Although Coed Tamsin is owned by Felicia, her partner – Bob Shaw – is the heart and soul of the place. Philosopher, woodsman, teacher, environmentalist and Friend of the Earth, Bob is truly one of a kind.
Born into a farming family in the south of England, he went to agricultural college there in the mid-1960’s, before moving to mid-Wales in 1969. I first met him around 1980 when he was a committed Buddhist (me less so…..), and we met socially, in FoE, and elsewhere, over the years since then. Still somewhat “old-school”, he doesn’t have a mobile phone or computer of any kind. He has witnessed first-hand the intensification of agriculture over the last fifty years, and the consequent loss of wildlife this has entailed. And it hurts him. He can very eloquently explain how we need – and could return to – a countryside that is more nature-friendly; but, despite being very well read, he has never been able to commit his ideas down on paper.
A lifetime of manual labour can be seen in his hands. They wouldn’t feature in a nail-varnish advert, but they were one of the first things I wanted to photograph during the project. And it wasn’t difficult. He was a brilliant subject, never phased by the sight of a photographer lurking around as he worked. Although he never acted the prima donna, perhaps he secretly enjoyed being the centre of attention? He does deserve it!
Coed Tamsin is a monument to all the hard work that Bob has put into it. I do hope that when the time comes, he and Felicia will have found a buyer who will keep the spirit of the place alive. I’d like to think that my work there – available for all to see at the National Library in Aberystwyth – will provide a visual record of the place should all else be lost. It has been an honour for me to have been the person that created it.
For an introduction to the Coed Tamsin project, please click here.
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