Welcome
to our shopping site for books and greeting cards - for when you're looking for something independently produced and a bit different
Wishing all a very Happy Christmas and New Year
Since it is now too risky to offer to send Christmas gifts, I’m using this slot to wish customers new, old (and future) a very Happy Christmas. Also I send warm greetings to any who celebrate in other ways in this season of warm behaviour and light.
Please don’t hesitate to order anything though, I’m still here, just can’t promise miracle deliveries unless you’re near Ditchling
If you are looking for greeting cards, we have a wide selection for you, these are unique, often quirky and/or beautiful
Particularly popular cards are our images of penguins and those of the beautiful South Downs
(If you have come to find our books, they can be seen lower down this page or more detail can be found by clicking the link above)
Suggested seasonal greeting cards
Cards sent in the spring can celebrate the return of new life
In the summer the flamboyance of flowers is a source of joy and much appreciated
Autumn can provide surprise and beauty
Winter is a tricky time and the fun of playing around with images can help
Greeting card: Frazzled Parent - a long-suffering parent wren with a beakful of food
Greeting card: Puffins - from an original painting by Diana Harding
Greeting card: Ala Archa Gorge - drawn for Is No Problem as well as a greeting card
Greeting card: Lichens on the coast, Jersey - also the cover photograph for the Lichens of Jersey
If you would like to see more greeting cards, please click HERE
Our own books
We publish books that have photography, ecological, landscape and history subjects. We aim for them to entertain as well as share knowledge, through the telling of stories.
Two books are now also available as downloads from the Amazon Kindle store
True stories of English garden wildlife
(Also available as a Kindle book)
Learn more about lichens in Jersey and the history of their influence on world lichenology
The story of a trainee twitcher on holiday on the Isles of Scilly
Featured Books
It's Warmer Down Below: the autobiography of Sir Harold Harding, 1900-1986
The long-awaited autobiography of Sir Harold Harding, founding Chairman of the British Tunnelling Society, which celebrated 50 years in March 2021.
Sir Harold was a civil engineer and pioneer of soil mechanics, best remembered for his extensive work in tunnel engineering. He was involved in the construction of significant projects including much of the London Underground and the feasibility study that underpinned the Channel Tunnel. He also sat on the Aberfan Tribunal and advised on troubleshooting for many tunnels around the world.
This book is enriched by the sense of history and well-developed wit that was key to the author's approach to his work.
Sophie: An Edwardian Childhood
We also have the lovely, vivid and often funny book detailing the Edwardian Childhood of Sophie Blair Leighton, daughter of the renowned artist Edmund Blair Leighton (and Amanda's beloved grandmother - wife of Sir Harold Harding). Sophie's childhood was spent in Bedford Park, Chiswick and also Kirby Green on the River Waveney in Norfolk, in the years before the First World War. While she had nannys and there were servants, many other details are also evocative of a time that seems so far ago and yet is within the connected memory of so many of us.
In an early chapter, for example, she comments on the sweeper in the road outside, who for a penny would sweep a passage across the mud and horse droppings, to make it passable for the more daintier footed pedestrian or householder. Later on come the revelations of the naughty donkey Jack who played tricks on the household whenever he could.
News
New section on second-hand books from Simon's collection, especially bird books
Since January, I have been looking at Simon's collection of natural history books and feeling that they need to have a better chance to live a fulfilling life, rather than just sit on the shelves gathering dust. The other day I realised that there was no block to putting them up on this website to encourage naturalists of any style to buy them, so over the next few months this new section will have a build-up of titles, priced with guidance from the Bookseller website. Simon had some wonderful books and hopefully this will be obvious when I start sharing them. Where they relate to his tour leading, then I will also mention that in the posting, since I can!
On this website you will find:
- unique greeting cards designed with the chatty thoughtful writer in mind (blank inside), with evocative images for you to share memories, humour or thoughts of people who may be on your mind.
- non-fiction books that have storytelling as their core, written and illustrated by Simon and Amanda Davey on topics celebrating the natural world, travel and history.