Innholdsfortegnelse for 06-Nov-2019 i Country Life

The Cenotaph was created by Sir Edwin Lutyens—who also designed the original COUNTRY LIFE offices in Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, WC2 Originally built in wood and plaster for the Peace Day celebrations in July 1919, the structure proved so admired that a permanent replacement was unveiled, in Portland stone, in November 1920 The word Cenotaph comes from the Greek words kenos, or empty, and taphos, meaning tomb. There are no names inscribed on it An exact replica of Lutyens’s Cenotaph exists in London, Canada…

If you love food, there are few less auspicious combinations of words than ‘hotel restaurant’. Gridiron is a restaurant in a hotel—the Como Metropolitan on Old Park Lane, to be precise—but, praise be, it definitely isn’t a hotel restaurant. It actually used to be the Met Bar, Cool Britannia’s premier watering hole, but today, it’s a grill overseen by Richard H. Turner, one half of butchers Turner & George. There’s still a bar, but it’s the non-rowdy kind now: my friend and I park ourselves at it with glasses of sparkling Black Chalk from Hampshire as we study the menu. Meat, understandably, is the thing here, with a focus on cuts cooked over the eponymous gridiron. Word to the wise: don’t do what we did and fill up on crisp…

Bermondsey Antique Market, Bermondsey Square, SE1 Notable as a former ‘marché ouvert’ —a place that allowed the sale of stolen goods after dark Smithfield Market, Grand Avenue, EC1 The largest meat market in the UK Columbia Road Flower Market, Columbia Road, E2 Established by Angela Burdett-Coutts, a Victorian philanthropist, it’s a haven of independent stores and restaurants Borough Market, Southwark Street, SE1 Architecturally eclectic, there has been a market at Borough since the 13th century—these days, it’s a pilgrimage for foodie tourists Brick Lane Sunday Market, Brick Lane, E1 Established in the 1600s, and transformed by an influx of Bangladeshi people—today, it’s famed for unbeatable curries and rare vinyl…

AS Armistice Day nears, many people will remember the First World War through the poetry it produced. The canon of mostly anti-war poetry is now widely taught in schools, providing an emotionally powerful approach to the conflict. There’s another aspect, however, and that is the sheer volume that was produced. Anyone who sampled the battlefield letters and diaries held by the Imperial War Museum will have been struck by the number of ordinary soldiers who wrote verse. In 1916, the trench newspaper, The Wipers Times, warned against a ‘hurricane of poetry’. ‘Subalterns have been seen with a notebook in one hand, and bombs in the other, absently walking near the wire in deep communication with their muse.’ The verse was of varying standard; often, it did not subscribe to the…

WEEKS of seemingly unrelenting downpours have turned the countryside around our home on the Dorset/Somerset borders into a sea of sloppy mud. Brown rivulets of water trickle down the sides of the lanes, which swell to great lakes—that my VW Polo struggles to plough through—after a prolonged deluge. Nevertheless, the saturated ground has its advantages in that a great volume—and variety —of fungi is poking up through waterlogged grassland and the sodden woodland floor. A farming friend offered my husband Simon horse mushrooms (Agaricus arvensis) the size of dinner plates and unusual toadstools have emerged in the lawn. The most peculiar fungus we’ve come across, however, is a weird slime that appeared in the field behind our house. When I first saw it, I told Simon: ‘There’s something in the…

South African wine in the UK hasn’t enjoyed the kind of dramatic boom that occurred with Australian wine in the 1990s, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the 2000s or Argentinian Malbec in the 2010s. What’s been happening is a slower and steadier rise in reputation and prominence. There are probably a number of reasons for this—including a less streamlined industry with fewer really big players and wine styles that are subtler and less obvious than those of the Antipodes—but a quiet, steady rise can be just as good as a gold rush. Why you should be drinking them I’ve always felt that South African wines had more of an ‘old-world feel’ than those from California, Australia, Chile, Argentina or New Zealand. The virtues of restraint seemed more in evidence.…

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EVERY year brings a new crop of accounts of Second World War gallantry, including a growing number of remarkable escape stories. Among the latest are Sir Tommy Macpherson’s Behind Enemy Lines and The 21 Escapes of Lt Alastair Cram. Their interest, for me, is that the authors escaped from the very same prisoner-of-war camps as my father, Lt-Col Frank Simms. Soon after Mussolini fell in September 1943, there were 11,000 Allied prisoners on the run in Italy—3,000 of whom reached freedom. Many received medals for their escapes. My father had been captured behind enemy lines in Libya in January 1942, when serving with the Long Range Desert Group, forerunner of the SAS. Soon, he was interned in Campo 35, the Certosa di Padula south of Naples (not to be confused…

NO matter how many times you’ve done it, the denouement is always startling. Hot, comforting and defiantly naughty, a hot, crisp slice of bread bursting out of a pop-up toaster has an extraordinary capacity to deliver pleasure and surprise. Surprise because, although habit should deaden us to the accompanying noise, our bodies never quite seem to learn. When that analogue, spring-loaded clatter of toast leaps up, our first reaction is to jump. Our second, which arrives just as swiftly, is to start devouring potentially endless slabs of what is, regardless of our age, status or state of wellbeing, a humble, yet unimpeachable champion of comfort food. Toast is the great leveller, whether you’re an early riser, a nocturnal pub returnee, a bathrobe-clad sleepyhead, a freshly heartbroken shadow or an economically…

Lucky strike The Regal Silver matches canister, £10 from Dibor, has a striking patch on its side and holds about 50 long-stem matches, useful for safely lighting log fires and stoves (0800 408 0660; www.dibor.co.uk) Designer chic American designer Jeffrey Bilhuber says he was inspired by early-20th-century Cubism to create his new and distinctive fireplace collection for Chesneys. The bespoke Burkhardt is made from Classico limestone, price on application (020–7627 1410; www.chesneys.co.uk) Go gothic The Tudor Rose fireplace is handcarved in Burgundian limestone, featuring Gothic rosettes inspired by the traditional emblem. It is suitable for both open fires and log-burning stoves, and costs from £3,900, from After the Antique (01366 327210; www.aftertheantique. com) Classically inspired The Vanbrugh fireplace is inspired by the designs of Sir John Vanbrugh (1664–1726), the architect…

Parsnip-and-garlic soup with crispy sage and maple Place 750g of peeled parsnips in a saucepan with a chopped onion. Add a whole head of peeled garlic cloves, then pour over one litre of vegetable stock. Simmer until tender, drizzle in two tablespoons of maple syrup and then blend until smooth. Add a splash of olive oil to a small frying pan and fry a few sage leaves, for only a minute on each side. To serve, heat the soup through and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few crispy leaves. Chicken and parsnip with honey and mustard Arrange four skin-on and bone-in chicken breasts on a baking tray with four peeled and halved parsnips and season well, sprinkling over rosemary and thyme, then drizzle everything with olive…

Biology The Body: A Guide for Occupants Bill Bryson (Doubleday, £25) DID you know (as, curiously, a doctor of 35 years’ experience I spoke to recently did not) that the palms of our hands sweat not from heat or physical exertion, but only from stress, and that such ‘emotional’ sweating forms the basis of a lie-detector test? Or that the one certain cure for baldness is castration? If the name Bill Bryson doesn’t give it away, the subtitle of his new book is a sure clue that this is no Gray’s Anatomy—although that’s not to say it isn’t a mine of scholarly information and elliptical parallels. Who would think to equate the weight of our microbes with that of our brain—about 3lbs? Small wonder our microbiota are stealing column inches…

1. In what circumstance would you hold a door open for someone? a) If I had made eye contact and therefore felt obliged to b) Never—I had to open it myself, didn’t I? c) I always would, even for my worst enemy d) If they were particularly attractive 2. How do you approach timekeeping? a) I do attempt to be on time, even if unsuccessfully b) I make a point of being late to establish my dominance c) I factor in extra time and am usually early d) I don’t really think about it—I arrive when I arrive 3. What would you do upon meeting someone for the first time? a) Give them a nod and wait to be introduced b) First, attempt to establish whether they’re worth knowing c)…

COME on, admit it—we’re all guilty as hell and there’s no shame in coming clean. Some may call it cheating, but that’s a touch harsh. I’d call it pragmatic preparation, the art of passing off a ready meal (be it Lidl or Fortnum’s) as your own creation, carefully decanting the shop-bought lasagne or shepherd’s pie from plastic container to Emma Bridgewater dish, then stealthily hiding any incriminating packaging at the bottom of the bin. However, ready meals—even the very best —are no match for home-cooked succour. There’s nothing wrong with a little culinary sleight of hand, but a decent dinner need not involve a few hours’ hard toil. Now, don’t get me wrong—I adore cooking. Live for it. A few hours spent pounding Thai curry pastes, hand-chopping steak for tartare…

1. Blue paisley silk tie, £120, Emma Willis (020–7930 9980; www. emmawillis.com) 2. Green spotted tie, £140, Huntsman (020–7734 7441; www. huntsmansavilerow.com) 3. Flying pheasant silk tie, £110, Purdey (020–7499 1801; www.purdey.com) 4. Petrol-blue stretton self-tipped tie, £125, New & Lingwood (0800 083 5102; www. newandlingwood.com) 5.Claret and navy hopsack tie, £140, Huntsman ( as before ) 6. Green and navy descending paisley silk tie, £135, Turnbull & Asser (020–7808 3138; www. turnbullandasser.co.uk) 7. Navy-blue and white-spot knitted tie, £140, Huntsman ( as before )…

Rolex Day-Date 40 The movement inside might be a modern confection, but the complication behind it is anything but. In 1956, Rolex’s Day-Date became the first watch to show the day and date in full. Configure it any way you fancy (I would take it in white gold, with a black dial), but all are powered by Rolex’s highly accurate and ultra-reliable Calibre 3255. £28,850 (www. rolex.com) Chopard L.U.C XP The latest addition to Chopard’s achingly suave XP collection comes in 40mm of slimline stainless steel and set on a strap made of 100% British merino wool, with an alligator lining. The vertical satin-brushed blue dial, with its rose-gold gilded Arabic numerals, is perfection. £7,110 (www.chopard.com) Patek Philippe Annual Calendar Regulator Ref 5235/50R Centuries ago, clock-makers created regulator clocks with…

It’s a yes from me, says Rupert Uloth IN the beginning, there was Dunlop Green Flash. I remember wearing them at university, in the 1980s, when I wasn’t actually playing sport. They had the advantage of waterproof soles. Holes in leather shoes had been the leitmotif of undergraduates for centuries, but I thought my involvement in theatre at the time gave me an artistic excuse to break the mould—and also to have dry feet. I admit they were the same shoes I wore for my occasional foray onto the squash court and I would now deem this dual usage completely unacceptable on grounds of odour, hygiene and cruelty to flatmates. A recent survey found that trainers are the most popular style of shoe. Commissioned by shoe retailer Deichmann, it concluded…

Who’s the daddy? I’m part of a trio of best friends and one of us recently became a father for the first time. However, the older the baby gets, the more he looks like our other friend. I can’t be the only one who’s noticed—should I speak to either of them about it? Or let sleeping babies lie? S. H., London It’s absolutely nothing to do with you, chum—even if you are the only one who can say so. Britain toddled along perfectly happily with the fiction that Lady Diana Cooper’s father was the then Duke of Rutland, not the rampant Harry Cust (which made Lady Diana, allegedly and thrillingly, Margaret Thatcher’s aunt). The appropriately monikered Duke of Rutland himself turned a blind eye. We have much to learn from…

• Residents love the four major supermarkets, bakeries (including Gail’s and Ole & Steen), three proper ice-cream parlours (Amorino, Danieli and Venchi), specialist tea and coffee shop Rosie & Java, and an outpost of the exceptionally good The Teddington Cheese • Residents like rugby—Richmond is home to the UK’s second-oldest club and hosted the world’s first inter-club rugby fixture (in 1864). Today, the club, which recently made headlines for its progressive approach to gender, has more than 700 players ‘aged six to 66,’ says chairman Peter Moore • Residents could do without the commute. Richmond is served by a railway line, the Tube and London Overground, but the trains are often crowded and the District Line isn’t always reliable…

Here’s what’s happening this month IF you missed Bonfire Night, Light up the Night at Wembley Park, celebrating the best of Diwali and the anniversary of Guy Fawkes’s arrest, returns on November 10 (www.wembleypark. com/fireworks). Things are looking equally bright further south: the Carnaby Street Christmas lights–inspired by a collaboration with ocean-conservation charity Project Zero–will be turned on at 6pm, on November 7 (www.carnaby.co.uk). Chelsea’s festive illuminations will be shining from November 23 (www.inchelsea.co.uk). Opulent dining is all the rage this month-try the new white truffle toastie at 45 Jermyn Street (www.45jermynst.com) or fight over the truffle mashed potato at Bob Bob Cite, in the Leadenhall Building (www.bobbobcite. com). For a taste of how they do it across the pond, head to the Thanksgiving feast at CUT at 45 Park…

THIS week, I’ve been on single-parent duty. Among other things, this has required me to go trick-or-treating. Contrary to expectation, it was great fun. Preparations began with the satisfying discovery that, after years of trying, we had actually succeeded in growing a pumpkin for the occasion. It wasn’t very big, but it was ours. Then came the matter of costumes. One of the children determined to dress as the Grim Reaper and the other—initially—as Brexit. After discussion, this was deemed too controversial so, without any obvious physical change, the costume was re-characterised as that of an Aztec mummy. As darkness fell, houses along the street were dressed for the occasion. Then came hordes of small children. For a short time, the street sounded like a school playground, with friends and…

• Britannia was an ideal Royal honeymoon venue, due to its privacy and seclusion. It hosted four, including that of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960. • She was the only vessel in the Royal Navy with her own 24-hour laundry service. Up to 600 shirts could pass through the washers and dryers each day. • Her wheel came from Edward VII’s racing yacht, which was also named Britannia and remains the world’s most successful. • The officers enjoyed playing ‘wombat tennis’ in the wardroom with a soft wombat toy, gifted to them by one of The Queen’s ladies-in-waiting. It involved throwing it up at the ceiling fan and batting it from one side of the room to the other. • All the clocks on board are stopped at…

Susannah Lovis Susannah has been selling exceptional jewels from her shop in Burlington Arcade for more than 20 years. An expert in gemmology, diamond grading and also jewellery design, she is an authority in the field of fine jewellery and her shop is well known for its beautiful treasures and unparalleled customer service. Joanna Hardy Joanna is an expert in vintage jewellery with more than 30 years of experience. She trained as a goldsmith and then graded diamonds, before heading up the jewellery department of Sotheby’s. She now runs her jewellery school, gives masterclasses and lectures, appears on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow and has published three books.…

ACCORDING to Classical mythology, the wild pansy was once totally white. Then, one of Cupid’s arrows missed its intended female target and arched down to strike the little plant in the ground beyond, whereupon its upper petals turned purple and it was endowed with Cupid’s attributes of affection, desire and erotic love. This was far too good a tale for Shakespeare to ignore and, in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he treated his audiences both to a mythological reminder of a ‘little western flower, before milk-white, now purple with love’s wound, and maidens call it love-in-idleness’ and to its traditional identity and reputation as a love potion—‘juice of the heartsease on sleeping eyelids laid will make a man or woman dote upon the next live creature that it sees’. Heartsease was…

A newly planted tree is a considerable investment. A bit of work in the early years will pay dividends in the future. After a year, look it over. Remove any damaged shoots and cut away neatly any placed too low. If a stake has been used, check that the tie is just below its top. Undo the tie and slacken it as required, as all trees, like ourselves, thicken with age. Use a flat-topped nail to secure the tie, left a little proud so the exercise can be repeated next year. Weed carefully, attach a rabbit guard, and retire.…

THE Scylla and Charybdis of the Austrian Danube are a rock called the Strudl and a whirlpool called the Wirbl. Boats that escaped being dashed to pieces where the Strudl rose foaming from the current had to fight against the swirling Wirbl before being shot out into the calmer waters of the Wachau valley, famous for its vines and apricots. These days, the river is huge, but placid, tamed by locks and dynamite and flanked on one bank or another by a quiet, metalled lane, which persuaded my sister that cycling along the Danube would the best way to celebrate our father’s 85th birthday. She was right: it’s peaceful, reflective and, above all, slightly downhill all the way. The food is excellent, with a dash of flavours that have come…

THE highest tier of fame is all a question of entourage. Entering the top floor of Sting and Trudie Styler’s flat in London’s Battersea, I become swiftly acquainted with a private chef, a couple of PAs and a tense hush that I fear might have to do with a difficult personality. Eventually, having watched the power couple’s Michelin-star-style dinner prepared in monastic silence, I am shown through to a living room about the size of an Olympic swimming pool. It turns out the pair have merely been on the radio. As I walk in, Sting breaks off from boyishly hugging his own raised knee to pour me a glass of Sister Moon—the celebrated wine from his own range. ‘Here you are, sir,’ he says, pouring it like a sommelier. Trudie…

Do you think it’s inevitable that you’re going to lie in the course of an average day? ‘It’s not inevitable—it’s a possibility. I love the mantra “always tell the truth, because then you don’t have to remember anything”. I lie every time I get a cold call about a “recent road accident” I’ve had. I make up a story about a fictitious accident, then let them know it’s about as much rubbish as their business model.’ Do you think men lie more than women, on the whole? ‘I think men prefer a quiet life. It’s like they’re telling the truth about the future reality: “Sure, I’ve done that” (I’d better remember to do it tomorrow before she checks).’ What’s the worst trouble you’ve ever been in due to telling a…

Mostly a) Your instincts are fairly sound and there’s still hope, but you’re too lazy to be considered a gentleman. Try to put the needs of others before your own Mostly b) You seem quite innately selfish and unlikely ever to become a gentleman without a serious rethink about the way you approach the world Mostly c) Bravo, you! Either you were born a gentleman or your parents deserve a medal for instilling in you such impeccable manners. Go forth and spread the word to your friends Mostly d) You aren’t exactly a bad man, but you’re definitely too thoughtless to qualify as a gentleman. Never forget—do unto others as you would have them do unto you…

A QUICK note before embarking on the invidious task of selecting only three jackets for life. Correctly, a jacket is not a jacket, but a coat, hence the preposition component of the word overcoat. Usually, this distinction is illustrated by retelling the story—perhaps apocryphal—of a young man beginning his first day at a venerable bank in the Square Mile and asking if he might remove his jacket. ‘Jacket?’ came back the thundering reply from a patrician financier. ‘Potatoes wear jackets. Gentlemen wear coats.’ Given the financial turmoil of the past decade or so, bankers probably have more on their minds than correct sartorial nomenclature and, given that formality, like so many things, isn’t what it used to be, I think it’s safe to call a coat a jacket. The blazer…

• Daylesford Organic Chicken Broth with Ginger & Vegetables (500ml), £4.99 I’m never without this soup in the freezer—great on its own, even better with a dash of fish sauce, some lime juice and chillies • COOK Lasagne Al Forno (365g), £4.50 Classic, rich and beefy lasagne from this ever-reliable, upmarket ready-meal shop • Brindisa Gazpacho (1l), £4.95 Packed with the sweetness of Spanish tomatoes, all you need do is add chopped onion, croutons, a hard-boiled egg and spring onions • The Grocer on Elgin Spiced Puy Lentils (400g), £4.35 I crave these Indian scented lentils • Charlie Bigham’s 2 Chicken & Mushroom Pies (600g), £8 Succulent chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce, with a puff-pastry lid…

1. Birkdale brogues in conker calf, £280, Loake (01536 415411; www.loake.co.uk) 2. Witney suede in pink, £635, Manolo Blahnik (020–3793 6788; www. manoloblahnik.com) 3. The Houghton tan suede brogue, £175, Fairfax & Favor (01760 338199; www.fairfaxandfavor.com) 4. Pembroke brogue in dark-brown scotch country grain, £450, Crockett & Jones (020–7839 5239; www.crockettandjones.com) 5. Mid-tan, calf-leather wing-tip brogue Oxford shoes, £350, New & Lingwood (0800 083 5102; www.newandlingwood.com) 6. Inverness black calf, £965, Edward Green (020–7839 0202; www. edwardgreen.com)…

Reliant Robin A three-wheel joke of a car that’s most keenly associated with dodgy deals down Peckham market. Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Its most popular accessory, apart from the huge rear wing, is an ASBO. Finding one that wasn’t stolen or crashed is tricky. Nostalgia for the 1980s saw a low-mileage example reach more than £120,000 at a recent auction. Has the world gone completely mad? Range Rover Sport L320 Range Rovers are lovely things, but, disturbingly, the first-gen Sport has earnt a fan club among human traffickers, drug dealers and other sorts with whom you mightn’t wish to associate. All the bad guys in Line of Duty drive one. Dodge Challenger SRT Demon With 840bhp, it’ll out-accelerate a Bugatti Chiron and, each time it starts up, it makes more…

LONDON can delight, surprise, appal, break your heart, but it is rarely bland and hardly ever dull,’ says Dan Cruickshank, who requires little further introduction after his TV work. This inspiringly illustrated guide to walks across London not only covers the capital, but also showcases Cruickshank’s credentials as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a member of both the Executive Committee of the Georgian Group and the Architectural Panel of the National Trust. The book is engagingly personal. It proves how much we can miss if we don’t pay close attention to our surroundings and doing these walks will keep one fit to boot. It’s a nice way to tick someone’s name off your Christmas shopping list—or you might just decide to keep it for…

Cholmondeley Walk, TW9, £3.75 million Set on the Thames riverside, just behind Richmond Green, Cholmondeley House is one of the products of Richmond’s popularity in the Georgian era—it was built in 1740 by the 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley. Now listed Grade II, it has plenty of period charm and magnificent views across the river. Savills (020–8614 9100; www.savills.com) Townshend Road, TW9, £8,000pcm This recently renovated house stands close to both Richmond’s town centre and the North Sheen train station. Spanning four floors, it has five bedrooms, a large open-plan kitchen and living area, plus a lawned garden, and comes complete with furniture and furnishings. Hamptons International (020–3369 4516; www.hamptons.co.uk) Richmond Green, TW9, £4.495 million Perfectly situated to take in views of the Green, this Grade II-listed townhouse has been beautifully…

THE eye of anyone passing along Cannon Street, EC4, is often drawn to a spectacular astrological clock set over the doorway of one office building. This is Bracken House, built in 1955–59 as the offices of the Financial Times by the architect Sir Albert Richardson. Constructed of pink sandstone and red brick, the colour of the building is reminiscent of the newspaper’s distinctive pink pages. It is named after Sir Brendan Bracken, who established the Financial Times in 1945 and died in 1958, shortly before the building was complete. At Sir Brendan’s instruction, the face within the central sun of the clock was modelled by Frank Dobson in resemblance of a close associate, Sir Winston Churchill. The clock is designed with a revolving dial, rather than hands. JG…

The World Run is a mental-health campaign—launched by ( from left to right) Chris Balfour, Henry Holme, Andrew Ross and Conor Turner—encouraging men to have greater understanding of their own, and their friends’, mental health. The four founders are attempting to run six marathons, on six continents, in six days, to raise the £157,200 (£1,000 for every mile they run) required by James’s Place to open a second, non-clinical crisis centre, as well as awareness of the benefits of sport and exercise.…

Green fingers Yorkshire’s Newby Hall has created a record, winning the Historic Houses Garden of the Year award twice; 140,000 people visit the 40-acre garden every year, which boasts one of the longest double herbaceous borders in the UK An apple a day Flanders Pink, the first British pink apple to be grown commercially, is being launched soon and is hoped to rival Australia’s Pink Lady in popularity; currently, only 43% of apples eaten in the UK are grown here Rural businesses The latest round of the Government’s Growth Programme is open for applications, with £35m promised for rural productivity and jobs, which could be increased to £50m. So far, £99m has been granted to 546 businesses Thinking outside the box Some farmers make more money from enterprises such as…

Escape to the country Q Having been based in London for my entire career, my company has announced that it’s relocating to some god-forsaken part of the UK, which isn’t an easy commute from my home in the city. I love my job, but I’m still single and (relatively) young, and I love my current life. Should I stay or should I go? L. C., London A Seriously? Are you aware of the title of this celebrated organ? (Which recently trundled from Southwark out to Farnborough.) Your employers have realised that London is a charlatan’s line, a place where coffee and a croissant costs £6.45, to earn which you must jostle from a box-room—illegal under rules of humane animal husbandry—into exhaust-choked grime, enduring a day of concrete-circumscribed stress that…

More fule you I AM one of those few people, ‘rarer than hen’s teeth’, who has seen a woodcock flying and carrying a chick between its legs (‘By the light of the woodcock moon’, October 23). A few years ago, on a summer’s day, I was walking my cocker spaniel in Pry Rigg woods, near my home in North Yorkshire, when she put up a woodcock. It flew toward me at head height, turned and dropped into thick bush. I could clearly see a chick grasped between its legs. The following January, I was shooting in Dumfries & Galloway and mentioned this to the keeper. ‘You’re either a fule or a liar,’ said he. He got his tip, but it wasn’t as generous as it might have been. Jack…

URBAN planning controversies that hit the headlines are nearly always concerned with grand projects. That generally means tall buildings, such as the Tulip Tower proposed in the City or the high-rise development in Norwich (Athena, September 19, 2018). Yet to focus only on such projects as these is to be distracted from another phenomenon that is cumulatively no less significant: the damage being done to streets across the country by poorly designed, small-scale and inappropriate redevelopment. This is a death by 1,000 cuts, each one too insubstantial in itself to be worthy of notice, yet cumulatively devastating. So Athena was delighted to hear about a local initiative that highlights the problem. The Milner Street Area Residents Association in Chelsea and Kensington, SW3, has had a competition to identify redevelopment projects…

From Elizabethan times onwards, ‘pansy’ became a sneer aimed at male effeminacy and homosexuality, a label that has survived the centuries. Self-proclaimed ‘Pansy Craze’ clubs, patronised by gay men and women, flourished in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco during the 1920s and 1930s. Given this connotation, some Royal Navy matelots were less than thrilled to discover they’d been assigned to serve on a Second World War corvette that was launched as HMS Pansy. In those unenlightened days, any sailor on shore leave who walked into a pub with Pansy on his cap-band would be challenged to prove his masculinity. The Admiralty soon renamed the vessel Heartsease, the folk alternative that didn’t have the same significance to the average seaport drinker. In her new guise, the corvette—one of 140…

WHAT good is sitting alone in your room? Come, hear the music play! Life is a cabaret, old chum! Come to the cabaret!’ I defy you to visit this exhibition without humming Sally Bowles under your breath. This skirt-swishing, swing-dancing, sax- tooting show whisks you around the world’s greatest nightclubs, from Weimar Berlin to 1920s New York, from revolutionary Mexico to Nigeria’s Mbari Club in the 1960s. ‘Here you came to dance jazz and the one-step, the java-trot and the cakewalk’ Arrive in jeans and you’ll feel underdressed. This is an exhibition to dress up for. An emerald domino cape, perhaps, inspired by the costumes Josef von Dikévy designed for the Cabaret Fledermaus (‘bat’ in German) in Vienna in 1908? Or the cloche hats, drop-waists and pearls worn by the…

1. Ligne D limited-edition rollerball, £1,200, S. T. Dupont (020–7493 8385; www.williamandson.com) 2. Red Line D fountain pen, £650, S. T. Dupont (020–7493 8385; www.williamandson.com) 3. Leman Grand Bleu fountain pen, £688, Caran d’Ache (www.carandache.com) 4. StarWalker Doué fountain pen, £495, Montblanc (0333 014 2052; www.montblanc.com) 5. Classic rollerball pen, £486.50, Graf Von Faber Castell (as before) 6. Viceroy Victorian fountain pen, £900, Yard-O-Led (01213 690510; www.yard-o-led.com)…

Do you think it’s inevitable that you’re going to lie in the course of an average day? ‘I don’t think it’s possible—or even desirable—to avoid every untruth, so, in the strictest sense, I lie fairly often and I don’t think it could be otherwise. It’s a rare day that doesn’t include some small evasion, white lie or lie by omission.’ Do you think men lie more than women, on the whole? ‘I’ve experienced more men who lie than women, but that’s probably just down to having more male friends. Perhaps men do lie a bit more, but I doubt there’s a huge difference—except perhaps in the things they lie about.’ What’s the worst trouble you’ve ever been in due to telling a lie? ‘I tend to be honest when I…

1. Chambray blue versilia linen shirt, £130, Luca Faloni (020–3468 4710; www.lucafaloni.com) 2. Pintuck shirt Rockwell indigo rinse, £155, Favourbrook (020–7493 5060; www.favourbrook.com) 3. Moss-green brushed-cotton shirt, £130, Luca Faloni ( as before ) 4. Red-and-blue check country shirt, £49.95, Oxford Shirt Company (01993 822298; www.oxfordshirt.co.uk) 5. Sky-blue brushed-cotton shirt, £240, Emma Willis (020–7930 9980; www.emmawillis.com) 6. Navy plain twill shirt, £69, Farlows (020–7484 1000; www.farlows.co.uk) 7. Green needlecord shirt, £75, Oliver Brown (020–7259 9494; www. oliverbrown.org.uk)…

AFTER a couple of calls, it became abundantly clear there would be no tiger-penis soup. Someone at London’s Institute of Chinese Medicine slammed the phone down on me and a Korean neuroscientist suggested a place in New York, but warned it’s about $450 (£350) a pop. This was disappointing, as my research suggested the aphrodisiacs people put most faith in are hard to come by, illegal to source and look strikingly phallic. In short, tiger penis has it all. For truly morally bankrupt gentlemen in possession of a good fortune, rhino horn is a popular choice. The Vietnamese are said to pay up to $100,000 (£78,850) a kilo and believe it not only gets you going, but also cures cancer and hangovers. Miraculous in theory, but anyone with a biology…

LINGERINGLY, Applebee’s Original Weekly Journal described details of the sumptuous appearance of ‘Nobility and Persons of Distinction’ at St James’s Palace for the birthday celebrations of Queen Caroline, consort of the new King, George II, in March 1727. The King wore ‘blue velvet, with diamond buttons’, his hat ‘buttoned up with prodigious fine diamonds’, and the couple’s eldest son, Frederick, chose ‘mouse-coloured velvet turned up with scarlet and very richly embroidered with silver’. In an age before sombre homogeneity overwhelmed men’s dress, these peacock princes, the cynosure of every eye, won praise for their rainbow swagger. How times change. Perhaps the rot set in with Beau Brummell, himself a conspicuously well-dressed arbiter of male style 200 years ago. Brummell’s chic consisted of paring back men’s clothing to a well-cut ensemble…

1. Mandarin-orange credit-card slip, £100, Mulberry (01761 234273; www.mulberry.com) 2. Bridle-hide tab wallet with 10 C/C and purse, £275, Ettinger (020–8877 1616; www.ettinger.co.uk) 3. Full-grain leather bifold card holder, £260, Tom Ford (0800 044 5705; www.mrporter.com) 4. Leather envelope card holder, £225, Holland & Holland (020–7499 4411; www.hollandandholland.co.uk) 5. Bridle-hide magic wallet in green/London tan, £120, Ettinger ( as before ) 6. Eight-card wallet in box calf leather, £235, Smythson (0808 164 1801; www.smythson.com) 7. Green pebble-leather coin wallet, £225, Valextra (0800 044 5705; www.mrporter.com) 8. Red Hex leather card holder, £140, Connolly (020–7952 6708; www.connollyengland.com) 9. Magic wallet in London tan, £179, Purdey (020–7499 1801; www.purdey.com) 10. Business-card holder in Burgundy, £130, William & Son (020–7493 8385; www.williamandson.com)…

Airbus EC135 Hermès This ultra-luxe version of the twin-engined, 178mph EC135 helicopter, designed in collaboration with Hermès, features a customised four-place calfskin cabin, a sliding glass partition, leather-trimmed controls and Hermès-designed binoculars; ideal if you’re touching down at the races. U-Boat Worx C-Explorer 3 Indulge your adventurous side by dropping 1,000ft beneath the ocean in this personal submarine. You can take two chums to ear-popping depths in air-conditioned comfort, searching for lost cities and shipwrecks, or simply re-enact scenes from Das Boot . It even has an arm attachment for collecting doubloons off the sea floor. WLWC Croc Skate Stepping on crocodile skin sounds like tempting fate. Roger Moore braved jumping across crocodiles in Live and Let Die —wearing croc loafers, no less—but, in real life, this is the closest…

Playing the field I was rather taken with the new field collection at Farlows’ press launch last month. Drawing on traditional shooting garb from pre- and postwar eras, the hero piece was The Wellington Donegal tweed topcoat (right, £695), which allows plenty of movement and fits over a tailored jacket—perfect for town, country and in the field. This top-spec gear is never flashy, but lasts and lasts, getting better with age. The collection is epitomised by the knitwear (watch out chaps, the women in your life will go mad for the elbow-patched ribbed shooting sweater, £169), beautifully crafted in Hawick and made to be passed down the generations. The women’s collection is very elegant, too (01544 322311; www.farlows.co.uk). If the shoes fit Shoemaker Edward Green has collaborated with Hertfordshire-based…

1. Dark-brown country calf belt, £105, Crockett & Jones (020–7839 5239; www.crockettandjones.com) 2. 30mm waxy leather belt in navy, £135, Ettinger (020–8877 1616; www.ettinger.co.uk) 3. Tan suede Silverado belt with burnished gold buckle, £160, Elliot Rhodes (020–7495 8400; www. elliotrhodes.com) 4. Narford belt in burgundy, £50, Fairfax & Favor (01760 338199; www.fairfaxandfavor.com) 5. Grey woven belt, £95, Luca Faloni (020–3468 4710; www.lucafaloni.com) 6. Green suede strap with satin silver buckle, £124.50, Elliot Rhodes (as before) 7. 35mm waxy leather belt in navy, £140, Ettinger (as before)…