''Country Diary'' is a daily natural history column in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', first published in November 1906. It is also now freely available on the newspaper's website. Past and present contributors include Pete Bowler,

Arnold Boyd Arnold Whitworth Boyd MC, MA, FZS, FRES, MBOU (20 January 1885 – 16 October 1959) was an ornithologist and naturalist from Altrincham, Cheshire, England. Boyd was born on 20 January 1885. He was a long-time contributor to ''The Guardian'' ...

Mark Cocker Mark Cocker (born 1959) is a British author and naturalist. He lives with his wife, Mary Muir, and two daughters in Claxton, Norfolk; the countryside around Claxton is a theme for two of his twelve books. Cocker has written extensively for ...

Thomas Coward Thomas Alfred Coward (8 January 1867 – 29 January 1933), was an English ornithologist and an amateur astronomer. He wrote extensively on natural history, local history and Cheshire. Life He was born at 8 Higher Downs, Bowdon, Cheshire ...

, Harry Griffin,

Jim Perrin Jim Perrin (born 30 March 1947), is an English rock climber and travel writer. Biography Jim Perrin was born Ernest James Perrin in Manchester, England, to a family of Huguenot descent. His father played rugby league for Salford in the lat ...

(as James Perrin), Sarah Poyntz,

Arthur Ransome Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childr ...

, Enid J. Wilson, Simon Ingram and Paul Evans. Since the 1990s, the paper edition of the column has been illustrated by

Clifford Harper Clifford Harper (born 13 July 1949 in Chiswick, West London) is a worker, illustrator, and militant anarchist. He wrote ''Anarchy: A Graphic Guide'' in 1987. He is a long-term contributor to ''The Guardian'' newspaper and many other publications. ...

Jizz

The column is credited with the first use in print of the term "'' Jizz''", in a piece by

of 6 December 1921, subsequently included in his 1922 book "Bird Haunts and Nature Memories". He attributed it to "a west-coast Irishman".

Bibliography

A number of books, compiling past columns, have been published, including: *''The Country Diary of a Cheshire Man'' A.W. Boyd,

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middl ...

(1946) *''A Country Diary - Kent'' John T. White (illustrated by Percy F. C. White), Cassell (1974) *''Enid J. Wilson's Country Diary'' Enid J. Wilson (illustrated by Pavla Davey),

Hodder and Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publishe ...

(1988) *''A Lakeland Mountain Diary'' A. Harry Griffin,

Crowood Press Robert Hale Limited was a London publisher of fiction and non-fiction books, founded in 1936, and also known as Robert Hale. It was based at Clerkenwell House, Clerkenwell Green. It ceased trading on 1 December 2015 and its imprints were sold t ...

(1990) *''A Country Diary'', selected by Jeanette Page (various contributors, foreword by

Melvyn Bragg Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of '' The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documen ...

Guardian Books ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the G ...

/ Fourth Estate (1994) *''Highland Country Diaries'' Ray Collier, Colin Baxter (1997) *''A Burren Journal'' Sarah Poyntz (illustrated by Gordon D'Arcy and Anne Korff), Tír Eolas (2000) *''A Country Diary'' Clifford Harper (36 of Harper's drawings, plus an essay by

Richard Boston Richard Boston (29 December 1938 – 22 December 2006) was an English journalist and author, a rigorous dissenter and a belligerent pacifist. An anarchist, toper, raconteur, marathon runner and practical joker, he described his pastimes as "so ...

), Agraphia Press (2003) *''A Lifetime of Mountains: The Best of A. Harry Griffin's 'Country Diary

A. Harry Griffin Arthur Harry Griffin (15 January 1911 – 9 July 2004) was a British journalist and mountaineer. He is particularly remembered for his evocative recording, in his writing, of rock-climbing in the Lake District in the inter-war years, especially a ...

( edited by Martin Wainwright, foreword by

Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, ...

), Aurum Press Ltd., (2005),

References

External links

Country Diary page on the Guardian website
(DEAD LINK) The Guardian {{UK-newspaper-stub