Innholdsfortegnelse for 25-Nov-2020 i Country Life

Rhiane is a civil servant and the founder and chairwoman of Black Girls Hike—an organisation dedicated to helping black women reconnect with Nature and tackling the lack of representation. She was recently shortlisted for Campaigner of the Year by The Great Outdoors magazine and is the daughter of Kenneth Olabode Fatinikun of Nigeria and Julie Mary Reid of Qatar.…

Nocturnal birdwatchers The Barn Owl Trust is asking people to report sightings of the birds and their roosting sites on www. barnowlsurvey.org.uk Bookworms Penguin Press is to publish every novel by spy writer Len Deighton Healthy meat eating It's Great British Game Week until November 29, so boxes brimming with pheasant, grouse and venison, plus game-inspired takeaways, are being home delivered (www. britishgamealliance.co.uk) Efficient builders This is the time to nominate your favourite builder, one who turns up when they say they will, for the biennial Master Builders Awards…

LAST week, I had the opportunity of visiting the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in the last stages of its current restoration. Walking onto the stage was like entering a human beehive, with hundreds of masked workers fixing seats, laying carpets and undertaking repairs. After so many months of relative isolation and subdued life, it was amazing to be catapulted into a scene of such intense and purposeful industry. At home, meanwhile, we have been busy with the task of secondary-school applications. Over the autumn, we have attended several—slightly surreal —online open days and filled in any number of forms. This week, a season of tests and exams begins. It’s hard to know how many there will be because the better a child does, the more subsequent rounds of tests and…

Trio , William Boyd (Viking, £18.99) As devotees know, William Boyd is the master of dysfunctional heroes and wearing research lightly. Here, it's Brighton 1968 and the making of a typically 1960s film. Three characters lead double lives: a novelist whose work about Virginia Woolf is stalled by drink; a film director with a complicated private life; and the star, who's wanted by the CIA. It's a slow starter, and no Any Human Heart, but stick with it-it's wise and enjoyable.…

WHITE truffles are hardly the most subtle of ingredients, being neither shy or retiring. Because these splendiferously brazen Piedmontese beauties announce their presence long before they’ve arrived, sashaying into the room on a thick, extravagantly perfumed cloud of musty, lusty pong. Not so much delicately scented as a fierce and furious, no-holds-barred nasal assault, olfactory overload of the very finest kind. It’s a smell that is at once earthy and divine, damp soil and heavenly choirs. Sensuous and debased, too, where careless whispers meet illicit delight. For some, it is simply too much, an overwhelming odour that flattens all in its path. For me, however, they err on the divine, a miraculous tuber that can transform the most everyday of dishes into rapturous expressions of gastronomic glee. Yet even…

It’s a wrap CASHMERE is the answer to most Christmas-present prayers. Go a little bit extra this year with one of Joshua Ellis’s sensational cashmere stoles, which can jazz up a simple dress or hide a multitude of sins. With roots in the Yorkshire countryside that reach back to 1767, heritage is at the heart of the company. Look out for the gorgeous men’s scarves, too. I like the way the stole is styled here, with a belt. £325 (01924 350070; www.joshuaellis.com) Animal instinct THE highly acclaimed wildlife artist Freddy Paske is known for his vibrant racehorse paintings, but has recently branched out with charming bird pastels and paintings, such as this little chap, £680. These are one-offs, but he also produces prints of selected works, too, from £200…

Hillside crewneck British-wool pullover, £350, John Smedley (01629 530400; www.john smedley.com) Cashmere rollneck in coral, £385, Really Wild (01491 352600; www.reallywild clothing.com) Aston navy knitted rugby, £89, Beaufort & Blake (020–3793 2867; www.beaufort andblake.com) Alpine cardigan in Selkie, £189.95, House of Bruar (0345 136 0111; www. houseof bruar.com) Lambswool shawl collar cardigan, £295, New & Lingwood (0800 083 5102; www. newandling wood.com)…

WHERE do all the lost dresses go? This is a question that haunts curators such as me. For every exquisite example of haute couture in our collections, there are always others that we wish we had. One such was Christian Dior’s Zemire, from his autumn/winter 1954 collection. I only knew it from photographs: posed in front of the Eiffel Tower; grainy footage I found in an obscure digital archive; part of a lineup of gowns shown to Princess Margaret at a charity event in Blenheim Palace in 1954 (Dior loved to dress The Queen’s sister—her feminine, hour-glass shape perfectly suited his New Look). I’d read the description in Vogue, which explained the fabric was grey silk, with fox-fur trimmed cuffs. I’d even seen Dior’s original presentation charts with a snippet…

BEYOND the dark gloss of traditional wreath-making components such as holly, ivy, fir and berries are myriad more magical and delicate ingredients, many of which you can grow in the garden or find in hedgerows. Depending on where you live, the first delicate, pastel-hued winter flowers may already be appearing in borders and on boughs. Silvery catkins dangle like icicles and spent flowers, seed-heads and grasses, left on for the birds, are brittle as parchment or feather-soft and ripe for picking. Summer’s allium, nigella and poppy seedheads, strung up to dry in glasshouses and potting sheds, can now be released. The hedgerow, too, is webbed with desiccated wild angelica and featherweight teasel cones now pale and burnished gold. Floral ring with pampas plumes, winter flowers and blossom Created by Sofie…

A CHILDHOOD cabinet of curiosities may be a beginning of wisdom and, certainly, it is the beginning of a lifelong collecting mania for many. The collecting instinct is innate; before it learns to speak, a child will grasp at shiny or pleasingly tactile things and develop passionate emotional ties to them. Later, there will be pebbles, feathers, coins, cards, fossils, shells, wartime shrapnel, trinkets and bangles, often carefully preserved —curated, indeed—in a special drawer or box. More focused collecting may follow. Next to me as I write is a Victorian collector’s cabinet that still contains some of a great-uncle’s boyhood treasures, together with miscellaneous accumulations of my own. Such hoards may be worthless except to the collector, but it is no long step from them to the Kunstkabinett or…

IWASN’T sure a red-eye flight (from South Africa) was the ideal preparation for a big tournament. However, the 2020 Lederer Memorial Trophy, held at the RAC Club in Pall Mall (shortly before the first lockdown), was kind to me and my team, our second victory in a row. I nearly blew our first Lederer deal by being too hasty at trick one (haven’t we all said tht before). West led the five of Diamonds and the tall declarer quickly called for a low Diamond from dummy. He beat East’s seven with the Knave and needed to keep East off lead (and a fatal second Diamond through the King). At trick two, he led the ten of Spades (perhaps tempting a cover from West, should he hold Queen-low, for example), rising…

River life Pesticides commonly used in flea treatments for pets are polluting British rivers, endangering insects and the wildlife that feeds on them Fossil fuels The Government has brought forward by 10 years to 2030 a ban on new petrol and diesel cars. The ‘green industrial revolution' includes producing energy from non-fossil-fuel sources to make homes and public buildings more efficient Ash trees Harrowing drone footage has shown hundreds of trees with ash dieback in Hanging Wood, on the National Trust's Hughenden estate, Buckinghamshire. The Trust believes it will have to fell 40,000 trees Super-emitters The top 10% of frequent flyers are responsible for half of the emissions produced by commercial passenger aviation, despite accounting for only 1% of the world's population Dinosaurs New research by the Natural History…

Quiz of the week 1) Which road safety device was patented by Englishman Percy Shaw in 1934? 2) In astronomy, the tail (or tails) of a comet always point away from what? 3) The board game draughts is also known by what alternative name? 4) A black form of which moth species evolved during the Industrial Revolution? 5) The Statue of Liberty commemorates the alliance between France and the US during which war? 1) Reflective road studs (cat’s eyes) 2) The sun 3) Checkers 4) Peppered moth (‘Biston betularia’) 5) American Revolutionary War Time to buy…

David Morgan-Hewitt, managing director, The Goring Christmas lunch I’m very lucky as I live right next to Wells Cathedral, so will head next door for the morning service—it’s the perfect way to run up an appetite and a thirst. This year, we’re going to serve a red I found at the bottom of the wine rack. It’s a very special claret that was given to me by George Goring, one of London’s most famous hoteliers: Château Cos d’Estournel 1985. George sadly passed away earlier this year, but it was he who, 30 years ago this December, appointed me as the restaurant manager at The Goring. It seems only fitting that we raise our glasses to his memory. Bottoms up, George! Pre-prandial fizz There have been few occasions this year when…

Melt 50g of the butter in a big pan, add the onion and cook gently until translucent. Add the rice, stir and cook until well coated, then add the wine. Reduce, then start to add the boiling stock a ladle at a time. Stir all the time until the rice absorbs the stock, then add another ladle of stock, and repeat. After about 15 minutes, the rice should have a soupy consistency, but the individual grains should still have a bite. Allow the risotto to rest for a minute. Quickly beat in the remaining cold butter, then beat in the cheese, getting your whole body behind it, moving your beating hand as fast as you can, and shaking the pan with the other. You should hear a satisfying thwock ,…

Dook of Edinburgh (07792 520022; www.dookof edinburgh.com ) Helen Atherton's house in Portobello, Edinburgh, overlooks the Firth of Forth, with only a promenade between her front door and the beach. It's a glorious setting for soap-making, a craft the former charity worker, primary-school teacher and mother of two ‘fell into'. ‘My neighbour and I had a few fun evenings experimenting with recipes. I loved the combination of science and artistry,' she remembers. Two years ago, she scaled up, created Dook of Edinburgh and started selling her soaps. A USP is the addition of Himalayan salt in all bars. ‘It makes the lather rich and creamy, adding an exfoliating element and longevity. I love using the finest sustainable ingredients to create objects for the home that look beautiful…

• Nyetimber’s reliable Classic Cuvée has a softer acidity than many (£27.99; www.majestic. co.uk) and the red-fruit and brioche Rosé is excellent (£39.99; www.waitrosecellar.com) • Chapel Down makes an impeccably clean and ripe, red-apple-flavoured Brut (£26.99; www. majestic.co.uk), almost New World in style • Jenkyn Place’s 2015 Blanc de Blancs (£38; www.jenkyn place.com) is magnificently long, lean, lemony and saline • Wiston Estate does a dry, fine and savoury 2015 Blanc de Blancs (£42.50; www.wistonestate.com) • Simpsons Estate’s 2017 Chalklands Classic Cuvée (£27.99; www.oxfordwine. co.uk) is in a very different style: deep gold in colour, rich, biscuity and Pinot Noir-dominated • The Hattingley Valley Classic Reserve is satisfyingly rounded and yeasty (£31.50; www. etonvintners.com) • The Grange, Hampshire Classic (£186 per six; www. thegrangewine.co.uk) beautifully and transparently expresses the…

STARTED in the 1980s by Tom Dodd Noble and Adam Macmillan (the grandson of former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan), this company is tucked away in a Kensington mews and uses traditional methods to make beautiful leather products, such as this Classic Perudo set, £130—surely an essential at Christmas. Noble Macmillan recently acquired Walter Newbury Binding, creators of beautiful books for more than a century, and will ensure the traditional skills of edge gilding, marbling, book-binding and sewing will continue, nurturing age-old crafts (020–7581 4178; www.noble macmillan.com)…

One of my greatest luxuries is having breakfast in bed. It reminds me of the days when I used to have a housekeeper who would bring up breakfast for me, but now I make it myself! I get it all set up and ready the night before, then pop down in the morning to finish it off and bring it back up to bed. I use my Thomas Goode china set, which has a lovely daffodil pattern on it. It has a teapot, coffee pot, toast rack, plate, butter dish, the lot. But obviously it's on a small scale, as it's just for me. I have a small hut in my garden, situated between two hedges, and I sit in it for most of the year, especially if it's…

WHAT I presume to be the last seal pup of the year has just been born. I spotted it—brilliant white against the black rocks on a tiny island in the bay—and rowed out in driving rain to see it, for fear that it would have relocated by the time the weather improved. The mother was lying there looking exhausted, as well she might, for grey seals endure a 50-week pregnancy and the fathers are only interested in one thing (two, if you count fish). It seems, as Oliver remarked, a seally time of year to have babies, just before the cold sets in in earnest, but, doubtless, Nature knows best. Nature has certainly been making its preparations for winter. Over the past few weeks, I have been conscious of a…

THE Meon Valley railway opened in 1903, built to connect London to Portsmouth, but it never really caught on. Some of the stations had clearly been placed closer to big country houses than to the villages they were supposed to serve and the hope of attracting tourists to the homes of Gilbert White and Jane Austen never fully materialised. The line did play a crucial role in the build up to D-Day when, on June 2, 1944, a secret meeting took place between Winston Churchill, the Supreme Allied Commander Gen Eisenhower and the presidents of Canada and South Africa to make the final plans for the invasion. However, the line was uneconomic and the axe fell on it after the war, long before Dr Beeching wielded his. In the 1960s,…

Escape to the country Q After decades of being shackled to London, my company has adopted remote working and we are free to live where we choose. I want to head north towards my family, my wife wants to go south to hers. Staying in the middle ultimately makes no one happy—any ideas? B. W., London A Again and again, we fall on our knees in gratitude to the gods of Covid-19 for bringing us to our senses. For shattering our delusions, for wrenching our gazes toward what truly matters, for torching that which we had fetishised, but which was destroying our planet. Decades in London? So, the children are off your hands. Shackled? So, you never liked London. Have you not realised that country property prices are—where I…

Elegant, yet weighty Tesco, Roseline Prestige Rosé, Côtes de Provence, France 2019. £14.10, Tesco, alc 13% This blend of Grenache and Cinsault with a little Syrah is Tesco's priciest rosé after Miraval. As is its packaging, it is elegant, but with a good weight. An attractive coral colour, lots of citrus fruit and a decent length. Sun-kissed rocks Barta, Egy Kis Furmint, Tokaj, Hungary 2019. £14.95, Corney & Barrow, alc 13% A delightful introduction to dry Furmint, this will appeal to Sauvignon Blanc lovers in need of adventure. It's very pale in colour and made in a linear, restrained style. Fragrant, mineral and textured, with salted lemons and sun-kissed rocks. Honey-roasted nuts BlankBottle, Moment of Silence, Wellington, South Africa 2019. £18.95, Swig, alc 13% Mostly fermented in old…

HUGE uncertainty and alarm has been created by the Prime Minister’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ policy, which appears aimed at levelling Britain’s broadly respected planning system to its foundations. Athena is relieved to report, therefore, that a development of high-rise blocks in one of England’s outstanding cathedral cities (Athena, September 19, 2018) has seemingly been checked. The Secretary of State Robert Jenrick’s decision to refuse a proposal for 1,250 new homes in the central Norwich conservation area is very welcome. Mr Jenrick’s decision letter, overturning his inspector’s recommendation, rightly recognises that the type of housing proposed by Weston Homes and Columbia Threadneedle for the Anglia Square development was wrong. For a start, no more than 10% of the 1,250 units were to be affordable. Mr Jenrick noted the fact that a…

Sheherazade Goldsmith is the founder and designer of the fine jewellery brand Loquet London ‘I love the fragility of Cy’s photographic work. The meandering hint of light and soft focus take you on a journey of interpretation, just as a novel might’ John McEwen comments on Light Flowers Gaeta FRANK SINATRA sang of New York, ‘If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere’, but Cy Twombly was exceptional in abandoning New York for Italy, just as it succeeded Paris as the Mecca of the post-war art world. Born and raised in Lexington, Virginia, he was briefly taught by the exiled Spanish artist Pierre Daura, once of the Parisian avant-garde. Not the least of Daura’s lessons was that personal fame as an artist was of no importance. It…

(01256 247933; www.bbr.com) The Champagne Company (0333 358 5888; www.the champagnecompany.com) Flagship Wines (01727 865309; www.flagship wines.co.uk) Four Walls Wine, Chilgrove (01243 535353; www. fourwallswine.com) The Good Wine Shop (020–8994 8184; www. thegoodwineshop.co.uk) The Grange Estate (01962 779668; www.thegrange wine.co.uk) Hattingley Vineyards (01256 389188; www. hattingleyvalley.com) Hedonism (020–7290 7870; www.hedonism.co.uk) Majestic (0345 605 6767; www.majestic.co.uk) Master of Malt (0800 520 0474; www.masterofmalt.com) Private Cellar (01353 721999; www.private cellar.co.uk) Tivoli Wines (01242 269886; www.tivoliwines.co.uk) Vinum (020–7868 5383; www.vinumfinewines. com) Vivino (www.vivino.com) Waitrose Wine Cellar (0800 188 881; www. waitrosecellar.com) Wine & Greene (01803 467267; www.wineand greene.com) Wine Direct (01323 671700; www.wine direct.co.uk)…

AT its best, gingerbread is still regarded as the most Christmassy of treats—decorative domiciles are all the rage at this time of year, instigated by Victorian interest in the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. But how did this foodstuff, neither quite biscuit nor fully cake, develop its association with the festive season, long before the notion of creating a gingerbread cottage caught on? The short answer is that it was expensive. In medieval Europe, the cost of the exotic ingredients from the burgeoning spice trade —including (depending on the recipe) ginger, cinnamon, pepper and saffron—all positioned gingerbread beyond the reach of the everyday consumer, establishing its reputation as an elite and luxurious item. When it became more popularly consumed, it was for a suitably extravagant occasion, such as Christmas.…

Soap Folk (www.soapfolk.com) Fiona McBryde's Cotswold home still bears the scars of her first attempts at soap-making-scorch marks on the kitchen worktop and peppermint-soap batter on the carpet that never came out. Three years later, the seasoned soap-maker makes no such mistakes in her workshop near Nailsworth, where she and a trio of helpers use a blend of organic, plant-based oils and butters. ‘I love to work with honey and apple juice,' she reveals. ‘They can whack out so much heat during saponification that they create interesting and beautiful visual effects-something you would never see in a factory-made bar.' Soap Folk is one of only a handful of Soil Association-certified organic soap-makers in the UK. The Soap Dairy (01229 885663; www.thesoapdairy.com) The Soap Dairy started with a cow. Maria Benjamin,…

• Chapel Down Flint Dry 2019 is satisfyingly elderflowery and miner-ally (£13.99; www.waitrosecellar. com ); the Bacchus 2019, England’s answer to Sauvignon Blanc, is typically fragrant and crisp (£11.24; www. waitrosecellar.com); and the Burgundian, single-vineyard Kit’s Coty Chardonnay 2017 (£32.90; www. honestgrapes.co.uk) is simply superb • Gusbourne Estate produces perhaps England's most satisfying red wine, the Côte de Beaune-esque Pinot Noir 2018 (£225 per six IB; www.uk.cru worldwine.com) • Simpsons Estate’s Derringstone Pinot Meunier 2019 (£19.99; www. oxfordwine.co.uk) has an attractive, floral nose and a good, savoury, mouth-filling palate • Look out also for the quirky, sometimes delicious small-batch bottlings from Blackbook Winery (www. blackbookwinery.com)…

Seeing as it's Christmas, I've tweaked the price point by £4.95, purely so I can reveal my chosen present for most occasions: delicious Italian olive oil housed in a hand-painted terracotta bottle, which you can refill for the rest of your life. I discovered it at my local fishmongers in Brook Green, London W14 (where it is under £20), but, fortunately, you can buy it online, too. Arcobaleno extra virgin olive oil in ceramic bottle, 500ml, £24.95 (020–8802 7953; www.cibo.shop)…

MANY people who intend to put down roots in the country face a rather common conundrum; should they restore an existing house or start from scratch? Both options present a different set of challenges, as well as exciting opportun ities. For man y, the chan ce to give a n ew leaseof life to a tired buildin gcan prove irresistible. Britain has an enviable tradition in this respect. As well as a sympathy for old buildin gs, there is also a huge breadth of knowledge and experience. In recent years, these have been complemented by leaps and bounds in technology that have allowed architects and designers to create a seamless join between old and new. The result is that restoring an old house no longer involves compromising on either convenience…

Even nowadays, some gardeners burn fallen leaves. They are a precious resource, because they make the finest compost. If you are blessed with oak, beech and hornbeam, you have the pick of the bunch. Others will do, too, but screen out leathery evergreens. Rake it all together and either add it to the compost heap or, for the connoisseur, make a separate heap of leaves only, with a hat of chicken-wire. The longer you leave it, the better it will be, but a year is required to get the full benefit. Then you'll want to put it in your sandwiches.…

Clare Mackie ( www.claremackie.co.uk ) Family tree, with names framed by leaves, olive branches or a knight and banners. Starts at £59 for A4 size, up to six people; £99 for up to 24 people on A3. Contact her for more details and larger trees Sarah Dixon ( www.greetingsfromsarah.com ) Family tree, with illustrations of all the family members. £55 for five people; up to £255 for 25 people Janet Smith (07723 035127; www. familytreepictures. weebly.com ) Calligraphy family trees. Can be either hand-drawn, with family crests, or printed. Hand-drawn trees start at £510, for 60 people. Contact her to discuss larger families Hannah Shuttlewood (01782 657970; www.yellowstoneartboutique.co.uk ) Family trees displayed as a tree, with members of…