Innholdsfortegnelse for 20-Jan-2021 i Country Life

Pinehurst II, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF 0330 390 6591; www.countrylife.co.uk ON mornings when hoar frost sharpens the outline of soot-black drumsticks on last summer’s buddleia and blades of grass stand as crisp as cake decorations, the winter garden comes into its own. Beneath crunchy peaks of dark soil, bulbs are already pushing out snouts of pale new growth; above ground, gardeners mark up catalogues with old favourites and tempting new seeds to try. Lockdown mark one brought sun and an early spring and, soon, the whole country was enjoying its gardens. This time around, things have not been quite so well arranged by the Almighty. We’ve had rain, ice and more rain until winter streams run like milky tea as water filters through sodden ground.…

Nidderdale AONB Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire is to be saved from flooding, after the National Trust announced a scheme to restore the River Skell. The project, backed by a £1.4 million National Lottery grant, will take four years and will see tree planting, meadow creation and new ponds along 12 miles of the Skell in the Nidderdale AONB Rifling through the rubbish A man in Newport, Wales, has asked the local council for permission to rummage through the local landfill site, after he mistakenly threw away a hard drive that contained some £210 million of Bitcoin. James Howells has offered the council a quarter of the value for the drive, some £52 million, should he be allowed to look for it with success…

THE lockdown has cleared my diary of an enormous amount of activity, but it doesn’t bring with it a corresponding sense of calm. If anything, this circumscribed life at home seems more complicated than ever. Each member of the family now has a slightly different and eternally shifting timetable imposed by their own schedule of lessons or meetings. As a further complication, we have also had several secondary-school entrance exams and interviews transferred home and rescheduled. Then there is the need for a degree of parental support and invigilation of the children, the latter in case a lesson on screen is enlivened by the surreptitious inclusion of a music video or even a game. Amid the confusion, however, there are many small pleasures. One of the children has suddenly developed…

A CURIOUS incident was told me the other day. A lady who was a great invalid was in the habit of having food left on a table by her bedside in case she was hungry during the night. She wore a very handsome diamond ring. One night, she took off her ring, placing it on the table. The next morning the ring had vanished. No trace could be found. After some years, the lady died and the house passed to another family, after which it again changed owners. The new owners found a board rotting. When it was removed, underneath was the skeleton of a mouse encircled with the long-lost diamond. The descendants of the lady were traced and the ring restored to them.…

One eye on the clock THE new series by Amy Jeffs on the labour of the month (‘Looking forward, looking back’, January 6) is a wonderful idea. January has always seemed to me to be a time of reflection and there is something very English (and very sensible) in taking things a month at a time. I was reminded that the stables of Swinton Park near Ripon, North Yorkshire, have (or had) an 18th-century clock face with only a single hand, minutes and seconds banished. To me, it represents an ideal of how life might be, if we weren’t in such a rush all the time. Dr Richard Vytniorgu, Monmouthshire The play’s the thing I WAS most interested in your article on Barnes (LONDON LIFE, January 6). My grandfather…

I AGREE with Giles Kime (Interiors, January 6) on the joys of lino. Living with an elegant, but highly demanding black slate kitchen floor, I started daydreaming about lino after seeing some in a cafe opposite Putney Bridge underground station. Featuring a 1950s, multicoloured tesserae design, it has been in use for decades and the Italian owners are very proud of it. If ever the cafe changes hands and some well-meaning, but ignorant newcomer decides it’s time for a change, I hope they will recognise the jewel they have underfoot. Sarah Drury, Wiltshire…

SOMEWHERE in rural Cambridgeshire, Joe Sharman is breeding snowdrops. To most people, this statement may seem odd, but, to the core of snowdrop-lovers known as galanthophiles, it’s important information. Mr Sharman grew up in Cambridgeshire in the 1960s and 1970s, when children were expected to entertain themselves and could set off for a day’s exploration, giving no one the slightest qualm: he recalls climbing up the middle of a hollow oak to emerge, sweep-like, at the top. Encouraged by his grandmother and aunt, he started gardening within the family plot aged four and, when the Sharmans moved to a larger garden, he got round the limitations of his allotted space by keeping chickens in mobile runs and growing vegetables on the bare patches they created. ‘His own interests remained with…

For me, the real discovery of this display is Vincenzo Leonardi, an artist so obscure that he has no entry in Benezit's eight- volume dictionary of artists and whose 1590–1646 dates are only approximate. He was Roman and, for 20 years, worked for Cassiano dal Pozzo (1568–1657) and his brother, Carlo Antonio, on the natural-history sections of their Museo Cartuceo, or Paper Museum, a visual encyclopaedia of antiquities and natural history that eventually ran to thousands of drawings and prints. The bulk of those that survive are now in the Royal Collection (Exhibition, January 6) and the publication of a 37-volume catalogue raisonné is nearing completion. Botanical drawings are intended to record and instruct, which can make them rather dull from an aesthetic point of view. Leonardi's records in watercolour…

From The Lighthouse, Poole, Dorset February 3 Aaron Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man and George Gershwin's Catfish Row, 7.30pm February 17 Mozart's Horn Concerto No 4 and Bruckner's Symphony No 0 Nullte, 7.30pm (www.bsolive.com) From Kings Place, London N1 February 7 Walton's Henry V, Finzi's Dies Natalis, 6.30pm (www.kingsplace.co.uk/ kplayer) From the Royal Scottish National Orchestra A 10-concert season includes Dvorak's Symphony No 8 and Price Violin Concerto No 2 on January 29 and Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite and Piano Concerto, conducted by Edward Gardner with Paul Lewis on piano, on February 12 (www.rsno.org.uk/ digital-season) From the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester The Hallé's Winter Season includes Beethoven's Piano concerto No 3, played by Isata Kanneh-Mason and conducted by Sir Mark Elder, on January 28 (www.halle.co.uk) From the Wigmore Hall, London…

WITH all theatres closed, one has to live off past memories and future hopes, so this week I decided to look both backwards and forwards. It now seems incredible, but, in early December, I had three successive nights at the theatre that I’m happy to record, especially as two of the shows may return. I will also anticipate some of the productions scheduled for 2021. The first of my December nights was also one of the best of the year: Sir Nicholas Hytner’s production of A Christmas Carol at the Bridge Theatre. A cynical friend asked why London needed yet another version of Dickens’s timeless fable when the Old Vic already had an exhilarating production available for streaming. The short answer is that Sir Nicholas’s approach was radically different.…

OUR neighbour, Anthony Sykes, died shortly before Christmas, at the age of 85, and we feel the gap he leaves behind. Someone from the valley wrote to Harriet, his widow, confessing that they would miss everything about Anthony except his car rounding the corner on a country lane. Actually, Anthony was a careful driver, with only a slight propensity to let the wheel follow the direction of his eyes. He was of the stop-and-wind-down-the-window fraternity, broadcasting amusement. ‘Who was that extraordinarily pretty girl you were out with the other day?’ he might ask, in a voice that went out with Alfred, Lord Tennyson, reading The Charge of the Light Brigade aloud on a wax cylinder. To which I’d say: ‘That, Anthony, was my daughter.’ And Anthony would snuffle with amusement,…

Joe the pigeon A racing pigeon that went missing from the US state of Oregon and was then found in Australia will be put down after running afoul of the country's strict quarantine rules. The bird, named Joe, poses a risk to Australia's biosecurity and poultry industry, say officials Escaping snakes Snakes can climb trees, it has been confirmed, to the annoyance of just about everyone. Scientists from the University of Colorado saw brown tree snakes in Guam forming lassos and scaling a vertical pole, on top of which were birds' nests Solent Flour Mills Southampton's unlisted Solent Flour Mills have been demolished, despite a campaign by SAVE Britain's Heritage and the 20th Century Society. It was hoped the Art Deco buildings might be repurposed as a ferry port, but…

Quiz of the week 1) Disney animation Frozen is based on which Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale? 2) Which bladed instrument is used to remove moss and other debris from a lawn? 3) Which letter is the conventional symbol for electrical current? 4) The seed-eating bird Fringilla coelebs is commonly known by what name? 5) What was the first name of the American businessman who founded the Guggenheim Museums? Word of the week Anaphrodisiac (noun) Something that quells the libido 1) ‘The Snow Queen’ 2) Scarifier 3) I 4) Chaffinch 5) Solomon Another log on the fire By Oliver Preston…

BOILING eggs has always created great debate (Letters, January 6) as so much depends on the temperature of the egg before being added to the pan, the number being cooked and their size. A simple solution I was taught involves nothing more than a clock and a slotted spoon. After five minutes, remove the egg with the spoon. If the water on the shell evaporates quickly, the egg is done. If not, put it back in for a short time and repeat until it does. Then, enjoy with toast and plenty of butter. David Macfarlane, by email…

Baroness Floella Benjamin is a life peer, author, television presenter and businesswoman ‘Recent events have shone a spotlight on black history, revealing many fascinating and untold stories. One such story is that of Ira Aldridge, the celebrated 19th-century Shakespearian actor. When I first saw the mesmerising portrait of this elegant, handsome and charismatic man, I was overwhelmed. I felt emotionally connected to the obstacles he must have had to overcome. For a black man to become such a highly acclaimed international actor before slavery had been abolished is remarkable. His imposing posture and defiant demeanour fills me with hope and pride. To me, it proves that talent and determination can transcend all barriers’ LADY BENJAMIN’S choice is pertinent; the black American actor Ira Aldridge (1807–67) is the subject of…

CHRISTOPHER WOOD-WARD is incandescent. The day before this interview, he spoke at a public enquiry that will decide this year whether to allow three blocks of luxury flats to be built overlooking the Garden Museum in St Mary-at-Lambeth, SE1, of which he has been director since 2006. There is much to fight for. The only museum in the UK dedicated to the art, history and design of gardens, it is a typically British success story: one that began in the early 1970s with a battle to save the medieval and Victorian church and ended up creating one of the most innovative, eclectic venues in London. Although Mr Woodward is too young to have been in the vanguard of this struggle, the museum’s current popularity is undoubtedly thanks to his maverick…

Striking form Based in Cumbria, Andrew Kay specialises in wildlife sculpture, including Wild Boar, £1,800, hand-forged from solid mild steel (07740 306412; www.andrewkaysculpture.co.uk) Cutting edge Sculptor-turnedtopiarist Jake Hobson runs a Wiltshire-based business offering special finds from Japan, including these drop-forged, hand-finished GR Pro S-Type secateurs, £99, Niwaki (01747 445059; www.niwaki.com) Support structure Alex MacKenzie and Jenny Maddock of Plant Belles make elegant and practical plant supports in their Devon workshop, including Major Lawrence Belle, at 130cm (51in), £59 (01363 84514; www.plantbelles.co.uk) Two-wheeler West Midlands manufacturer BullBarrow offers extensive choice in wheelbarrows, including the mighty Mammoth Duo, from £80, designed as a sturdy workhorse (0121–520 2345; www.bullbarrow.co.uk) Gardening in comfort Warm and Dry Gardening Trousers, £175, are waterproof and insulated for winter wear. They come with two stab-proof pockets for…

Treasure trove Colourful interiors brand Wicklewood has joined forces with fabric and wallpaper house Blithfield to open its first flagship store, Number 13, at 13, Stratford Road, London W8. Prepare to be immersed in a world of pattern and print, artist collaborations and all kinds of decorative accents, including this Papolo Bug watercolour by Felicity Buchanan in a hand-painted fame, £650, and the Circus Elephant candlestick by Andrea Kashanipour, £225, from Wicklewood (020–7460 6493; www.wicklewood.com) Magic carpet ‘Happiness is handmade' is a Molly Mahon maxim that is eloquently expressed in her joyous collection of Chunky Cotton rugs, from £175 each, made by weavers working from home in rural Jaipur (01342 825700; www. mollymahon.com) Inspiring interiors Since its inception in 1984, de Gournay has been known for exquisite hand-painted wallpapers, many…

TO be honest, it was a bit of a surprise for me, too: I’m on a diet. I only discovered this when all the bread disappeared, together with the potatoes, crisps and biscuits. Although I now pace around the house like a laminitic pony in its starvation paddock, I am secretly rather pleased, as my weight has been showing the sort of annual compound growth that bankers swoon over. I was beginning to look like a corpulent partridge or, as a less kind family member said, a football with teeth. Once, many years ago, I was an amateur jockey and rode out lots at Newmarket way before the cockerel stirred in the morning. I was achingly thin, thanks to the utterly appalling food at my school, Radley, but my light…

Q My boss has intimated that he would like me to move to our New York office. It would be a promotion and, once, I would have jumped at it, but I’m settled here, my partner wouldn’t be able to come and I would hate leaving my family and friends. What comes first—life or work? M. R., London A You want me to say ‘life’, don’t you? Had you mentioned children, I might have done so, but honey, we do have to dig ourselves out of this morass. We’ve been flopping around like seals for a year: is that what you mean by ‘settled’? New York is an exciting city and more so when contrasted with defeated and moribund London. It is no harder to get to than Inverness. Family…

Spiced black tea Coteaux Heliopolis, Coteaux les Cèdres du Liban, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon 2014. £12, Co-op, alc 14% This high-altitude Cabernet Sauvignon-Tempranillo blend offers excellent value. Ripe red and black currants, blueberries, dried roses and earthy spice, then soft, red-cherry fruit and spiced black tea. Rich apricot and citrus Château Suduiraut, Waitrose No1 Sauternes, Bordeaux, France 2011. £16.99/37.5cl, Waitrose, alc 13.5% Château Suduiraut dates back to the 15th century and is a major name in Sauternes. The 2011 vintage produced opulent, very precise wines; this half-bottle has vibrancy and freshness to balance the rich apricot and citrus aromas and flavours. Great with seafood Lua Cheia, Nostalgia Alvarinho, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2018. £18.80, Exquisite Portuguese Wines, alc 13% Enticing nose of honeyed stone fruit, preserved lemon, lime and herbs.…

DOES a car driver have a right to a view? Athena knows that cars spoil and pollute the landscape. They detract from peace and tranquillity and those who use them should be encouraged to do so as little as possible—although she recognises that there is little alternative in rural areas. The fact remains that roads are a necessity. Human beings have to use them and are surely entitled to derive pleasure from their surroundings. Few views from any English road are as exhilarating as that of Stonehenge as it bursts into view from the A303 on the bare Wiltshire horizon. Its appearance delights passengers and silences children. As no other monument does in England, Stonehenge inspires awe towards the past in all who pass it by. This sense of awe…

To sponsor Christopher Woodward on his wild swim to Tresco, Isles of Scilly, visit www.gardenmuseum.org.uk Favourite place? Anywhere a mile off the cliffs of England, as long as I am swimming Book and music? In my emergency kit (for post-swim recovery) is Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson) and Horses (Patti Smith). I ask for a blast from the boat: if you don’t speed up to Patti, you’re dead Food? On my most recent swim, I tried to remember the menu from when garden and wine writer Hugh Johnson took me to The Ritz for lunch, but the sea was very rough and I kept returning to the point when the sommelier, recognising Hugh, presented a new Tokai for him to try. Le douceur de vivre…

Elderly shrub borders have a certain hoary magnificence, but this need not descend into neglect. Now is a good time to overhaul matters, as visibility and access are at their best. With big old specimens of viburnum, for example, new life and vigour can be introduced simply by cutting one or two of the oldest shoots to the ground and thinning the inner tangle of branches, so that there is less crossing and rubbing, more order and light. Finish by clearing the base of grassy weeds, prick the ground lightly over with a fork and make a note to mulch in May.…

• It’s well worth taking the concierge team’s advice on where to eat: cocktails at Hotel de Russie, dinner at Dal Bolognese and a post-dinner walk up to the Terrazza del Pincio, which has breathtaking night-time views over many of Rome’s landmarks • Rome is best explored on foot. Luckily, the hotel is a five-minute walk from the Spanish Steps (top left) and 10 from Villa Borghese and its landscaped gardens with beguiling views (above right). Less obvious attractions include the catacombs (try those of St Domitilla, above left) and Piccola Londra-a very un-Roman residential road, designed in the early 20th century • If you’re short on time, try a guided cycling tour. TopBike Rental comes highly recommended (00 39 06 488 2893; www.topbikerental.com) • Gelato tastes good all year…

Even despite the Van Eyck altarpiece, Ghent is overshadowed as far as tourism goes by its smaller neigh bour, Bruges (‘It's a fairy-tale town,' as Harry said in the eponymous film), but that is to its advantage. It is perhaps second only to Brussels as a centre for anyone searching for antiques and art, other than contemporary art (when Knokke is the place). Francis Maere is among the leading dealers; his speciality is Belgian painting between 1880 and 1950, a fascinating period that includes not only the Symbolists and Surrealists, but several other important groups. In 2011, Mr Maere opened a first-floor gallery in a handsome 18th-century city-centre hotel de mâitre; for BRAFA in the Galleries he has invited three Parisian colleagues and the leading Brussels primal arts dealer Didier…

RUFFING in the long trump hand does not typically gain you extra tricks. However, how would you declare our Four Hearts on the King of Spades lead? After winning dummy’s Ace of Spades, at the table, declarer cashed the King of Hearts and crossed to his Ace-Queen, cursing when West discarded. Now needing a 3-3 Club split, declarer cashed the King and ducked a Club. East won the Knave, cashed the Knave of Hearts and led the Knave of Diamonds (the technically best Diamond card, catering to declarer holding the Queen and West the Ace). Declarer had no way home from here and had to lose two Diamond tricks. One down. Let us replay. Declarer has four top tricks outside Hearts. If he can make all six of his Hearts,…