SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER:
DAVE WARREN
Special guest and after dinner speaker, author Dave Warren. Dave has spent the last decade flying peregrine falcons at Red grouse over English pointers. This infatuation draws him each year to the most breath-taking of all hunting grounds, the Scottish Highlands.
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Dave has recently published a book entitled Onwards. This memoire details his exploits and, fittingly for Gerald’s anniversary, demonstrates that friendship is the highest calling and those who inspire us never leave us: each of us is the legacy that others leave behind.
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Dave's closest hawking companions have all been to Utah and stayed in The House of Grouse - one of whom was a friend of Gerald Richards and describes the North American hawking safari as unmissable.
Warren promises a witty exchange as he spins the web that exists between man, dog, falcon, prey and – just perhaps – life itself.
Onwards is an ode to the bonds of companionship that grow between those who revel in the wilder landscapes of the British Isles. Written in the style of Ring of Bright Water and Born Free, Onwards tells the true story of the author’s life in falconry, beginning with his childhood in rural Shropshire. Along the way we meet a cast of eclectic individuals – from a duck-shooting vicar, a maverick gamekeeper, to an SAS soldier-turned-explorer – they all play their part as Warren regales captivating anecdotes from his annual pilgrimages to the north of Scotland. Warren takes the reader out onto the windswept moorlands and shares with them the wondrous dance of pointer, peregrine and prey.
Onwards offers a window on an unusual life well lived and is a touching, personal account of loss. Ultimately, what we learn is that friendship is the highest calling and those who inspire us never leave us: each of us is the legacy that others leave behind. An elegy to wisdom, wonder and camaraderie.
Onwards is both a fine debut and a fitting testament to the masters of an art.
In this darkly humorous and often moving tale, Onwards patiently spins the web that exists between man, dog, falcon, prey and – just perhaps – life itself.
Get your copy of Onwards early and bring it to the Sky Trials to get it signed by Dave!
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My eyes have been opened to the world of the falcon soaring high above in our skies working as though in unison with the ‘pointer’ below with this fascinating book from David Warren. From someone whose life is far removed from the world of ‘falconry’ and ‘pointers’ I’ve learned of a way of life nowhere previously on my horizon. The storytelling, dedication, love and camaraderie uplifting and heart-breaking at times shine through the prose making a fascinating and memorable read.
Highly recommend.
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Cried again last night, honestly not even a wee bit, like making noises and everything.
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Haunting and atmospheric, this book grips you and sinks you in much like Leopold's work does. I felt myself in the story - found myself wanting to learn the craft of hoodmaking, felt the heart-pounding adrenaline of a peregrine described waiting-on above me. I felt like I needed to start drinking more tea.
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This memoir gives you all of the emotions. I was awarded with glee and laughter, shattered and cried. What an astonishing life thus far, and what a wonderful gift to be able to experience this story.