As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning is the moving follow-up to Laurie Lee''s acclaimed Cider with RosieAbandoning the Cotswolds village that raised him, the young Laurie Lee walks to London. There he makes a living labouring and playing the violin. But, deciding to travel further a field and knowing only the Spanish phrase for ''Will you please give me a glass of water?'', he heads for Spain. With just a blanket to sleep under and his trusty violin, he spends a year crossing Spain, from Vigo in the north to the southern coast. Only the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War puts an end to his extraordinary peregrinations . . .''He writes like an angel and conveys the pride and vitality of the humblest Spanish life with unfailing sharpness, zest and humour'' Sunday Times ''There''s a formidable, instant charm in the writing that genuinely makes it difficult to put the book down'' New Statesman''A beautiful piece of writing'' Observer