A milestone, some might call it, although the man in question would prefer to see it merely as a number. The occasion called for some sort of cele- bration, but the instructions were strict. No hullabaloo, no surprises, simply a few days away à deux within easy striking distance from home and preferably with a bit of gentle heat to knock the last vestiges of winter from the bones.
A call was made to old friend Anthony Reid and three nights were duly booked at his family’s wonderful hotel on the vast and rolling agricultural plains just south of Seville. Hacienda de San Rafael is a Spanish stalwart, one of those go-to places when you need to be soothed and cosseted, where there are many things to do right on the doorstep, but no sense of urgency or obligation to do anything at all.
Esta historia es de la edición June 07, 2023 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición June 07, 2023 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
It takes the biscuit
Biscuit tins, with their whimsical shapes and delightful motifs, spark nostalgic memories of grandmother's sweet tea, but they are a remarkably recent invention. Matthew Dennison pays tribute to the ingenious Victorians who devised them
It's always darkest before the dawn
After witnessing a particularly lacklustre and insipid dawn on a leaden November day, John Lewis-Stempel takes solace in the fleeting appearance of a rare black fox and a kestrel in hot pursuit of a pipistrelle bat
Tarrying in the mulberry shade
On a visit to the Gainsborough Museum in Sudbury, Suffolk, in August, I lost my husband for half an hour and began to get nervous. Fortunately, an attendant had spotted him vanishing under the cloak of the old mulberry tree in the garden.
Lid pro quo
A product of post-war ingenuity, Tupperware lessened domestic drudgery and empowered thousands of women, but the party's finally over for this ubiquitous kitchen aid, discovers Rob Crossan
Now we're just some gadgets that you used to know
Be it a spit wheel, a pudding prick or a tongue press, many kitchen utensils once considered essential have long been consigned to obscurity, laments Neil Buttery
Stone mad
A ready supply of high-quality building stone in Devon and Somerset is reflected in three landmark properties-a manor house near Tavistock, a county council venue in Exeter and a historic former rectory near Taunton
Thank you for the memories
What do you buy for the person who has everything? A special day out flying a Spitfire, sharpening their gardening knowledge or quaffing wine among the vines, says the COUNTRY LIFE team, as they try out some of the best gift experiences around Co-ordinated by Victoria Marston
Pie say!
Today's baked goods pale in comparison to a Georgian festive speciality, says food historian Neil Buttery, as he lifts the lid on the Yorkshire Christmas Pye.
Now that packs a punch
Today's punch might be an insipid fruit cocktail best left to students, but Charles Dickens and George IV knew how to conjure heady pleasures from their five key ingredients, says Lucien de Guise
First out of the lychgate
There are few things more romantic than a gabled lychgate leading to a charming church, says Jack Watkins, despite their funereal and functional purpose