Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2015 i The English Home

When it comes to Christmas I am an unashamed traditionalist. There is something so comforting about revisiting familiar family rituals each year, don’t you think? My family once dabbled with Beef Wellington but, although it was delicious, we all agreed it wasn’t really quite the same as eating turkey as the mainstay of the annual feast. And I can’t imagine Christmas without mince pies, carols or watching the Queen’s speech. Creating our Christmas edition always transports me to the season ahead. I still get as excited as a child when planning the decorating and, of course, the gathering together of people I love the most. I am always fascinated by the variety of traditions that people follow in celebrating this magical occasion, so with this in mind I persuaded our…

The Perfect Turkey Choosing a bird is the first step to ensuring a delicious centrepiece for the Christmas Day feast. A breed that has been reared organically will yield a tastier result. Fortnum & Mason favours the Bourbon Red, a heritage breed reared to full maturity. The Bronze is a breed famed for a moist, juicy meat and is also reared on the Daylesford farm. Farm manager Richard Smith explains the breed is naturally slower growing than modern white hybrid birds. “The slow growth allows the Bronze to use their ability to forage and live off the land.” Honour a slow-grown, organic bird by cooking to perfection. Fortnum’s head of fresh food, Andrew Cavanna, advises cooking turkey breast-side down, to allow the fat to run into the white meat, turning…

People who live in very old houses often speculate about the original owners. It is exciting, therefore, when plenty of accurate information exists to reveal – 200 years on – something about the lives of the people who have gone before. Carol and Peter Richards know quite a lot about previous residents of their handsome Georgian home, as it has a traceable pedigree. “We have heard a lot about the history from local people, and I am always hungry to find out more,” says Carol. The Richards’ home, Radford Villa, is set in four and a half acres, in a village near Bath. Initially a farmhouse, it dates back to the early 1800s, when it was built by the son of a local farming and milling family whose social importance…

There is something deeply comforting about foraging around in cupboards for decorations as early December arrives and Christmas is only weeks away. Treasured pieces collected over the years remind us how reassuring traditions can be, and are all part of what makes Christmas so special. The secret, when decorating, is to concentrate on key areas with bold statements and flourishes. Celebrating the season Greenery from the garden arranged casually in naive vessels gives a flourish of freshness to any room. Here (opposite), an antique cattle feeding pail and a simply painted wooden milk pot, picked up at antique fairs, fit the bill perfectly. Using a length of beautiful fabric, create a Christmas cloth to make any surface look special for this year and for many more to come. Tablecloth in…

Tell us about your Christmas parties? I have thrown all sorts of parties over the years. I am very lucky that I have a large sitting room; I can clear that out and have up to around 100 people. I love for people to dress up, and I think having a theme encourages this. One year we had a glamorous sparkle theme, but at other parties throughout the year we have also had sixties, lederhosen, bonnets and buttonholes... It’s just great fun. How do you decorate? Obviously, the house is already decked for Christmas, but I will get carried away adding fresh foliage to the mantelpiece and staircase. I love to go to Covent Garden market to gather lots of flowers, too; it’s such a great experience. Last year I…

BEDTIME BLISS At Christmas, one generally has to make up spare beds and I always see it as a good time to spruce up largely unused rooms by buying new linen. Top of my list of places to go for this is Amara. They have a host of brilliant items for the home, and lots of rather unusual and fun duvet covers and throws. It is terribly important to ensure one’s guests are relaxed and comfortable in their rooms, not least because this often means I get an extra hour or so before I am on breakfast duty. amara.com CORNUCOPIA OF GIFTS I am a huge fan of Daylesford, and it is always on my list to visit around Christmas. It is great for emergency presents. This year I am…

Balsam Hill Tel 020 3368 6726 balsamhill.co.uk Cabbages and Roses Tel 020 7352 7333 cabbagesandroses.com Cox & Cox Tel 0844 858 0744 coxandcox.co.uk C & P Interiors Tel 01737 213021 Dobbies Tel 01315 616406 dobbies.com Highgrove Shop Tel 0333 222 4555 highgroveshop.com Hobbycraft Tel 0330 026 1400 hobbycraft.co.uk Lewis and Wood lewisandwood.co.uk Lux Deco Tel 020 3586 1536 luxdeco.com Osborne’s Christmas Trees Tel 07870 466179 o-christmas.co.uk Pulteney Bridge Flowers pulteneybridgeflowers.co.uk Sainsbury’s Tel 0800 636 262 sainsburys.co.uk Skadium Tel 020 7584 2066 skandium.com Sophie Conran Tel 020 7603 1522 sophieconran.com Tallulah Rose Flower School Tel 07976 271341 tallulahroseflowers.com Tissus d’Hélène Tel 020 7352 9977 tissusdhelene.co.uk Treez & Flowers Tel 01249 720354 treezandflowers.co.uk Zoffany Tel 0844 453 4600 zoffany.com…

• Playing at furniture rearrangements to try new configurations in the sitting room ready to host a large number of guests (see page 102 for ideas). • Making our guest bedrooms extra inviting It is only in the last few years that we have taken over the baton as hosts for the extended family at Christmas, and I want to ensure that all who stay overnight feel completely at home. • Buying vintage linen to dress our dining table for the Christmas feast. It was a discovery at The Malt House Emporium in Stroud – a wonderful resource for affordable antiques and vintage pieces, as well as present shopping! malthouseemporium.com…

HOMESPUN & RUSTIC Jill Shearer, Deputy Editor “Living in an eighteenth-century cottage with low beams and generous fireplaces, I incline towards rustic warmth at Christmastime, with rich colours, natural textures and plenty of natural foliage gathered from the garden and surrounding hedgerows. For me, Christmas is a time for hunkering down with the family to play board games by the fire and simple pleasures such as mulled wine, mince pies and stollen. I love the idea of homespun, personal touches – a sprig of fir or snowberry tucked into a gift or a napkin ring; hand-printed giftwrap and personalised fabric stockings filled with thoughtfully chosen gifts for friends and family. Christmassy scents and flavours are all part of the evocative mix.” ELEGANT COUNTRY Suzanna Le Grove, Lifestyle Editor “I love…

RICOTTA CAKE WITH CARAMELISED CLEMENTINES Brimming with Christmassy clementines, this is a moist, dense cake, with a subtle hint of star anise. The cake itself freezes well in a sealed container. Once topped with the barely cooked clementines and syrup, it is best eaten within a day, or two days at most. Serves 8 140g unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra to grease Plain flour, to dust 140g caster sugar 375g ricotta 3 medium eggs, separated, plus 2 extra egg yolks Finely grated zest of 3 clementines, plus 3 tbsp juice 175g self-raising flour, sifted 1 tsp baking powder Pinch of fine sea salt 4-5 seedless clementines 100g caster sugar 4 star anise 75ml clementine juice or orange Liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau Whipped cream to serve…

Dressing the tree is an intrinsic part of Christmas, and the addition of one or two special ornaments each year to add to a treasured collection of family favourites can be a memorable part of the ritual, offering an annual opportunity to peruse the tempting new selections. This year’s treasures range from the richly tactile – sumptuous feathered eggs and gorgeous embroidery – to the exquisitely delicate – finely etched, hand-blown glass and delightfully whimsical illustrations. Choosing just one or two may prove to be quite a challenge.…

Paper chains are timeless and offer almost limitless possibility for introducing colour and pattern to a decorating scheme. Paper should be on the thicker end to preserve shape, and whilst the thrifty may use material saved from previous years, giftwrap with a Liberty print, or one of the unusual designs from the Judd Street Gallery, juddstreetgallery.com, will offer a distinctive and tailored look. This and more seasonal decorating ideas from Winter Living, by Selina Lake, £19.99, (Ryland Peters & Small).…

During the run up to Christmas, the fun of decorating and the focus on shopping for presents and food can mean that one’s eye for practical matters can slip. Yet with endless comings and goings of friends and overnight guests across the festive period, this is the time when a home needs to run at its smoothest. The sitting room (along with the kitchen) becomes a hard-working room. But, thankfully, there is still time to make a few adjustments to ensure it is a truly comfortable space, ready to host winter guests. AN EXTRA SEAT Large gatherings across the festive season require instant additional seating. Three people rarely feel inclined to sit in a row on a sofa, even if it is a three seater, so do consider the configuration…

DECKING THE TABLE Food is central to the festive celebrations, and it is a treat at this time of year to be able to make a real feature of the dining table for meals with family and friends. Table decorations do not need to be elaborate nor complicated; in fact modest ideas are sometimes the most striking. For the simplest of table decorations, fill small jars, glasses or pretty ice-cream dishes with crab apples (Malus sylvestris), cones and nuts. These are pretty and do not take up a lot of space on a crowded Christmas table. Scour the garden and hedgerows for foliage and berries. A mild winter can also mean that there may be a couple of brave little flowers in bloom, such as primroses (Primula vulgaris) and hydrangeas…

Many of the comforting, warming drinks that our ancestors would have known have fallen out of favour. As author Jane Struthers reveals in The Book of Christmas (£9.99, Ebury Press), winter was the time of great experimentation with hot drinks from Bishop to Posset to Het Pint (which Struthers reveals was carried by first footers for Hogmanay), which are rarely known today. Yet mulled wine continues to be served. We are intrigued to try the recipe Struthers divulges for Dr Samuel Johnson’s Mulled Wine – and the advice is to use a good quality wine when making it. Dr Johnson’s recipe will make around 2¼ pints, and will provide the perfect festive tipple for guests at Christmas. You will need: 75cl bottle good red wine (claret or Merlot) 12 lumps…

Christmas divides the world into two camps: one either loves it or hates it. It will bring out either the best or the worst of one’s character and, without knowing someone well, it can be difficult to tell which it will be. I learned fairly early on in our relationship that Mr M will most years likely side with Ebenezer Scrooge. Whilst he is all for a traditional lunch of goose, roast potatoes and all the trimmings, he is rarely inclined to share it with anyone but the children. If I even mention seeing friends, inviting family over or – even worse – suggesting we go and visit anyone, it is met with a tantrum or a sulk that could last until Easter. Christmas should be about spreading goodwill, getting…

The English Home team were delighted to host design luminaries including Nicky Haslam, Joanna Wood, Natalia Miyer, Justin Van Breda and Carol Klein at a recent party at the Ritz. It was a chance to raise a toast to celebrate The English Home and The English Garden magazines, upon return to the original launch owner Paul Dobson, owner of The Chelsea Magazine Company, just in time for their 15th and 20th anniversary years respectively.…

CARPET BAGS Stylish Carpet Bags make gorgeous gift options. These individually hand-crafted treasures are made in the heart of East Anglia using velvety-soft, yet tough, viscose and cotton rugs. With a number of different traditional carpet designs to choose from, and a range of styles, from small shoulder bags and handbags to big Gladstone bags, there is something for everyone. carpetbags.co.uk Tel +44 (0)1379 687690 PERILLA Cosy, soft, 90 percent alpaca bed socks from Perilla. Alpaca has higher insulating properties than any other fibre, and is more hard wearing. Great colour palette of palest pastels to vivid red that come in four sizes, extra small to large. These can be beautifully boxed, and make a superb Christmas gift for any age group. perilla.co.uk Tel +44 (0)1886 853 615 MARGARET TAYLOR…