is a new (to me) voice with an intriguing and addictive voice. Georgie is extremely proud that she has earnt the opportunity of a placement as a lecturer at two equine colleges and universities in the UK, with further lectures and clinics happening in many venues around the world. In addition, she is also a regular contributor to the Horse and Rider Magazine offering answers to help them with horse, saddle and rider issues.

Foxash Land Settlement Association - KITW

I’m rating this a 4 star because even though I’m not crazy about it I think that’s because this isn’t really my preferred genre and it’s left me feeling a bit uncomfortable, but for lovers of this kind of thing I imagine that’s exactly the feeling they want to get from a book like this.I found it to be actually a very claustrophobic, isolated and dark story, which I guess is where the gothic bit comes in. Several of the twists and turns are a bit predictable, although perhaps the final one is unexpected. Two neighbouring smallholders, Jean and Adam Dell, who have successfully managed their smallholding for years take Lettie and Tommy under their wing and give them tips and help with the planting and harvesting. The smallholders work all hours on the land. The seasons come and go, crops are planted and harvested. Friendships develop and grow. It feels like a pastoral idyll. And there’s an underlying darkness throughout the book and you can’t quite put your finger on why you feel uneasy. She was the first to have achieved four certifications in saddle fitting from three different countries and has quite literally travelled the globe to soak up knowledge on the subject. The first thing I noticed about Foxash by Kate Worsley is the stunning cover. The book definitely lives up to its promise but in a most unexpected way.

Foxash Social Club - Hall Hire in Manningtree CO11 - Social Foxash Social Club - Hall Hire in Manningtree CO11 - Social

Worn down by poverty, Lettie Radley arrives in Foxash, Essex to join her out-of-work miner husband Tommy. Their new smallholding may well be the 'fairy-tale home’ the (Land Settlement) Association promised, but she has trouble accepting the new neighbours, Jean and Adam Dell. A farmer’s life is hard to adapt to, for city folks. Lettie relies on Jean for advice yet resents it and feels humiliated to have to ask. Kate explains the inspiration behind her latest novel, Foxash, set in Foxash Land Settlement Association in Lawford. In 1936, 1,000 unemployed miners and shipbuilders were relocated to 20 locations across England to begin new lives as market gardeners.Foxash Growers was established and operated until July 2012 (Company Number IP24049R) Most former LSA independent companies have now ceased trading – Snaith Salads, a subsidiary of Yorkshire Salads in still operational. Alix Dunmore is a brilliant narrator and she really made the book feel so atmospheric. She really brought the book to life - she was quite simply Lettie . And a considerable part of the success of 'Foxash' for me is Alex Dunmore's performance of the audiobook. She imbues miniscule dips and peaks of emotion; she gestures with her voice as it wavers, gulps, breathes fluctuations in Lettie's inner monologues and dialogue with others. I was entirely caught up in her spellbinding narration.

Foxash Estate, Tendring - area information, map, walks and more Foxash Estate, Tendring - area information, map, walks and more

The allocation of smallholdings to the unemployed was suspended at the outbreak of the Second World War through the necessity of increasing food production; favour was then given to those already with horticultural skills. After the war the Association was incorporated within the 1947 Agricultural Act for statutory provision of smallholdings designed as a first step for those going into agricultural production. Lettie is a miner’s wife. As a woman, she doesn’t ask for much out of life. It’s the Great Depression, her husband has lost his job and they are penniless. Lettie is cautiously optimistic when she and her husband are granted relocation from a “Special Area” to a government-sponsored farming community. She’s grateful when the couple on the adjacent farm go out of their way to help them get established during their first farming season. It's a story of growing: of growing crops on a smallholding (in the first year of production under the 1930s Land Settlement Association scheme) and the fertility of rural land; it's the story of growing sociality, co-operaton, neighbourliness and belonging; it's the story of a new life for a coalminer and his pitwife, growing seeds and plugs into cash crops of cucumbers and cane fruits. But more than that, 'Foxash' is the story of the female body growing; women's fertility; women's connectedness of spirit within the rural idyll. It's also the story of the growth of rot as collaboration breaks down; as decay grows within relationships; it's the chilling story of the insidious growth of spite, jealousy, and perfidy, and it all plays out in the media of what Lettie smells, tastes, sees, feels, hears. Foxash is a rather unusual novel, and all the better for it. The setting is interesting, and one I had never heard of - a 1930's British government scheme to get former industrial workers into agricultural work. Very interesting premise and vividly portrayed.The Land Settlement Association (LSA) was a UK Government scheme set up in 1934 to re-settle unemployed workers from depressed industrial areas, particularly from North-East England and Wales. I wasn’t too sure what to expect from Foxash by Kate Worsley. It’s set in the not too distant past, in the 1930s. I was not familiar the Land Settlement Association scheme and found it really interesting reading about it. The Propagation Unit (Props) was located at Home Farm (Home Farm Lane), managed by Peter Spiers during the 1960s/70s. It was dissolved at the closure and became Foxash Horticultural Services.

Foxash by Kate Worsley | Goodreads

Something about the book blurb on NetGalley made me think I would enjoy reading this book, and my thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC. As it turns out, it wasn’t quite what I was expecting and I don’t know whether that’s because I misread the description or because it was, as it felt to me, a different book to what was described.The LSA Offices, where tenants’ accounts were managed and marketing of LSA produce took place, were accommodated in the same building. In the 1940s Edward Wiseman was the LSA accountant, prior to being book-keeper at Newbourne LSA. He left in 1952 to become accountant at Sidlesham LSA. Not only is Georgie a full-time saddle fitter, she is also the CEO of Master Saddle Fitters International, a global organization that specialises in supporting saddle fitters, along with championing the pursuit of knowledge around saddle fitting, riding and horse care. I have to say firstly that if you have suffered miscarriage or baby loss then I'd definitely give this one a miss.* Kate Worsley sets up all the themes solidly - growth, the land, the seasons, the cycles (both of woman and the earth) - but she definitely lets the reader make all the connections for themselves.