ASHBURTON town clerk John Germon feels passionately about the Devon dialect and is determined it must survive so he has written a book full of warmth and humour to persuade Devonians to keep speaking it.

Cheers Me Boodies! is the result of many years of research into an ancient language which, he claims, combines beauty and sound common sense.

It includes a Devon Dictionary (appledrane — a wasp), country sayings (Tiz cold enough fer a fur lined walkin' stick), recipes (Mabel Cobbledick Caake), rural cures (to get rid of sties — take the hair from a horse's fetlock and eat it on wheaten bread), songs, riddles and jokes.

There is also an irreverent look back at British history through cartoons drawn by Richard Scollins, including one showing a harassed Richard III at Bosworth Field, wearing his crown and bellowing: "OK me boodies, I give up — oo got me 'oss".

John is chairman of the Ashburton Dialect Club and was a regular broadcaster on the subject for many years.

He admits he is still learning about words and phrases that have seen subtle changes over the centuries and acknowledges the help he has received from many people including a regular correspondent who has never given his name and address.

John nicknames him 'The Oracle'.

Signed copies are available at the Ashburton Tourist Information Centre.

The Secret Life of Evie Hamilton by Catherine Alliot

Michael Joseph, £12.99

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IN the elegant literary folds of Oxford, our scatty heroine, Evie, is suffering from a minor inferiority complex.

Her life seems to be a series of self-confidence tests taking the form of her resentful sister-in-law, her stepmother and even her intelligent and beautiful daughter. Meanwhile, her husband, Ant — celebrated biographer of Byron and other 'sexy' historical figures —is not the most reliable of men.

As Evie wrestles with familial mega-egos, her world is turned upside down by the news that Ant has a teenage daughter from a short-lived, pre-marital, affair.

Naturally the news provokes a tumultuous re-arrangement of Evie's world. This funny, if slightly cloying book, is entirely character driven. Squabbles, petty jealousies, and past misdemeanours litter the path of Evie's journey through insecurity. And despite the tragic content, the tone never strays from fluffy fun.