Small Town Boy Makes Good

Mrs. Werbenmanjensen and I are both fans of the writer and fellow U.S. expat Bill Bryson (she for "Notes From a Small Island," me for "A Walk In The Woods," and both of us for "The Mother Tongue"), so it's with some amusement that I read this article:

British-based American writer and humorist Bill Bryson, who has made an art form out of poking gentle fun at his hosts, is to be head of the quintessentially English Campaign to Protect Rural England.

Bryson, born in Iowa but resident of Britain off and on for some 25 years, takes over the five-year post in July from voice of Middle England and former newspaper editor Max Hastings.

Author of books such as "Notes from a Small Island" and "A Short History of Nearly Everything", Bryson is taking over the helm of the organisation at a challenging time as the government plans to rip up planning red tape that limits rural development.

"The CPRE is a long-standing champion of the English countryside," he said in an interview on Wednesday. "It may be small but it can be ferocious."

(Looks like there's hope for me yet in this country, if a writer can eventually be named to head an advocacy group.)

Bryson has a similar reaction to mine when he views the grand English countryside.

"I grew up in an industrial farming state. If you suggested to people they should go out for a walk they would think you were mad," he said. "Here, the countryside is so beautiful but you are in danger of taking it for granted."