Innholdsfortegnelse for 14-Mar-18 i Country Life

GOLD will be mined commercially in Scotland for the first time in history. Last week, the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority approved Scotgold Resources Ltd’s application to develop the Cononish Gold Mine near Tyndrum. The company has already extracted gold during a pilot project and it expects to begin mining ore in 2019, anticipating high demand and premium prices from the jewellery sector. In excess of half a million tons of ore will potentially be mined over a 17-year period, as well as even greater volumes of silver. Richard Gray, Scotgold’s CEO, says the project will operate under ‘the highest environmental standards’, but Parkswatchscotland and Mountaineering Scotland have both been vocal in their opposition. David Gibson, CEO of the latter organisation, comments: ‘We believe that the scale…

JERSEY farmers, some of them sixth-generation producers, are preparing the ground for the 140th season of the Jersey Royal potato. The famous spud was the result of a chance planting of two potatoes by Jersey farmer Hugh de la Haye; the resultant crop produced an unusual kidney-shaped potato with a soft, flaky skin, which was nicknamed the Jersey Royal Fluke. It’s now the only UK stem vegetable to have Protected Designation of Origin status under EU law. Today, a million kgs of Jersey Royals, grown by some 20 farmers and mostly hand-lifted, are transported to the UK mainland every day during the season (April to June). Celebratory new recipes include the Jersey Royal brownie (with peanut butter and salted caramel), the vegan black-bean and Jersey Royal tacos and a Middle…

FLOWERS say a lot about a person,’ says London-based floral designer Shane Connolly, who’s been producing arrangements and schemes for parties and weddings for more than 20 years. Mr Connolly prides himself on remaining impervious to changing fashions, choosing instead to work with a close adherence to the desires of his clients. ‘I love it when I feel we’ve listened and interpreted a very blurry brief and, afterwards, they tell us “that’s exactly what I wanted”,’ he admits. Although the business has grown rapidly—it provides flowers for events all over the world—Mr Connolly has remained hands-on. ‘I nearly always do the first sample of anything for a party and I’m often at the market with my team because I feel as if what I do is like good cooking —if…

YOU’LL spot me easily. I look like a hobbit,’ said Brother Colum. It was indeed difficult to miss him—a monk’s habit is quite distinctive these days. I drove us back from the station through the wintery landscape to lunch. Passed on to us by a mutual acquaintance, our guest was a hermit in search of a hermitage. On my way to the station, I had considered what sort of a man a latter-day hermit might be. The eremitic fathers of the early Celtic church seemed to be permanently clenching their teeth and clinging to rocks on the West Coast. Tales of their lives are unsparing, epic accounts of self-denial. I was pretty sure the hobbit thing was just modesty. Brother Colum would be all craggy austerity and furrowed reflection;…

MANY old paintings of a certain era depict a dog chained to a kennel—often, one adapted from a wooden barrel turned on its side. Such housing was, for most, the lot of the working dog, be it kept for guarding, herding or sporting purposes. As to whether a doghouse of this type provided adequate accommodation is another matter—no doubt, any canines kennelled in such a way would nowadays cause concern. In fact, we have only to recall the John Lewis Christmas television advert of 2010, depicting a boy hanging a stocking on an outdoor kennel in the wind and snow. It caused a great deal of consternation—and a Facebook campaign of protest—despite the filmmakers saying that the dog in question (a deerhound) ‘was used to being outdoors’. At the opposite…

WHEN is a kitchen not a ‘kitchen’? When it’s also a room for family dining, effortless socialising with friends and general homely joy, somewhere to gather the clans, mull over plans for the garden, indulge in some idle chat or even write a novel. Such is the variety of functions it serves, the kitchen is playing an increasingly important role in everyday life. In tandem with the move towards multi-functionality comes a growing sense that a kitchen isn’t just about cabinetry. After all, sharp corners and hard surfaces do not a friendly space make, something that interior designer Victoria Meale feels strongly. ‘Kitchens today require a different and more thoughtful approach,’ she says. ‘They need to feel comfortable and inviting, with a softer feel than the purely functional rooms of…

‘Dip a toe in gently with just a handful of weddings’ WHETHER your children have flown the nest, your house needs maintenance or you’re looking for a creative business opportunity, turning your home into a wedding venue might hold the key. This year will see some 250,000 weddings take place in the UK, totting up a whopping bill of almost £4 billion, and the venue is the biggest cost. ‘Plenty of people are doing this now,’ says Andrew Gemmell, frontman of The Filming Business, who makes wedding videos into works of art (thefilmingbusiness.com). Attending between 50 and 60 weddings a year with his cameras and drones, Mr Gemmell thrives on the energy—weddings can keep a house alive, he claims. And you needn’t give up the whole property or every weekend—many…

WHEN it comes to planning a wedding, the sheer number of tasks ahead of you can seem daunting. In days gone by, finding the venue, the caterer, the dress, the florist, the stationer and everything else in between required a huge amount of time and research. However, with the arrival of The Wedding Gallery, all decisions, big and small, can now be made in one stress-free, magical place. The Wedding Gallery is the world’s first and only upscale wedding department store and is an unmissable destination for all engaged couples. With more than 200 luxury brands—including some of the world’s most renowned designers—all under one roof beneath One Marylebone, London NW1, brides and grooms can immerse themselves in a showcase of all the latest wedding trends. Whether you are at…

ESTABLISHED in 1994, The Wedding Present Co. has built its reputation on word of mouth from ecstatic customers to become one of the most highly regarded wedding-list specialists in the business. A gift list is a must for any engaged couple, giving guests the chance to give you something you will cherish and that will last a lifetime. With so many demands on your time throughout the process of planning a wedding, creating your list shouldn’t be one more stressful task to complete—with the warm, personal and efficient service on offer at The Wedding Present Co., it will become a pleasure. Next month, company founder James Dundas is inviting COUNTRY LIFE readers to a special event where you can meet your dedicated wedding-list advisor, find out how the service works…

‘You needed a chainsaw to make your way across the walled garden’ AS Anthony Tavernor explains: ‘Sometimes, you follow your heart, not your head.’ We are about to explore the gardens at Plas Cadnant, just across the Menai Suspension Bridge that connects Anglesey to the North Wales mainland. He’s keen to give a sense of the journey he’s made from buying the near-derelict property in 1996 to creating the extraordinarily beautiful and atmospheric gardens you can visit today. ‘I just fell in love with the whole thing. I had no connections with Anglesey. It’s not an outstanding house. I simply landed here out of the blue and fell for its romantic charm.’ The garden had been more or less abandoned for 70 years. You needed a chainsaw to make your…

THE rediscovery of an artist whose talent has long been lost to the world is a rare and exciting event. Suzanne Cooper is one such artist. Despite her startling early promise, we have only a modest number of works to remember her by, but these have now been brought together to receive their due in a revelatory show. Brought up in Frinton on the Essex coast, in 1935 Cooper enrolled at the Grosvenor School of Modern Art in Pimlico, London, aged 19. This appealing-sounding institution had been established in 1925 by the Scottish wood-engraver and painter Iain Macnab, in his house in Warwick Square. Its students were allowed a remarkable degree of freedom, choosing between life drawing, the study of modern art (the critic Frank Rutter taught a course ‘From…

ON March 20, the Spring Equinox—and time of the Saxon goddess, Eostre, who represents new beginnings and fertility—a horde of flower-bedecked druids, pagans and wiccans will flock to Stonehenge, a sight that might have surprised barrister Sir Cecil Chubb, who donated it to the nation 100 years ago. He had purchased the ancient monument—lot 15, with 30 acres of adjoining downland—on impulse three years previously, for the princely sum of £6,600, because he felt that ‘a Salisbury man ought to buy it’. He gave it to his wife as a birthday present—apparently, she was none too pleased, having sent him to the auction, at Palace Theatre, Salisbury, to buy some chairs. COUNTRY LIFE played a part, too. Before the auction, in September 1915, a small black-and-white photo of Britain’s most…

ARABLE and horticultural farms have a small window of time left to apply for new capital grants that can help them improve productivity by making more efficient use of water through reservoirs and irrigation. ‘This is a one-off opportunity, which might be the last, to get a grant of 40% on the construction of a new reservoir,’ explains Peter Bennett of Savills’ Food and Farming Department. Planning permission needs to be in place before applying for the grant and farmers should try to build a strong case, because funding is only given to the projects that are deemed to offer the best value for taxpayers’ money. The closing date for applications is June 29, 2018, but, cautions Mr Bennett, ‘it could close before then if applications are high. Our advice…

Letter of the week A sticky subject I MUCH enjoyed the piece on stickpins (‘Stick a pin in it’, February 21), but were they worn by those in really pukka society? In 19th- and early-20th-century literature, these jewels are almost invariably used to indicate that the wearer is an out-and-out bounder. Gaudy stickpins adorn the lapels and cravats of warned-off jockeys, dandified bullies, déclassé aristocrats, seedy toffs, rakes, blackmailers, roués and debauchees. Conan Doyle is a connoisseur of this trend—here is the rogue Count Sylvius in The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone (The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, 1927; Jon Finch in the role, above): ‘The famous game-shot, sportsman, and man-about-town was a big, swarthy fellow, with a formidable dark moustache, shading a cruel thin-lipped mouth, and surmounted by…

David Milne: Modern Painting is at Dulwich Picture Gallery, Gallery Road, London SE21, until May 7 (020–8693 5254; www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk) The third in a trilogy of exhibitions dedicated to Canadian artists, this focuses on the loner-genius David Milne (1882–1953), whose arrival in New York from rural Ontario in 1903 coincided with an explosion of Modernism in the city. Absorbing the influences of Monet, Matisse, Cezanne and Vuillard, Milne forged his own considered and highly inventive path, paring back the inessential, boiling down colour (right: White, the Waterfall, 1921), experimenting with negative space and exploring the effects of light and reflection. In 1918–19, he painted the war-ravaged landscapes of France and Belgium, before moving back to North America, and later Canada, to immerse himself in the wilds: austerity, solitude and elemental Nature.…

‘I was introduced to Mannerism, which comes from maniera, meaning stylish–which Mannerist paintings and sculptures undoubtedly are– by an Open University course. Hands are the trademark of Mannerist art, particularly with an index finger pointing upwards. What I find fascinating about Parmigianino’s self-portrait is that its main feature is not his face, but his hands, the tools of his trade. Convex mirrors distort reflections and I have always admired the self-confidence of a young artist, who not only attempted such a painting but used it in his CV to announce his ability to possible patrons’ John McEwen comments on Self-portrait in a Convex Mirror PARMIGIANINO was born in Parma, hence his name. He was two when his artist father died, so he was raised and trained by two artist uncles.…

‘There is music in trees. The breeze in the thin wire branches of birch played cello’ NO one else wanted the late-winter wood, so I wood-wandered alone in echoes of my own making. It was about 5pm, when the sun was declining, when everything that was solid was melting into grey light. Owl-light. Wolf-light. At the top end of the wood, the pigeons clappered into their roosts in the larch. Of the woodland birds, only the robin sang: sad reflective phrases, as if deconstructing a mystery I couldn’t see. I trod carelessly, a stick cracked. The noise cannoned around the bare trees. From out of the ground, a woodcock tore up and whirred away, banking left, banking right through the beech columns, flying on an instinct perfected down the centuries…

‘ Cooking any more than two steaks is madness’ A RATHER pompous customer who regularly came to eat at Bibendum once said to me: ‘Why on earth would I order steak in a restaurant when it’s so easy to cook at home?’ Well, maybe—perhaps he truly was an expert at cooking steak, but was he simply talking about satisfying one or two hungry chums or accommodating a dinner party for several guests? To attempt the latter, he would need to be an expert juggler of the vagaries of grilled meat, as well as being possessed of a very big grill upon which to do that juggling. One can imagine the scenario. ‘Gerald, may I have mine medium-rare, please?’ says Mary. ‘Oh and mine medium,’ trills Joan. ‘Me, too,’ shouts…

SPRING comes early on the Lizard Peninsula, which, thanks to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream, boasts the balmiest climate in Britain. Sub-tropical vegetation grows along the cliffs, and primroses and foxgloves are about to flower in the hedgerows and on the clifftops of the spectacular Heritage Coast, which runs down the western edge of the peninsula from Porthleven to Enys Head—just beyond Lizard Point, the most southerly point of mainland England. Historically, the towering cliffs and jagged rocks of the Lizard’s coastline, which bars the way in and out of the busy Fal estuary, had a fearsome reputation as a graveyard for ships, the scene of many a maritime disaster. Nowadays, the wilder Atlantic west coast is a haven for the discerning, hardy few who appreciate its…

Shouldering on As a vicar approaching the busy wedding season, I am concerned that the trend for strapless wedding dresses is inappropriate in a church environment. What is your view on the matter? Oh, I agree. On first interviewing the bridal couple, ask her straight: ‘Are you planning to wear something strapless? Because if you are, then for consistency’s sake, so shall I.’ She’ll fairly swaddle herself in blankets, you just see. If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands Is clapping at the end of the marriage service, especially in a church, to be encouraged or eschewed? Well, if you’re a tambourines-and-sign-of-the-peace kinda guy, then I guess encouraged. However, it’s supposed to be the solemnisation of matrimony—that is, solemn. If you’re more Hubert Parry-and-eight-titled-bridesmaids, then no, no,…

Ben Fogle, broadcaster, traveller and adventurer Marina and I married in Monsaraz in 2007, in the Portuguese Alentejo. It was 43° and everyone was in wool morning suits. On returning to the UK, the new Mrs Fogle and I drove from London in a Land Rover Defender with our two labradors, Inca and Maggi, to a little stone bothy on Taransay in the Outer Hebrides. We brought our own food and wine, cooked for ourselves on a wood-burning stove and shared the single bed of a bunk bed. The isolation and solitude were amazing—we walked across the Machair and various deserted beaches—and the endless rain kept the midges away. Would I do anything differently? Marina might disagree, but I wouldn’t change a thing. It was memorable and precious. Perhaps…

‘ 100 years ago, the Allies came close to losing the war’ History The Last Battle Peter Hart (Profile, £25) WE have got rather used to commemorating the centenaries of those terrible battles of the First World War—Ypres in 2014–2015, the Somme in 2016 and Passchendaele last year—which, although they may have achieved more than revisionist historians will allow, only did so at a horrific cost. by contrast, the battles of 1918 may seem less iconic. Yet, 100 years ago this month, the Allies came close to losing the war as the German spring offensive, reinforced by troops freed up by their treaty with Lenin’s Russia, drove deeper into France than at any time since 1914. For a month, it looked as if they might succeed in cutting through the…

SOLDIERS with a hunting or Pony Club background are being targeted in a recruitment drive by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. Between 70% and 80% of soldiers cannot ride when they join the unit, but the Commanding Officer, Maj Harry Wallace, who took up his role last year, is seeking to change that. ‘Having to teach people from scratch has its drawbacks,’ says Maj Wallace, an experienced amateur jockey who has won both the Royal Artillery Gold Cup and the Grand Military Gold Cup at Sandown. ‘It takes years to be really comfortable and confident on a horse.’ The role of the King’s Troop is largely ceremonial, firing salutes on State occasions. It also performs the dramatic Musical Drive at shows around the country. ‘The Musical Drive, and riding…

A SONG written by Viennese femme fatale Alma Mahler (right) has been rediscovered and will be performed at concerts in Oxford and Newbury. Einsamer Gang (meaning ‘lonely walk’), set to a poem by Leo Greiner, was composed in 1899–1900 when Mahler, whose tempestuous love life included three marriages—one to the composer Gustav Mahler—and an affair with the artist Klimt, was in deep despair. It’s one of dozens of her lost songs and was tracked down by scholars at the University of Pennsylvania, USA. ‘The Art of Love: Alma Mahler’s Life and Music’, with mezzo-soprano Rozanna Madylus and celebrated operatic bass Sir John Tomlinson, will be performed at Holywell Music Room, Oxford, on April 10 and at the Corn Exchange, Newbury, on May 16. The concerts will incorporate John Casken’s Kokoschka’s…

Quiz of the week 1) Mycology is the study of what? 2) Who wrote the 1969 novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman ? 3) How many grams are in a hectogram? 4) A mint julep cocktail is traditionally made with which spirit? 5) What is the formula for the chemical compound commonly known as laughing gas? The nature of things Eurasian beaver SWIFTLY gliding through the water, the beaver is a streamlined submarine of fascinating design, built to be fit for purpose, down to the last detail, to make the most of his wetland environment. His uniquely broad and flat tail is a powerful muscular aid to both navigation and thrust in the water. The coat, tough and waterproofed on the outer layers, contains warm, downy fur underneath, in order…

‘Outside the EU, no one will be able to call ministers to account over delay or inaction THE Government is in a real muddle. No news there, you might say, but I’m not talking about Brexit, nor even about Dr Fox and free trade— it’s countryside policy that’s caused the latest rumpus. The trouble stems from the Withdrawal Bill that is making its way through the House of Lords at a snail’s pace. Ministers have made a hash of the environmental provisions that are supposed to put European law into English law in order to ensure an orderly exit from the EU. One might think they’d want to close down controversy on these issues, given the many other things that are inherently confrontational. Instead, they’ve confirmed the fears of the…

ON May 2, 1450, William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, was murdered on board a ship in the Channel. Suffolk, the king’s favourite, was sailing to exile, when he was intercepted by his enemies and—in a mockery of a nobleman’s execution—decapitated with half a dozen strokes of a rusty sword. England reverberated with the news and two months later a rebel army led by Jack Cade entered London. As well as looting the city, they denounced the leaders of Henry VI’s popularly discredited administration, sending some of the most notorious members to their deaths. Among those named by the rebels, but who escaped their clutches, was John Norreys, the builder of Ockwells. Authorities disagree about the identity of Norreys’s parents, but his family—whose principal seat was at Speke in…

Getting married isn’t what it used to be. these days, the sheer amount of m an hours the bride and groom put in between engagement and big day is enough to exhaust even the Duracell Bunny. At least you have the wedding itself to look forward to, the honeymoon and, best of all (because they arrive later, when the party’s over, and they are for you and you alone), the presents. there a few wedding-list companies out there, but let me make the choice easy for you: founded by husband-and-wife team Dom and Ali Beaven in 2010, multi-award-winning Prezola is the UK’s leading wedding-gift-list and wedding-website provider, and the Platinum service, offering a curated wedding gift list, is one of the best-kept secrets in luxury wedding planning and the company’s…

CONTRARY to the recent trend for asking for monetary and honeymoon-fund contributions, a wedding list is an absolute must for every married-couple-to-be. The day of your wedding is one that is entirely devoted to and tailored around the two of you—so shouldn’t as much care and attention go into your gifts? As well as giving your guests the opportunity to select something tangible they know that you will cherish—and avoiding the risk of ending up with five toasters, eight teapots and 1 0 decanters—a wedding list provides the chance to fill your home with a host of beautiful items that will last a lifetime and could one day be passed on to future generations. At The Wedding Present Co.’s double-storey space on King’s Road, London SW1 0—which is arranged as…

BRISTLING, diminutive and belligerent, the stickleback has, for generations, peered moon-eyed from jam jars at triumphant children and, indeed, ‘tiddler’ is a nursery version of its folk name, tittlebat. Worldwide, there are some 18 species in the Gasterosteidae family (the Latin means ‘bony bellied’) and they’re virtually circumpolar, being widely distributed from Europe to Alaska. Our most common variety is the three-spined (Gasterosteus aculeatus), which inhabits streams and ponds and can also tolerate brackish water, being occasionally anadromous. Britain’s tiniest fish, the 10-spined (Pungitius pungitius), is less widespread and favours weedy, stagnant freshwater. There’s also a streamlined, somewhat solitary marine stickleback (Spinachia spinachia, sounding like a spoof Edward Lear botanical), which frequents eelgrass. The common barstickle or sharplin was once so numerous in the Fens that it was netted for…

EVERYONE has wistful regrets for the ones that got away—lover, opportunity or bargain—and, after a lifetime in galleries, salerooms, fairs, markets, antique and junk shops, I probably have more than most. One basic rule is if you see something you like, always take a proper look. I had a useful lesson at Maastricht a few years ago, when I saw something I would very much like to have, but knew I could not afford. A friend insisted that at least I check the price. Not only could I afford it, but a discount was offered and now I’m looking at it across the room with as much pleasure as ever. Had it escaped, no doubt it would niggle in the memory, as does a Regency hall bench that I saw…

BACH-LOVERS should spare a thought for the unlucky few who happened to live between 1750 and 1829, the bleak 79 years after J. S. Bach’s death, during which time his St Matthew and St John Passions existed in manuscript form only. Imagine living and dying in the post-Bach era without experiencing these masterpieces. Of all the achievements of Felix Mendelssohn, surely one of the finest was that he conducted a performance of the St Matthew Passion in Berlin in 1829, thus rescuing the oratorios from oblivion and bringing them back to us forever. As Holy Week approaches, northern Europe is ablaze with Bach Passions: go to Holland or Germany and in every town you’ll see a poster about an upcoming performance. It’s the same in almost every British cathedral and…

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