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'The Spitfire made everyone who sat in the aircraft’s tiny cockpit feel great, feel godly': A eulogy to the Spitfire, 80 years on from its Finest Hour
Outnumbered yet never outfought, The Few buckled on their Spitfires and rode into the Battle of Britain like knights on their chargers. Eighty years on, their true memorial is the freedom in the air we breathe.
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The secret life of sheep — and how these supposedly dim animals show guile, fear, and an ability to pick Fiona Bruce out of a line-up
Condemned as dimwits, could sheep really be the brainiacs of the barnyard, capable of fear, boredom, happiness and identifying Fiona Bruce? John Lewis-Stempel delves into the secret life of these curious (in all senses) creatures.
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A new ode to Spring, from gambolling lambs to pale wood anemones and the rabbity-nosed velvet of ash buds
Once believed to be summoned from slumber by birdsong, spring is a season of timeless joy for John Lewis-Stempel.
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Snow, rubber gloves, lubricant gel... and moments of wonder and joy: The reality of lambing in winter
John Lewis-Stempel's dispatches from lambing season focus on the early March snows which made a tough job into an battle.
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In praise of nightingales: 'I’ve listened to Gregorian chants in Gothic cathedrals — but the greatest musical performance I ever heard was outside my bedroom one night'
It’s 200 years since Keats penned ‘Ode to a Nightningale’, but this otherwise drab bird’s rich, sorrowful song is worth listening out for says John Lewis-Stempel.
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In praise of ponds, the water havens that 'teem with life as fantastic as anything in science-fiction'
A chance reading of George Orwell brought John Lewis-Stempel to the realisation that he'd neglected his own ponds. He explains how he has been inspired to change that.
