A BOOK taking a humorous look at life in Herefordshire and the Wye Valley could be one of the Christmas publishing hits of 2012.

'Jolly Jaunts with The Parson and The Publican' is a collection of anecdotes, recipes, garden hints and 'idle thoughts' that has already proved a hit with readers of the local county magazines.

'The Parson and The Publican', aka the Rev Ian Charlesworth and Richard Stockton, are a vicar and a retired publican from Breconshire. Over the past three years they have travelled around Worcestershire, Herefordshire and the Wye Valley visiting local pubs and churches, then writing up their anecdotes and observations in articles that have appeared in local county magazines.

The articles proved so popular with readers that the authors were approached to publish a book of their writing and Mr Stockton's watercolour illustrations.

"The church and the pub are essence of the community," says the Rev Charlesworth. "All life is there. We started writing when the publican retired and we had a few days out. I would show him around a church where we'd usually get cold and need to visit a local hostelry to warm up and mull over the day's findings. Someone suggested that we write our anecdotes down and they seemed to like them. Richard's watercolours are a delightful addition to the writing."

The book is available from bookshops (quote the ISBN 978-0-9574567-0-9) or online at http://www.theparsonandthepublican.com">www.theparsonandthepublican.com