Innholdsfortegnelse for 08-May-2019 i Country Life

GLORIOUS May is a great time to be in the countryside, especially if the weathermen’s prediction about the Spanish plume is correct. It’s right that it’s shared with as many people as possible: Nature promotes wellbeing, exposure to it involves exercise, which is good for health, and the money from visiting helps the rural economy. There’s a lot to like. This is recognised by national figures such as Bill Bryson and Caroline Quentin, who have written to Defra Secretary Michael Gove to suggest that every child should, at some point in their school career, visit a national park. This aim seems doubly important when the Ordnance Survey is having to revise the time it allocates to walks, seemingly because we’re not as energetic or as purposeful as previous generations. It…

Start spreading the news Q My wife and I were lucky enough to adopt our darling daughter as a baby and always said that we would tell her this when the time was right. She’s now old enough to understand the concept, but we’re having doubts about rocking her childhood in this way. Might it be better to wait until she’s an adult? L. H., Lincolnshire A You lovely, lovely people. You’ve done it irreproachably, but chances are that, as adoptive parents, you are a tad older. You also live in sleepy Lincolnshire. You may therefore be less aware that, in the throbbing cities, parenthood has, in the space of one generation, assumed a bewildering variety: half-, step-, birth-, surrogate-, foster-, gay, blended, trans, in vitro. Today’s children, assiduously…

Email: countrylife_letters@ti-media.com Post: Letters to the Editor, COUNTRY LIFE Editorial, Pinehurst II, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Hampshire GU14 7BF (with a daytime telephone number, please) TI Media Limited reserves the right to edit and to reuse in any format or medium submissions to the letters page of COUNTRY LIFE N.B. If you wish to contact us about your subscription, including regarding changes of address, please ring Magazines Direct on 0330 333 4555…

Polly Devlin is a writer and broadcaster. Her new book, Writing Home: Selected Essays, is published on May 30 ‘Something happens when you look at a painting by the heroic American artist Alice Neel, now recognised as one of the great portrait painters of the 20th century, but neglected for years by the predominantly male New York artistic establishment when abstract painting was in the ascendant. What happens is shock, but satisfaction, familiarity, yet strangeness, affection and cruelty, humour and morality, oddity and sanctity, tenderness and ruthlessness, but, above all, truth. She delivers, in her accurate representation of what she sees, an account of the human condition. She would not call it vision, but it is visionary. These two touching creatures, the spookily identical De Vegh twins, were her neighbours’…

• Carr’s Table Waters are derived from the original ships’ biscuits. Freshness was guaranteed by reducing the fat content and replacing it with water, which forms 30% of the ingredients • Carr’s of Carlisle, now owned by Pladis, is the oldest biscuit factory in the world and was the first factory to mass-produce biscuits • 80,000 tonnes of biscuits are baked in Carlisle each year • The traditional red-brick ovens where Carr’s Table Waters are cooked are 170ft long—they are the longest of their kind in the world • The terrible Cumbrian and Carlisle floods of 2005 and 2015 both had a devastating effect on the factory, which was forced to stop producing biscuits for several weeks. Staff worked hard to repair the damage and the company was back to…

• First noted by Russian plant geneticist Nikolai Vavilov in the mid 20th century, wild plants may develop seeds to imitate those of the cultivated crop they infiltrate. Gold-ofpleasure or false flax appears in flax crops and rye. Oats were cereal intruders before being accepted for cultivation in their own right • Female fireflies imitate the mating signals of another species to attract males, which are eaten • The chameleon vine adapts the colour and shape of its leaves to simulate those of its host plant and thus avoid herbivores • Some fungi mimic the odour of rotting carrion to attract flies that will disseminate their spores. A notable example, the stinkhorn, is so phallic that Charles Darwin’s ultra-Victorian daughter Etty collected and burned all she found on the family…

Given that I began my working life as a specialist in English drawings and watercolours, it is natural that I am always attracted (avoiding the obvious pun) to early colour boxes. One of the spurs to the craze for amateur and professional watercolour painting during the Regency period was the invention of ‘Superfine Water Colours in Cakes’, which won William and Thomas Reeves a great silver palette from the Society of Arts in 1781. These cheap, good-quality materials were made even more practical by the invention of special compartmented wooden boxes soon afterwards. In the 1830s, Winsor & Newton introduced more moist colours in individual pans, but the boxes reigned in drawing rooms and were carried by travellers across the world until 1853, when they were superseded by Rogers’ shilling…

WASPS are in bad repute not only owing to the damage which they cause to our fruit, but also because they kill hive bees, because of their stinging propensities, and because they do not store up honey after the manner of the honey-bee. We are always quick to see the bad in animals and often very slow to realise their good points, and especially is this so in the case of the wasp. Like myself, many may be prejudiced because of the result of previous encounters. Their harmfulness is very obvious, but few are in a position to say that when present in relatively small numbers the damage done by them is not more than counterbalanced by the less obvious good which they confer by the destruction of flies, caterpillars,…

Cow parsley by any other name I AN MORTON is rightly hesitant in considering cowslips the only species named after fertiliser (‘Of tittypines and tisty-tosty’, April 24). In many counties, cow parsley is known as keck, which I understand derives from a Celtic word for excrement. Whether this has any connection with the modern urban use of kecks for male underpants, I cannot say. Graham Beaumont, by email Buy the book I WOULD like to say thank you for introducing me to the wonderful writings of John Lewis-Stempel. I enjoy his pieces in your magazine so much that I decided to buy his books. I’ve read The Running Hare, Where Poppies Blow and Meadowland and am currently on The Wild Life. I’m so looking forward to his other publications, but…

AS an avid follower of the Turf since early teenage, it’s a poignant moment when, shortly after arriving at Clarehaven racing stables, I watch John Gosden and Frankie Dettori standing for a few moments on the lawn beside a bronze statue of Golden Horn. What a trio: Mr Gosden, the towering master trainer with the rock-hewn profile that could have graced a John Ford Western; his jockey, the dapper, tanned Italian, looking as if he’d flown in from Monte Carlo; and Golden Horn, the brilliant colt whose Derby victory in 2015 cemented the pair’s successful racetrack reunion after a break of many years. For most trainers, that year with the Sir Philip Oppenheimer-owned and bred Golden Horn, a colt that went on to win the Eclipse Stakes and the Arc…

IT wasn’t long after getting our now three-year-old miniature dachshund, Henry, that he tracked a muntjac in nearby woodland. We were on a family walk, children and an elderly Jack Russell in tow, when he suddenly darted forward, nose to the ground, tail thrashing wildly. He wasn’t fast enough to get very close and the enthusiastic barking would have easily alerted most of the deer in the county, but his exuberance and sheer pluck were a real eye-opener. Not least to my husband, Finlay, who, up until that moment, had been distinctly lukewarm about Henry’s arrival, preferring dogs with a little bit more leg. However, watching him weave his tiny body through the undergrowth in pursuit of an animal at least 20 times his size was a revelation. ‘Henry’s not…

IT’S that time of year again—Royal Ascot in June marks the start of a jam-packed social diary—and whether you have a heap of invitations piling up or just one or two weddings on your agenda this summer, it’s still a daunting task trying to decide what to wear. Lalage Beaumont on Beauchamp Place, London SW3, is a treasure trove for occasion-wear, stocking a mix of gorgeous dresses and stylish separates. There’s something perfect for every occasion, however proper, and that’s no mean feat. The creative director behind the brand, Lalage Beaumont launched her eponymous label in 2004, following design stints at both Aquascutum and Mulberry. This fuelled her passion and talent for creating luxurious eventwear and a no-frills approach to design: ‘You want to feel special, but never self-conscious.’ With…

Glyndebourne Festival May 18–Aug 25 Elizabeth coat, £1,250, Favourbrook (020–3911 9318; www.favourbrook.com); headbands, £150 each, Camilla Rose Millinery (07788 413639; www.camillarose.co.uk); bangle, £26,800, Susannah Lovis (020–7493 2008; www.susannahlovis.com); Piccadilly stripe hamper, £275, Fortnum & Mason (020–7734 8040; www.fortnumandmason.com); sparkling wine, £36.99, Nyetimber (020–7734 8490; www.nyetimber. com); fan, £14.99, Historic Royal Palaces (020–3166 6848; www.historicroyalpalaces.com); Les Beiges powder, £42, and tint, £48, Chanel (020–7318 3606; www.chanel.com); lipstick, £24.50, Bobbi Brown (0808 281 0232; www.bobbibrown.co.uk); binoculars, £150, Henry Gregory (020–7792 9221; www.henrygregoryantiques.com); rug, £70, Fortnum & Mason (as before); necklace, £39,500, Susannah Lovis (as before); shoes, £695, Emmy London (020–7704 0012; www.emmylondon.com); eau de parfum, £200, Creed (020–3475 1572; www.creedfragrances.co.uk) Hay Festival May 23–June 2 Navy-and-brown Nehru waistcoat, £195, Sir Plus (020–7127 4213; www.sirplus.co.uk); gold retro pocket square, £65, Turnbull & Asser…

LILY of the valley has been cultivated for centuries, grown initially in herbal and medicinal gardens, its spent flowerheads, when ‘distilled with wine and drunke in quantitie of a spoonful’, able to ‘restore speech unto those who have the dumb palsey and are good against gout, and comfort the heart’, according to notes in Gerard’s Herball of 1597. In contrast, the red seed-containing berries, produced in September, are regarded as highly poisonous if ingested. However, lily of the valley, known as muguet by the French, had already long been cultivated for its fragrant blooms. It’s said that, on May 1, 1561, France’s Charles IX was given lily-of-the-valley flowers for good fortune. He was so appropriately charmed that, on each subsequent year, he gave small perfumed sprigs to the ladies of…

Harden off summer plantings If you transfer summer plantings from the glasshouse to the outdoors, they will soon look miserable. Far better to accustom them gradually. Reduce the temperature and increase ventilation, then transfer the plants to a cold frame. Prop the lights open during the day and shut them at night. Increase the exposure each week until the lights can be removed, but watch for frost. If this threatens, shut the lights and cover them with matting or you’ll lose the lot. After three weeks, all will be well…

I LIKE to arrive in London with all the facts, so I often read a paper on the train. I was happy to turn from stabbing updates to the news that cattle will be brought back to graze on Hampstead Heath for the first time in a century. Constable painted them there, under cloudy skies, with London in the distance. It only remains to decide on a suitable breed, one that won’t bridle at frisbees or the colour red and takes dogs and joggers in its stride. A small part-time herd, carefully enclosed, will start the business, but there are hopes eventually to have large parts of the heath naturally grazed. I’ve seen a photo from the 1930s of sheep being driven down Piccadilly and on to Green Park to…

Ancient moorland After the summer temperatures of Easter weekend, firefighters spent days quelling wildfires on West Yorkshire’s Ilkley Moor. There are calls for a ban on disposable barbecues Unwelcome Parliamentarians The rodent infestation at the crumbling Palace of Westminster is getting worse. ‘Wherever I go, I see mice,’ says Sir Lindsay Hoyle —they scuttle across carpets, desks and the feet of MPs Horses for courses The National Trust has come under fire for cancelling the three-day horse trials at Belton House, Lincolnshire, which has been taking place for 40 years, because of damage to the parkland…

There have been rather too many political surprises (at least for your correspondent’s taste) in the past two or three years, but vinous surprises are another matter. One can surely never have enough of them. When a respected and storied country wine merchant sets out to tickle your tastebuds with the unexpected, the results are almost certain to be pleasurable. Why you should be sampling them We all tend to get stuck in ruts. I was brought up on red Bordeaux and white Burgundy and still love them, but those staples of town and country taste only represent a fraction of what the wine world has to offer. There is clearly also life beyond Prosecco, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc, so hats off to Tanners of Shrewsbury for unearthing…

The company’s best friend I SO enjoyed reading your article ‘On paw patrol’ (April 17). I found this page in the album of my late father (Lt Cdr J. E. E. D. Haward, OBE DSC), dated 1947–48. Daddy and all the ship’s company loved Judy. I don’t think she had a rank, but was definitely considered one of the company and she was one of the few things I was told of life in the Navy before he met my mother. Sue Helme, Herefordshire The writer of the letter of the week will win a bottle of Pol Roger Brut Réserve Champagne…

THE announcement by the University of Cambridge last week that it’s to initiate ‘an in-depth academic study into ways in which it contributed to, benefited from or challenged the Atlantic slave trade and other forms of coerced labour during the colonial era’ has attracted a lot of publicity. Sensitive subjects benefit from investigation and slavery is no exception. In this sense, the instinct to do the research is surely the right one. Indeed, at this moment in time, when slavery abounds in so many different forms, perhaps it’s a good moment to be reminded —through history—of how it can co-exist with civility. Athena’s worry is not, however, what the project will discover (which will all be grist for the mill of informed debate), it’s what the university will do with…

THE London cousins came to stay last week and, along with a fridge full of exotic fruit, left us newspapers we rarely read. In the letters pages of one, a chap from Devizes was bemoaning the sale of Boris Johnson’s water cannons, feeling that they could have usefully been used on the protesters from Extinction Rebellion. I defend the right for such letters to be written from Devizes, but otherwise disagree. Back in the capital, I found the rebel soldiers polite and apologetic about the inconvenience caused. Oxford Street was bathed in an uncharacteristically relaxed atmosphere, making it the perfect time to go shopping. Its air quality was much improved, too, if, in this post-truth world, we believe the scientists of King’s College. ‘If we’re to reunite a divided…

• A dachshund was the first official Olympic mascot at the Munich games in 1972 • Toto in The Wizard of Oz was originally played by a dachshund, but it was later deemed to be too Germanic and was replaced by a cairn terrier • Dachshunds can live well into their late teens, with the oldest one reported to be 25 years old • In Germany, dachshunds are known as Dackels or Teckels • The smooth-haired miniature is the most popular variety in Britain, followed by the long-haired miniature and, finally, the wire-haired, with both standard and miniature kinds attracting an equal amount of interest…

Tessa Waugh discovers the secret of their success AS a vehicle for cheese, Carr’s Table Water biscuits are hard to beat: crisp, delicately flavoured and with a satisfying ‘snap’ when they break. They’ve been manufactured in Carlisle since 1831 and the red-brick factory where it all began—which is now part of a much larger biscuit-making operation —is the town’s second biggest employer, with more than 600 staff. You can smell biscuits as soon as you enter the car park. It’s a sweet, citrussy aroma that could well be thanks to the six million custard creams produced here each day, together with other classics, such as chocolate bourbons and ginger nuts. Mark Greenwell oversees production of the Carr’s Table Waters, which are exported all over the world. Currently in his 34th…

The common name lily of the valley visually plants this spring-flowering species firmly in sloping terrain in verdant countryside, perhaps under a deciduous tree canopy, with a stream running nearby. Certainly, it does well and will naturalise in such places, crowding banks in the dappled shade in both leaf-littered countryside and woodland gardens. However, the flower is refreshingly adaptable, if not slightly fickle, proving to be notoriously difficult to establish where you actually want it to colonise. Mr Ellis has witnessed self-sowings ‘at the foot of a dry privet hedge or even running from comfortable compost beds, emerging between seemingly hostile cracks in paving stones’. Vita Sackville-West also acknowledged their ‘queer habits; I tried to grow them under trees, which is their natural condition, but they seem to prefer coming…