Innholdsfortegnelse for 27-Sep-2017 i Country Life

‘Internet speed hardly compensates for the rigour of the encyclopaedia’ REMEMBER your encyclopaedia? Few of the internet generation will, we suspect. It was a proud fixture of many homes and news that Pears has stopped publishing on paper will be regarded, by some seekers after knowledge, with dismay. We know, we know—anything can be checked within seconds on a hand-held device; a quick Google search ends many dinner-table disputes. However, the speed of the internet hardly compensates for the rigour of the encyclopaedia. Often, only the patient were rewarded with exactly the nugget they were looking for, as they leafed between index, entry and cross reference, perhaps hauling out several volumes. And what sidelights on the subject would shine on the enquirer in the course of his research. You could…

The hard of hearing German scientists have discovered that barn owls don't go deaf as they age; this knowledge may enable treatments that can solve the problem in humans Mannies Norland, Britain's most prestigious nanny-training college, has seen a record number of male applicants this year, as well as the largest ever intake in its 125-year history Lazy litterbugs Highways England is trialling large, roadside ‘funnel bins' in Cheshire, into which drivers can hurl litter through car windows. Although condemned by some as supporting lazy habits, if successful, the bins will be introduced across the country…

BENEATH the rolling Yorkshire Wolds runs the Gypsey Race, an ancient chalk stream, which, according to folklore, brings good luck to all who drink from it. Award-winning Raisthorpe Manor, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year, has launched a new gin distilled in the mythical Gypsey spring water and infused with fresh botanicals and local watercress. With the right balance of juniper and ‘secret’ botanicals, the Distilled Dry Yorkshire Gin has a ‘uniquely mystical taste’. £39 for 70cl (www.raisthorpemanor.com).…

A TREND is emerging whereby farmers across the UK cut out the middle man, by selling direct to customers via vending machines. It began with dairy farmers, many of whom now sell raw or unpasteurised milk at the farm gate. One of the first was Jonny Crickmore of Fen Farm Dairy in Suffolk, who installed a milk vending machine on his farm in 2012. ‘I’m passionate about putting dairy farmers in control of the milk price,’ he explains, ‘rather than it being in the hands of the processor or the supermarket.’ Among others is Olly Neagle from Hiltonbury Farm in Hampshire. Last year, his farm was under threat because of a massive drop in prices from wholesalers. Over eight months, Mr Neagle saw the amount he received for a litre…

Smallbone of Devizes Complete with plugged-in toaster, trays, bread drawer, fridge, boiling-water tap and sensor-controlled lighting, this design brings order to the breakfast rush. (020–7589 5998; www.smallbone.co.uk) Plain English Now you see it, now you don't: shut the doors on the preparations and enjoy your breakfast in peace (020–7486 2674; www.plainenglishdesign.co.uk) Neptune This single-door Henley larder may be a more compact choice, but it still contains plenty of considered storage, including racks, drawers and shelves (01793 427450; www.neptune.com) Christopher Peacock Four doors are a practical feature of this freestanding refectory larder. Made of solid oak, it's finished with polished-nickel latches and hinges (020–7100 4423; www.peacockhome.com)…

FROM table lamps to hanging lights, OKA offers an extraordinary range of stylish designs to suit every purpose and every setting—from living rooms and dining rooms to studies and bedrooms. Better still, its 14 stores around the UK offer a breadth of styles—classic, country and contemporary—to suit any scheme. Until November 8, 2017, OKA is offering COUNTRY LIFE readers an exclusive discount when they quote the code CL917 in store, at www.oka.com or by calling 0333 004 2042. *This offer may be redeemed only once per customer. Only one promotion code can be used per order. Valid on full-price items only. The discount does not apply to delivery charges. See full terms and conditions at oka.com/terms OKA Save £25 on orders over £200*…

Emerald-and-diamond Sundance drop earrings, £1,150, George Pragnell (01789 267072; www.pragnell.co.uk) Monogrammed fedora, £185 including personalisation, Davina Mulford (07979 692253; www.davinamulford.com) Tamitio calligraphy set, for exquisite thank-you letters, £250 (01732 771771; www.stonegift.com) Fishers Gin, born from a desire to capture the raw energy of the great Suffolk coastline, £39.95 (0333 900 3131; www.31dover.com;www.fishersgin.com) Body Beautiful Conditioning Oil, this award-winning oil is 100% natural and leaves skin glowing, £35, ARK Skincare (020–3740 3303; www.arkskincare.com)…

Alliums fare best in sites that receive sun-either full or dappled, but strong-for at least half of the day. Plant the bulbs 4in–6in apart at a depth of 3–4 times their height in well-drained fertile soil. To encourage them to establish, for the first year or two after planting, remove their flowerheads (but not their stalks) once blooming is over. In subsequent years, the faded flower-heads can be left in situ to go to seed if they look decorative. Over time, the bulbs will multiply by producing offsets. Should they become so crowded that flowering declines, divide and replant them in late summer.…

EARLIER this month, the Paris art market could have been described as a tale of two cities—or, at least, two sides of the River Seine. In the Grand Palais on the Right Bank was Biennale Paris, formerly known as the Biennale des Antiquaires, which was characterised by Le Figaro as à bout de souffle (‘out of breath’) and by others as tired or dull; on the Left Bank was the Parcours des Mondes of tribal and Oriental dealers’ shows, which buzzed with life and enthusiasm. It might have been expected that, in changing the name of the fair, the organisers would have addressed the fact that it is now an annual rather than biennial event, but they preferred nominal continuity to logic. The move to yearly fairs is undoubtedly a…

ANCIENT White Park Cattle, which can trace their lineage in the British Isles back more than 2,000 years—they were here before the Romans—and are so rare their elegant horned outline forms the logo of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST), have an anniversary to celebrate this year. In 1617, James I visited Hoghton Tower, Lancashire, and, one fateful August night, enjoyed a loin of White Park beef so much that he was moved to dub it ‘Sir Loin’. W. Harrison Ainsworth described the king’s words on that colourful occasion in his most famous book, The Lancashire Witches (1849): ‘Finer beef nae man ever put his teeth into… A loin! By my faith that is not a title honourable enough for a joint sae worthy. It wants a dignity, and…

THE only remaining building designed by Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is under threat of demolition and the Victorian Society has taken up the baton in the fight to protect it. Glasshayes House, in the New Forest, was built in the early part of the 19th century and converted into a hotel in 1895. After visiting with his family in 1912, Conan Doyle agreed to transform it with a third-floor extension and an entirely new façade. Although empty since 2014 and beginning to show signs of dereliction, the building is a near perfect expression of Conan Doyle’s design. However, despite several applications, it remains unlisted and, therefore, unprotected. The current owner, developer PegasusLife, wishes to demolish it and replace it with a block of flats. ‘It is now…

ON June 30, 1267, Edmund Crouchback, the second son of Henry III, was effectively created the Earl of Lancaster, an event that has resonances 750 years later in 21st-century Britain. The earldom was the greatest in a series of gifts that gave Edmund possession of a vast estate; at his death, he possessed 632 distinct properties spread across 25 English counties—with particular concentrations in Derbyshire, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Staffordshire—and Wales. As a mark of its outstanding scale, this patrimony was transformed into a Dukedom in 1351. So valuable was it that, when the 2nd Duke, Henry Bolingbroke, usurped the Crown in 1399, there were some optimists who hoped that his independent income would be sufficient to free the kingdom from the burden of taxation. They were disappointed, as…

NICK CRAIGS, our gillie at beautiful Ladykirk on the Tweed, was making Herculean efforts to get me a fish. My friend Bobby had landed a 17lb cock the day before and another almost as big that morning. He was banished to the most unproductive bits of the beat while I patrolled well-known hot spots, regularly changing flies, lines and casting tactics under Nick’s guidance. Nothing. As the afternoon on the last day wore on, he suggested I don a life jacket, as there was a spot on the far bank that he felt sure would provide a fish. I inched nervously across, gravel slipping under my feet, water up to my chest, and prepared to cast. Downstream, Bobby was into yet another fish, this time a sparkling 12lb fresh-run hen.…

Rioja is rather like Bordeaux. It's a wine from close to the Atlantic seaboard, made from a mix of grape varieties, traditionally aged in the small oak barrels called barriques. However, there's at least one big difference: there are no ‘châteaux' in Rioja, but Bordeaux has artfully defined itself by its châteaux, even though some of them are barely larger than garden sheds. In this respect, Rioja is, or has been, more like Champagne, dominated by large houses that buy in most of the grapes they need then make and age the wine themselves. Why you should be drinking it Estate-bottled and single-vineyard Riojas are gaining ground and heights of quality never seen before are being attained. This week, I'm concentrating on two excellent producers. What to drink…

In the red I WOULD like to draw your attention to the remarkable correlation I have seen between the decline of grey-squirrel numbers in Ireland and the recovery of the population of our native pine martens (Town & Country, August 16). Large areas of our midlands are now grey free and reds are making a steady comeback. Ian MacCann, by email The apple of our eye WITH regard to your article on the gifts Britain gave the world (July 5), you mentioned the things you failed to export and I’m sorry to contradict you, but the Bramley apple is very much in existence here on our farm on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. My husband and I started our farm 30 years ago and one of the things we insisted…

‘If you can’t stop, shop and get away again, you’ll go online’ BRIDPORT’S Chamber of Commerce is fighting a ‘trial’ road closure at the top of South Street that would split the town in two. Athena sympathises. As one of the remaining market towns where ‘streets for feet’ aren’t mandatory, Bridport’s ‘ordinary’ streets may be the secret of this Dorset town’s continuing success. The idea of permanently closing streets to traffic first arrived in Norwich, 50 years ago. At the time, it seemed like a clever way to deal with traffic jams clogging the centre of cities and towns. Like tower blocks, clearways and out-of-town shopping centres, pedestrianisation appealed to the planners’ sense of order and control. Their benches, flower tubs and dinky fingerposts would replace our petrol fumes, wheels…

‘History is seen as a luxury but is full of ominous warnings of the ways things can go wrong’ FIFTEEN years ago, Charles Spencer was warned off his plan to write a book about the Battle of Blenheim. ‘I was told I’d be up to my arse in alligators. Apparently, the impending threat wasn’t just established historians protective of their patch, but also those who believed someone from my background was too stupid to talk, let alone write.’ He pushed on, nonetheless, and the result was a Sunday Times bestseller, followed by similarly successful books, including, most recently, Killers of the King (the second highest selling history book in the UK in 2014), which explores the fate of the 59 men who signed Charles I’s death warrant. One reinvented himself…

More ways with plums Balsamic-glazed plums ( below ) Bring 300ml of balsamic vinegar to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes over a medium heat, until it reduces down to a thick syrup. Add slices of plum—or quarters, if you prefer—and toss them in the balsamic for about 8–10 minutes, until they soften. Serve alongside duck pâté and sourdough toast, with a few lightly dressed salad leaves. Plum sorbet Halve and stone 750g of plums. Sprinkle with a little sugar and dot with vanilla-bean paste, then roast at 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 for about 30–35 minutes or until the fruit starts to break down. Allow the plums to cool, then pass through a sieve into the bowl of a food processor, discarding the skin. In a pan, bring…

‘Cufflinks are a gentleman’s must-have finishing touch. Unlike any other accessory, they can truly reflect the personality of the wearer’Henry Deakin talks to Hetty Chidwick TRUE and honest craftsmanship shines through at the proudly British company Deakin & Francis, which has been based at the same Birmingham factory since 1786. ‘We're a genuine brand, with genuine craftsmen who actually design and make cufflinks in the UK and don't just import them,' enthuses Henry, who took over the family business with his brother, James, from their father in the 1990s. As the seventh generation at the helm, the brothers then reverted back to making their own in-house designs. ‘Cufflinks are conversation pieces,' Henry insists. ‘You're guaranteed to make friends when wearing a pair of ours.' Customers range from rock stars…

‘More ravishing still is the scent, which is most potent at dusk’ SOME time ago, we recreated Titania’s bower from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the bank ‘Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine,/With sweet musk roses, and with eglantine’. On either side of a grassy mound in a sunny walled corner of the garden, we planted eglantine (Rosa rubiginosa) and musk rose (R. moschata). In a few years and with surprisingly little training and tying, their stems had grown up and met in a shaggy arch, interwoven with woodbine (Lonicera periclymenum). This year, thanks to the June heatwave, all three flowered in concert, bang on time for midsummer’s eve. For the musk rose, this was unusually early. In Great Britain, its main flowering season typically begins in late summer and lasts…

PROLIFIC and gifted designer Pat Albeckbest known for her iconic 1960s Daisychain pattern for John Lewis, reissued for the store’s 150th anniversary in 2014, and many a National Trust tea towel (right)—has died, aged 87. Albeck’s work, whether on a dress or furniture fabric, Sanderson wallpaper, flower painting or collage or the ceramics of her daughter-in-law, Emma Bridgewater, was ever joyously colourful, with popular appeal right through her 60-year career. To her, it seemed ‘that new good design would make the world a lighter and brighter place’. ‘Growing up with two studios, but no sitting room, it could not have been more obvious to me, or more attractive, to become a designer myself,’ says Albeck’s son, Matthew Rice. ‘With two such prolific and disciplined artists [Albeck’s husband was the stage…

A CHILD’S recent birthday has brought a toy anatomical human model into the house. Despite it’s diminutive size, it seems chillingly realistic, an illusion strengthened by the use of slightly clammy rubber to model its innards, which include lungs, heart and stomach. Remove the front of the ribcage and these can be taken out and reassembled one by one. The result is fascinating, educative and repulsive. It goes without saying that the children love it and disembowel it enthusiastically at every opportunity. Rather than reassemble it, however, they seem addicted to playing with the pieces—and not in a doctorly way. The other day, I arrived in the drawing room to find the lungs stuck to the ceiling with one of the children, aware of my approach, frantically trying to knock…

Friend or foe Q On a recent outing with one of my oldest friends, I finally accepted something that has been brewing within me—I can’t stand her. She doesn’t do anything specific, I just don’t find her to be a very nice person. After 40 years, how does one go about ‘breaking up’? G. W., Oxfordshire A Forty years, huh? You might be unfamiliar with a teenagers’ phenomenon known as Facebook, but it’s a fantasy realm into which you can retreat, peopled by imaginary friends. I don’t indulge, but it could prove useful. Acquaintances of mine have become addicted, effectively disappearing from the real world —you could simply vanish. Otherwise, you could adorn your pretend world with fictional characters about whom you can gossip and complain online, identifying their…

I READ with interest your article on the proposed statues of Millicent Fawcett (left) and Emmeline Pankhurst (Town & Country, September 13). It is disappointing that so few know of Fawcett’s suffragists—she was an illustrious campaigner for a number of other very worthwhile causes, including raising the age of consent to reduce the abuse of children and criminalising incest. Fawcett believed that the confrontational and often violent actions of the Women’s Social and Political Union, led by Pankhurst, were actually harming women’s chances of gaining the vote. It was arguably Fawcett’s relatively low-key campaign of persuading MPs to support the cause that finally won the day. Richard Blows, West Sussex The writer of the letter of the week will win a bottle of Pol Roger Brut Réserve Champagne…

Lucinda Compton is a conservator and the curator of her home, Newby Hall, and its gardens. She is a member of Arts Council England’s Acceptance In Lieu panel ‘ No other painting represents Newby so perfectly. With his unparalleled eye for beauty, Weddell transformed our home in North Yorkshire to create one of the gems of British heritage. Some 250 years on, I have got to know his collection of art intimately through my conservation work and to admire his taste. I long for him to step out of the painting and to hear his vision for Newby. To quote his epitaph, he was a man “in whom every Virtue that Enobles the Mind was United with every Elegance that Adorns it, this Monument, a faint Emblem of his…

Christopher Peacock (020–7100 4423; www.peacockhome.com) British-born Christopher Peacock founded his super-luxe kitchen business in America 25 years ago and opened his first UK showroom in London's Design Centre Chelsea Harbour last year. It features traditionally crafted furniture, inspired by classic English design and made to order in West Virginia. Mark Wilkinson Furniture (01380 850007; www.mwf.com) Furniture designer Mark Wilkinson , who died in July this year, was credited with inspiring a kitchen revolution in the early 1980s, turning us in our droves away from functional German laminated units to the handcrafted ‘English country' look. His legacy lives on: the company continues to produce elegant and classic bespoke kitchens. Martin Moore (0845 180 0015; www.martinmoore.com) Clean, uncluttered elegance is the signature look, with each tasteful and expertly made kitchen designed to…

FAMED for men’s shirts, Emma Willis is branching out into women’s wear. Her ladies’ shirts are based around the men’s, but with feminine touches such as this chic bowed design ( above ). Hand-cut and sewn in an 18th-century townhouse in Gloucester, the small launch collection is available from October in ready-to-wear and bespoke. Next spring will see ruffles and stripes added, along with an online bespoke service (www.emmawillis.com; 020–7930 9980) British Airways (BA) is getting cosy with The White Company in a new partnership. Sumptuous pillows, pillowcases and blankets are now onboard for Club World (right), but the pièce de résistance is the padded mattress cover—you’ll feel as if you’re sleeping on a cloud. The amenities kit—washbag, to you and me—also contains products from The White Company in…

My black Burberry jeans are part of my daily uniform. I first tried on a pair when I was 17 or 18 while shooting a Burberry campaign with Emma Watson, I felt like the luckiest teenager in the world. You can dress them up or down and they've never failed me. Jeans from £195 (www.burberry.com) I first tasted a form of sushi in my family's native Holland, where I was tricked into eating raw herring, and my tastebuds have never looked back. Eating raw fish is healthy and delicious and there are so many good places in London. My personal favourite is Sushi Tetsu in Clerkenwell (www.sushitetsu.co.uk; 020–3217 0090) The scent of woodsmoke takes me straight back home, where we'd often spend balmy summer evenings-and even some winter afternoons-sitting…

Sweetcorn is a distinctively handsome crop, grown in a block rather than a row to improve pollination. The cobs should be ready about now. Test for ripeness by pushing your thumbnail into a seed. If the liquid is watery, leave it some more. If it's cheesy, you've missed the boat. If milk oozes out, it's nicely mature. Pull a few off and dispose of the outer husk on the compost heap. You'd better keep going as most sweetcorn is F1, meaning that it will all ripen together. Boil the cob and eat it smeared with butter for a chin-dribbling experience.…

IN the 1840s, when the Royal Academy (RA) Schools was housed in the same building on Trafalgar Square as the National Gallery, pupils simply had to stroll from the east to the west wing to look at the paintings in the national collection. The three young students who would later found the Pre-Raphaelite movement—Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millaissaw one recent acquisition that stopped them in their tracks. Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, an enigmatic portrait of a couple, was unlike anything else on public view in the UK. Netherlandish art was largely unfamiliar in Britain at the time and no one quite knew what or who the picture depicted, but for the three artistic rebels and their associates, it became an important catalyst in their…

‘Are British mushrooms shyer and more delicate?’ AT this time of year, one of my greatest pleasures is to visit a good market where the stalls are piled with just-harvested vegetables. This is especially the case in Italy, where, given pride of place at the front of the stall, there is generally a large basket full of porcini. This, of course, is the wild mushroom par excellence. With a scent like no other, it’s the perfect autumn fruit. I’ve just had a delivery of frozen wild mushrooms. The porcini have been picked in Poland, the chanterelles in Lithuania and the morels in Turkey. I’ve had to have them frozen because, unique among market stalls in Europe, Britain rarely offers any freshly picked wild mushrooms. The supermarkets don’t either. The…