"To say I like your book is a huge understatement. It is a real gem; both words and artwork are superb – and to have a personally signed copy makes it something more than a bit special."
Max o’ Deithe, Rousay, Orkney
Photographer

"I found it very interesting and of very high quality.
She is very talented and has no problems in self-expression."
Margaret Dickinson
Artist, Pont-Croix, Brittany

"The world’s a much brighter place now I’ve seen it through your eyes Rose!"
Jane Downes
The Catsfield Steamers

"A beautiful book with a content to match its design an ideal present for someone special."
Shep Woolley
Entertainer, good friend

"Paintings and stories in rhyme – dive into Nature’s underworld with this beautiful book."
Barry Dransfield
Fabulous Fiddler

"Rose Blakeley’s beautiful book is so much more than a labour of love. It is all about one woman’s passion for her native country."
Peter Knight
Steeleye Span, Feast of Fiddles and Gig Spanner

"A Pathway through the Seasons is a beautiful, inspired publication. A poetic, artistic treat - nourishing the heart, eye and mind."
Chris Leslie
Fairport Convention, Feast of Fiddles

"Rose Blakeley's new hardback volume is a delight. It is the kind of book you might dip into from time to time when in need of a little spiritual uplift. Twenty poems are presented here on the theme of the turning of the year, with its associated customs and folklore, all beautifully illustrated with the author's own artwork, some in full colour and some line-drawings.
As the author lives in Sussex, there is an understandable bias towards the traditions of the south east of England. Thus the Hastings Jack-in-the-Green features strongly in The Ceremony of May, the Long Man of Wilmington is beautifully evoked in Solstice at the Long Man and the tradition of families hop picking in Kent is commemorated in The Gypsies' Tale, a poem I particularly enjoyed.
The poems portray a childlike, but not childish way of seeing the world, with freshness, innocence, and a delight in nature; this would be a wonderful book for parents to read to their children. The illustrations are very fine indeed and their strong graphic composition coupled with, at times an almost surreal use of flowers and leaves for decoration, to me was reminiscent of the engravings of another great Sussex illustrator, the war artist Eric Ravilious.
A book to treasure and to be passed down through generations.
Highly Recommended."
Jerry Bird
Merry Meet Magazine (Independent Journal of Folklore and Paganism)

"A pathway through the seasons is a collection of 20 beautifully illustrated poems by writer and artist Rose Blakeley, The book takes you on a magical journey through a year of folklore and traditional English customs. Each poem is charmingly illustrated with a full colour picture and is accompanied by black and white drawings.
Rose grew up in countryside near the historic town of Battle, East Sussex before moving to Hastings and her poems and pictures are richly inspired by the stories and images that have accompanied her journey through life. The 20 poems include The Green Man, Robin- in-the-Hood and The Ceremony of May which is inspired by the Hastings Traditional Jack-in- the-Green and will be hauntingly familiar to anyone who has attended this wonderful annual event.
The book is a first edition glossy hardback and its appearance is comfortingly reminiscent of the large format fairytale books of childhood that some of us literally read to pieces. It is definitely a book that will appeal to readers of all ages bringing memories flooding back to some and inspiring others to seek out the traditions, wildlife and folklore that surround us all. A great bedtime read for adult and child alike."
Chris Walton
The Company of the Green Man