Country Life 15-Mar-2023

LONGER days are here again. It’s a slow flick of Nature’s light switch, certainly, but the minutes of wintry darkness are diminishing perceptibly each and every day. At the beginning of March, the Northumberland town of Haltwhistle (‘The Centre of Britain’) has 10.42 hours of daylight; by the end of the month, 13. Winter is disappearing into memory and, by March, who does not think: ‘And about time, too.’ With the lengthening of the day, we humans experience the bearable lightness of being again. On the increasing tides of spring light, we find buoyancy. Light is a mood-maker, not least because it encourages the brain to increase the production of serotonin, Nature’s own happy hormone. Bye, bye, then, winter blues. More, there is the quality of gentleness to spring light, as well…

Wild Britain faces ‘ticking time bomb’ OUR environment is facing a ‘ticking time bomb’ unless society acts now, the National Trust, WWF and RSPB have said. The three organisations, which have a combined 8.5 million members, have joined forces to launch the Save Our Wild Isles campaign, named after the latest documentary presented by Sir David Attenborough, who has also thrown his voice behind the campaign. In a statement, the organisations said that Save Our Wild Isles will ‘engage the UK public and inspire them to act—highlighting not only how Nature underpins everything that makes our lives possible, but also how profoundly threatened it is’. The organisations have commissioned a new YouGov poll, which found that more than 75% of respondents are concerned about the state of Nature. The poll also showed…

Quiz of the week 1) Which British cathedral has the tallest spire? 2) Which mustelid goes by the Latin name of Mustela putorius (foul-smelling weasel) for the pungent scent it emits? 3) Who invented the Spinning Jenny? 4) Which London station did Isambard Kingdom Brunel design? 5) Where can you find the UK’s largest tidal range (also one of the world’s largest)? Word of the week Magnality (noun) A wonderful thing, a marvel, a great deed 100 years ago in COUNTRY LIFE March 17, 1923 THE possession of an efficient wireless receiving set is unquestionably a great source of convenience as well as pleasure to dwellers in the country, especially in the remoter districts, now that broadcasting is in full swing; for, apart from the enjoyment of musical entertainment each evening, one can receive in clear language the latest…

Letter of the week Spot a pudding DON’T say the sensitivity editors have got to COUNTRY LIFE. Tom Parker Bowles’s celebration of the British pudding (‘The proof is in the pudding’, February 15) was a divine, mouthwateringly nostalgic affair—but what is spotted dog? Wendy Doel, Hampshire Fear not, we have no ‘sensitivity readers’ here. Mr Parker Bowles responds: ‘Spotted dog is a long suet pudding, spotted with currants, like a Dalmatian. Spotted dick (pictured), on the other hand, is suet pastry rolled around a filling of raisins and sugar. For more information, read Mary Norwak’s ‘English Puddings’ The writer of the letter of the week will win a bottle of Pol Roger Brut Réserve Champagne Clarkson’s contribution worth more than diddly squat WHAT an excellent article from Carla Carlisle (Another Country, March 1). We are…

THIS has not been a good few weeks for the food and farming ministry, Defra. First came the mauling for the Secretary of State, Thérèse Coffey, at the NFU Conference last month, followed later by the angry words levelled at Mark Spencer, the Farming Minister. Dr Coffey deserved better from her speechwriter than her generalist repeat of what her audience already knew. It was not a speech that could ever have satisfied the farmers. They wanted to feel that this Government understood the impact of their post-Brexit demands. They needed reassurance that ministers were on their side and ready to help in the biggest changes that farming has seen for the best part of 100 years. Rightly or wrongly, they felt abandoned. It will take enormous effort if she is to be…

SINCE the advent of Modernism in the 1920s, steel, concrete and glass have remained its architectural materials of choice. A century on, we remain as enamoured of this style as ever and, in combination—with ever-increasing engineering skills—these materials still constitute almost every notable building of the 21st century. Indeed, to judge from the burgeoning skylines of major cities up and down the country and beyond, the high-rise blocks clad in panels of glass remain a symbol of success and economic dynamism. The planet, however, is perhaps beginning to tire of our enthusiasm. It was a point powerfully made at an event last week organised by SAVE Britain’s Heritage. In a lecture entitled Architecture and Climate Crisis: How the past can save the future, the architect and specialist on carbon emissions, Simon…