Innholdsfortegnelse for November 25, 2015 i Country Life

ACCORDING to Shaun Spiers, Chief Executive of the CPRE, our countryside’s future depends on the debate between those politicians who believe that ‘economic growth is the overriding aim of politics’ and ‘those who sometimes want to constrain markets in the public interest, including through the planning system’ One aspect in desperate need of more harmonious thinking is the countryside that immediately surrounds cities and towns. These landscapes are seldom of importance in terms of rare species or undisturbed ecosystems, but, as it is on those terms that conservation and planning regulations were largely predicated, they are, therefore, vulnerable. Take away the less demonstrable and (now) almost old-fashioned-seeming defence that green buffers are beneficial in defining town and country and throw in the soaring population, housing crisis and spread of retail…

MARK GRIFFITHS’S discovery of the only likeness of Shakespeare done in his own lifetime ( COUNTRY LIFE , May 20) has won ‘Scoop of the Year’ for COUNTRY LIFE at the British Society of Magazine Editors awards—the industry’s ‘Baftas’. ‘Although not a surprise to us, this recognition from the industry of Mark’s extraordinary discovery is wonderful news for people who love and study Shakespeare,’ says Editor Mark Hedges. ‘I am thrilled and honoured,’ adds Mr Griffiths. ‘There can’t be many team efforts more rewarding than pulling-off a genuine world exclusive. My article owes its existence to the team at COUNTRY LIFE , to their editorial judgment and courage. Within a few weeks of its publication, ‘Shakespeare: his true likeness revealed’ had reached some two billion readers. Public reaction was, and…

Quiz of the week 1) How many maids are ‘a-milking' in The Twelve Days of Christmas? 2) Which architect designed The National Theatre in London? 3) Which Greek goddess lends her name to a famous brand? 4) Which chemical element has the symbol Hg and atomic number 80? 5) Which two famous musicians provided backing vocals to 1967 Rolling Stones single We Love You? 1) Eight 2) Sir Denys Lasdun 3) Nike, goddess of victory 4) Mercury 5) Paul McCartney and John Lennon Words of the week Concinnity (noun) Elegance and appropriateness of style Misoneism (noun) A dislike of the new and the changed Demophobia (noun) The morbid dread of crowds Time to buy Promenade seat stick, £45.95, Classic Canes, available from Farlows (020–7484 1000; www.farlows.co.uk) Hewett scarf, £79,…

West Wales coracle-caught salmon THIS wonderful wild salmon, with its distinctive pinky-red flesh, is caught using the ancient, traditional method of coracle fishing. Coracle boats are made from a woven textile called calico and are small and dome-shaped. Early versions made from animal skins were apparently used by Julius Caesar during his Spanish campaign—they were silent, so as not to scare the fish or the enemy, and very light, to enable them to be transported easily. Coracle-men work in pairs, using a net hung between their two boats to catch salmon from the dark waters. It is said that the fishermen only deem it dark enough to fish when seven stars can be seen in the sky. Nowadays, coracle fishing is something of a protected sport in Wales. There are…

SIR—Agromenes is absolutely correct, as ever, that the ‘Pressure’s on (again) for British suppliers’ (November 11) and follows very neatly the latest revelations made by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s War on Waste campaign. Both column and TV show unequivocally illustrate that the supermarket chains have only their own interests at heart. Although they pay lip-service to supporting British farmers, this is but a PR gag, in my view, and should be treated as such. And for hard-pressed dairy farmers the length and breadth of the country, waiting for change is akin to waiting for ‘the cows to come home’ Given that any meaningful and lasting solution to the supermarkets’ squeezing of dairy farmers is far distant, if at all visible, there seems no alternative but to turn to consumers for support. I,…

IN Perthshire, the Fortingall Yew—thousands of years old and, for centuries, known to be male—is producing branches that are female and berry-clustered. This Methuselah’s partial sex change crowns an autumn of miraculous fruitfulness. Elsewhere, hedgerows are bejewelled with bryony and cloaked with traveller’s joy and the underwood spills with the gladdon’s orange seeds. Thickets and scrub aren’t only displaying foliage colour that’s the envy of any good gardener, but also a cornucopia of fruit from briars, spindle, rowans, crabs, guelder rose and dogwood. Ripeness is all—and all around. Cross into the realm of cultivation and the most derelict orchard is doing its damnedest. Antiquarian cookbooks are being anxiously consulted for things to do with medlars, of which there’s an unwonted glut. Ornamental crabs such as Malus Golden Hornet are…

BLANDINGS CASTLE, Brinkley Court, Totleigh Towers and Deverill Hall are merely the most familiar of the legion of country houses created by P. G. Wodehouse as a backdrop to his delightful stories and novels. The houses are deft fictional creations, with just enough of the believable to give weight to their portrayals. Some lend themselves to convincing identification with particular places, an approach explored by Norman Murphy in his books In Search of Blandings (1986) and A Wodehouse Handbook (2006). More certainly, they draw on Wodehouse’s actual experiences and they also present a gentle social history of these buildings across the first half of the 20th century. Wodehouse acquired a knowledge of country houses as a child in the 1880s and 1890s. While his father worked as a magistrate in…

Brogue boots, £495, Grenson capsule collection for William & Son (020–7493 8385; www.williamandson.com) Blanc de Blancs, £36.99, Gusbourne (01233 758666; www.gusbournecom) The Knot diamond ring, £2,100, Boodles (020–3435 4400; www.boodles.com) Limited-edition charity Labyrinth scarf, all proceeds go to Maggie's, a charity supporting people with cancer and their families and friends, £265, Begg & Co (01292 267615; www.beggandcompany.com) Slim cardholder, £80,Launer London (01883 625562; www.launer.com)…

STEEPED in history, this family-owned jeweller has resided in one of Stratford-upon-Avon's oldest buildings since 1954. Built by a drinking fellow of Shakespeare, the premises remain sympathetic to the building's Tudor origins and Charlie, grandson of the founder, is proud of its authenticity: ‘It certainly doesn't resemble a branded superstore like many today.' George Pragnell forged his career at Biggs of Maidenhead, jeweller to Queen Mary, before establishing his own eponymous business with his wife, Margaret, in the Warwickshire town. The couple scrimped and saved to ensure the future of the now internationally renowned brand. Visitors flock from all over the world to visit Shakespeare's birthplace and Charlie admits that some of the footfall in the store is thanks to it being in the middle of a tourist trap.…

City limits My favourite of this Christmas’s intake is Five Quarters by Rachel Roddy (Saltyard, £25 *£20). The recipes come from the author’s tiny kitchen in a working district of Rome, once centred on the abattoir. Unpretentious, unusual and delicious, half a dozen dishes, such as pork chops with fennel and juniper berries, are already on my list of regulars. We meet her gutsy suppliers, her young son and the delights of the Testaccio district, a little-known part of the capital. By coincidence, this season also sees a second book on Roman cookery, Rome by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi (Hardie Grant, £25 *£20). The authors are restaurateurs who have already covered Venice and the Amalfi coast. They start here with an excellent history of Roman food and a herb salad…

Nigel Short conducts Tenebrae and the English Chamber Orchestra at Cadogan Hall on November 29, with Sarah Connolly among the soloists (020–7730 4500; www.cadoganhall.com) Stephen Layton provides a soaring close to the St John's Christmas Festival with his acclaimed Messiah on December 23, conducting Polyphony, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and soloists including Katherine Watson and Iestyn Davies (020–7222 1061; www.sjss.org.uk) The Royal Albert Hall presents a Handelian double: performances on December 13 and 18, with the Royal Philharmonic conducted by Brian Wright, three choirs and a notable cast including Kate Royal and Patricia Bardon (020–7838 3109; www.royalalberthall.com) The Britten Sinfonia, under Eamonn Dougan, brings Handel's classic to the Barbican on December 15, with Carolyn Sampson and Iestyn Davies in the solo quartet (020–7638 8891; www.barbican.org.uk)…

A letter written by a Mr Groves of Covent Garden to the Vestry of St Martin's in the Fields at some date between 1778 and 1800 gives us the sight and stench of 18th-century paupers' burials: ‘The Burial Ground belonging to this Parish which is in Drury lane has long been and still remains so shocking a Nuisance that to Discribe it is beyond my Power. My back Window commands a View of it I have Occular demonstrations -the poor are Tumbled into one Common Hole and there lay exposed day & night uncovered... And the smell horridly offensive. I should not, Sir, be in the least surprised if in the hot Weather a Plague Ariseing from the Putrifaction of human Bodys should communicate itself to the Surrounding Area And…

I’M not in the habit of picking up hitchhikers, but when I saw two depressed-looking young women in pink cagoules holding up a rain-smudged sign on which you could just about read ‘Hitchhiking for charity’ at South Mimms service station, I decided it was an act of kindness long overdue. Zam asked if they’d like a lift and, within minutes, the students were climbing into the back seat, having first photographed our number plate. ‘I hope you don’t mind dogs,’ I said, as Fletcher barked furiously from the boot. ‘And sorry about the mess,’ I added, as they sat on plastic bottles, corrugated coffee cups and indeterminate muddy bits of something that may, at one time, have been waterproof trousers. Fletcher had been in the boot for hours and, despite…

F the Law Commission’s new Draft Wildlife Bill for England and Wales is adopted, it would cover every aspect of wildlife management from the protection of species to the lists of what can and can’t be killed, for what purpose, when and by what means. More than a dozen existing laws would be replaced in whole or part by the 176-page Draft Bill, indicating its colossal scope. The Game Acts, Poaching Acts, Deer Act 1991, Agricultural Pests Act 1983, Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, Hares Preservation Act 1892, Conservation of Seals Act 1970 and many more would be affected. Replacing them would be what the Law Commission says is ‘a modern statutory framework that accommodates all relevant wildlife legislation in a consistent, logical, transparent and flexible structure that will…

BRITAIN’S first MA course on the history of collecting and the art market will be launched by the University of Buckingham (www.buckingham. ac.uk) in January 2016. Taught with the National Gallery, London, and the Rothschild collections at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire (Christmas illuminations, page 58), it will explore collecting from the Renaissance to the present. Students will have access to two of the most significant art dealers’ archives, that of Agnew’s, at the National Gallery, and Colnaghi’s, at Waddesdon. Colnaghi’s is funding scholarships for the course, the director of which, Jeremy Howard, says that the qualification will be a ‘valuable springboard’ for a career in curatorship or the art market.…

THE fierce winds of last week and first frosts have cast off the fleshy autumn foliage from the trees and shrubs to give rural Britain its annual X-ray, revealing the bony skeleton of the countryside without its clothing. As the plants die back to their roots, the hidden cancer of litter in the hedgerows and verges re-emerges to shame us all, but, more happily, the confetti of whirling leaves and deep-russet leaf litter enriches my walks with the terriers. It also provides the perfect camouflage for the mysterious migrating woodcock, which have been arriving during the past week under the light of the full moon, the Frost Moon of November. Many at this time of year swap Siberia for cool Britannia, an incredible journey driven by slow, determined wing beats.…

BIRD-LOVERS will rejoice that Mr. Walter E. Collinge, an excellent authority, has returned a verdict of innocent in regard to the charges brought against the woodpecker of injuring forest trees. Of course, he refers chiefly to the green woodpecker; the great spotted woodpecker and the lesser spotted woodpecker are not sufficiently numerous to do much harm, even if they were so inclined. The great point is the writer’s certainty that the trees into which the woodpeckers bore are invariably unsound.…

Harry Eyres You may have noticed the absence of Chilean wines from this column. This is not due to prejudice, but simply because I have been waiting to taste something really exceptional, rather than straightforwardly gluggable, from the long, thin country with the Andes to its east. At last, I can recommend a bunch of exciting and distinctive wines, which challenge the best thrown at them from Argentina on the other side of the mountains. Why you should be drinking them A couple are made from Carménère, a Bordeaux grape related to Cabernet Sauvignon, which fell out of favour in its native region after phylloxera struck in the late 19th century. Carménère thrives in Chile-mercifully untouched by phylloxera, as the aphid was unable to cross the Andes -and produces…

James Simpson is Managing Director of Pol Roger Ltd and Chairman of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust ‘The concept of making and craft is key to those of us lucky enough to work in the wine trade. In the absence of a portrait of a wine merchant by Moroni, his tailor seems to embody all that we need to know about concentration, skill and the art of the maker. I am very lucky to have a Victorian copy of The Tailor , discovered in a falling-down house deep in the West Sussex countryside. I failed to buy the house, but bought the painting for £100 and, now cleaned, it hangs on the landing at home as a quiet reminder ’ John McEwen comments on The Tailor GEORGE ELIOT…

Some herbaceous perennials can be propagated by root cuttings at this time of year. A good example is anything in the genus Eryngium, the spikily lovely sea hollies. Dig up a plant and cut off a few roots of pencil thickness. Make up 5in pots of free-draining compost with labels. Cut the roots into 2in lengths, cutting each one straight at the top and angled at the base to avoid embarrassment, and push them in around the edge of the pot. Topdress with grit, push in the label and put them in a quiet corner of a cold frame until spring.…

For avid adventurers For a day in the field For a touch of luxury For upstairs and downstairs For playing the game For bright young things For an exceptional experience For a tasty treat Katy Birchall picks the perfect presents for everyone on your list…

Suffolk Salami Company’s Suffolk salami A light, fragrant salami with a delicious finishing note of rosemary. Perfect for lunchtime snacking (01379 384593; www.suffolksalami.co.uk) Three Little Pigs’ Yorkshire salami Made from rare-breed Berkshire pigs that have grown up with the sun on their backs. A meaty, palate-tingling treat (www.threelittlepigschorizo.co.uk) Curious Foods’ quinoa, beetroot and caraway salami The tastebuds start murmuring as soon as you pop a sliver in your mouth and, by the time you're mid-chew, they're yelling blue murder. Simply sensational (www.curiousfoods.co.uk) Great Glen Charcuterie’s chilli chorizo This chorizo stick is rich, dark and soft to the touch and I'm slightly nervous of just how pungent it might taste, but the first bite reveals a meaty sweetness combined with a savoury wash before a hit of heat brings a welcome…

AT the age of eight, David Jones exhibited his first drawing, in a show organised by the Royal Drawing Society for the Encouragement of Youthful Art. It was a pencil sketch of a lion and had been completed the previous year, 1902. Vigorous, anatomically sound, glimpsed against a landscape of steep hills, Jones’s lion represents careful observation and a child’s imaginative fantasy. As the current exhibition at Pallant House in Chichester shows, those twin traits would mark the career of this 20th-century polymath who, unusually, excelled as both visual artist and writer. Painter, engraver, maker of inscriptions and award-winning poet, David Jones, who died in 1974, invested his work with a complex lyricism rich in literary allusion. Legend, folklore and his enthusiastic reading of medieval history shaped his vision. His…

A SET of stamps, a musical and enough tea parties to satisfy even the fussiest Hatter are some of the ways in which the 150th anniversary of the publication of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is being celebrated. An instant sensation on its release by Macmillan in November 1865—Queen Victoria and Oscar Wilde were among its admirers—it’s never been out of print and has been translated into 176 languages. Macmillan has been steadily re-releasing related titles, including The Complete Alice (£30). The Royal Mail released a set of Alice stamps earlier this year, London’s Sanderson hotel has an Alice-themed afternoon tea (from £48, 020–7300 5588), the Folkestone Book Festival in Kent is hosting a talk by Alice Liddell’s great-granddaughter (November 28, 01303 760750) and Fortnum & Mason and Halycon…

A public consultation is under way for a proposed theatre at West Horsley Place, the Surrey estate that is to be home to Grange Park Opera from 2017. Director Wasfi Kani has unveiled her plans to local residents for the 700-seater theatre by Tim Ronalds Architects. Based on the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, it will be located in a wood to the rear of the Jacobean manor house that former television presenter Bamber Gascoigne inherited from his great-aunt, Mary, Duchess of Roxburghe, and will also host year-round events aimed at encouraging young people to engage with the Arts.…

ONE of the great 12 Livery Companies of the City of London, Fishmongers’ Hall, stands proudly on the Thames at London Bridge, the perfectly proportioned late-Georgian gem that looks across at The Shard in a kind of riposte, like a senior prefect frowning at this new boy whose parents have too much money. I was there to attend the Stanhope meeting of the Royal Humane Society, which has been championing acts of bravery since 1774. How do you choose between a man who spent 36 hours on a Himalayan mountainside with his unconscious climbing companion and someone who has twice been swept over a raging waterfall to rescue a young girl? As I was leaving, a member of the Court of the Fishmongers showed me the famous Pietro Annigoni portrait…

It’s a broad church in rural Britain HOW right HRH The Prince of Wales is to draw attention to the importance of small farm businesses to the rural economy and to the way in which those involved in the running of farms help keep local services, such as schools and shops, alive. The contribution of farming families is also invaluable when it comes to keeping churches serving rural communities alive. Churches have served local people for many hundreds of years. They continue to do so and, today, this is made easier by the installation of kitchens, lavatories and heating, made possible by grants from the National Churches Trust and other funders. Modern facilities benefit worshippers and also enable churches to become community hubs that are able to benefit local…

IT’S delightful chaos today,’ explains Ross Murray, as he wades through a tidal wave of tiny, chattering children, some clutching balloons woven into sausage dogs by a magician, and ladies handing around a properly scary, fluorescent-iced Halloween cake. It’s opening day for the new village stores, coffee shop and children’s well-being centre at Ross and Elizabeth Murray’s Llanover Business Centre. The Monmouthshire estate has been in Mrs Murray’s family since 1792. Their house, with its square Georgian front, was built by her great-great-great-grandmother, Lady Llanover (wife of the MP Benjamin Hall, of Big Ben fame), who looks formidable under a black bonnet. A stickler for everything Welsh, she was responsible for reviving the language, the costume, the harp and the black Welsh mountain sheep, whose peacefully grazing descendants lend enchantment…

PAI NTED texts—including the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments and sentences from scripture—became popular on the walls of churches after the Reformation. This is an unusual example at Puddletown that probably dates to the reorganisation of the church in 1634–5. It is written in Gothic script, a contrast to the modern hand of another painted text of the Our Father on the opposite wall. This might reflect a deliberate attempt to distinguish visually between the words of inherited scripture and a living prayer. The image represents a dialogue. A disembodied hand at the top passes down an open book to the reader, whose hand rises from below. Around the upper hand is a quotation from Timothy recommending ‘holy scriptures’ as means to salvation. This notionally identifies the…

Cross-breeds have the bonus of hybrid vigour. Nearly all the ills that beset pedigree gundogs are hereditary, due to inbreeding and lack of genetic diversity. Broaden the gene pool and many problems disappear. Cross-bred gundogs are less expensive to buy than pedigree dogs, as they are generally bred from sound working animals rather than field-trial champions that command substantial stud fees Cross-breeding is like turning the clock back-most gundog breeds share common ancestry Outbreeding can be uncertain-most springadors resemble labs, but some look more like spaniels. Crossing closely related breeds, such as springer to cocker, produces more predictable offspring Potential buyers should look for deliberate crosses from sound and health-tested working parents Beware that second crosses are not always as successful as first crosses…

RENOWNED for classic timepieces, British watchmaker Bremont has added accessories to its name, launching a simple and modish gentleman’s range to ensure that your phone, cuffs, keys and desk, as well as your wrist, can all be graced with unique Bremont style. Cufflinks, £125 (0845 094 0690; www.bremont.com) Wilde about tea ‘Tea is the only simple pleasure left to us,' observes Basil Hallward in The Picture of Dorian Gray, but there's nothing simple about the London Royal Tea at Café Royal in Piccadilly. The Oscar Wilde Bar-named after the writer who dined there daily-is celebrating all things British with a new menu of edible London icons, such as London Underground macarons and a signature Oscar tea, a rich blend of Lapsang Souchong. From £42 per person (020–7406 3310; www.hotelcaferoyal.com)…

Salami Traditionally pork, beef or a mixture of both, salami is mixed with a range of herbs and seasonings, fermented, smoked and air-dried for up to eight weeks, losing nearly a third of its weight in the process Coppa Pork shoulder, cured with spices, smoked and air-dried. Has a very high fat content. Ready in 10-12 weeks Lonza Pork loin, cured with spices, air-dried and smoked. This is a leaner cut of meat, with a finer, more delicate flavour. Ready in 2–3 months Chorizo Made to similar principles, but from pork only. Key ingredients include paprika and chilli. Small chorizos are now hugely popular in cooking and can be ready in as little as 3–4 weeks Pancetta Pork belly, cured in aromatic spices, smoked and air-dried to give great depth…

Joglaresa spreads its medieval merriment across the country until December 19, including a visit to the York Early Music Christmas Festival on December 8 (01904 658338; www.joglaresa.com) Sure to be a high point of the season, Richard Egarr presents Bach’s Christmas Oratorio complete at the Barbican on December 22, with the Academy of Ancient Music, Susan Gritton and James Gilchrist (020Ð8638 8891; www.barbican.org.uk) Ensemble Correspondances brings the Baroque elegance and tenderness of Charpentier's Christmas music to Wigmore Hall on December 23 (020Ð7935 2141; www.wigmore-hall.org.uk) Cadogan Hall offers the pleasures of a Scandi-Yule with Christmas from Sweden on December 23. Soprano Miah Persson is the distinguished soloist with the strings of Camerata Nordica (020Ð7730 4500; www.cadoganhall.com)…

A COUPLE of musical questions for you. Firstly, who was the ‘English Mozart’? Secondly, who was the ‘English Stradivari’ If you live in or around Chichester, you might know that the first was John Marsh (1752–1828), composer of more than 350 works, including 39 or 40 symphonies, astronomer, philosopher, geometer and diarist. In 2002, there was an anniversary exhibition, and presumably concerts, in Chichester, where he spent most of his career, but I first heard of him the other day, when a memorable piece was broadcast on Radio 3, and I suspect my ignorance is widely shared. The second is a tantalisingly obscure figure, Daniel Parker. His labels are sometimes found, but not even his dates are known, although he was active from about 1700 to 1725 and was one…