Innholdsfortegnelse for 01-Dec-2021 i Country Life

The world’s first purpose-built recording studio is celebrating its 90th birthday. In November 1931, after years of renovations to turn an unassuming townhouse into a state-of-the-art recording space, Elgar conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in a rendition of Land of Hope and Glory and recording sessions of his music—caught on film by Pathé. Fred Astaire, Radiohead and Adele would all follow suit, as would the soundtracks for the ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Harry Potter’ films. Recording carried on during the Second World War, often by the BBC for news and propaganda broadcasts. The extraordinary technological achievements of the site’s sound engineers (left) include the invention of the stereo and artificial double tracking, an analogue recording technique that enhances the sounds of voices and instruments. The Georgian building at 3, Abbey Road,…

THE River Thames has breezed through its first full health check, more than 60 years after it was declared ‘biologically dead’. The research and subsequent report, which was undertaken by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), found that seahorses, oysters, seals and 115 species of fish live in the river, the latter providing food for three species of sharks. The report findings are in keeping with the river’s increasing numbers of grey and harbour seals: there were 797 harbour seals in 2013 and 932 in 2020; 2,866 grey seals (above, in the Thames Estuary) in 2013, compared with 3,243 in 2020. ZSL has been working hard to restore the Thames’s delicate ecosystem since 2003 and it’s not only the water that has benefited. Multiple protected areas along its banks means…

Seasonal suggestions What to do Mince pies are Christmas’s bread and butter. Learn how to make them on a three-hour, Bread Ahead workshop, available in the company’s Wembley, Pavilion Road and Borough Market bakeries, from December 3 (www.breadahead.com/product/mince-pie-workshop) What to eat A free-range turkey of course. Pipers Farm (www.pipersfarm.com), Frenchbeer Farm (www.frenchbeerfarm.co.uk) and Farmison (www.farmison.com) will all deliver to your door What to buy Christmas decorations from Joanna Wood (57, Elizabeth Street, SW1; www.joannawood.com). They also make excellent presents for hosts of those last-minute drinks parties Here’s looking at Brown's Hotel • Brown's Hotel was founded by James Brown, butler to Lord Byron, and his wife, Sarah, Lady Byron's maid, in 1837. Today, it's owned by Rocco Forte Hotels group • The Kipling Suite is named after author Rudyard Kipling,…

LAST week, an elaborate Roman villa complex discovered in Rutland in 2020 was protected as a Scheduled Monument, after excavators uncovered a 36ft by 23ft floor mosaic (section, below right) depicting the battle between Achilles and Hector during the Trojan War. This is the first example in the UK to show scenes from Homer’s Iliad and one of only a handful across Europe. ‘What started as a ramble through the fields with the family turned into an incredible discovery,’ explains Jim Irvine, whose father, Brian Naylor, owns the field. ‘Finding some unusual pottery among the wheat piqued my interest and prompted some further investigative work. Later, looking at the satellite imagery I spotted a very clear crop mark… this really was the “oh wow” moment.’ Leicestershire County Council and Historic…

IT’S quite an edgy area you’re staying in dad’. We had booked the Artist Residence to visit my daughter Anna at university in Bristol for the simple reason that it is dog friendly. Bristol is an extraordinary city, fiercely proud of its independent shops and bedecked everywhere by graffiti from the witty art of Banksy, who lives there, to the less sublime. The locals chucked the statue of Colston into the river and the city remains notable for the number of riots that have taken place within it over the centuries. There is a buzz of protest in the air. Our stay started with lunch at Wilson’s, which turned out to be the best meal I have had this year by far and, from there, Anna led us from one…

Make ’em laugh Q I have always been a great teller of jokes, but, at a recent social gathering, someone asked if I might ‘give it a rest’ as they didn’t find my comedy stylings amusing. Now, I can only wonder if everyone feels the same way and has been too polite to say. Should I hang up my jokebook and sit quietly henceforth? R. O., Greater Manchester A Much as not everyone in the world enjoys cheese (although, in my opinion, these individuals should not be trusted—who doesn’t like cheese?), attending the theatre (again—I know they exist, but who are they?) or drinking alcohol (not guilty), it is a fact of life that not everyone we encounter will enjoy our company. Throw a tendency towards joke-telling into the mix…

‘I love The Music Lesson [as the painting is also known], because, for me, it emphasises the timeless quality of music itself. A simple subject, a young woman playing the virginal, represents generations of music students honing their craft. The painting is exquisitely crafted, with Vermeer’s characteristic eye for geometric detail and nuance, and yet has a twist. A mirror, discreetly placed, shows the woman’s face and so acts in turn as a window to her soul. She leans her head enigmatically towards the teacher (or is he a lover in song?) and we even glimpse the artist’s easel; thus the fourth wall is broken and, despite the seeming austerity, warm humanity abounds’ Charlotte Mullins comments on A Lady at the Virginal with a Gentleman DELFT-BORN Johannes Vermeer was not…

Sir Joseph Paxton (1803–65) was born into a farming family near Woburn in Bedfordshire. With a limited formal education, he began work as a garden boy at Battlesden House in the same county aged 15, rising to become the Duke of Devonshire's head gardener on his Chatsworth estate in Derbyshire by the age of 22. Paxton's work there combined designing Picturesque pleasure-garden features with practical experiments on new types of greenhouse, the glass panes set at angles to take advantage of the sun's rays across the day. The high point was the Great Stove, completed in 1840, to house Chatsworth's collection of exotic plants. The hundreds of thin wooden sash-bars needed for the glazing were mass produced by a Paxton-designed machine, foreshadowing the methods so effectively deployed on the Crystal…

THE blue version of the mineral zoisite (it comes in other colours) is said to have been discovered by Masai tribesman Ali Juuyawatu as recently as 1967. Tiffany & Co called it tanzanite after its origin country of Tanzania, a name that was deemed more marketable than zoisite. The birthstone for December babies is a vibrant blue and sometimes purple, depending on the cut of the stone and the direction from which it is viewed.…

Giles has never been keen on horses, partly because of humiliations associated with trying to impress girls at Pony Club and partly because he is the wrong shape-a long-shanked 6ft 5in. Beagling was the saving grace at his public school-he was hopeless at rugby-and now he spends every Saturday whipping in, where his loping stride, effortlessly skimming heavy plough, comes into its own. The huntsman has become utterly reliant on Giles to retrieve hounds when they've got away from his portly form (which they do often, let's be honest). Beagling is a friendly community; there's a rather nice girl who's started coming out and the tea magnificent.…

Late autumn At the end of the year, leaves are raked and blown into piles, then sucked up by the Terra Vac (a handy machine originally designed for clearing horse droppings from paddocks) and deposited into a huge composting bay. The same is done with all the hedge clippings. Turned four to six times over the course of the year, using a front-loader tractor, the resulting monster heap generates temperatures of up to 60°C and will be ready for use in 10 months December Once the last leaves have been removed, the previous year's leaf compost (now broken down into a friable mulch) is spread in a 2in-deep layer across all the beds and borders before the really cold weather sets in and freezes the ground. Mulching now also avoids…

Creamy Jerusalem artichoke risotto with chicken wrapped in Parma ham Serves 4 Ingredients 350g Jerusalem artichokes, washed and thinly sliced, skin onA splash of olive oil and a knob of butter4 chicken breastsA few sprigs rosemary and thyme4 slices Parma ham1 onion, diced250g arborio rice150ml white wine650ml chicken stockA splash of double cream Method Simmer the thinly sliced Jerusalem artichokes in a saucepan for about 15 minutes and then drain. Heat the oil and butter in a pan until sizzling, then add the chicken breasts, together with the rosemary and thyme sprigs, and gently brown them all over. Move to a plate and wrap each in a slice of Parma ham. Add the chopped onion to the same pan and gently soften. Pour in the rice and stir to coat…

THE National Gallery’s exhibition ‘Dürer’s Journeys’ (until February 27, 2022) finally opened last month. I have yet to see it, but some early visitors suggested it has been a little overstuffed. Anyone attracted by the principle that less is more, however, can put it to the test at a second Dürer show that opened on the same day. ‘Dürer and his Time’ (until December 12) is Agnews’ contribution to London Art Week (LAW; December 3–10) and it centres on the most important Old Master drawing to be discovered for decades. The 6½in by 6½in pen-and-ink The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a Grassy Bench (Fig 1) was bought unframed in an American ‘yard’ or contents sale for $30 about five years ago by a Massachusetts couple, who then…

Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature Edited by Annemarie Bilclough (V&A Publishing, £30) BEATRIX POTTER unleashed her creative genius in a sustained burst, as Shakespeare did. Hers ran from 1901 with The Tale of Peter Rabbit, adapted for private publication from a letter to a five-year-old son of her friend and former governess Annie Moore, to The Tale of Pigling Bland in 1913. Again echoing Shakespeare, her comedies— The Tale of Two Bad Mice, Mr Jeremy Fisher, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and the rest—preceded a run of tragedies, heralded by The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit in 1906 and culminating in The Tale of Mr Tod six years later. The Tale of Pigling Bland was her The Tempest. In less than 10 years, she had produced some of the great characters of…

FORTNUM & MASON has partnered up with Matthew Bourne’s Nutcracker! for the duration of the ballet’s limited run at Sadler’s Wells (www.sadlerswells.com).As well as themed window displays—brought to life by Nutcracker! designer Anthony Ward—shoppers will be able to pick up sweet new creations in The Parlour, try a Nutcracker-inspired afternoon tea in the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon and enter a prize draw for the chance to win a spectacular Fortnum’s Nutcracker! Hamper, with proceeds going towards New Adventures, the choreographer’s charity (www.fortnumand mason.com/nutcracker). Claridge’s, London W1, has unveiled the hotel’s spectacular Christmas tree, designed by Kim Jones, artistic director of Dior’s men’s collections. Nicknamed ‘The Celestial Snow Globe’, the tree is a spellbinding mixture of holographic projections and white toile, topped with the figure of Mr Jones’s faithful canine companion…

The Coral Room A favourite with Winkworth's Adrian Philpott, it combines country-house grandeur and London buzz (16–22, Great Russell Street) Ciao Bella A ‘great traditional Italian restaurant', according to Marion Hardman of Hardman Communications (86–90, Lamb's Conduit Street) Pentreath & Hall One of London's most intriguing interiors shops (17, Rugby Street) London Review Bookshop Top selection of fiction and non-fiction books, as befits a store owned by London's prestigious literary magazine (14–16, Bury Place)…

Something old, something new. That could be the motto of The Colony Grill Room, which both is and isn't. Confused? It will make sense when you get there. Get dressed up and arrive hungry. The restaurant is on the ground floor of five-star The Beaumont on Brown Hart Gardens in Mayfair. Initially part of Jeremy King and Chris Corbin's empire, it's now under new management and has had a lavish refurbishment. After the obligatory brace of martinis at Le Magritte Bar-all wood panelling, leather and Dashiell Hammett-esque lighting, with dynamite cocktails; you can tell the manager has stints at Rules and Dukes under his belt -we're ushered into the buzzy dining room, with its murals, thick white tablecloths and clubby booths. It all feels as if it's been there forever;…

There are some sorry cases on the At Risk Register, but, with Historic England's stated aim ‘to focus attention on those places in greatest need', inclusion doesn't always mean the end, as the hopeful futures of these sites also shows Savoy Cinema, HA8 A former 2,000- seat Grade II-listed cinema, designed by Art Deco master George Coles, it retains all its internal Moderne fittings, but has been closed since 2014. Consent was recently granted to restore the exterior of the building and convert the interior into flats St Pancras Old Church, NW1 An immensely historic church, one of the capital's oldest, next to the former St Pancras Workhouse. Sir John Soane and Mary Wollstonecraft are buried in its churchyard. The register describes the church's state as ‘very bad' and a…

Spotting a mouse house Some 200 harvest mice released into a Northumberland nature reserve this August seem to be faring well; 12 circular grass nests, which they build on tall plants 3ft above ground, have been spotted Slow progress The amount of plastic waste on UK beaches is gradually decreasing, finds the Marine Conservation Society. However, 75% of beach litter is still plastic or polystyrene Hunting hounds The National Trust has announced it will stop issuing licences for legal trail hunting on its land in England and Wales Welsh curlews Gylfinir Cymru is leading a new recovery plan to halt the ‘chronic decline' of the species, which could otherwise be extinct as a breeding bird by 2033 Buried treasure A 13-year-old girl has unearthed a hoard of Bronze Age axes…

AS well as boosting troops’ morale with her dulcet tones, it turns out that Dame Vera Lynn was a prolific artist—a fact only really known to her family and close friends until her death last year, aged 103. When Virginia Lewis-Jones, daughter of the Forces’ Sweetheart, invited Stephanie Fuller, the director of Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft in East Sussex, to Lynn’s house, she had a small display in mind to honour her mother’s life in the village. However, confronted with more than 600 paintings, diaries and letters with servicemen, ‘we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to create an exhibition to fill the whole museum,’ she explains. ‘Dame Vera Lynn: An Extraordinary Life’ will run from January 8 to April 18, 2022, featuring 20 paintings by Lynn, a secret…

LAST weekend my wife and I managed to escape with friends for a few delightful days away in Staffordshire. The children were left in the care of an aunt and uncle. It was impressive to return home and find everything in such perfect order. A particular marvel was the completion of all homework. ‘Why is this impossible to do on an ordinary weekend?’ I asked. ‘Because you never help with our homework,’ came the accusing reply. I pointed out that I had recently stayed up late with a frustrated child to sort out some algebra, a double indulgence because I find it quite as complicated as they do. The child gave a mischievous smile and observed: ‘Yes, but you never do the typing.’ For the past few weeks it’s been…

Making an impression YOUR article on the short-eared owl (Notebook, November 3) gained my attention, as we came back from a short break to discover this amazing imprint (only visible in darkness) of head, body, wings and feet on our drawing-room window. We are advised it was an owl and that the bird is a great survivor when it comes to striking solid objects. No sign of feathers, blood or bird. Do your readers have any ideas? John Stace, Somerset Grab the beetle by the horns I COULD not help but notice the insect on the cover of your special GENTLEMAN’S LIFE issue. At first, I tried to brush it away, thinking it was a flea from our dog, but it didn’t move. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be…

TO say there is uncertainty in the cultural sphere at the present moment seems like an understatement. Has Covid gone or do the current restrictions in such places as Northern Ireland and Germany herald further complications to come? How are visitor audience patterns going to be affected in the long term by the past 18 months of inactivity? When and in what numbers will foreign tourists return? Indeed, about the only thing it seems possible to predict with confidence is that, whatever happens next, there will be no more Government money to help bail anyone out. The emergency funds so far have been hugely helpful in supporting our cultural institutions, but, quite clearly, the Treasury is now exhausted. Despite all that, however, the surprising thing is that so much of…

WHEN the invitation came, we were a little mystified. In beautiful lettering on stiff creamy card, it read: The Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral and the Board of St Paul’s Cathedral Trust in America request the pleasure of your company for an intimate concert and dinner at St Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. On November 11, 2021, at 6:30 in the evening Evening Dress (Black Tie) with Decorations Although ours is a marriage that unites those two countries, we weren’t sure we merited an ‘intimate concert and dinner’ in the grandest of grand cathedrals. Scrolling back for associations with St Paul’s, we remembered attending a service one Sunday during the Occupy London movement to show support for the anxious—and dwindling—clergy.…

TIKTOK, the video-sharing platform, saw a huge rise in usage during the pandemic—and now it appears that vendors are looking to the app for advice on how to sell their properties. Research for online estate agent Purplebricks found that more than half of sellers (55%) default to social media for tips on selling a property, rather than their estate agent or family and friends. In particular, more than a quarter (27%) of those based in London said they turned to TikTok’s short video clips for inspiration, with the image-sharing networks Instagram and Pinterest also proving popular. Vendors are increasingly creating a profile of their property on social media to boost interest. But the study revealed a generational divide: only 1% of the sellers aged 55-plus that took part in the…

THIS year’s GENTLEMAN’S LIFE launch party was back with a bang at The Mayfair Townhouse, London W1. After enjoying Pol Roger Champagne, Chase gin and Talisker Whisky—as well as a speech from Editor Mark Hedges, who cunningly hid a stag beetle on the cover ( facing page)—guests left with treats from Ettinger, Acqua di Parma, Rococo Chocolates, Mr Trotter and TruffleHunter, plus Vain Glorious, a man’s guide to looking his best.…

IN the weeks to come, you may find yourself sitting by the fire with a glass of something relaxing, mulling over a few plant and seed catalogues, anticipating spring. It is one of my favourite winter activities. You may—as I will—have allowed yourself conveniently to forget the tedium (and the stench) of potato blight, various scabs and rots and the slug damage, and start to consider which varieties of potato to sink into the ground next Easter. This is exactly as it should be. That said, let me encourage you to take out a little edible insurance by also growing two other delicious South American tubers, both unaffected by the familiar potato pests and diseases. I first grew yacón a dozen or more years ago and, although it has been…

Roasted Jerusalem artichokes with hazelnuts Simply toss halved or quartered Jerusalem artichokes (no need to peel them if they’re reasonably clean) in olive oil, season well and then roast in a hot oven with rosemary for about 50 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped and roasted hazelnuts. Serve alongside main courses or roasted meat. Jerusalem artichoke gratin Thinly slice 500g potatoes and 500g peeled Jerusalem artichokes. Layer them in a large ovenproof dish, seasoning as you go, and then pour over 500ml each of double cream and milk that have been whisked together with two minced cloves of garlic. Sprinkle the top with Gruyère cheese and bake in a hot oven for 50 minutes until golden.…

ONE of the most useful skills that any country dweller can possess—assuming that they can’t afford that most basic of necessities, a butler (in our case due to an eccentric decision to feed, clothe and educate the children), and thus have no one to tell unexpected visitors that they are not at home —is the ability to hide quickly. Since the death of our goose, who used to greet callers with a honking loud enough to wake the dead, we have depended on two far less reliable early-warning systems: the sound of car wheels going over the cattle grid at the end of the drive and the dogs. The former only works for motorised visitors, the latter when the dogs can be bothered. We are, as it happens, very sociable.…

MAYFAIR’S oldest garden square has emerged from a decade of noisy building works in time to welcome some brand new, prestigious commercial and retail residents. Scaffolding and heavy machinery have blighted Hanover Square since 2011, when work on the Bond Street Crossrail station ticket hall began. In 2018, the building of a £600 million office, retail and restaurant development started, too. Last month, the gardens re-opened, together with a New England-style brasserie called The Maine. Among other arrivals are The Residences Mandarin Oriental Mayfair London, a fashion academy founded by shoe designer Jimmy Choo, US private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and a Parisian-style courtyard. Hanover Square was laid out in 1716–20 and named for George I, Elector of Hanover.…

A NEW generation of young and super- rich buyers is behind a sharp increase in prime property sales, according to The Times. The newspaper quoted a report by estate agency Knight Frank that said 102 homes worth more than £10 million were sold between October 2020 and October 2021, more than in the same period in either of the two previous years. Interestingly, fewer homes worth more than £30 million (nicknamed trophy assets) sold in the same period. Marc Schneiderman, director of luxury London estate agency Arlington Residential, described the ‘new breed of super prime buyer’ as ‘in their mid thirties working in tech’, going on to say that ‘they don’t need the profile that goes with living on Kensington Palace Gardens. It’s not that they can’t afford it. Some…

HOW many times have you uttered the words ‘I cannot believe it’s nearly Christmas again’ in the past week? We’re guessing quite a lot, so for those of you taken by surprise once again, here’s how to get through it in style. Let’s start with presents: you cannot go wrong with a book and Marchpane, in Cecil Court, WC2, specialises in rare children’s literature, including signed first editions of the early ‘Harry Potter’ novels (www.cecilcourt.co.uk/marchpane). For smaller trinkets–such as Bridie Hall’s alphabet pen pots (£40) and Vaisselle’s gingham dinner plates (£55)–head to Liberty London, W1, a 15-minute walk away (www.libertylondon.com). Keep some space free in your bag for a bunch of decorative blooms from the Nikki Tibbles Wild at Heart flower stall, next to Liberty’s Great Marlborough Street entrance. Nearby,…

AFTER last year’s peak in Google searches for French and English bulldog puppies during the month of November—with both breeds reaching their highest ever Kennel Club (KC) registrations (up 17%)—experts are urging the public to think twice before buying a flat-faced dog in the run up to Christmas. Those little squashed faces may look adorable on social media, but the rise in irresponsible breeding and smuggling puts brachycephalic breeds at risk. ‘Unlike some commodities which are reportedly going to be in short supply this Christmas… puppies are living, sentient creatures and must not be bought on a whim,’ insists Dr Dan O’Neill, chairman of the Brachycephalic Working Group, whose stakeholders include the KC, PDSA, Dogs Trust, RSPCA, the Royal Veterinary College, the University of Cambridge, the British Veterinary Association and…

Quiz of the week 1) Who made famous a song about ‘the biggest aspidistra in the world'? 2) Which sport would you be most likely to watch at Rosslyn Park? 3) Who was King of England when Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament? 4) Which is the largest in volume: a gill, a gallon or a bushel? 5) Who wrote the collection of short stories Tales of the Unexpected? Word of the week Evanid (adjective) Fleeting or short-lived Time to buy Glencroft Sheep Tree Vista Jumper (100% British wool), £119.95, Glencroft (01524 251747; www.glencroftcountry wear.co.uk) Amina Glass Candlestick in Red and Green, £27.50, ibbi (01434 409085; www.ibbidirect.co.uk) Reserve Port & Stilton, £55, Dukeshill (0345 370 0129; www.dukeshillham.co.uk) Riddle me this I fasten two people, yet touch only one. What…

Soy sauce and spice Leyda, Reserva Syrah, Leyda Valley, Chile 2019. £10, Co-op, alc 13.5% Black pepper on a nose of ripe black fruits, soy sauce and sweet spice. Ageing for 12 months in stainless steel and used French oak barrels preserves its sour-cherry and black- and red-berry fruits. Perfect for beef dishes. Laser-beam acidity Pikes, Traditionale Riesling, Clare Valley, South Australia 2020. £14.45–£17.95, NY Wines, Vinvm, Wine Direct, alc 12% Pikes has made Traditionale every vintage since the family founded the winery in 1984. This 2020 is delicious now, but will age for a decade or more. Classic bone-dry, lime-cordial flavours, flinty minerals and laser-beam acidity. Top value. Entry-level sweet wine Château Tirecul la Gravière, Les Pins, Monbazillac, Southwest France 2020. £14.50/50cl, Lea & Sandeman, alc 12.5%…

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This is a good time to sow the seeds of decorative alpines, which require cold before they will germinate, a process called vernalisation. Mix up a free-draining compost incorporating plenty of sand and fill a clay pan over a base layer of grit. Level and firm the surface. Sow the seed thinly. If the seed is tiny, mix it up with some fine dry sand. A thin layer of grit is then applied on top. Place a label on the surface, then cover the pan with a pane of glass. Leave out of doors.…