Innholdsfortegnelse for Nov-2018 i The Field

REMEMBRANCE Sunday, whether present at the solemn grandeur of the national ceremony at the Cenotaph or in a simple service at the village war memorial, is always a time of sadness and reflection. This year’s services will be particularly poignant as we mark, appropriately on Sunday 11 November, the centenary of the end of the war that prompted us to hold these annual commemorations, the war that gave us the poppy, the war that led us, for the first time, to give each soldier a marked grave in a cemetery near where he fell and a war so terrible that it reached into every home in the kingdom and across the empire. Six million men were mobilised; around 750,000 were killed and 1.6 million wounded. “Our massed armies, when mobilised,…

Kilt specialist Kinloch Anderson’s 150th anniversary celebrations began in Edinburgh this summer then move to Tokyo for an exhibition opening on 1 December. Founded in 1868, the independent company is now managed by the fifth and sixth generations of the family. Most of the kilts, tartan and accessories can be bought from the shop in Leith, where there is a large heritage room, showroom and factory; there is also a fitting service at the Caledonian Club, London. To mark the anniversary the Kinloch Anderson sundial, given to Edinburgh by councillor W Joseph Kinloch Anderson in 1890, has been restored. Now the company will be taking over a floor of the Wako store in Ginza, Tokyo to share its history with its customers in the Far East, where it has built…

Former workshops used to house maintenance equipment for the Belvoir estate have been transformed into 12,000 square feet of retail space. The Idle Mole plant centre was the first phase of the development to open in March and now eight retailers will occupy the newly opened Engine Yard, which cost £2.4m to convert. Butcher-cum-farm shop The Country Victuallers, chocolatier Cocoa Amore, speciality coffee producers Cherizena, craft and toy store Crafts4Kids and homewares retailer Margo and Plum are among the new shops. It will also include the Duchess’ Gallery, featuring a range of clothing, accessories and gifts curated by the Duchess of Rutland, CEO of Belvoir Castle. “Our aim was always to turn these once-dilapidated buildings into an area to be enjoyed by the local community and to showcase the very…

SO, for the first time in a hundred years Strutt & Parker (Farms) hits the market. Surely family loyalty means Strutt & Parker got the instruction? Actually, no, arch-rival Savills is the selling agent. To be fair, land agency Strutt & Parker and the multi-asset rural property company known as Strutt & Parker (Farms) Ltd are totally separate businesses and always have been. But it must still surely ruffle the tweed of the Strutts hierarchy, who in turn are now under the wing of BNP Paribas Real Estate. It was 1885 when Edward Strutt and Charles Parker started the eponymous land agency, while also buying and renting land themselves before setting up the farms company as a separate entity in 1918. On incorporation, the company owned 7,000 acres and rented…

HARD CRAG HIGH BROW EDGE, BACKBARROW, ULVERSTON Hard Crag is a residential development opportunity in a lovely setting in the Lake District National Park, now a World Heritage Site. The property has planning permission to convert the house, barn and outbuildings. The yeoman-style farmhouse has panoramic views across the Lake District. Hard Crag, complete with rocky outcrop features and a tarn, comes with 36 acres of rolling pasture, grazing and meadows. The property is just north of Bigland Hall, above High Brow Edge, with Coniston and Scafell ranges to the west and Langdales to the north-west. Agent: H&H Michael CL Hodgson Tel: 01539 721375 Guide price: £795,000…

A SHORT while back I was trawling the settings on my mobile phone and stumbled across a terrifying thing. My usage stats. They were so embarrassing that I can’t bring myself to tell you how many hours I average on the ghastly device but suffice to say I have a matter of weeks before my hand cements in a claw shape, my eyeballs turn into dry ice cubes and my brain dissolves and runs out of my earholes. Before you think it, the entire time is not spent on dating apps (more’s the pity, I might actually have gained something useful). Nor is it spent searching new business opportunities, feverishly emailing clients or bashing out commissions. There are some acceptable uses – a phone call occasionally (what novelty), text messages,…

For many years, BASC has held an annual sporting auction to raise funds to support its Young Shots Training Days. Among the many and varied sporting opportunities on offer, there has been, for the past 15 years, the chance to bag: “Three days’ guided wildfowling with Sir Johnny Scott on the National Nature Reserve at Lindisfarne for two or three guns, accommodation included.” Lindisfarne is one of the most beautiful places in Britain and the great tidal dish created by Holy Island’s elongated shape and the curved elbow of the Northumbrian coastline provides a protected habitat for the largest congregation of waders in Europe. The trip, organised by BASC Northern Region and the Newcastle Wild-fowler’s Association, is intended to provide the winning bidders with the ultimate wildfowling experience and the…

These 1435-45 playing cards are the first examples of engraving on metal to appear in Europe. The work of an anonymous artist based in the Upper Rhine Valley, they were intended for aristocratic clients who liked to see another of their favourite pastimes – the hunt – depicted on their playing cards. While the bears evoke a type of hunting practised during the Middle Ages, the lions reflect a remote, imaginary realm. Edited extract from Animal: A Beastly Compendium by Rémi Mathis and Valérie Sueur-Hermel. Published by Bloomsbury Visual Arts. RRP £30 Treasures from the prints and photographs department at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France…

SO, there I was with Finn, Lily and Jonno, three gorgeous godchildren, each one of whom was carrying a terrific thirst, as indeed was I. By great good luck we met for a night on the town on what turned out to be National Rum Day (16 August, since you ask; for goodness sake bung it in the diary for next year) and so where better to head than the Diplomático Palm Terrace at the Bloomsbury Club Bar in London? The DPT is a glorious spot and is without doubt my – nay, our – new favourite watering hole. The bar is in the lower ground floor of the achingly swish Bloomsbury Hotel and it’s as if we’d been whisked straight into a Graham Greene or Somerset Maugham movie. Fairy…

POODLES, rottweillers, cockerpoos, collies, Jack Russell terriers... over the years I’ve seen every sort of dog working in the beating line. Proper shooting dogs, by which I mean spaniels, retrievers and HPRs, may be in the majority but to be an efficient beating dog you don’t need field-trial champions in your pedigree. In fact, the opposite is true, as high-powered gundogs can become too hot to handle when beating. The requirements of a good beating dog are few. The first and most important is an ability to work close to you all the time, plus reliable recall. It helps if a dog can use its nose and hunt, but that’s not essential. Many good beating dogs simply walk steadily with the line and don’t get too carried away with all…

ARBORETUM EXPANDS The National Memorial Arboretum’s new £8m conference and events pavilion, Aspects, opens this month. Veterans’ association reunions, seminars and talks have all been scheduled. Flags decorated by the public to remember those who fought in the First World War will form the outdoor installation Flags for the Fallen, on show until 11 November. www.thenma.org.uk FARMER CLUSTERS DISCUSSED Farmers and conservationists will be discussing the benefits of Clusters – started by the GWCT to help farmers work together more cohesively – at a conference on 1 November at The Birmingham & Midland Institute. The theme is ‘How to monitor success’. For tickets, costing £45, to include lunch, go to: www.gwct.org.uk/fcc FREE FISHING FOR CHILDREN Schools can apply for free fishing tuition for children online through the Fishing…

29 Oct and 1 Nov Family Fright Night Dunster Castle, Somerset. Ghostly garden walk. Tel01643 821314;www.nationaltrust.org.uk 29 Oct-4 Nov Winter Art & Antiques Fair National Hall of Olympia, London W14. Fair coincides with Spirit of Christmas and Luxury Travel Fair. More than 70 dealers. www.olympia-antiques.com 2-3 Wood Engraving course with Jonathan Gibbs Moncrieff Bray Gallery, Petworth, West Sussex. Tel07867978414; email: courses@moncrieff-bray.com 2-3 Bonfire and fireworks Chatsworth, Bakewell, Derbyshire. www.chatsworth.org 4 London to Brighton Veteran Car Run  www.veterancarrun.com 5 Tar barrels of Ottery Saint Mary (Devon) Villagers carry flaming barrels through streets. www.tarbarrels.co.uk/nextbarrels 8 Hip Flask Challenge, Hampden & Co, Charlotte Square, Edinburgh Tickets to the tasting and drinks reception, £20. Fortickets,go to:www.gwct.org.uk/hipflask2018 11 The National Vintage Fishing Tackle Fair The Abbey Stadium, Redditch, Worcestershire. ContactJohnAndrews on 07980274383. 13-16 Mary Howard…

ROW ONE Christopher Graffius of BASC; Phil Burtt; Teresa Dent of the GWCT; auctioneer Nick Holt; Carl Honeywood; Ken Duglan; John Hargreaves of Pursuits & Pastimes (in safari kit) talking to the Sandringham keepers ROW TWO The competition was keen; Sandringham Estate land agent Edward Parsons and Kathryn Holt; the Landmark Dusters – Dave Sheldrake, Mark Cobbold, Sam Green and Jo Smith; one of the vintage cars on display ROW THREE Members of Team Belvoir Castle; Ollie Brown, Adrian Morter, Alex Morter; Jackie Clarke of event support, Six Mile Bottom Shoot; guns on the driven pheasant stand; local opera singer Jack Ollett, who entertained the guns; guns for the day; Harrogate Hitters Jason Leith and Raymond Morell ROW FOUR Ian Bell CEO of BASC; Bill Elderkin behind the wheel; Peter…

HARRIS HIGHLAND DREAM LAIRG, SUTHERLAND This is a four-bedroom, larch-clad house, off-grid, on the shores of Loch Shin. It comes with shooting rights over its 168 acres of native woodland and hill. There are fishing rights on the loch and deer stalking. The property is 12 miles from Lairg and 54 miles from Inverness. Agent: Bell Ingram Tel:01463 717799 Offers in excess of £650,000 MANOR FARM ESTATE ASTON SOMERVILLE, WORCESTERSHIRE This North Cotswold estate includes a 10-bedroom manor house, a barn conversion, holiday cottages and shepherds’ huts. The 433 acres include woodland with shooting potential. There is arable and grassland, a stable yard and farm buildings. Agent: Savills Tel: 01242 548036 Guide price: £7.1m for the whole FARAWAY FARM KIPPEN, STIRLING, STIRLINGSHIRE A residential estate, including an 18th-century country house,…

THE WALK HOUSE WOMBOURNE, WOLVERHAMPTON The Walk House is an eight-bedroom Carolinian house dating from 1649. The property, retaining many original features, has been in the same ownership for nearly 60 years and comes with a garden on two levels with rose beds and a magnolia tree. Agent: Savills Tel: 01952 239500 Guide price: £825,000 WANFIELD HALL WOODCOCK HEATH, STAFFORDSHIRE This is a Grade II-listed, six-bedroom country house. It has nearly 33 acres of land, including equestrian facilities, fishing on the Blythe and a rifle range. There are brick stables and a floodlit outdoor arena. The land includes paddocks and woodland. The hall is five miles from Uttoxeter. Agent: Jackson Property Tel: 01743 709249 Offers in excess of £1.5m SKRETON COTTAGE SCREVETON, NOTTINGHAM An 18th-century period country house with five…

Just south of Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, last resting place of King Robert the Bruce, the land ebbs gently down to the Firth of Forth at Charlestown, with views to the north of the Highland Line and, over the water, towards the majesty of Hopetoun House. This is the seat of King Robert’s descendent, the 11th Earl of Elgin, 37th Chief of the Name of Bruce, who, at 94, still presides with vigour and detail over his family shoot set within the parkland and farms of the Broomhall estate. It was for just such a 250-bird day for family and friends that I joined Lord Elgin in late November to enjoy not just well-presented partridges and pheasants over five drives but also to learn how, in the future, days will…

PEOPLETON “The centre of the country, quite open with lots of jumping and plenty of hunting farmers.” Patty Allen MFH THE MALVERNS To the west of the Severn, this is a beautiful rural area dominated by the Malvern Hills, with excellent hunting around the Suckley Hills, Leigh Sinton and Madresfield Court. BREDON HILL/OVERBURY In the south of the country, this is a picturesque area. The views from the top of the hill are breathtaking. WEST WARWICKSHIRE COUNTRY The old West Warwickshire Farmer’s country, around Alcester and Redditch is tight but has some good country, especially around Ragley Hall. SPETCHLEY Estate owned by the Berkeley family to the east of Worcester, the hunt is always welcome here. THE LENCHES On the east side of the old Croome country, there is more…

Sitting outside a Sussex coffee shop scanning the cobbled street across Cliffe Bridge, which straddles the River Ouse, the only smell in the Lewes air is that of hops chugging from the chimney of the landmark Harvey’s brewery. All is calm. I was expecting fireworks. Fast forward to 5 November and the county town of East Sussex transforms into the bonfire capital of the world. For many, Bonfire Night is an opportunity for a winter warmer or two, for young children (“careful darling”) to be transfixed by the short fuse of a sparkler and for dads to attempt – and fail – to recreate New Year’s Eve on Sydney Harbour Bridge in the back garden. To the good folk of Lewes – and, indeed, the whole of Sussex – bonfire…

THEWAR 1914  It has been difficult to realise that life in England must, after all, in its broad lines, go on much the same, in spite of the storm that is being pitilessly sown across the Channel and the North Sea. Instead of harvests, Prussia has decreed that she shall reap the whirlwind. After sincere and continuous efforts for peace, which were continuously misunderstood, England has found herself inevitably drawn into the vortex. We have not sought this war. We had no quarrel with Prussia. We never, in one single point, in this final crisis have acted aggressively towards her or Austria-Hungary. Yet she has forced us into it, and we fight with a clear conscience and with all our might. For there can be no peace now till Prussia…

TOO DRY? Q A neighbour has kindly given me a reasonably large quantity of dried fruit in preparation for Christmas delights. I am unsure about some of it. Can you recommend a good way of telling if it’s old stock, beside the sell-by date, and the best way of storing it. This is not strictly sporting related but the results will be eaten by those who partake in it. KA, by email A Currants should be blue-black in colour with a slight greyish bloom; raisins should be pale in colour, a good size and juicy looking. If the fruit is dry and sugary then it is probably old stock. An ideal way to store dried fruit is in glass jars rather than tins as the acid content can cause them…

IT can be said that Joseph Manton (1766-1835), as one of the great English gunmakers, transformed the sporting gun into what we think of as the shotgun today. He did this through a series of refinements and patents. This beautiful 20-bore shotgun represents probably the ultimate flintlock shotgun and was built by Manton around 1816. It is fitted with a patent top-rib, a patent priming pan with water drains, gravitational stops and rollers on the feather springs. Manton was born in April 1766 to John Manton and Mary Gildon. Between 1780 and 1789 he was apprenticed to a gun-maker in Grantham, before working for his elder brother, John, from 1781 onward at 6 Dover Street in London. In 1789, at the age of 23, Joseph moved out on his own…

40 KNOTS AND HOW TO TIE THEM It is apt that the cover of Lucy Davidson’s new book is baling-twine orange, for at this moment there is a bag of varying lengths sitting at the bottom of the stairs intended for jobs on the farm and pony detritus. Instead, it has been half-inched and knotted vigorously using Davidson’s book as a guide. The book divides the knots into four sections: classic, camping, climbing and maritime. Each section has illustrated tying instructions and one or two knot projects, with guidance on how to make useful objects, from a coaster to a hammock. There’s a short section at the start on which rope to use, which is most helpful, as well as notes on tools. All knots are illustrated prettily by the…

WE had been preparing invitations for our annual Rude Boys Black Powder Shoot, for which everyone has to shoot with hammer-guns or muzzle-loaders. This year, The Media Queen thought we needed a little bit of a cultural lift – and that wasn’t just the guest list. So we have added a troop of Shakespearean players from The Oxford Shakespeare Company to produce a bespoke Saturday night performance. The director advised us that if our guests were rude and quirky enough he could incorporate them into the play, which is to be based on As You Like It. “I confess I do have one or two tattoos but not nearly as many as your daughter. She has a large question mark tattooed on her bottom” “Rude enough!” I gasped in horror.…

MOST VIEWED Bores for all Janet Menzies quizzed top shots on their bore preference for August’s Ladies’ Supplement, and female Fielders shared views online. “A 12-bore, less recoil for the equivalent power,” said one. “Mine is a 20. I also like my other half’s 12,” added another. “Whatever they enjoy and feel comfortable with, same as us men!” added a male Tweeter, agreeing with Nicola Heron (below), who commented: “Always happy to be asked to give advice. My favourite magazine.” #THEFIELDMAGAZINE Flying success The Field’s weekend at Burghley Horse Trials was a flying success, including The Field Gundog Awards celebratory lunch with Skinner’s Pet Foods. Fielders loved this picture on Burghley Horse Trials’ official Instagram of our Gundog Display in the Main Arena, presented by Adrian and Caroline Slater and…

“ANY sign of the Pipeline Twelve?” asked my farmer friend after I’d scouted the stubbles for gleaning pigeon. “Not a feather. They’re in Mexico living under false identities,” I replied. “Or hacking the farm computer from a safe house in Kurdistan.” To outwit them requires a full ops room staffed by WAAFs dressed à la Susannah York in Battle of Britain. But as there’s a local shortage of WAAFs it had to be the two of us with an estate map held down on the kitchen table with mugs of tea and two trays of eggs. The Pipeline Twelve were out there somewhere, under deep cover. “If we go in here,” said the farmer, with a hopeless Field Marshal Montgomery impression, “and cut in here, we should be able to…

The great match between Mr Stuart Wortley and Dr Carver was decided last Monday afternoon at the Union Club Grounds, Hendon. The contest was in every respect an international one, and the stake at issue was £1,000. The fame of the great American marksman is so well known to those sportsmen who take an interest in shooting, that it is not necessary to go into particulars of his numerous successes in this country. We have many good men at Hurlingham and the Gun Club but Mr Stuart Wortley has so often proved his quality as a first-class shot, that he was elected to do battle for the honour of the old country. Mr Stuart Wortley used a 12-bore central-fire choke, by Purdey. His charge was 3¾drs Schultze powder in his…

You can tell a male grayling by the overly long dorsal fin, used to drape around the female and keep her close during the act of spawning. The record UK grayling is just over 4lb but Arctic grayling grow to a reputed 14lb. A Scottish grayling was recorded at 7lb but has long been disputed as a misidentified grilse. There are reputed to be more than 30 subspecies of grayling in the northern hemisphere. One of the largest is rumoured to be found in the Altai Mountains of Mongolia, where there have been reports of grayling in excess of 80cm long. These super grayling have small teeth to enable them to grow large on a fish diet. Grayling are at least as prized as trout in many European countries. In…

The unifying feature of both the deerstalker and the fore-and-aft are a pair of semi-circular visors or bills, front and back, stiffened with heavy canvas, pasteboard or cardboard. Both are usually made of tweed, which is sometimes coated with Teflon for added water resistance. The difference lies in the deerstalker’s unstiffened ear flaps, which can be tied together over the head, usually with grosgrain ribbons or laces, but sometimes snaps or buttons, or under the chin for added protection from the elements. By contrast, the fore-and-aft has a narrow brim all round and no ear flaps.…

No matter how many sporting fixtures we cram into our diaries throughout the year, nothing ever overrides the annual Guy Fawkes parties. The fifth of November has held a special place in our hearts since we were tots, when most families held their own celebrations. In those days, a heady (or so we thought) mix of sparklers, bangers and crackerjacks held the young in their thrall whilst the grown-ups were getting down to the serious business of partying. Happily, that tradition has continued, although it must be said that we’ve become accustomed to jaw-droppingly awesome displays with synchronised rockets, pink and gold shooting stars, spinners, poppers, fountains and snakes lighting up the sky. Yet for all that sophistication, part of the real blast of Bonfire Night is the food. Historically,…

The Kaiser was in fine spirits. “The battle has been won,” he called to the guard of honour as he stepped from the royal train at Spa in Belgium, headquarters of the German army on the Western Front: “The English have been completely defeated.” He had been visiting the troops before they began their great offensive on 21 March 1918, named in his honour: Der Kaiserschlacht – the Kaiser’s battle. It was meant to be a knockout blow before the Americans could arrive in large numbers. The United States had entered the war in April 1917 but had had to build an army from scratch. When General Erich Ludendorff, the de facto commander-in-chief, had told the Kaiser he planned to assemble 900,000 men for the offensive, Wilhelm had replied: “Add…

Entrants for Gundog Photograph of the Year, capturing the best of our companions in the field PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE MONTH If you have a photograph you would like to enter for 2019, please email field.secretary@ti-media.com Full terms and conditions apply www.thefield.co.uk/gundog-awards…