It was another wonderfully full Bookery evening, with the added pleasure of spotting many new faces in the crowd — first‑time visitors joining regulars, all drawn by a shared curiosity about the land beneath our feet and the people who quietly care for it. Dominic welcomed everyone and introduced Paul Lamb and Professor Richard Brazier, before handing over to Richard, who immediately set a relaxed, playful tone with a run of quick‑fire questions that had the audience smiling and Paul laughing. Tea or cider, robin or wren, Midlands or Devon hedge‑laying — even the age‑old cream‑tea debate made an appearance, with Paul bravely (and controversially) opting for jam first.

From there, the conversation deepened rich, fast and thoughtful, guided by Richard’s calm authority and obvious expertise. He invited Paul to read from Of Thorn & Briar, commenting on  how important it is to hear the author’s voice. We were treated to a passage describing Dorset hedge‑laying — the first style Paul learned and the foundation of a craft that would go on to shape his life. Paul spoke about his early years, moving with his family to New Zealand, returning to Essex as a young man, and then arriving in the West Country to work in the woods, a place he described as feeling like coming home. He learned many woodland skills, but it was hedge‑laying that truly took hold. Paul spoke from decades of physical, lived experience — hedges cut branch by branch , seasons felt in the body — while Richard brought scientific depth and landscape‑scale understanding. Together they traced the decline of Britain’s hedgerows, once laid and carefully maintained to hold livestock, protect soil and shape fields, now often neglected and overgrown. Richard highlighted the vital role hedges play in carbon storage and water management, while Paul spoke passionately about their value for biodiversity, bird life and the preservation of topsoil, reminding us that if we want living hedges, we must also sustain the skilled hedge‑layers who know how to care for them.

There was a moment of collective pride when Paul noted that the West Country has the greatest diversity of hedgerows in the country — a reminder of how special our local landscapes are, and how much knowledge is embedded within them.  Richard then turned the conversation towards health and wellbeing, and how working day after day in the woods and with the hedges connects us to something older and deeper. Paul spoke with honesty about difficult periods in his life, and how time among trees and hedges always helped him find steadiness again. He spoke warmly of the integrity and generosity of the people he has worked alongside, and of the quiet satisfaction he now finds in passing skills on and sharing the good things that come from working with the land.

A lively and thoughtful Q&A followed, including one audience member who confessed — to approving murmurs — that he had loved the book so much he had read it twice. We heard about Paul’s years living in his wagon as he travelled for work, the mud, the cold, the sheer toughness of it at times, and also the joy — before his more recent discovery of a power shower since moving to the Gower!

By the close of the evening, it felt as though we had been offered something rare: a conversation where craft, science, care and lived experience were woven together as neatly as a well‑laid hedge. Dominic closed the evening by thanking Paul for his generosity in sharing so openly both his lived experiences and the deep, hard‑won knowledge he has developed over a lifetime working with hedges, and Richard for being an outstanding chair — knowledgeable, thoughtful and quietly authoritative — whose questions sparked conversation long after the discussion ended. The signing queue that followed was warm and appreciative, a fitting close to an evening rooted in respect for the land, its living boundaries, and the people who care for them.

Signed copies of Of Thorn & Briar are available in store or online HERE.