Country Living UK December 2022

For years before I joined Country Living, the December issue was always the one I’d most look forward to receiving in the post. Its arrival often coincided with a visit to the CL Christmas Fair in London, and both would signal the start of planning for the festive season – a marker in my diary to buy cards and gifts, and get ahead on the writing and wrapping front. When I began working here, I did wonder whether any of that would change – especially as we start thinking about our content in August. I’m pleased to say that, if anything, the experience has been enhanced! I love being part of a team who pull out all the stops to create a sparkling Christmas issue and I hope you will…

Don’t miss… THE BOY, THE FOX, THE MOLE AND THE HORSE Gather round the box this Christmas for an animated adaptation of Charlie Mackesy’s bestselling story The Boy, the Fox, the Mole and the Horse. Many of us first encountered Charlie’s exquisite illustrations during the pandemic, their simple messages of hope catching our imagination. Idris Elba stars as the voice of the fox, Tom Hollander the mole and Gabriel Byrne the horse in this heartwarming fable about the search for home. This is the Christmas cheer we all need. On BBC One and iPlayer. MEET THE… Lord OF Misrule Throwing a Christmas party? You might like to employ a Lord of Misrule to oversee festivities. This jolly Christmas character first appeared in the 14th century – in the guise of a farm worker in…

ART & CRAFT SMALL WONDERS LIFE’S LITTLE LUXURIES HOME COMFORTS NATURAL SELECTION STOCKING FILLERS FOR STOCKISTS see Where to Buy COMPILED BY CARA LASKARIS. PRICES AND AVAILABILITY CORRECT AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS…

As the festive season approaches, I am taking this opportunity to make a request. Please think twice about buying me a present. Before you cry, “Bah, humbug!” let me explain. I love receiving gifts; I just don’t want any more ‘stuff’. I have all the tealight holders, floral notebooks and knick-knackery a woman could ever need. I have no wall space left for pictures or shelf space on which to cram any more vases. And I certainly don’t want any more gardening books – I never get around to reading them. I’ve reached a stage in my life where I’m shedding belongings rather than acquiring more. So I’m asking, please, for gifts that don’t last. Food and drink are ideal, as are toiletries. I now understand why elderly aunts always asked…

Author and seasoned smallholder Sally shares her Yorkshire plot with sheep, horses, hens, ducks, geese, an orchard, a vegetable garden and a pond “There never was such a goose.” Few descriptions of a Christmas feast conjure up such a sense of plenty and conviviality as the one in A Christmas Carol, where, “eked out by apple-sauce and mashed potatoes”, the Cratchits’ dinner fills body and soul. As Mrs Cratchit says delightedly, leftovers mean the young Cratchits are “steeped in sage and onion to the eyebrows”. Goose was once the Christmas bird. Turkeys arrived in England in the 16th century, shipped from North America but, until Victorian times, they were expensive. Goose wasn’t cheap either. Working-class people in cities would often pay into a ‘goose club’ during the year, receiving their bird in…

3 STAR ANISE1½ TSP CINNAMON3 CLOVES⅓ ORANGE, ZESTEDSALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE4.5KG WHOLE GOOSE Cooking time 2 hours 40 minutes Serves 4-6 1 To make the seasoning, grind the spices with the orange zest, salt and pepper. Two to three hours before cooking, prick the goose skin lightly over the breast and rub in seasoning. Return to the fridge. 2 Thirty minutes before cooking, remove and leave out of the fridge. Remove the bag of giblets from the cavity (keep to make a stock or gravy). 3 Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan oven) gas mark 7. Cover the goose with foil and roast for 30 minutes. 4 Remove the foil and baste with fat collected in the roasting tin. Carefully lift the goose and place it on a wire rack in the roasting tin.…