Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2017 i The Field

“Our challenge is to explain the constant human intervention that maintains our countryside” THE BBC is obsessed with its “talent”: the celebrities who apparently persuade people to watch its programmes. From Gary Lineker to Fiona Bruce, these stars are the most important factor in attracting audience and securing those all-important ratings. Relationships between the BBC and its performers can sometimes be difficult, as was most obviously seen recently in the saga of Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear. There is, however, another even more important relationship that is becoming ever-more stretched: that is the one between the BBC and the countryside. Think about it for a moment; the number of BBC programmes that rely on the countryside is astounding. Obviously Countryfile, Springwatch, Autumnwatch and any number of spin-offs and copies fill…

FIRST JOINT CHURCH WINNERS Stanbrook Abbey Church (below), built for an order of Benedictine nuns on the North Yorkshire moors after they relocated from Worcestershire, and a project to extend the parish church of St Mary and St Thomas of Canterbury in Wymondham, Norfolk, share the Presidents’ Award presented by the National Churches Trust. WALK RAISES FUNDS FOR ABF Former keeper John Cavana and show organiser Richard Walton (wearing tweeds and hunting dress) joined more than 100 walkers on The Frontline Walk to help raise a record sum of £180,000 for the Army Benevolent Fund. The 100km walk lead across the Western Front of France and Belgium, from Lochnagar Crater to Menin Gate. OLIVE EDIS EXHIBITION The first exhibition of the work of pioneering British photographer Olive Edis, Fishermen &…

MOST VIEWED Protecting the grouse moors We urged Fielders to sign and share the petition to protect grouse-shooting – and their efforts have been rewarded. Calls for a ban have been dismissed following a Parliamentary debate. The government responded, “Grouse-shooting is a legitimate activity that provides economic benefits, jobs and investment in some of our most remote areas and can offer important benefits for wildlife and habitat conservation.” INSTAGRAM Après sport Fielders loved this Instagram picture of the “perfect Sunday evening”. Rather than mulled wine in the mountains, it’s the ideal wind-down for those of us who have spent the weekend in the shooting line, on the riverbank or atop our hunter – although the slopes might beckon if the weather turns bad. All that is required for this rural…

REPELLING PETITIONS If our parliamentarians ever needed a reminder of the dangers of conflation and the selective use of data it came when those in support of the Avery/Packham petition to ban driven grouse-shooting made their submissions to the debate. A further reminder was Chris Packham’s recent launch of his petition for a moratorium on wader shooting, supported by his ludicrous statement that the UK breeding snipe population has fallen by 89% over the past 25 years. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to establish that he was quoting selectively results from the Waterways Breeding Bird Survey, for which the BTO surveys river and canal banks at a limited number of sites across the UK. This ignores data from the far more relevant 1994-2015 BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey, which covers farmland,…

1 WOOLMERS PARK HERTFORD Woolmers Park is a Grade II*-listed Georgian country house in Hertford with 93 acres, including shooting and fishing. In 1927 the estate was acquired by the Earl and Countess of Strathmore, parents of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret stayed here regularly. Agent: Knight Frank Tel: 020 7629 8171 Guide price: £16.5 million 2 BELTINGHAM HOUSE BELTINGHAM, HEXHAM, NORTHUMBERLAND A seven-bedroom Georgian country house built in 1750 and set in five acres. The property was owned by the Bowes-Lyon family, with regular royal visitors. There is an adjoining three-bedroom cottage and also a dower house. The grounds include two paddocks, a summerhouse, an orchard and walled gardens. Agent: Finest Properties Tel: 01434 622234 Guide price: £1.35 million 3 EDWARD VII WING/RANGEMORE HALL…

“Follow the stream until you come to number 8 peg – or discover a lost Amazonian tribe” THE BBC and urban political pundits should pull on a pair of gumboots and don a skeet vest if they want an accurate picture of how countries will vote. My local claybusters were convinced we would leave Europe and that Trump, despite his dead guinea pig hairdo, would enter the White House. Mostly self-employed tradesmen (skilled brickies, plasterers and plumbers), the lads at the clayground are forthright with their opinions, which there’s plenty of time to vent as we queue to deal with the Springing Teal and Dropping Crow. But since the Westminster soothsayers and media analysts are mud adverse, the Ford van views are not accounted for until polling day, when the…

ON THE WALL Q It’s time to freshen up my rather large boot room and having seen a few rather jolly ones recentlyI would like to brighten mine up, too. My problem is the house is old and the walls, though straight, are probably not suitable for wallpaper – and I would be concerned about the number of wet coats being hung up. Is there a way of decorating the walls with birds or flowers without using wallpaper? ZJ, Wiltshire A To decorate walls with birds or flowers one could purchase a patterned paint roller from The Painted House. The roller is 6in wide and embossed in 18 different designs, including a “Flocks” design and a “Tussock” design. There are two types of applicators: one for use on fabric; one…

THERE is, in the Royal Armouries collection, a rifle that evokes the age of Empire, the adventurer sportsman and the African game hunter, especially in the early 20th century. It is a .375, in Holland & Holland magnum, bolt-action rifle made by John Rigby & Son of London and built on a Mauser magnum action. From 1898 until 1912, Rigby had the exclusive distribution rights in Britain and the Empire for Mauser rifles and actions. This relationship would benefit both parties: Rigby became the dominant company for the supply of bolt-action magazine sporting rifles in Britain and the Empire, other companies having to purchase from it Mauser rifles or actions; and Mauser gained a reputation for reliability and safety. Of the approximately 127,000 barrelled actions, actions and sporting rifles produced…

2010 MIGUEL TORRES “NECTARIA” RIESLING (£12.50 per 37.5cl, General Wine Company) A gorgeous, late-harvest sweetie from Chile. 2013 MOUNT BROWN ESTATES PINOT GRIS (£12.50, Davy’s) Ripe, juicy, creamy white from New Zealand. 2014 FESS PARKER CHARDONNAY (£16, Amathus Stores) Classy California Chardonnay from Santa Barbara. 2009 WINE SOCIETY’S EXHIBITION RIOJA RESERVA (£14, Wine Society) Textbook, fully mature Rioja of immense style. 2012 SAINT-ÉMILION (£20, fromvineyardsdirect.com) Glorious, “defrocked” claret from the region’s most famous estate. TAYLOR’S 10-YEAR-OLD TAWNY PORT (£25, Majestic) Exemplary, winter blues-banishing port.…

A WORD TO THE WISE One’s parents are sure to agree: the traditional advice is the best advice, the sort they were given by Grandmama that still holds true today – if we would just stop Googling and use some common sense. These sayings and country ways still pass muster (although some, such as putting butter on a burn, have been discredited) and Ruth Binney has brought them together in an attractive tome. She divides the advice into: living together; better housekeeping; the gardener’s friend; kitchen tips; health and beauty; nanny knows best; and signs of nature. From kissing under the mistletoe (the man should pocket a berry once the kiss has been taken and claim another one when it is re-presented) to rings around the moon signifying snow and…

“‘I spend a lot of time just looking at animals and observing their expression and behaviour’” BROOKS ON CAPTURING THE CHARACTER OF HER SUBJECTS KATE Brooks’s baby boy is too young to appreciate just how lucky he is to have an artist for a mother. His nursery is decorated with a menagerie of pastels of mainly everyday animals that are characterful rather than cute. A rabbit is reminiscent of Beatrix Potter’s creations in being extremely well-observed, but there the similarity stops. Wild rabbits don’t wear jackets and bonnets, and neither does Brooks’s. And where decorative artists fall for the charm of a rabbit eating a primrose, Brooks’s rabbit is eating something weedish – and there is a strong suspicion that whatever it is might have been growing in close proximity…

1 COASTERS AND TABLEMATS OLIVER PRESTON Come in sets of four, hard-wearing with felt backing. Guaranteed to make you chuckle over your chops. • Price coasters £15, tablemats £50 • Tel 01666 502638 • www.oliverpreston.com 2 FIELD COAT AND BREEKS FARLOWS Practical Litchfield coat with waterproof, breathable lining. Matching lined breeks. • Price coat £695, breeks £195 • Tel 01544 322311 • www.farlows.co.uk 3 SUBSCRIPTION THE FIELD Ensure you never miss a copy of The Fieldby taking advantage of our subscription offer. • Price £18.49 every 6 months • Tel 0330 333 1113; quote code BZB6 • www.magazinesdirect.com/BZB6 4 STAG FAMILY DOORMAT TURTLE MAT A new design to prevent muddy boots making a mess. It measures 60cm x 85cm and will suit most back doors. • Price £50 • Tel 0345 600 3478 • www.turtlemat.co.uk 5 VIERZON 50 BOOT LE CHAMEAU Limited,…

YOU can’t move for proposals to solve the housing crisis. You could fill an arsenal with the “silver bullet” solutions suggested over the years by successive governments. But successive governments are part of the problem because it is all about short-term, vote-winning policies wrapped up in sound-bites and signed off with headline targets that will never be met. Pete Redfern is the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, a housebuilder that builds a lot of new homes – more than 13,000 a year in the UK. Last month, his Redfern Review – commissioned by John Healey MP in October 2015 – was unveiled. It looked at the decline in home ownership, which has fallen just over six percent in the period from 2002 to 2014, with the decline particularly, if predictably,…

“Classic line of the night, though, came from the guy claiming his very good aim and offering services as a particularly good pluck” EVERYBODY! I’ve got news. I’ve lost my field virginity. It was a bit nerve-wracking, there was a slightly clumsy start but after some gentle guidance I rather found my stride. Yep, that’s right: me, little old me, was allowed loose with a gun – possibly (definitely) under a bit (a lot) of supervision – but, nonetheless, I only went and shot five flipping pheasants on my first day in the field. Yep, just call me Pheasant Professor… As you know, I have been busily trying to familiarise myself with this shooting job over the past year. Trying very hard to listen to and absorb all the advice;…

It’s the word used to strike terror into the hearts of most law-abiding citizens, especially those of a rather more nervous disposition. No, it’s not “the tax man” but the simple “hoodie”. Quite why it became the must-wear garment of the grumbling teens of the inner cities, I’m not sure. It would seem that, even in that environment, it may have had its day. It is rather more common today to see it on the bodies of those who strive to gain the perfect shape through exercise. The reason that the hoodie fell out of favour with those troublesome teens is that they are now so unconcerned about whether or not someone may recognise them they don’t even bother to wear a hoodie to hide their faces. To those who…

3-5: Oxford Farming Conference Oxford University, Oxford. Theme for 2017 is “Thrive or Survive”. Visit: www.ofc.org.uk 4-5: Cocker Spaniel Championships Abbeystead Estate, Lancashire. www.thekennelclub.org.uk 5-8: The Mayfair Antiques & Fine Art Fair London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, W1. www.mayfairfair.com 6-15: London Boat Show ExCel, Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway E16. www.londonboatshow.com 8: West Percy Point-to-Point Ratcheugh Farm, Alnwick, Northumberland (first race 12.30pm). Tel: 01665 603231. 11: River Thurso Opening Ceremony Ulbster Arms Hotel, Halkirk, Caithness (10am). www.thursoriver.co.uk 14: Barbury International Racing Club Point-to-Point Barbury Racecourse, Wiltshire (new fixture, 11.30am). Tel: 01672 516125. 15: Yorkshire Area Club Point-to-Point Sheriff Hutton, near York, North Yorkshire (in aid of Yorkshire Air Ambulance, first race midday). Tel: 01347 878439. 22: Silverton Point-to-Point Black Forest Lodge, Devon. Tel: 07764 461575. 27: BASC Taste of…

1 ROSE FARM DACRE, PENRITH, CUMBRIA The main property is a traditional Cumberland farmhouse with four bedrooms. There is also a three-bedroom barn conversion, which could be used as a self-contained holiday let, a cottage garden and seven acres of ring-fenced paddocks. Agent: Carter Jonas Tel: 01539 263765 Guide price: £950,000 2 WELLS HOUSE SKELTON WOOD END, PENRITH, CUMBRIA This is a five-bedroom house set in 12 acres on the outskirts of the Lake District National Park. The property dates from around 1760 but has been significantly extended over the years. There are stables and paddocks and woodland leading down to Roe Beck and Rush Gill. Agent: Savills Tel: 01325 370500 Guide price: £875,000 3 HIGH HALLBECK COTTAGE KILLINGTON, SEDBERGH, CUMBRIA A 17th-century, Grade II-listed, stone-built cottage in the Lune…

THE WATH NEWBIGGIN-ON-LUNE, KIRBY STEPHEN, CUMBRIA This is a residential development opportunity in rural Cumbria. The Wath is an old agricultural building with planning permission for conversion into a three-bedroom house. It could prove of interest to equestrian enthusiasts, with the option available to buy another half an acre of adjoining pony paddock, or buyers after a second home or holiday property to let. The building, constructed of local limestone, has views over the Howgill Fell range. It is less than five minutes from Junction 28 of the M6, 14 miles from Sedbergh and 25 miles from Windermere. Agent: Michael CL Hodgson Tel: 01539 721375 Guide price: £100,000…

THERE is evolution afoot in the once fusty world of auction houses. Buyers have been waking up to how much fun there is to be had buying at auction: the skill of preparing for the stalk; the excitement of the chase; and the thrill of the quarry well bagged or, it has to be admitted, the visceral disappointment of “the one that got away”. Most auctioneers have also upped their game. The top houses are no longer the preserve of haughty lovelies and supercilious young men who insisted on calling you “Sir”, even as they made it clear that you were not wealthy enough to be gracing their august emporiums. Provincial rooms are increasingly slick and modern and everyone is made welcome. Let’s face it, without the poor old underbidders…

“Don’t wait for a special occasion… Open a fine bottle and make it a special occasion” I’VE recently had huge fun updating and revising the late, great Simon Hoggart’s mini classic Life’s Too Short to Drink Bad Wine (online and in good bookshops… plug, plug). It was a joy to read again. It’s opinionated, witty, breezy and crammed with delicious anecdotes and equally delicious wines, not to mention some pretty smart tips. And, unsurprisingly, it needed little updating or revising. Some of the prices were out of date and some of the vintages, but that was about it. I was also asked to write a foreword and to add 12 wines of my own to Hoggart’s original “100 wines for the discerning drinker”. It took me a matter of moments…