Innholdsfortegnelse for 22-Aug-18 i Country Life

THE Queen would not think of spending summer anywhere else and no wonder. Scotland, that cornucopia of a nation, has heaped the British plate with an abundance of treasures, from seafood to Harris tweed. Here are just a few of its greatest pleasures. 1 Otters bobbing in sea lochs Unspoilt habitat and peace also means forests populated by red squirrels, plus golden eagles, capercaillie and the shy mountain hare. 2 Good reads Jim Hawkins, Peter Pan, Miss Jean Brodie, Rob Roy, Richard Hannay, plus Alexander McCall Smith’s Bertie Pollock and Ian Rankin’s Rebus—some of the most memorable characters were invented by Scottish writers. 3 Annie Lennox Her soulful voice and plangent songs are matched by an unmistakable personal style and thoughtful philanthropy: this is how to be a modern diva.…

Puppy love Q We have a new puppy and my wife seems to think it’s some sort of surrogate baby now the children have left home. Not only does she speak to it in a ridiculous manner, she cradles it in public and I’m fairly sure I caught her eyeing up prams online. How can I put a stop to this? D. D., Rutland A Please forgive a sweepingly sexist generalisation, but the children have left home. It’s easier for blokes. For us, it’s a relief, in some ways, to say goodbye to the school fees, the grovelling for internships and the relinquishment of our position within the domestic pecking order. For mothers, for whom the quotidian emotional currency is more intimate, this is a moment of wretched loss.…

IN your terrific piece on the sleeping habits of the great and the good (‘Pillow talk’, August 8), you mention that Dalí (right) would take a nap with a key in his hand, so that when he fell asleep, the sound of the key hitting the floor would wake him. This is true, but the reason as to why is far more fascinating than a simple aversion to the siesta. Dalí (among others) was attempting to have a ‘hypnagogic nap’—the hallucinatory state that lies between consciousness and sleep itself. By waking himself up before he lost consciousness, he would be able to remember his visions from the hypnagogic state, which he would use as inspiration for his works of Surrealism. Alexander Windett, London The writer of the letter of…

MANCHESTER is in the process of rapid redevelopment. At some level, this is a symptom of healthy economic success and vigour, which Athena welcomes. The present fashion for high-rise building, however, has seen a skyline—already pierced by some unfortunate additions from the 1960s—falling prey to a new generation of towers. Some are commercial, many are residential, but almost all are of an indifferent architectural quality. For those who enjoy the city from afar, these seem to grow up overnight, rising in random locations like tall weeds in a slightly unloved municipal flowerbed. The moment has come, however, where action is necessary to preserve what remains of the existing qualities of the historic city centre from a particularly predatory development. Even the Manchester City Council of the 1960s, iconoclast of so…

HOW lucky we are to live in one of the periodic golden ages of botanical illustration, as anyone who’s been to Kew in recent years will know. That special skill of combining meticulous accuracy with artistic presentation has been achieved in many forms by many artists over the centuries. British artists have always been among those in the front rank. One of the most admired botanical artists of the 20th century was Cicely Mary Barker, whose work is presently on show in a special exhibition at the Garden Museum in London SE1. Some people will object that she was really an author of children’s books, but there’s nothing to object to. Barker wrote almost all her books for children to enjoy and most of them are full of botanical…

Eggs and soldiers Poultry farmers say the dry weather has caused a 50% increase in feed costs; 17 producers went out of business last month and the British Free Range Egg Producers Association wants an immediate egg price rise Still waters The Met Police reports a surge in theft of high-value fish such as koi and ghost carp across the UK; some think the fish should be microchipped Wild Cornwall Poldark fans are flocking to Kynance Cove and Porthcurno, where the BBC series is filmed; they’ve been asked to retreat for fear of overcrowding…

SHOOTERS should gain a better understanding and appreciation of the countryside: that is the message from the GWCT’s new chairman, Sir Jim Paice, former Conservative MP and Defra minister and a farmer and shooting man who has succeeded Ian Coghill in heading up the wildlife-research charity (My Favourite Painting, July 25). ‘The work of the GWCT is vital to the interests of hundreds of thousands of sportsmen, farmers and conservationists, yet barely 20,000 are our members,’ he notes. ‘I would like to see all these people join us, but let’s start with the shooting community.... people who shoot should appreciate all that goes into it and the countryside where it happens. If all our members insisted that anyone who shoots on their land joined the GWCT, it would get us…

I’M not alone in having a wasps’ nest this year. In fact, my sole example is rather scoffed at by the regulars in the pub down the hill, who all seem to be in some sort of competition as to who has or has had the most. What is not argued is that there are more wasps’ nests than any can remember. A retired river keeper I know has had four in his house this summer and, terrifyingly for him, he is allergic to their stings. Bee and wasp venoms are different, each containing distinct major allergens, so they affect us in different ways. Few people are allergic to both, but it’s estimated that, sadly, four to five people are killed by being stung in Britain each year. I share…

GATHERING blackberries has this year assumed an unwontedly serious aspect. Before the war it was one of those sauntering, sunshiny day occupations that could scarcely be pursued without a touch of the holiday spirit. Children especially looked forward to the blackberry season with joy. As a rule they stuffed themselves well with the fruit, but war has put an end to this joy as to many others. No longer can the child go forth in irresponsible frivolity. He is to be paid by Government so much per pound and his parents will look to it that he makes the uttermost farthing possible. War has made of children grave little men and women before their time.…

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Victoria Crowe: A Certain Light is at The Scottish Gallery, 16, Dundas Street until September 1 (0131–558 1200; www.scottish-gallery.co.uk) Meditations on landscape and Venice, serene paintings of twilight and evening and luminous still-life interiors: Victoria Crowe’s recent works continue to reflect on the variability of light and depict ‘natural forms and natural phenomena at their most intense and mysterious’. The artist plays with images of trees by night or in a winter landscape and with the idea of flowers in time (right: Late Evening, July). Beyond Likeness, an exhibition of her portraits of leading figures in astronomy, physics, music and philosophy, is at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 1, Queen Street, until November 18 (0131–624 6200; www.nationalgalleries.org) Radicals, Pioneers and Rebels at The Fine Art Society, 16, Dundas Street until…

Why is bespoke important? About 60% of the work I do involves commissioning bespoke items, with the result that I’m passionate about it. Much of the attraction is to re-create designs based on old documents and samples and, occasionally, on my own designs. There’s something wonderful about finding companies that are hand-weaving and hand-painting using traditional methods that go back hundreds of years. What are the attractions? For Americans in particular—for whom we do a lot of our work—it’s important. Even when the aim isn’t to restore a house with historically correct details (as it was at Ballyfin), commissioning bespoke items appeals to those who don’t want to have recognisable fabrics, wall coverings or furniture in their houses. Having something specially made is the only way to guarantee that. There’s…

Melrose, Scottish Borders Well placed for the best local schools, this Borders town has appealing family houses that are always in demand. It’s an easy drive (about an hour) into Edinburgh and handy for the train from Tweedbank station. The Old Abbey School—a substantial early-Victorian town house with flexible accommodation, including four bedrooms and three reception rooms, just moments from the town centre—is on with Knight Frank at offers over £475,000 (0131–291 0076) Helensburgh, Argyll Located along the north shore of the Firth of Clyde, Glasgow and Edinburgh are both commutable from this charming waterside spot, which has gone from oversupply to undersupply in only six months. Aros—an imposing B-listed Arts-and-Crafts villa by William Leiper with far- reaching views over Gare Loch, located in the neighbouring village of Rhu, is…

It is true that we should make hay when the sun shines and all the more so with regard to the harvesting of onions. Wait until the necks have fallen of their own accord (don’t encourage them to do so), then pull the plants up and leave them on the ground for a while, so that the roots begin to dry off. Run your hand over each one to rub off most of the soil and remove the plants to a place such as a greenhouse and spread them out, preferably suspended on a mesh to dry some more. SCD…

ONE of the most influential, but least known, European decorative developments is the auricular style, so called because its whorls and swirls resemble a human ear or, not coincidentally, the ear-bone of the whale. It emerged from the graphic designs of late Mannerist artists and first appeared in print in the 1598 edition of a German ornament book by Wendel Dietterlin. Although later used on picture frames and furniture, its most important manifestation was the work of the silversmithing van Vianen brothers. The high reputations of Adam (1568–1627) and Paulus (1570–1613) are in part due to the fact that they were among the first to sign their work, but more to its extraordinary quality. Adam seems to have remained in their native Utrecht, but Paulus travelled in France, Italy and…

THE ‘test of time’ is often cited as the only sure way to judge art. Is Damien Hirst any good? Ask again in 100 years. However, even after several centuries, time’s verdict isn’t necessarily definitive. Some artists go in and out of fashion. Correggio was hugely admired by the Victorians 400 years after he died; not so much today. Vermeer, now a superstar, was almost entirely forgotten until the 19th century. Others never lose a reputation for greatness, but are valued in different places, at different times and for different reasons. Rembrandt is a prime example. Now, at the Scottish National Gallery, we have a fascinating chance to explore in detail how time has tested his art in Britain, where, historically, more of his work has been collected than in…

GOOD news for connoisseurs of the ‘water of life’ who have deep pockets: Bonhams’s Whisky Sale in Edinburgh on October 3 features an extremely rare Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 60 year old, which is estimated at £700,000–£900,000. It was bottled in 1986 and Macallan commissioned Pop Artists Valerio Adami and Peter Blake to design labels for a limited edition of 24 bottles. One of this batch sold at Bonhams Hong Kong in May for a record price of HK$8,636,250 (£814,081). ‘It’s been described as the Holy Grail of whisky,’ comments Bonhams’ Edinburgh whisky specialist Martin Green. ‘Its exceptional rarity and quality put it in a league of its own and the world’s most serious collectors will wait patiently for many years for a bottle to come onto the market.’ (Interview…

ALMOST a century after the Armistice, Imperial War Museums will publish the first book about the commemorative artwork Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red. First exhibited at the Tower of London, it comprised 888,246 red ceramic poppies, each representing one British or colonial serviceman killed in the First World War. Individual poppy sales have raised £9.5 million for six military charities. Created by artist Paul Cummins and stage designer Tom Piper, it’s composed of two sculptures, Weeping Window and Wave. The book, Poppies: Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, charts their respective journeys, from historical sites to memorials and museums, and has a foreword by The Duke of Cambridge. The sculptures’ four-year tour will conclude at the Imperial War Museums in Manchester (September 8–November 25) and London (October…

ONE of the secrets to COUNTRY LIFE’s success is that it defies being stereotyped. I once found a stash of issues in a remote chalet in the Ecuadorian Andes and I’ve watched outpatients in the phlebotomy wing of a large central-London hospital leafing through back numbers as they wait to give blood. Yet, in my own doctor and dentist’s waiting rooms, it’s the one magazine I never see. North London is not the natural preserve of COUNTRY LIFE —or so I thought until a friend who lives in Camden revealed an unexpected fan base. Every week, the chairwoman of the Fitzroy Park Allotments committee collects the previous week’s issue from Highgate Library and delivers it to the lifeguards at the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond on Hampstead Heath. Once they’ve devoured it…

I’ve long been a fan of Albariño, the grape variety grown in north-west Spain and neighbouring parts of Portugal that produces dry white wine that’s simultaneously floral, fresh-fruity and satisfyingly full-bodied. That’s a winning combination, but I’ve had the feeling in the past few years that too many Albariño producers have cashed in on the popularity of the style and flooded the market with bland and characterless travesties. Why you should be drinking it After a period of abstinence (from this particular grape), I’ve been coming back to Albariño—partly inspired by a presentation at the London Wine Fair (LWF)—and finding satisfying examples, some offering a mineral firmness to go with the linden aromas and peachy fruit. Late summer seems a particularly good time to be sampling them. What…

All hail the emperor A FAMILY reunion pulled us back to England from the USA, where we have lived for the past 50 years. This coincided with Sir David Attenborough’s interview regarding the butterfly count and your beautiful article (August 1). Some 60 years ago, I had a fine collection of British butterflies, but one consistently eluded me—the purple emperor. My godfather, the naturalist Denys Watkins-Pitchford, enthralled me with stories of how he pinned ripe rabbit skins to oak trees in sunlit glades and waited for the arrival of ‘The Emperor’. Imagine my amazement this July when I spotted a large dark butterfly on old man’s beard. There was the distinctive, small coloured roundel—the purple emperor at last. Stephen Day, Washington DC, USA The power of beauty PIPPA CUCKSON’S…

THERE’S no better loved authority on the amber nectar than Master of the Quaich, author, whisky consultant, noser and taster extraordinaire Charles MacLean. In many ways, this Conan Doyle-like figure personifies uisge beatha (water of life in Gaelic). Clubbable, entertaining, with a mellifluous lilt, he’s a familiar bon viveur in Edinburgh circles, but also famous as far as Beijing, where the first of 12 Charles’ Whisky Bars opened last year, with his trademark moustache and monocle on its logo. He’s steeped in his Hebridean heritage, too, and can trace his forebears back into the mists of time, rolling a litany of Gaelic patronymics over his tongue like a draught of mature malt. A flat in the New Town, with Georgian windows drinking in sunlight over a cobbled street, is a…

WHEN Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, one of the shining lights of the early Scottish Enlightenment, was furnishing his family’s lodgings in Edinburgh in the 1720s, he turned to his immediate neighbour, the cabinetmaker and builder George Riddell, who lived in the same close off the Royal Mile now known as Riddle’s Court. The inhabitants of Edinburgh dwelt cheek by jowl, mostly in what we would recognise today as flats accessed off shared (‘common’) stairs, with the classes often literally separated hierarchically from bottom to top, rather than occupying different areas of the city. Space was at a premium and this intimacy extended to the interior of the lodging. There would have been no room for Lady Clerk to have her own closet or private room and Riddell seems to…

More ways with sweetcorn Sweetcorn, courgette and jalapeño oven-baked fritters Cut the kernels from a corn on the cob and add them to a bowl with a grated courgette, a handful of grated Cheddar, 3tbspn of plain flour, a tablespoon each of chopped chives and parsley, 1 beaten egg and about 10 chopped rings of jalapeño pepper from a jar. Mix together well. Brush olive oil over the holes of a muffin tin and divide the mixture between 6 holes. Bake in a hot oven for about 15–18 minutes, until golden. Serve on their own as a snack or starter or as a side dish. Easy corn chowder (serves 2) Fry a chopped onion in a little butter and cook until translucent, but not browned. Add 2 medium-sized, peeled…

Joint selling agents Knight Frank (01578 722814) and Bidwells (01738 630666) are seeking ‘offers over £1.795 million’ for the secluded, 1,583-acre Blackhouse estate in the Tweedsmuir Hills to the north of the Ettrick Valley, 15 miles from Selkirk, which is being sold as a whole. The property was acquired by the current owner’s father as bare land with a derelict croft house nearly 30 years ago. Apart from the upper reaches of the open heather hill, most of the land was planted with a mix of conifers in the 1980s, comprising some 796 acres of forestry in all. Over time, the croft house has been restored and substantially extended to create the present comfortable, eco-friendly lodge, which has two reception rooms, five bedrooms, four bath/ shower rooms, a kitchen/breakfast room,…

The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT, aka Scottish Stamp Duty) bands are different to England; buyers in Scotland pay more. For example, the bill for a £600,000 house comes to £33,350 (as opposed to £20,000 in England). ‘The LBTT did not go down well at first [in 2015],’ according to Andrew Perratt, head of residential for Scotland at Savills, ‘but when you take into account the price differential between Scotland and the South-East, buyers are still getting a lot more for their money. Flexible working arrangements allow many more people to live in an idyllic place with a great quality of life and keep the London salary—it’s the best of both worlds.’…

Sir William Bruce’s neo-Classical masterpiece was the first Palladian house in Scotland. Politician and gentleman architect Bruce—who was known as the Kit (as in Sir Christopher Wren) of the North—drew up his original plan for the gardens in 1675, nine years before the first stone of the house was laid, making this the first designed landscape in Scottish architectural history. Sir Basil Montgomery restored the garden in Edwardian style in 1902 and the landscape architect Alistair Baldwin set out a masterplan for the current owner in 2011, based on Bruce’s original ideas and using contemporary planting.…

‘I’ in 18th-century signatures often stood for ‘J’, so perhaps the ‘I Miller’ who painted a 55in by 41in portrait of the circumnavigator Admiral Anson in about 1750 was either the father or brother of the James Miller who was discussed here on August 8, as both were called John. As well as his telescope and chart of Cape Horn, Anson had a breadfruit, brought back from the Pacific. I wonder whether the face had been repainted or was this Miller a little rustic? It made £9,300 against an estimated £800 at Chorley’s near Cirencester.…

I LOST the urge to live in London as soon as I realised I’d never be rich. More fool me, of course; we’d be a lot richer if we’d hung on to that tiny terraced cottage in Bethnal Green. At the bottom of the street was a corrugated-iron shack with a horse in it, which never came out, and, once, a man lost his temper and ranged the pavement shouting and banging on doors, swearing that he’d worked for the effin’ Krays. We didn’t move out of London —it sort of moved away from us. We found ourselves a house in the country, at £30 a week, and, one day, we woke up to discover that we hadn’t been back to the East End for weeks. I was working on…