Entertainment
Country Life UK
Hitting the hay
Early one June morning, when the dew has condensed on the grass, John Lewis-Stempel sets off to mow a mini-meadow with the aid of his trusty ‘grim-reaper’ scythe
4 min |
June 24, 2020
Country Life UK
I compare you to a kiss from a rose
Now that the dog rose is in full bloom, Ian Morton celebrates the climbing briar–embodied by Madame Eglantine in The Canterbury Tales–whose delicate flowers and cherry-red hips have charmed and cured us for centuries
5 min |
June 24, 2020
Country Life UK
Hot under the collar
In a laundry in Bournemouth, an aged piece of machinery has spun back into action thanks to Downton Abbey and the Edwardian stiff collar’s phoenix-like resurgence. Matthew Dennison discovers the secrets of starching
4 min |
June 24, 2020
Country Life UK
An escape from politics
Arundells, 59, The Close, Salisbury, Wiltshire Property of the Sir Edward Heath Charitable Foundation An ancient house in the magical setting of Salisbury Cathedral became the home of a former Prime Minister. John Goodall looks at its remarkable story
8 min |
June 24, 2020
Country Life UK
Music In A Time Of Covid
Music in a time of Covid It’s a case of innovate or go under. From drive-in opera to face-masked players, musical bodies must find a way to keep going during the pandemic, says Claire Jackson
3 min |
June 17, 2020
Country Life UK
What price perfection?
Cecil Beaton’s cherished Chalke Valley country home and an award-winning Dutch-style house near the West Sussex coast come to the market
5 min |
June 17, 2020
Country Life UK
The great survivor
Burghley House, Lincolnshire, part II The home of Miranda and Orlando Rock In the second of two articles celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Jeremy Musson looks at the 20th- and 21st-century story of the seat he created
8 min |
June 17, 2020
Country Life UK
Objects of lustre
Mary Miers considers the contribution made to English art by William Nicholson (1872–1949), master of the ‘unassuming sublime’
4 min |
June 17, 2020
Country Life UK
Farewell to France
I HAVE spent the past 14 years living, for as much as the tax laws allow, in an unfashionable corner of Normandy. Why?
3 min |
June 17, 2020
Country Life UK
Reach for the stars
In the 200 years since its foundation, the Royal Astronomical Society has borne witness to the discoveries of Albert Einstein, Edwin Hubble and Stephen Hawking, as well as an enduring fascination with our less-immediate surroundings, reports Jack Watkins
3 min |
June 17, 2020
Country Life UK
Orchidmania justified
Mark Griffiths celebrates the 52 species of native British orchids whose extraordinary history and unconventional beauty have beguiled and intrigued both scientists and amateurs
9 min |
June 17, 2020
Country Life UK
Going, going, gone...
Interior designers tell Amelia Thorpe about the thrills of furnishing a house at salerooms–and pick lots in recent auctions that have caught their eyes
3 min |
June 17, 2020
Country Life UK
Back from the brink
Ormiston House, Belfast, Northern Ireland After the police moved out in 1995, Ormiston was abandoned, its grounds reduced to a mess of razor wire and overgrown sycamores. Christopher Stocks applauds a remarkable renaissance
5 min |
June 17, 2020
Country Life UK
Make Cothay While The Sun Shines
Country Life can exclusively reveal that one of the jewels of the West Country is on the market
5 min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
Standing in solitary splendour
The garden at Parcevall Hall, Skyreholme, North Yorkshire Steven Desmond visits the early-20th-century garden created by Sir William Milner and now triumphantly restored
6 min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
When small is beautiful
Many large firms are clamouring for financial bailout, but it’s Britain’s smaller, rural ‘Cinderella’ businesses that may yet save the day
3 min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
The battle for the skies
It’s one very lucky feral dove that emerges from a spectacular avian dogfight
3 min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
Ripe for the picking
For Tom Parker Bowles, there’s no fruit as luscious or versatile as a juicy red tomato
3 min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
Turn up the colour
TOO many gardeners are afraid of colour; indeed, I confess to feeling guilty on occasion at my profligate use of it in the garden.
3 min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
The spies who loved us
Their exploits would have made Bond proud and, now, these two fearless female undercover agents are joining the ranks of notable figures to be honoured with one of London’s blue plaques, recounts Catriona Gray
5 min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
The animals behind Animal Farm
George Orwell may have intended his seminal novel, published 75 years ago, to be an allegory on the Russian Revolution, but his extensive farming knowledge informed his animal portraits, making them powerful and, in part, believable, finds Julie Harding
6 min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
New walls on old foundations
Burghley House, Lincolnshire, part I The home of Miranda and Orlando Rock This year marks the 500th anniversary of the birth of William Cecil, a statesman of defining importance in the nation’s history. John Goodall considers the Tudor development of the great baronial seat he created for himself
8 min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
Around Britain in 40 monarchs
From William the Conqueror to Elizabeth II: John Goodall presents a tour of Britain, through the murder and mayhem of the Middle Ages, the madness of George III and the stability of Victoria, highlighting places and objects associated with each of them over the past millennium
10+ min |
June 10, 2020
Country Life UK
Relishing a challenge
Holcombe Court, Devon, part II The home of Nigel Wiggins In the second of two articles, John Goodall looks at the restoration of an outstanding Tudor house completed with great flair over the course of nearly two decades
8 min |
June 03, 2020
Country Life UK
They've stood the test of time
Charles Dickens died 150 years ago, since when Mr Micawber has become a byword for optimism, Scrooge for meanness and Uriah Heep for obsequiousness, and we still quote Mr Bumble’s ‘the law is an ass’. Rupert Godsal explains why these characters are so exuberantly unforgettable
5 min |
June 03, 2020
Country Life UK
Where the spirit of Pope lives on
His ‘genius of the place’ is alive and well in the romantic landscape he created in Cirencester Park
3 min |
June 03, 2020
Country Life UK
Sensation as colour
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912–2004) spanned the 20th century with a remarkable range of figurative and abstract paintings and drawings that deserve to be better known, says Peyton Skipwith
3 min |
June 03, 2020
Country Life UK
Peace at last
Amy Jeffs revives St Erkenwald’s ghostly encounter with the corpse beneath St Paul’s
2 min |
June 03, 2020
Country Life UK
Stop making rash promises
The humble nettle’s burning sting has made it seem intrusive and hostile. However, when all is told, contends Ian Morton, its many species serve humanity and wildlife rather well
6 min |
June 03, 2020
Country Life UK
It's a man thing
DESPITE all the progress with gender stereotypes, there are a few character traits that still distinguish the male.
3 min |