England on Fire: A Visual Journey through Albion's Psychic Landscape. Shortlisted for the 2022 British Book Design and Production Awards

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The fire has caused further delays, with Essex Fire Service revealing that it dealt with 130 incidents between 8am and 11pm yesterday. The London Fire Brigade declared a major incident and urged people not to have barbecues or bonfires due to the "unprecedented" challenges facing crews. The Cottingley Fairy photographs, which Conan Doyle was convinced by, were amazing in how they essentially conned a nation. not just mind blowing, but mind defining – approaching the heights of epiphanic beauty … This deep, wild England also contains the euphoria of possibility – therein lies the importance and joy of this book, the pages of which mingle with our dreams.

TM: Tell us about the themes running through England on Fire, Magic and Rebellion being two of them.

There were loads of artists I wanted to include, but I just couldn’t because of how difficult the process was. SE: Well I wanted it to be a circular narrative, where it starts in darkness and kind of ends in light. The other publisher, Repeater books, who published Mat’s novel The Ruin, their editor Fiona suggested Mat as someone who’d be really good to do the words. We are advising the public to avoid the area and if affected by the smoke to close their doors and windows. Fire crews have battled hundreds of wildfires across the country as temperatures topping 40C transformed fields and grassland into a "tinderbox".

Everyone thinks these are ancient rituals, but The Royal Family reinvented themselves after the First World War. That kind of tradition of artists like Blake or Turner who would have these luminous landscapes with angels and gods, that continues with a lot of modern art. TM: Many of the images clearly have an esoteric meaning behind them – are you someone who looks into decoding those things? The Crystal Palace from the Great Exhibition, installed at Sydenham: sculptures of prehistoric creatures in the foreground c.It was about looking beyond the obvious stuff people have been spoon fed and also to introduce new artists that people may not have been aware of. Nearby fields have also been completely scorched with around 100 firefighters tackling the ferocious blaze. With dangerous fires burning across the country, I continue to urge the public to follow all safety advice from their local fire service, and stay safe. Officers have been deployed to these major incidents throughout the day to provide safety and security to impacted areas and to support LFB crews. The fire that broke out in Wennington is still burning, and London Fire Brigade are still at the scene this evening.