EVERY year, at 3 pm on Christmas Day, millions of us around the country tune in to watch The Queen’s Christmas message. It’s now more than 60 years since her first speech was broadcast on the small screen in 1957, complete with sound and pictures (which had taken five years to effect, after she began with a radio broadcast). It’s scheduled at 3 pm to allow all 52 member states of the Commonwealth to have a decent chance to listen in or watch. In New Zealand, it’s shown at 6.50 pm local time, in Australia at 7.20 pm and in Canada at midday.
For many of us, her speech is a ritual that’s an integral part of our traditional Christmas Day. We fit it into the schedule, making things work around it—be it the church service, present-giving, the turkey feast or the attempt to walk off the second helpings.
Esta historia es de la edición December 11-18, 2019 de Country Life UK.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 11-18, 2019 de Country Life UK.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
