Innholdsfortegnelse for 5-Dec-18 i Country Life

EXCITEMENT, Kenneth Grahame —author of The Wind in the Willows—once suggested, is the longing ‘to escape into the open air, to shake off bricks and mortar, and to wander in the unfrequented places of the earth’ and so it has proved for the generations of readers, adults and children alike, who, like Mole, have ‘meandered aimlessly along… by the edge of [Grahame’s] full-fed river’ and shared the adventures of his remarkably human quartet of animal friends. The desirability of escape is a defining feature of those stories that comprise the so-called Golden Age of British children’s fiction. This Victorian and Edwardian efflorescence of unparalleled richness includes the work of Lewis Carroll, Charles Kingsley, George MacDonald, Beatrix Potter, Grahame himself, E. Nesbit, J. M. Barrie and A. A. Milne. In novel…

DEFRA Secretary Michael Gove issued a call to arms for Theresa May’s Brexit plan when addressing landowners at the CLA conference in London last week. Mr Gove, whose department oversees Britain’s biggest export industry, said a no-deal Brexit ‘should be taken off the table’. He appeared in line with farming leaders, who warn of ‘Armageddon’ (Minette Batters interview, September 26): ‘No deal would be extremely challenging for the food-and-drink industry. The deal [Mrs May’s] is not perfect, but it brings all sorts of benefits. If you agree with me, have a friendly word with your MP.’ The CLA has called for longer time frames on agri-environment schemes and Mr Gove reiterated that Brexit is a chance to improve an unsatisfactory payment system. He suggested the new ELMs (Environmental Land Management…

THE housefly must be one of the most hated creatures in the world, but they are as nothing compared with the dreaded cluster fly, as we recently discovered. Now that our autumns and winters are so mild, it seems these pesky, golden-tinged flies are more prevalent than ever. They’re attracted to light, often around windows in sun-warmed, south-facing walls, in huge numbers, retreating to roof spaces at night. I’ve never had the displeasure of encountering them before. However, as my husband, Simon, and I spent most of one Saturday morning hoovering sluggish hordes of them off the ceiling in one of our sunniest bedrooms, I’ve become horribly familiar with their unusual lifecycle. Historically, they hibernated in hollow trees or dry sheltered areas, but, over time, weatherproof and warm country homes…

• Personal flasks developed in cultures around the world, from the use of eggshells and earthenware containers to glass and metal bottles. Christian pilgrims employed them to carry water and oil on their travels. • The word ‘hipster’ is said have originated with those who carried illicit hip flasks during Prohibition in the USA. ‘Bootleggers’ tucked them into their boots or garters (left). • In the RAF, the term ‘hip flask’ was used as a coded reference to a revolver. • These little bottles are usually shaped to fit the curve of the wearer’s hip or thigh, rather than having straight edges, for reasons of both comfort and subtlety. • It’s said that drinks taste better from a solid-silver hip flask—this is due to the cleansing properties of the metal,…

Fun for all the family Q My siblings persist in breeding (not with each other, I hasten to add) and it feels as if I’m gaining more nieces and nephews by the day. They’re adorable, but birthdays and Christmas are becoming a financial nightmare—am I allowed to stop buying gifts for my brothers and sisters? Do I have to tell them or just fade it out? P. C., London A Of course you’re allowed to—your siblings will be grateful to be let off the same hook. Start by slipping into neutral and giving each family a shared gift they can enjoy as a nuclear unit. (I don’t mean literally nuclear, as in a fun day out at Sellafield—perhaps a ride on the fabulous flumes at Center Parcs in Elveden…

I DID enjoy reading The Duke of Cambridge’s article about his father’s passion for the countryside and his love of red squirrels (November 14). We are fortunate to live on the Isle of Wight and we only have red squirrels —no shades of grey here! Reading that The Prince of Wales even lets them into the house brought back happy memories of a few years ago when my dear, late mother was living in a nursing home in Wootton and the daily visits of these delightful creatures brightened her days. The squirrels were so tame they would come to the French windows of her room and stand on their hind legs, peering inside to see what was going on. Their skill in acrobatics was enchanting and we supplied them with…

ATHENA is fond of opera, especially when someone else is paying for her ticket, but even when she has to buy her own. It should be a source of pride for every Briton that the Royal Opera House (ROH) is one of the world’s pre-eminent venues. Opera is one of the most expensive forms of culture, requiring huge casts, vast spaces, full-size orchestras and elaborate sets and costumes. The Royal Opera, moreover, is part of a complex ecology of companies around the country, which have proliferated in recent years. Athena is, for example, keen on the relatively new Grange Park Opera, based at Bamber Gascoigne’s house, West Horsley Place in Surrey, which is funded entirely by ticket sales and private philanthropy (My favourite painting, page 46). ‘Could it be that…

IF I could work my will,’ said Scrooge indignantly, ‘every idiot who goes about with “Merry Christmas” on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.’ You don’t have to be a paid-up Dickensian to know who spoke those blood-curdling words. The mean old miser is as much a part of our collective Christmas memory as holly wreaths, mistletoe and carols. Every year, a new edition of A Christmas Carol appears, with illustrations that have become more lavish and kinder than in Christmas Past. My original version consisted of black line drawings that were as scary as the words. I can remember Scrooge’s terrified face when he sees Marley’s ghost, the fog of London replaced by the haze of…

Pre-breakfast Mosel Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett 2017, Willi Schaefer (£85 for six at 75cl; www.justerinis.com) Breakfast buck’s fizz Cuvée Royale Brut, Crémant de Limoux (£11.99; www.waitrosecellar.com) With cake or biscuits Amontillado Viejo Emilio Hidalgo El Tresillo 1874 (£84; www.thegoodwineshop.co.uk) Vintage bubbly Wiston Estate Blanc de Blancs 2010 (£39.95; www.swig.co.uk); Waitrose Brut Special Reserve Vintage Champagne 2007 (£25.99; www.waitrosecellar.com); Pol Roger Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill 2008 (£199.95; www.thefinestbubble.com) With fish starter Chablis 1er Cru Vaulorent, 2016 Marcel et Blanche Fèvre (£32; www.tanners-wines.co.uk);Louro do Bolo Valdeorras 2017, Bodegas Rafael Palacios (£19.95; www.bbr.com) With the turkey or goose Maranges 1er Cru Les Clos Roussot 2016 Domaine Maurice Charleux (£22.99; www.waitrosecellar.com); Marsannay Cuvée St Urbain 2014 Domaine Jean Fournier (£22.50 IB; www.bbr.com); Volnay 1er Cru Clos des Chênes 2016 Domaine Bitouzet-Prieur (£75; www.bbr.com) Sweet…

‘This is the ultimate cold-weather warmer: chicken soup with cheese-and-cranberry dumplings. What could be cosier?’ More ways with cranberries Cranberry scones ( below ) Preheat your oven to 200˚C/400˚F/ gas mark 6. Put 225g self-raising flour in a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in 60g unsalted butter. Add 30g caster sugar and a pinch of salt, followed by one egg and 150ml buttermilk. Bring these all together and then fold in a generous handful of fresh cranberries. Try not to over-handle the dough as you shape it into a 3cm-thick circle and cut rounds from it. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15–18 minutes or until risen and golden. Serve with jam and cream. The tartness from the cranberries will make the…

WHEN I first started selling houses in Bath in the 1990s, a Georgian house in need of renovation would come along every six weeks. Now, it’s more like one a year,’ says Andrew Cronan of Strutt & Parker, for whom Christmas has come early in the shape of 7, Sion Hill Place (right), one of a terrace of elegant Grade I-listed Georgian town houses built by John Pinch the elder in 1815. Strutt & Parker (020–7629 7282) quote a guide price of £1.495m for the unspoilt Georgian gem, which stands in a quiet backwater on the upper slopes of Bath, with far-reaching southerly views over the city to the open countryside beyond. For years, 7, Sion Hill Place was the home of Bath campaigner Maj Anthony Crombie, who was horrified…

A calendar of plants grown under the aegis of head gardener Tom Brown in the glasshouses at Parham House in West Sussex January Cymbidium February Cycas revoluta March Aspidistra elatior Variegata April Muscari Valerie Finnis May Heliotropium Marine June Pelargonium Lady Plymouth July Dianthus Old Blush (Malmaison carnation) Aug Dichroa febrifuga Sept Plectranthus Nico Oct Begonia Wightii Nov Asplenium bulbiferum Dec Hyacinthus Woodstock Parham House, Pulborough, West Sussex (www.parhaminsussex.co.uk;01903 742021)…

HOLY TRINITY, Bottisham, midway between Cambridge and Newmarket, is a fine church with several particularly appealing monuments, notably to members of the Alington (or Allington) and Jenyns families. I wrote about some of the 17th-century Alingtons here (October 25, 2017) when Cheffins sold a number of their family portraits. I mention them again only to point to the charming 1638 monument to Leonard and Dorothea, who died in childhood: ‘These the world’s strangers were, not here to dwell. They tasted, liked it not, and bade farewell.’ Close to them is a splendid double monument for Sir Roger Jenyns (1663–1740) and his second wife, Elizabeth Soame, wearing elaborate night clothes and taking each other’s hand as if about to rise from a couch to meet their Maker. They appear to…

The Penguin Classics Book Edited by Henry Eliot (Particular Books, £30) This handsome guide to the mighty Penguin Classics list covers every book in the 1,200-strong collection. Each entry is smartly illustrated with original cover artwork—ideal for glancing over dearly loved literary companions, as well as for discovering gaps to fill. Taken as a whole, this is a fascinating survey of how our nation’s literary tastes have altered over the years and makes us wonder anew at what constitutes a ‘classic’. Sincerity Carol Ann Duffy (Picador, £14.99) Many of the poems in this powerful finale to Carol Ann Duffy’s tenure as Poet Laureate engage, fittingly, with the theme of departure. She explores the personal goodbyes of children leaving home and grief for lost parents, as well as the political tussle…

I CAME home with the dogs, dripping wet, and found Harry and Anna moseying around the kitchen. ‘I’ve just seen the saddest thing,’ I said. ‘Do I want to hear this?’ asked Anna. I let that ride—at 16, not much your father might say do you want to hear. ‘We went up past Hardy’s Monument—you know, that track along to Hell Lane?’ They nodded. ‘There was a sheet of paper in a plastic sleeve, pinned to the gate, with a picture of a dog, all yellow and a bit blurry after the rain. Underneath, it said KURI in big letters. She was lying on a patch of grass, looking up at the camera. It said that she was a border terrier, an “older adult”, last seen running along the path…

IN February 1918, after 3½ devastating years of war, Lady Northcliffe, wife of the proprietor of The Times and the Daily Mail, founded the Pearl Appeal, by which English women were invited to donate single pearls from their collections, each representing a loved one lost, to make up necklaces that could be sold to benefit the British Red Cross. The pearls rolled in (4,000 of them) and included two worn by the Countess of Rothes the night she survived the sinking of Titanic; Violet Astor, whose husband died in 1914, was a contributor. The auction of 41 necklaces at Christie’s raised £100,000 for wounded soldiers. The poignant stories behind the donations are told in a book published earlier this year, Pearls Before Poppies by Rachel Trethewey (£20, The History Press,…

MORE than 30 historic properties in the city of Derry in Northern Ireland have been restored thanks to the work of the Foyle Civic Trust, which formed the Walled City Townscape Heritage Initiative and is the overall winner in this year’s Historic England Angel Awards. Launched in England in 2011 and supported by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, the awards celebrate people across the country who have made sterling efforts to bring historic places back to life. Since their inception, similar awards have been founded in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The people’s favourite, the only award to be chosen by public vote, was Wilton’s Music Hall, which has survived numerous incarnations plus a fire and the threat of demolition before staff and volunteers brought it back into use. Other…

BIRDSONG has been following me around of late, a soft but insistent chirruping blended with exotic whoops and warbles. It has erupted unexpectedly in a busy train carriage, as I walked into a church and in a library. The noise comes not from a new pet, but my mobile phone. Somehow, the children have managed to turn on a ‘well-being’ feature that’s meant to monitor my sleep patterns and it finds voice in birdsong. At first, I was amused, but these recurrent outbursts have lost their charm. That’s because, although I can immediately choke off the noise, it seems impossible permanently to turn off the feature. The children have offered to do it for me, but I’m reluctant to accept their offer, not least because it will prove beyond doubt…

MY marsh bailiff about fourteen days ago witnessed the following. He was attracted by two birds fighting in the grass, when to his surprise a bird rose, showing itself to be a hawk, and carrying in its talons another bird of about its own size. It flew to a watering trough and he saw from the splashing that the fight was being continued. He watched until the fight appeared to have ended. Cautiously approaching, he saw a hawk standing on its opponent. The bird made no attempt to fly away, but stood eyeing him savagely. He found that the bird had been standing on its opponent and holding it under the water. The victim, which was quite dead, was another hawk, rather bigger than the victor. It had evidently been…

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In April 2017, thieves removed lead from the small parish church of Inglesham, Wiltshire, managed by the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT). It’s a remarkable building that preserves a complex overlay of at least seven schemes of wall painting dating from the 13th century onwards and was restored by William Morris in the 19th century. In the immediate aftermath of the theft, water ingress caused staining both to the paintings and to an Anglo-Saxon sculpture in the church. The roof was first covered with plastic and, more recently, has been felted at a cost of £33,000. Its full restoration, however, will cost £450,000, of which only £20,000 has so far been raised. Lead thefts are on the increase once more and the experience of Inglesham is merely representative of the problems…

NOT for nothing was the Age of Enlightenment so named. The Encyclopaedia Britannica was born out of a desire to be enlightened or, in the case of its creator, Colin Macfarquhar, to enlighten others. With engraver Andrew Bell, he formed a Society of Gentlemen to fulfil his grand idea, citing ‘any man of ordinary parts’ as the intended audience for the book’s 40 ‘treatises’ on the Sciences and Arts. The 127 authors included American Founding Father Benjamin Franklin and philosopher John Locke, although editor William Smellie wrote many essays himself. The first edition was published in 100 parts from 1768 to 1771, bound into three volumes at £12 each. Such was their success, selling 3,000 copies, that a second edition of 10 volumes appeared between 1777 and 1784. Subsequent editions…

A curiosity among Soame Jenyns’s online Japanese works was a 6in-high late-18th-century Edo Period export medallion decorated in gold hiramaki-e on a black-lacquer ground with a bust portrait. It was of a stern-looking lady in a wimple, labelled ‘Mademoiselle Legras’, and on the back was the information that she was the founder and first superior of a charity serving the sick poor and that she died in Paris in 1660. This was St Louise de Marillac, born in 1591, the illegitimate daughter of an aristocrat, who married Antoine Legras, secretary to Queen Marie de Medicis. Widowed, she became a companion of St Vincent de Paul, with whom, in 1633, she founded the Daughters of Charity. It has continued to perform good works around the world, although there is an historic-abuse…

SIX hours before the guns fell silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the Armistice was signed after three days of negotiations, in a railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne. Capt Jack Marriott was one of four British delegates on the scene and he recorded the events with extraordinary detail. ‘Fat and bloated-looking, double chin, scrubby moustache, wears pincenez’ is how Marriott described Matthias Erzberger, the first member of six Germans present, and Admiral Ernst Vanselow he said ‘does not look at all like a sailor, more like a pork butcher’. The British naval officer went on to describe how a whole day was lost when the German party realised they’d forgotten a code with which they could send a telegram…

This family business deserves to be better known, believes Harry Eyres Some wine merchants fly—pretty successfully—under the radar. They may not be as familiar as certain others with a presence in the high street or storied premises in St James’s, or beloved national institutions such as the Wine Society, but they deserve to be better known. Why you should be buying from them For instance, I only recently cottoned on to the fact that the excellent chain of Davy’s Wine Bars, concentrated in the City of London, also operates an equally impressive retail outfit under the name of Davy’s Wine Merchants. There are obvious advantages in having a steady customer in the form of 23 wine bars, as James Davy, representing the fifth generation of this family business, founded…

Making magic I FELT sad that the piece on toy theatres (‘All the world’s a stage’, November 14) didn’t mention the original Pollock’s Toy Museum and Shop, Scala Street, Blooms-bury. This is where the magic originated—with the discovery of copper plates and the establishment of the museum by the Fawdry family. I remain eternally grateful to them as both my sister (actress Nike Arrighi) and I spent the better part of our youth—and pocket money—performing the plays, which led to our careers. Luciana Arrighi, by email Play the game I RECENTLY had lunch with an old lady who once met Town Mouse on a London bus near Oval, which, she told me, is where he lives. Town Mouse implied that it might be tricky for his children to track…

A GOOD husband,’ according to Balzac, who worked every day between 1am and 8am, so it was easy for him to say, ‘is never the first to go to sleep at night or the last to awake in the morning.’ One could easily dismiss his opinion for another reason, viz. although he wrote two treatises about the matrimonial state, Physiologie du mariage and Petites misères de la vie conjugale, he was a confirmed bachelor himself. Nevertheless, I think he was onto something, which is why I always make sure to perform the final but crucial chores—banking the bedroom fire, opening the window and turning out the lights—before sliding between the sheets. It is, of course, one thing to be in bed and quite another to be asleep. This week,…

IN its medieval prime, Saltwood Castle, set above the Cinque Port of Hythe in Kent, formed a magnificent spectacle, as impressive from ships in the English Channel as from land. Here were the power and splendour of the See of Canterbury incarnate. By the 19th century, however, most of the castle buildings had fallen in; earthquakes had struck in 1580, 1692 and 1755 (and occasionally still happen). Only the gatehouse survived, having been turned into what was probably an uncomfortable dwelling. When Turner sketched Saltwood in about 1795, he showed the old wooden barn that stood next to it; other Picturesque artists included rustic figures, farm carts and cattle. By that point, it was owned by William Deedes, who had acquired it through an exchange of land in 1794; a…

MY father liked to tell a story that he claimed to have read in COUNTRY LIFE , about a man who insisted he never let water pass his lips. ‘What do you do when you brush your teeth?’ the COUNTRY LIFE interviewer inquired. ‘For my teeth,’ replied the intrepid gentleman, ‘I use a little light Moselle.’ The green-apple-glinting, sour-sweet Riesling wines from the Mosel and its tributaries, the Saar and the Ruwer, are, indeed, the perfect way to commence any sequence of drinks. They are so crisp and limpid that they surely dissolve away any impurities, whether around the gums or in the spirit. They’re also mercifully light in alcohol, so well suited to a pre-breakfast glass, perhaps shared in bed when opening stockings. Four of the finest producers of…

• The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (020–7421 4681; www.aba.org.uk) • Bernard Quaritch, London W1 (020–7297 4888; www.quaritch.com) • Classic Rare Books, London SW1 (020–7834 5554; www.classicrarebooks.co.uk) • John Sandoe, London SW3 (020–7589 9473; www.johnsandoe.com) • AbeBooks (www.abebooks.co.uk),eBay (www.ebay.co.uk) and Amazon (www.amazon.co.uk) are good starting points, especially for individual volumes • Some end up in charity shops: Oxfam had the fabled 11th edition for £200 online this year (www.oxfam.org.uk)…

Plant tulips for spring The chosen moment for planting tulips has arrived. Just before you finalise your planting calculations, go through the bags of bulbs and weed out the obvious failures: even in the best of all possible worlds, there are always a few. In the open ground, include tulips in spring bedding by planting them regularly and marking with canes before filling the space with wallflowers. In pots, reduce the spacing and fairly pack them in, but still in orderly patterns: they look best on parade. A backdrop of forget-me-nots can readily be stuffed in the gaps and the result will always be a delight.…

UNDOUBTEDLY, Marie Vuillard was short in stature. Black-and-white photographs taken with his hand-held Kodak camera by her artist son Édouard suggest a lack of ostentation, too; an unselfconsciousness, even self-effacement. However, this diminutive figure is a feature of more than 500 images—paintings, pastels, lithographs, photographs—that were created by Vuillard during the long period mother and son lived together, an arrangement that only ended with Mme Vuillard’s death in 1928, when Édouard was 60. There was no exaggeration in the artist’s explanation to his first biographer that his mother was his muse. She is central to this exhibition, as she was to much of Vuillard’s life and a significant corpus of his work. In the current collection of images, she is omnipresent, yet the assertiveness of Mme Vuillard’s presence varies. An…

Music I Saw Eternity the Other Night Timothy Day (Allen Lane, £25) HOW pleasing that a ‘niche’ book such as this one, about King’s College choir and the ‘English singing style’, should be published by a mainstream publisher! It gives one faith in British civilisation —just as its subject does. The knowledge that choral Evensong is being sung by well-rehearsed choirs of men and children on at least six evenings a week in our 42 cathedrals and five Oxbridge choral foundations is, for many of us, what makes life in this country worth living and emigration a non-possibility. No other country maintains this tradition. However, is it a tradition? That’s what Timothy Day examines head on in this extensively researched and drily witty book. Deans and directors of music sometimes…