BORED after suffering a serious illness, Hereford author David Townsend decided to write a book on what he says is the most fascinating period in farming for him - the Fifties and Sixties.

Farming then, said David, was hard-graft, basic and simple but it was a very enjoyable way of life. However, things are very different now, he said.

His book, entitled Growing up on the Farm, provides a wealth of material and pictures in a trip down memory lane.

Although living on Old Gaines Farm, near Bromyard, for 35 years, David took the advice of a teacher to change careers at an early age and concentrate on engineering. David visualised the downhill way farming would go but because he was so interested in agriculture he remained close to it. His family had farmed Herefordshire soil for many generations. His father Fred, who runs Old Gaines with his brother Godfrey, was born at Harewood End in 1916 and David's grand-dad was head wagoner at Bromley Court, a farm in the village run by Aubrey Roberts.

David's very active life was cut rather short when he was 54. He was taken seriously ill and spent many months in convalescence. To keep his mind occupied, he began to look back on the time he had spent growing up on the family's mixed farm.

The book is priced at £9.99. It is published by Authors On Line and is available at all High Street bookshops or direct from the author at 4 Amos Gardens, Harley Warren Worcester, WR4 ONW (post and packing £1.50).