"Retire? You can't retire!" Sir David Attenborough told John Bartram,
when the man who has been gamekeeper and senior wildlife officer for
Richmond Park for the past 30 years announced his intention to step away
from the role, bidding farewell to the iconic park which has been his
home, the backdrop for a career many would give anything for, and a way
of life for so long. During a career spanning four decades John has been
the behind-the-scenes mastermind ensuring the welfare and maintenance of
Richmond Park's world-famous herd of deer--widely thought of as the
finest herd in captivity. Working with these fabled creatures has
demanded balancing their needs with the very real, and often fatal,
dangers the park's visitors pose to his herd, and John pulls no punches
when it comes to his opinion on the deer's place in the scheme of
things, the human "invaders" and the collision of their two worlds. A
remarkable diary chronicling the final year of John's charmed life as
the guardian of Richmond Park, this memoir tells of the unique demands
of each new season, and of the enormous wrench he will feel upon no
longer waking up in the midst of so much unchanged and wild beauty.
Park Life is a treasure trove of stories and memories, some poignant
and moving, others offbeat and hilarious: from the quirk of fate and
farcical interview that led to him getting the job, to living in
close-quarters with the deer, the tragedy of putting down fatally
wounded animals, and the annual ritual of the rut--as dependable as the
rising and setting of the sun.
