Innholdsfortegnelse for 24-Jun-2020 i Country Life

BE kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle,’ runs an old quotation. It was certainly generosity and politeness that helped soften the shock and fear of those early, dark days of lockdown. Despite the anxiety, and the distressing daily bulletins, the prevailing atmosphere was one of courteousness and civility, as people stepped aside on pathways with polite nods and smiles, and said: ‘No, after you,’ to a key worker in a rush. Volunteers mobilised to shop for the infirm and vulnerable; hospital staff did their poignant best to enable family communication with the seriously sick; and many carers went to extraordinary lengths of selflessness to ensure they could continue to care. As Mark Twain wrote: ‘Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind…

THIS week, the excitement of producing the magazine from outposts as far apart as Devon and the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands has been added to by a new email system. I’m not a natural with computers and struggle with what seems blindingly obvious to anyone half my age. What I am told should be intuitive can feel anything but. Still, patience and determination have won through—it seems to me that if you don’t force yourself to keep up with modern technologies, you will be lost in some hopeless, luddite wilderness for the rest of your life. Fortunately, gardening is a more simple and manual pastime. Rachel and I are now reaping the rewards of all the sowing we did when we first went into isolation, more than three…

THE pleasing article in your number of June 5 reminds me of some interesting folklore peculiar to some parts of Derbyshire. There is, or was, a notion that when a baby smiles in its sleep its soul is away and talking with God and, therefore, the baby should not be awaked from its slumber. If the soul should not be able to find the infant at the same spot, it is obliged to wander until it finds its home. In sleep the soul goes to its Creator to commune and to receive instruction, and on its way on these occasions takes the form of a shrewmouse, in which it can the more readily leave and return to its home. For this reason the cat will not devour the shrewmouse.—R. 1)…

HOW wonderful to read about jigsaws (‘Picking up the pieces’, June 3) and what a godsend they have been lately. However, in a straw poll among friends, the decision was unanimous—the rules of jigsaw etiquette have been transgressed. I have been in lockdown with a friend and all the ‘old school’ entertainments have come to the fore: Scrabble, quizzes, cards and, of course, jigsaws. We completed our first without a problem. Our second (an historical county map) proved rather more contentious. We had about 70 pieces out of a thousand left to go when I was called away for the afternoon. To my shock and horror, when I returned, the jigsaw had been completed. As you can imagine, I was incensed at this behaviour, yet my friend can see nothing…

Put the discarded starter you pour off when feeding yours to good use with this recipe Method Stir 3tbspn of olive oil and 1tspn of coarse salt into 200g of sourdough discard. Flavour it with a generous teaspoon of spice (smoked paprika, garam masala, cayenne) and fold through 2tbspn of seeds (nigella, pumpkin, sunflower, caraway). Spread it onto a baking tray lined with a non-slip, silicone mat —I find it easiest to get an even layer right to the edge using a pastry brush—and bake at 180˚C/350˚F/gas mark 4, until the mixture is golden and peeling away from the tray (about 30 minutes). Smash it up into crackers and enjoy alone or with dips, with drinks or as part of a mezze spread.…

A HANDWRITTEN note holds infinitely more emotional weight than an email—many will still recognise the handwriting of their first childhood pen pal and instantly know who a one-liner postcard is from. ‘I encourage people to use a proper pen because there is a joy to writing,’ enthuses Emma Field of Yard-O-Led, the oldest propelling-pencil makers in the world. ‘You give a bit of yourself through handwritten words.’ Yard-O-Led is so named because its patented ever-pointed propelling pencil holds exactly that—a yard of lead—although the company name wasn’t coined until 1934. Ink was expensive in 1822 when the company (then named for its owner, internationally renowned British silversmith Sampson Mordan) invented and patented the design. Propelling pencils were more practical, with no need for constant dipping, as well as no leakage.…

This column is rarely concerned with contentious issues, unless they are in the past, but, this week, the fate of public statuary is joined by a second controversial matter. Sir Quentin Blake considers that: ‘It seems like a time when a few straightforward jokes might not come amiss, so, as I know that people have been putting rainbows into their windows to express solidarity, I took the liberty of borrowing them.' He came up with a series of 10 quirkily joyous greetings cards, using the rainbows that children have been making in praise of the NHS, and then passed the original drawings to Bonhams to be auctioned on behalf of the NHS Charities Covid-19 Urgent Appeal. The result was £63,900 for the cause, with a top price of £12,000 for…

‘The wolf was greedy and hungry, but because of God he dared not eat the head, but protected it against animals’ THE incorrupt corpse of King Edmund of East Anglia is said to have been so holy that its hair and nails needed trimming. The task was undertaken annually by a widow called Oswyn from early medieval Bury St Edmunds. She would place the clippings in a reliquary, for no part of him could be discarded. It is common, in medieval saints’ lives, to read of bodies that remain whole and bonnie after death. In Edmund’s case, the miracle is even more remarkable for his wounded, piecemeal condition upon burial. According to the late-10th-century biography by Abbo of Fleury (here translated by Kenneth Cutler), Edmund’s body had been bound, whipped,…

WITH time on their hands, Covid-19 has been open season for conspiracy theorists to fill the inboxes of homebound victims. My Gaia-hugging, nut-gathering friend Paul, who lives off fruits of the forest, has transmitted salvos of rural rap, exhorting me to love Mother Nature and all will be well. Our ex-postie sends me regular exhortations to ‘Wake up!’ He remains a Flat Earther, despite years delivering letters in one of the hilliest parts of Britain. From the links he supplies, I assume he means I should wake up to the ideas of David Icke, who a few years ago claimed that a race of reptilian beings called Archons had hijacked Earth; some have been mated with genetically modified humans to produce a hybrid race of shape-shifting reptiles known as the…

COME quickly! The egg has exploded in the microwave!’ The tone was eager rather than nervous and the intense interest into the cause of the disaster—the failure to break the yolk—suggested a desire to recreate the effect at a future date. There will be trouble if so. It’s one of several colourful accidents bound up with an ongoing experiment to encourage the children to make their own porridge or scrambled egg for breakfast. Clearing up the attendant mess has made me wonder about its wisdom. The visit of the French President to London this week, meanwhile, has added to the sense that the capital is returning to life after lockdown. We watched the flypast of the Red Arrows trailing red, white and blue smoke from the top of the house.…

Preserving the peace Q Our father has remarried and his wife is lovely, but my mother is still very hurt. Usually we don’t talk about it, but a family event is coming up at which we will all be present. I have no wish to blank my stepmother, but doing anything else will upset Mummy. What is the solution? T. W., Norfolk A First off, I do hope the event will go ahead. Perhaps a picnic on Holkham beach, with everybody yelling at each other from 6ft apart? Secondly, this being Norfolk, is your stepmother also your sister or… oh, stop. I’m not taking this seriously enough, because the answer is blindingly simple and a win-win. Have a heart-to-heart with your stepmother. She will be grateful to be taken…

Concentrated green fruits Schloss Lieser, SL Riesling, Mosel, Germany 2015. £10.77, Justerini & Brooks, alc 8.5% Thomas Haag's vineyards are just down the road from his father Fritz Haag's estate, but on different soils. This cuvée is a classic expression of off-dry Mosel Riesling, with concentrated green fruits and subtle minerality. Perfect with pork belly Hunter’s, Offshoot Pét-Nat Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand 2019. £12.95–£14.95, Laytons, Jeroboams, alc 11.5% The first vintage of this tangy pét-nat, which is bottled when still fermenting to give it light fizz. It's naturally cloudy and bone dry, with vibrant tropical fruit, green apple and ginger zing. Perfect to cut through rich pork belly. Sweetly spiced CVNE, Cune Reserva, Rioja Alta, Spain 2015. £13.99, Majestic, alc 14% The first wine from CVNE (founded…

Still waiting for your starter to arrive? These bakeries will deliver sourdough straight to your door The Newt, Somerset (01963 577727; www.shop.thenewtinsomerset.com) This country-house-hotel bakery makes family-sized, 2kg (4.4lb) sourdough loaves with ancient grains (£7.50), and offers free next-day delivery UK-wide Bread Ahead, London SE1 (020–7403 5444; www.breadahead.com) One of the capital's best bakeries has a box of its signature sourdough loaves available for delivery or collection (£25) -try the fennel and multigrain Farmdrop (020–3770 9300; www. farmdrop.com) Stocks loaves by BreadBread, Karaway and Celtic Bakers for delivery in London and across the South-West Bertinet Bakery, Bath, Somerset (www.bertinetbakery.com) Delivering traditional sourdough, whole or sliced, in and around the city with two days' notice (from £3.60) Pump Street Bakery, Suffolk (01394 459829; www.pumpstreetchocolate. com) This much-loved Orford institution will post…

A pencil’s name comes from the French pincel, meaning small paintbrush, which, in turn, derives from the Latin penicillus, meaning little tail Graphite became widely used following the discovery of a large graphite deposit in Borrowdale, Cumbria, in the 1500s. This mysterious mineral eventually came to be known as plumbago or, more commonly, blacklead In 1683, it was reported that surgeons used this blacklead medicinally and it became important for rubbing on guns or pistols to preserve them from rusting. Shepherds used it to mark sheep and the first pencils were wrapped in string, paper or animal skin. Soon, Cumbria acquired a reputation for pencil-making in small workshops—the first factory opened in Keswick in 1832…

Propagate pinks June is the month for pinks. Never was a flower better named. Every cultivar is pretty. It is a curiosity that the time of flowering is also the time of propagation. Examine the tufts of spiky grey leaves and you will see that some do not bear flower buds. These are your targets. Pull out a shoot from its telescopic socket and find four more the same. Push these into free-draining compost around the edge of a pot and label. Stand the pot in an inch of water, leave to drain and wait.…

GLADYS HYNES was a committed feminist, suffragist, pacifist and supporter of the Irish Republican movement, whose work engaged with some of the most pressing and controversial issues of her time. She exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Venice Biennale, the Paris Salon and the International Society of Sculptors and yet, today, she is almost unknown. Hynes was born in India in 1888, where her father was an agent with the Bank of Bombay. The family moved to London when she was three and, in 1908, she began her artistic education at Brangwyn’s London School of Art, where she found herself among a group of talented students, including Nina Hamnett, who would become a lifelong friend. In 1911, Hynes moved to Penzance and enrolled at the painting school in nearby Newlyn,…

About 855 Possible coronation of historical King Edmund November 20, 869 Dies (Feast Day) Early 10th century Edmund's first translation 945 Abbey granted land About 985–87 Abbo of Fleury's Passio Sancti Eadmundi 1010–13 Body moved to London to protect it from Danish raids 1020 Cnut installs Benedictine community at the abbey 1097 Body moved inside the abbey church 1198 Shrine refurbished after a fire 1395–99 Edmund depicted on Richard II's Wilton Diptych 1539 Dissolution of the Abbey of Bury St Edmunds…

Libidinous tortoises Diego, a giant Galápagos tortoise, has retired from a breeding program in which he fathered around 800 offspring. Diego, who previously lived in San Diego zoo, arrived at Española when there were only 12 females and two males of his species alive on the island. After his Herculean efforts, the population is now 2,000. Get the man some ice Tree hugging A National Trust poll says that the country has fallen in love with Nature during lockdown. A third of adults are more interested in it, while those aged between 25 and 34 have shown the largest growth in interest Aliens Scientists from the University of Nottingham have suggested that there are likely to be at least 36 ‘ongoing intelligent civilisations' in the Milky Way galaxy. As Arthur…

The Seaweed Collector’s Handbook, Miek Zwamborn (Profile, £12.99) The subtitle of this lovely looking book, From Purple Laver to Peacock’s Tail, is a foretaste of the range of evocatively named seaweeds that fringe our coasts, but which many of us are unable to identify. Written and illustrated by a Dutch poet and artist living on Mull, who runs a project to explore the natural environment, this handbook covers history, culture and ecology, as well as recipes made from such bounties of the sea as pepper dulse, sea lettuce and bladderwrack.…

THE Government is presently aiming to allow museums and tourist attractions to start re-opening from July. It’s a really important moment for the sector and attention will naturally focus on the activities of large institutions. There are huge numbers of smaller players in this field, however, and Athena thought it might be interesting to look at the lockdown experience and prospects of one of them: Arundells in the close of Salisbury Cathedral, Wiltshire (‘An escape from politics’, page 66). Run independently by a trust, Arundells, formerly the home of Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath, has only been open to the public since 2008. The past few years have seen a concerted attempt to develop it as a venue and visitor attraction. This process was interrupted in 2018 by the Novichok…

Rebecca Stott is a writer, professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia and a broadcaster on BBC Radio 4’s Point of View. Her memoir, In the Days of Rain, won the 2017 Costa Biography Award ‘I’ve had a print of this painting hanging over my desk since I first saw it in Toledo in 1983, travelling across Spain on a university art-history trip at the age of 19. We were in Toledo to study the El Grecos, but I couldn’t take my eyes off this woman and her crow, the tenderness of her hands, the way she leans in to nuzzle and cradle the bird, the sweet haunting darkness of their reverie. In my new novel, Dark Earth , one of my sixth-century sisters…

I find Niwaki secateurs indispensable and bought the S-type clippers as a present for myself on my 71st birthday. They have been in a holster at my waist every day in the garden since. The handles are bound in dried wisteria stems (a mimsy touch, but a welcome change from plastic) and the blades are something between the short secateur type and Niwaki's longer clippers, which makes them a strong, but nifty summer pruning tool, when thinner stems and dead flower heads are the things to be chopped off every day. S-Type secateurs, £159 (01747 445059; www.niwaki.com) Bettys tea shop in Ilkley, where I was born and brought up, is a favourite port of call whenever I go ‘back home'. To have lunch there and watch the comings and…

SOMETHING that gets no mention in the arguments about the suitability of statues celebrating Edward Colston, slave trader and philanthropist, and other contentious historical figures, is their artistic merit—or otherwise. Given enough digging, almost everyone, past or present, will be found to have feet of clay and, in some cases, it would perhaps be better to have their memorials in museums, where they could be given informed context and serve educational as well as aesthetic purposes. In any event, the sculptors should be given some recognition before their work is dunked in the docks. Although it has an awkward pose, the Colston statue in Bristol is a good piece of work by John Cassidy (1860–1939), a farmer’s son from Co Meath who made his career in Manchester. Among his subjects…

Only a fraction of Hynes's oeuvre is held in public collections-in the UK, solely at the RAF Museum, which owns Crucifixion (1939); in the US, at The Wolfsonian in Miami, which holds three paintings and a drawing. Short biographies of Hynes are included in 50/50; Fifty Works by Fifty British Women Artists edited by this article's author (2019) and in Voyaging Out: British Women Artists from Suffrage to the Sixties by Carolyn Trant (2019). Sacha Llewellyn is working on a biography and exhibition, so she is keen to track down additional work and to discover more about her life as a sculptor. If you can help, email sacha@lissllewellyn.com…

I’LL be honest—I was not really looking forward to spending a couple of weeks (or more if the England Open Team reached the semifinals) in Wuhan, central China for the 44th World Team Championships (pre-coronavirus). However, both the food, and green spaces for my daily sojourns, exceeded my expectations. And the people, while not overtly friendly, were entirely non-threatening, millions and millions of them rushing about minding their own business. It was all rather wonderful. Our first Wuhan deal is declared by David Kendrick of the silver medal-winning English Seniors team. West led the eight of partner’s Hearts, East cleverly ducking to maintain communication with his partner (playing the nine to encourage). What should declarer do now? Declarer could count seven top tricks and the natural place to look for…