This Country Business: Tales from the Dales
By (Author) Max Hardcastle
Little, Brown Book Group
Sphere
24th April 2012
United Kingdom
Paperback
304
Width 130mm, Height 198mm, Spine 21mm
212g
Max and Vicky Hardcastle, recent newcomers to the beautiful village of Ramsthwaite, are now quite settled into their tumble-down old farm. But their rural life doesn't always run smoothly, for whether Max is plotting to get the better of rival antiques dealers, battling Elspeth the obstinate goat or restoring the burnished nether-regions of a Greek statue, every day seems to bring new excitement and intrigue.
Meanwhile fellow villager Canary Mary finds romance, Long John gets a scorching surprise and local poacher Rabbit Joe devises a wily scheme to make a few bob on the races. And somehow Max ends up right in the middle of every incident!Max Hardcastle was born in the old West Riding of Yorkshire, just before the outbreak of the Second World War. He started collecting antiques at an early age, hoarding his treasures - including a five-foot stuffed crocodile - in a disused hen house, known ever after as the 'junk hut'. After National Service and a brief period working for an engineering company, Max and his family heard the call of the Yorkshire Dales, where they bought a cottage, hung out their sign - Bullpen Antiques - and made a happy living for many years. Max and his family now live in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, with two dogs, two ponies and an ever-fluctuating population of hens, ducks and pigeons. His only regret is that he no longer has contents of his treasured 'junk hut'.