Country Life

reality check

BY the time you read this, MPs may or may not be back in Westminster, but, whatever happens, this is at least time that could be spent profitably, wisely—even pleasurably—in their constituencies breathing deeply and immersing themselves in the ebb and flow of everyday life away from the bruising bluster and counter-bluster surrounding Brexit. Here is COUNTRY LIFE’s to-do list: 12 aspects of real life to observe, both urban and rural, beyond central London. Travel on a commuter train If it’s on time and you secure a seat, consider yourself fortunate. Score bonus points for not spilling the coffee, for functioning air-conditioning and for the guard being able to get through to inspect tickets. Test communications On your travels, randomly ask small businesses and constituents how well their broadband works—strangely, speed of connectivity does not…

country life

Editor Mark Hedges Editor’s PA/Travel Rosie Paterson 555062 Deputy Editor Kate Green 555063 Architectural Editor John Goodall 555064 Gardens Editor Tiffany Daneff 555067 Fine Arts & Books Editor Mary Miers 555066 Interiors Editor Giles Kime 555083 Managing & Features Editor Paula Lester 555068 Deputy Features Editor Victoria Marston 555079 News & Property Editor Annunciata Elwes 555078 Luxury Editor Hetty Lintell 555071 Acting Art Editor Sarah Readman 555080 Deputy Art Editor Heather Clark 555074 Designer Ben Harris Picture Editor Lucy Ford 555075 Deputy Picture Editor Emily Anderson 555076 Senior Sub-Editor James Fisher 555089 Senior Sub-Editor Octavia Pollock 555082 Digital Editor Toby Keel 555086 Property Correspondent Penny Churchill Group Managing DirectorAndrea Davies Managing Director Steve Prentice Assistant Business DirectorKirsty Setchell 551111 Group Art Director Dean Usher Photographic Library Manager Melanie Bryan 555090 Photographic Library Assistants Paula Fahey 555092; Sarah Hart 555093 Marketing Manager Nicola McClure 555115 Antiques & Fine Arts Manager Jonathan Hearn 01252 555318 Commercial Director Property Paul Ward…

what would victoria say?

THE president of the Victorian Society is shocked by some of the inclusions in its latest list of the top 10 most endangered buildings in the UK. ‘We’re not looking at the second rate here,’ laments Griff Rhys Jones. ‘How can a beautiful, rambling, exemplary Victorian mansion such as Shadwell Court lie abandoned? One would expect it to be starring in TV series, not crumbling away, and in Norfolk, too. Can we really want to lose a sturdy industrial site such as Chatterley Whitfield Colliery near Stoke? Or a fine school in Glamorgan or worthy industrial frontage in the now flourishing Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham?’ The fate of Gothic Shadwell Court is particularly frustrating. It’s listed Grade I and owned by a member of the Dubai ruling family, yet has been empty…

good week for

Feeling festive At the time of going to press, more than 13 million Britons had already started Christmas shopping Booming bitterns Britain’s loudest bird—which was close to extinction only 20 years ago—has seen its best year since records began, with 102 males recorded making a racket on RSPB nature reserves Cucumber sandwiches The tradition of afternoon tea is seeing a renaissance, with 16–34 year olds preferring the 19th-century treat to a round in the pub. Bookings are up 25% in the past six months and by 122% compared with 2014, says Open Table Whisky connoisseurs The ‘Holy Grail of Whisky’— Macallan 1926—is among 394 lots that make up the most valuable collection of whisky ever to go to auction. Online bidding opens on September 27, via Sotheby’s Keeping calm in a crisis After 10 years of campaigning by the…

bad week for

Workplace gripes Some 48% of British employees say their workplace environment is not conducive to creativity, finds a YouGov poll. The number-one gripe is temperature Wild salmon The risk of extinction is rapidly increasing, with human interference a major culprit, finds Tucker Malarkey, author of new book Stronghold, about one man’s battle to save the keystone species British higher education Although Oxford has been ranked first by The Times for the fourth year running, overall, our universities are dropping down the list. Germany and Japan are strong contenders and the US dominates…

country mouse

Not-so-mellow yellow STUBBLE fields used to light up the countryside in September with their golden glow. It was an ephemeral moment, when I could ride across farmers’ fields with impunity. There was a freedom to September that happened at no other time of year, but stubble exists no longer—it is a word of my youth, a memory. The great stubble fires that lit the fields in autumn are no more; instead, the plough is rushed out to prepare the ground for winter sowings. These changes to farming have wrought havoc with the numbers of grey partridge and yellowhammers. Yellowhammers have one of the most recognised mnemonics for their song, ‘a-littlebit-of-bread-and-no-cheese’, which conjures hot summer days in my mind. They also lay eggs covered in intricate patterns, which is why they were known…