Innholdsfortegnelse for 13-Jan-2021 i Country Life

Pinehurst II, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF 0330 390 6591; www.countrylife.co.uk NEW Year celebrations may have been cancelled, but 2021 does not dawn without reasons to be cheerful. Apart from the vaccines (one developed against the clock in Britain) and their roll out (a Herculean effort of logistics), progress could be made on one of the great world problems: climate change. In November, Britain will host world leaders in Glasgow at the successor to the COP21 meeting that produced the Paris Agreement in 2015. Paris made history because it was the first time the governments of the world committed themselves to targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases. It is true that these targets have not always been met, but Glasgow should provide new momentum for…

DESPITE a tricky year for horse-racing in Britain, bloodstock auction house Tattersalls managed to pull off three successful auctions in its December Sales. The Foal Sale saw two colts sired by Britain’s most expensive stallion, Dubawi, sell for a combined price of 1.3 million gns to Dubawi’s owner Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates. Dubawi raced for the sheikh in 2004–05 and won three Group One races. He stands for an eye-watering £250,000. Frankel, the highest-ever-rated racehorse, trained by the legendary Sir Henry Cecil, had two of his progeny make the top-10 lots across the week. Frankel stands at Juddmonte Farms, owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, for a fee of £175,000 and it was Prince Khalid himself who shelled out 550,000gns and…

I DON’T think that we have been alone in trying to eke out Christmas to the full this year. Abandoned Christmas trees, one of the most melancholy signs of the arrival of January, for example, have been strikingly slow to appear on the streets. We preserved ours until Twelfth Night. Then, after a feast, we stripped off the decorations and sadly consigned it to recycling. Over the meal we tried to construct a weekly timetable of celebrations, including a birthday, to help carry us through lockdown and winter. An internet search yielded a few suggestions to fill in a mid-February gap but the Feast of St Apollonia, the patron saint of dentists, was decreed desperate and ruled out. We still await a satisfactory alternative. Meanwhile, to universal disappointment, we are…

A matter of record THE destruction of Ireland’s architectural and cultural heritage (‘An Irish inferno’, December 30, 2020) reached a new pitch during the Irish Civil War, starting with the siege of the Four Courts as troops of the emerging state tried to dislodge anti-treaty forces. In 1922, a mine was triggered and the Four Courts and the Public Record Office were blown up, smoke stretching hundreds of feet into the sky and fragments of manuscript raining down over Dublin (pictured). The new provisional government paused hostilities to call on citizens to return any scraps of paper, no matter how charred or damaged. Not a great deal was saved. One of the architects of the new Irish state was Churchill, who summed up the situation neatly: ‘Better a country…

To save the Arts, we can all make a difference THE announcement of the lock-down last week seems to take us back to where we started last March. Indeed, because we are no longer fresh for the fight, it perhaps takes us backwards. In the Arts, indeed, as in so many other spheres, it strains the truth to see much that is positive in the situation. Once again, everything is closed and, whatever the success of the vaccination programme, the nation’s cultural life seems likely to be circumscribed for many months, and possibly years, to come. Freelancers face more time without work and cultural institutions face further and deeper cuts. Even in the autumn, when the news seemed more positive, these were in train (those anticipated by Athena among curators…

‘It’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity’ Simon Hart ACROSS the UK, we share great pride in our countryside and our exit from the EU allows us to harness that pride in a way that we have not been able to for more than 40 years—pride not only in food production, but in land management and the people who quietly care for this unique national asset. Nor should our attachment to rural matters be simply aesthetic. Britain is renowned for its leading role in the Industrial Revolution, but many overlook the leading role we played in the earlier agricultural equivalent. The way we farmed and managed our land was transformed through the sheer brilliance of visionary British minds, something that is rarely mentioned when tackling today’s challenges. As my colleague George Eustice, the…

DOUBLE, double toil and trouble/ Fire burn and cauldron bubble.’ Shakespeare’s witches may have been a dab hand at nefarious potions, but their stock-making skills were dire. The true art, as any self-respecting, Hecate-hailing hag should know, is all about the blip, blip, rather than the bubble, bubble. Low and slow, rather than hell’s ablazin’. They’re not alone in their ignorance. Like the creation of mayonnaise and soufflés, stock-making inspires a similar awe and fear as those three wizened crones, seemingly complex procedures that combine dark culinary sorcery with brutally learned technique. Something to be left to the professionals and the dark, clanking inferno of the brute commercial kitchen. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. Because this is a process as soothing as it is satisfying, one that…

ACCORDING to Aristotle ‘the garnet is a red gem, but not like the ruby, its red is much more like that of a flame. If correctly cut and polished, it will reveal all its beauty and perfection’. A garnet was found on the necklace of a mummified body uncovered in an Egyptian tomb, dating from about 3,500BC. Most commonly fire red, the stone appears in a rainbow of other colours, too, and is made up of different species—never found in their pure state. In Greek mythology, garnets are regarded as a symbol of love and eternity.…

‘Our forebears knew a good thing when they took a succulent bite out of the individual stalk’ M RS BEETON was an enthusiast, offering recipes for celery fried, stewed, with macaroni, with cream, in a white sauce, with chestnuts as a salad and as a constituent in clear mock-turtle soup (the basis of which was half a calf’s head). Celery endures. Oliver, Fearnley-Whittingstall, Stein, Slater, Blumenthal, the Hairy Bikers: popular chefs without exception proclaim its virtue uncooked, as the central feature of a dish and as a constituent. Its oil and its salt enliven sundry recipes—where would a Bloody Mary be without it? Celery figures strongly in French soups and sauces and, together with onions and bell peppers, is one of the holy trinity of Creole and Cajun cuisine. Dieticians…

The long, pink, bendy sticks of forced rhubarb, of unique texture and flavour, are produced by excluding daylight from the plant at this time of year. Tidy and level the ground around the crown. If you have suitable rhubarb pots, tall with lids to peek through, put them in place now. If not, an old dustbin from which the bottom has fallen out will do the job and confer an air of rustic abandon. All rhubarb can be forced for a few weeks, but not in consecutive years, so keep a record and give some a rest.…

AN invitation to shoot nearby was asterisked by my host with the observation that we would be more of a quartet than an orchestra in the line due to the Covid-19 two-household rule. Within 24 hours, new Scottish lockdown regulations reduced us to a duet and the day was called off. My thoughts turned to those prints after Alken of two chaps in top hats and gaiters shooting partridges over dogs and I yearned for a pointer with which to seek a woodcock. A sadness of the rules in Scotland has been that, latterly, they prevented my wife joining the grand battue. I do enjoy it so when she comes along, not that she flourishes a bundook herself, as has become all the rage among some ladies. For her, it…

Picking up a book The Duchess of Cornwall has set up a new initiative dedicated to the ‘celebration of literature in all its forms'. The Reading Room, launched on Instagram, will be a literary hub for people around the world and will see The Duchess offer book recommendations and interviews with the authors themselves Studious physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has abandoned a plan to sell some £10 million worth of rare books to plug a gap in its finances. The RCP intended to sell books, such as a very rare first edition of The Canterbury Tales, but was forced to reverse its decision after a public outcry from members Lady sea lords Capt Amy Bauernschmidt will soon rule the Pacific, after being promoted to be the first…

Quiz of the week 1) What colour are the bench seats in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, respectively? 2) A ‘toque blanche' is traditionally worn by whom? 3) On a standard dartboard, which number is at the 9 o'clock position? 4) Which dog breed was made distinct from the Jack Russell terrier by The Kennel Club in 1999? 5) The former site of Bethlem Royal Hospital on London's Lambeth Road is now home to which institution? Oh, the agony! Resident agony uncle Kit Hesketh-Harvey solves your dilemmas Quality over quantity Q I must be one of very few people who enjoyed an excuse not to go anywhere last year. Without the pressure of endless social occasions and demands, I feel more relaxed and comfortable.…

WHEN the miracle arrived, I didn’t fall to my knees in prayerful gratitude. In my bewildered and relieved state, I burst into song: ‘Vaccine! Vaccine! Vaccine! Vaccine! Please take away this plague!’ My lyrics didn’t stretch beyond two lines, but I belted them out to the stunned audience of sheep munching on turnip greens. My improvised version of Dolly Parton’s Jolene, a song that’s made her millions, felt good because the singer gave a big wad of those millions to Vanderbilt University in Nashville to fund vaccine research. Singing in a field of turnips requires as much stamina as clinging on to hope. When I’m breathless and out of tune, I hush for a while and work on my Gratitude lists. ‘Vaccine’ is at the top, but ‘Deal’ and ‘Biden…

A basic (darkish) all-round chicken stock that is a freezer stalwart and a culinary lifesaver Makes about 2½ litres Method Place carcasses and roasted wings into a big pot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Skim off any scum. Reduce the heat, add vegetables, spices and aromatics, bring back to boil, then turn down the heat so the surface is only occasionally troubled by the most gentle of blips and bubbles. Simmer very gently for five hours, then pass the stock through a fine-mesh sieve and put it into the fridge. The fat will congeal and you can remove some, if you wish. However, do remember that fat is flavour and fat is your friend. The stock will keep in the fridge for a few days and…

WE ‘need education in eating. While one person must go hungry or ill-nourished in this world of abundance, civilisation is a mockery, progress a term of ridicule. Such a state is pure madness.’ Sir David Attenborough or Greta Thunberg could have said that in 2020, but Emile Aymoz, chef at The Dorchester hotel, actually did so in 1938, in an address to doctors. A portrait of him is back in Europe for the first time since the Second World War and can be viewed online. Aymoz proposed the founding of a chair of gastronomy at Oxford or Cambridge ‘for the study of the cuisine, research in nutrition and the training of men to minister to the bodily needs of the nation’. (That never happened, although the invaluable annual Oxford…

Pedestrians Mercedes has revealed a touchscreen infotainment system for its new EQS electric car that is some 56in wide. The screen, which will stretch from one side of the car to the other, will give drivers lots of things to look at and play with rather than concentrating on the road London’s green belt A group has warned that London's green belt is under threat, after the number of proposed houses to be built on greenbelt land almost doubled. According to London Green Belt Council, a collection of local councils, residents' associations and environmental groups, the number of sites earmarked for house building in the protected ring rose from 203 in 2016 to 632 in 2020…

THE goldcrest and the firecrest both vie for the title of Britain’s smallest bird (‘We three kings’, November 18, 2020). The easiest way to distinguish these glorious birds is that the firecrest has a white eye stripe below its crown, streaked above its eye. However, they are both so tiny, weighing about 6g, that simply to see them is a triumph. Here in Hampshire, there is a local ‘situation’ brewing, in which various local parties are claiming to have seen one or the other; the fact that both species have probably been seen has not prevented the great book Birds Britannica from being consulted, with each party confirming their certainty. This cold weather is dire for these birds—they eat tiny insects and moths’ eggs and need a lot of them…

Lemon sherbet Tesco, Finest Dessert Semillon, Riverina, Australia 2017. £6 for 37.5cl, Tesco, alc 11.5% Noble One is Australia's most awarded sweet wine; a half bottle will set you back at least £20. This is also made by De Bortoli and in the same style: lemon sherbet, candied peel and marmalade notes on an unctuous palate, with bristling acid freshness. Complex and ageworthy Vergelegen, Reserve Chardonnay, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2017. £16–£20, Drinkfinder, Noble Green, Roberts & Speight, Simply Wines Direct, Wine Direct, The Drink Shop, alc 14.5% Lots of new oak, but it doesn't overwhelm. Lees stirring lends a creaminess to the bold palate of yellow apples and ripe stone fruit, but citrus acidity gives great drive and focus. Complex and ageworthy. A hint of menthol Taylor’s, Quinta…

Sir Mark Prescott Bt is a leading Flat racehorse trainer ‘Christina, the artist’s principal model for 20 years, is semi-paralysed. At the end of a long day, she contemplates the warm wind and setting sun, leaning against a weathered door and its out-of-keeping porcelain handle. It’s a haunting image, suited to Wyeth’s muted palette and painstaking technique, with which he lovingly portrayed the countryside and the people around Maine for 70 years. It has fascinated me for 50 years’ ANDREW WYETH’S artist father, N. C., was famed as an illustrator, a reputation he despised. Art was a higher calling and Andrew, his youngest child, became his apprentice at 15: ‘Pa kept me almost in a jail.’ The family divided the year between rural Pennsylvania and the Maine coast, so…

• The word ‘bothy’ comes from the Gaelic bothan, meaning hut • The abundance of Scottish bothies is due to the country's open-access land • Glas Allt Shiel bothy, which sits on the shores of Loch Muick on the Balmoral estate, was built by Queen Victoria, in 1868, as an escape house after the death of her husband Albert—glassalt, as she called it, means ‘widow’s house’ • Bothy ghost tales are popular, with people ‘hearing' spirits walking, talking and even singing and dancing • Bothy ballads are traditional Scottish songs of the 18th- and early-19th-century, sung by labourers…

Buy British The cosy Eira throw, £200, is made of pure British wool to stave off a winter chill, from Neptune (01793 427300; www.neptune.com) Bright idea Light up a dark corner with the Large Bamboo hanging lantern, £59, from Ella James (01572 759190; www. ellajames.co.uk) Super soft Wrap up warm in a pure lambswool throw inspired by the Scottish landscape: Forth double-face throw, £245, Johnstons of Elgin (0344 225 2252; www. johnstonsofelgin.com) Easy does it Sit back in the Vita Relax chair, £1,435, made from teak with all-weather woven-fibre seat and back, from Indian Ocean (020–8675 4808; www.indian-ocean.co.uk) Keeping dry Made of spruce, the Aldsworth wide log store, £180, will hold a plentiful supply in dry conditions, from Garden Trading (01993 845559; www.gardentrading.co.uk) Trident tested Toasted marshmallows over the firepit?…

Lovers of the north Welsh and Anglesey coasts who are not aware of the watercolours of George Cockram (1861–1950) have a chance to get to know them because, subject to the inevitable restrictions, there is a selling exhibition at Oriel Ynys Môn in Llangefni, Anglesey, until March 7 (www. orielmon.org), which is scheduled to reconvene at the Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead, Wirral (May 29–July 11). Cockram was born in Birkenhead and lived at Rhosneigr on Anglesey for more than half a century, until his death in a fire at his studio. He sold well and made a solid reputation even if, as reviewers noted, ‘it was based on a limited and predictable repertoire'. His death was the most dramatic incident in his long career, and he has been generally forgotten…