Newsletter – Issue 10

Hello everyone,

Welcome to the 10th Leach Press and Oakist Press newsletter, 3rd August 2026.

The aim is simple – once a week, I'll send a short update covering new books, new videos, events, projects and life at Oakwood.

Thank you for subscribing and supporting independent publishing.

The newsletter archive is now live on the website. From last week's edition onwards, each issue also includes a photo appendix from around Oakwood.

New Oakist Press books

Four new books have recently been released through Oakist Press.

If you've bought and enjoyed any of these books, a review on Amazon, Goodreads or social media really helps independent authors reach new readers.

New Leach Press book

One new book has recently been released through The Leach Press.

New videos this week

Oakwood Rewilding Project

Work continues at Oakwood in Llanbrynmair.

We are still waiting to hear back from both the cricket bat company regarding the willow scheme and the Woodland Trust about additional trees. We have found a local free tree supplier though and will be making contact this week. I was also kindly gifted a load of tree surrounds to protect the young trees from mammals. I have also sourced some local Welshpool acers for a small maple copse of around 30 trees to be planted in winter.

Tomatoes, carrots, cucumber, marrow, courgettes, beans, peas and salad leaves are now ripe in the polytunnel and appearing on dinner plates. Justyn also has plenty ripening in his outside plots. Erika continues to plant new goodies and remove the old ones. Potatoes in an old wooden box outside have really suffered in the heat and been abandoned for now.

Mulching and dock clearing has seriously suffered this week as we all danced too much over the weekend – see the pictures from last week. My back is only just recovering and I did my first run in eight days today.

Started sourcing trees for a cider orchard. Still need to find a source of tart apples on M25 rootstock.

Yesterday, Justyn and I picked up a chicken coup – we'll put that together this week, then Elsi can choose some birds. Looking forward to naming some…

Erika and Elsi are planning to keep bees for honey. Erika is now sourcing the necessary kit.

The 6 m yurt for Erika's therapy practise is on hold now until spring next year. We are going to move her smaller yurt in North Wales soon though, although we might just use that for the planned campsite – more in forthcoming editions. We're almost ready to hit go on a wild campsite. I have public liability insurance in place and Justyn is going to act as the general manager.

The Art-a-van has been totally stripped and cleaned – on the outside at least. I am now planning to put a stand-alone solar system in there and Erika is planning the layout.

We continue to maintain the paths round the site.

The first battle with the dock is complete. A few still have heads but that's okay.

Woodland Edge – Nature writing the next chapter

One of the quiet pleasures of rewilding is reaching a point where the land begins telling its own story. Walking through the woodland area beside the static caravan and horsebox – the strip that links into the main field near the polytunnel – now feels noticeably different from even a year ago. Diversity is steadily replacing uniformity.

Young ash, rowan, oak, blackthorn, hazelnut, hawthorn and downy birch are establishing themselves beneath older trees, creating the beginnings of a layered woodland structure. Holly provides evergreen shelter, while Atlantic ivy climbs trunks, offering valuable habitat and a rich source of late-season nectar for insects.

The woodland floor is becoming increasingly varied. Sweet vernal grass and common bent weave through patches of common cow-wheat, downy hemp-nettle, little robin, tutsan and the unmistakable spikes of foxglove – Digitalis. Broad-leaved willowherb, fireweed and ferns fill the damper corners, while field rose and blackberry create dense thickets that will provide food and nesting cover for birds and small mammals. Even the stinging nettles have an important role, supporting the caterpillars of many native butterflies.

Not every plant is equally welcome. Oriental bittersweet has appeared and will need watching, as it has the potential to overwhelm young trees if left unchecked. Rewilding is not about abandoning the land, but about gentle stewardship – encouraging the rich tapestry of native species while preventing a few vigorous newcomers from taking over.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign is that this is becoming recognisably woodland rather than simply rough ground. Trees, shrubs, flowers, grasses and climbers are beginning to occupy different layers, creating the complexity on which wildlife depends. Every season now brings new discoveries, and each walk reveals another small step in the land's gradual return to a living, self-sustaining ecosystem.

Appendix 1 gives the August Rewilding Plan. We present the plan for August next week.

Still need more rain!

DJ news

One ska set this week:

Planning a December ska night in Newtown as it's mine – 60th – Erika's and Justyn's birthdays.

Modelling

My model of the Peace Convoy on the A303, bound for the Battle of the Beanfield in June 1985, is now almost complete and I have mounted it on the wall of the horsebox. You can find videos of it here:

Coming soon

Work continues on a number of current and future projects, including:

• Further episodes of Physics, Consciousness & Reality
• Further episodes of Living on the Road, Waterways or Off-grid in the UK
• Further videos on off-grid living, continuing on the theme of solar – charge controllers next
• Books from Marge Hunter, Saz Denny, Stu Schotnes and Alan Brown
• Resources and the Future – An Anarchist Perspective – Dicky Dread
• Education – An Anarchist Perspective – Dicky Dread

Author's note

Between recording, writing and rewilding Oakwood, life has been wonderfully hectic this week. Between writing, filming, publishing and rewilding, life is certainly busy – but I wouldn't have it any other way. Every week Oakwood changes a little more, the books continue to grow, and it's a privilege to share that journey with you.