17 h. ago Poem of the week: The old pond full of flags and fenced around by John Clare

A closely observed country scene teems with the vitality of early summerThe old pond full of flags and fenced around With trees and bushes trailing to the ground The water reeds are all around the brink And one clear place where cattle go to drink From year to year the schoolboy thither steals And muddys round the place to catch the eels The cowboy often hiding from the flies Lies there and plaits the rushcap as he lies The hissing owl sits moping all the day And hears his song and never flies away The pinks nest hangs upon the branch so thin The young ones caw and seem as tumbling in While round them thrums the purple dragon flye And great white butter flye goes dancing byeThe early acclaim won by the so-called “peasant-poet” John Clare (1793-1864), declined during his middle years, and he was almost penniless by 1823. With the support of friends, he and his family were able to leave his home village Helpston for a larger cottage in Northborough, Cambridgeshire, and this is where h...

Politics

3 w. ago Alpaca killer could strike again, farmers fear as they ramp up security and say he used rifle with silencer and telescopic sight to slay four animals

Farmers are increasing security after Dawn French had four of her alpacas were shot dead in an 'massacre' on her six-acre farm in a small village in Cambridgeshire.

Events

3 w. ago ‘It’s a bit like PTSD’: Cambridgeshire villagers react after mystery killing of alpacas and sheep

Residents say they are still ‘shocked and horrified’ after farm animals shot dead in East HatleyThe last time Mick Marshall can recall a crime happening in Hatley, John Major was still the prime minister. “We got broken into in 1996 and that’s it. That was a long time ago,” he said.The 81-year-old runs the Hatley Shop and Post Office with his wife, a quaint little shop shrouded in green shrubbery. The Cambridgeshire village, which is hidden up a long country road lined with small farms, is so quiet that some days Marshall nary serves a soul. “Sometimes we don’t have any customers, sometimes it’s two or three,” he said. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Four alpacas shot dead in ‘senseless’ killings on Cambridgeshire farm

Owner decries ‘horrific’ attack on animals as police launch investigation

Events

3 w. ago Four alpacas shot dead in ‘senseless’ massacre on Cambridgeshire farm

Owner decries ‘senseless’ attack on animals as police launch investigation

Events

4 w. ago Four alpacas are 'executed' after being shot in the head with a rifle in small village

Horrified Dawn French was alerted to the bloodbath in the morning and rushed to the horrific 'murder scene' at her six-acre field in a small Cambridgeshire village.

Politics