Wise and well written as always. Nobody can tell me though that lines like these are not intentionally cheeky:

"I was in a familiar position. Lying flat on my face on a hard cobbled floor with my arm up to the shoulder inside a straining heifer. I had been doing this for over an hour and was beginning to despair."

"In these situations I would often get a big farm lad to strip off and try to reach inaccessible places for me, but Mr. Kilding and his son were stocky, short-armed chaps—they wouldn’t get as far as I had." ( )

More nice stories about people. ( )

Overall a great series. I can see why it’s still such a classic and still merits TV adaptations. ( )

The fifth book in the series, Herriot is still running his Yorkshire veterinary practice along with Siegfried. Tristam has left to start his own practice and has been replaced by other young vets, eventually by Calum. Upon moving into the upstairs flat, this new vet quickly acquires his own menagerie of badgers, dogs, foxes, and even an owl, leading to more outbursts from Siegfried.
James and Helen need to find a more modern house but get outbid at every turn, and James befriends an old man and his cat who have set up their tent along the road.
Funny and gentle despite the graphic depictions of veterinary emergencies, I'd like to read the whole series. ( )

A few years ago I stayed in a wonderful B&B in Thirsk, Yorkshire that was also an animal refuge. I went up to the World of James Herriot and spent a fabulous few hours wandering through their interesting collection of the life of a Yorkshire veterinarian. Therefore, I was happy to come across another one of his books.
It's a series of vignettes about the people of the area and their animals. Often funny but never malicious, Mr. Wight imbues his neighbors and friends with a compassionate and poignant view of their lives. Most are farmers, living a hard life in the Dales, but the stories are so well written and truly takes the reader away.
It's a lovely area and I was happy to indulge in views of the Yorkshire countryside once more. ( )