RAIN AND SHINE
John Moore, whose work I have always admired, has written another excellent country book. It is called Come Rain, Come Shine (Collins, 18s.) and it is a meandering, delight- ful story of Elmbury and Brensham, villages his readers already know well, of 'oontitoomps' and a whisky-pickled Colonel, crayfish in the Cotswolds (where I was taught how to catch them), and much else besides. 'Well,' his first chapter opens, 'they have harvested the oats which were so loud when the wind blew through them, and the barley that whispered softly as lovers whisper, and the wheat which made only a little dry grasshopper sound,' and on he goes, to talk of cabbages and kings, how he might make apple-jack, and whether Eve tempted Adam with an apple, a mango or a tangerine. Come Rain, Comm Shine is a granary of country lore and intriguing subjects, including a word about English cheeses by the endearing Colonel.
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