Dispatched
Assisted seating
Any woman who has had her knees clumsily banged against a table leg as a well-meaning neighbour repeatedly bashes a chair against her bottom will agree that the custom of helping the ladies into their seats can take a back seat. It’s polite to pull out a chair, but the guardsman’s habit of tucking in is only really appropriate for the aged or infirm.
Gender symmetry
With gender fluidity, same-sex or oppositesex couples, the traditional male/female placement makes table plans a little complex. What’s more, the idea that men will be happiest chatting only to women and vice versa is outdated; flirtation and good conversation do not discriminate. That said, never place couples next to each other. No one should be holding hands under the table— the goal is to socialise, make others feel comfortable and to be good company.
Arcane cutlery conventions
Debrett’s is full of bizarre advice, such as consuming a pear with a teaspoon and only ever eating asparagus with your hands (what about the buttery fingers?). The ‘correct’ usage of a soup spoon (ladled backwards) is another moot point. You’ll look like a purist and purists aren’t sexy. Nor are flying peas—pronging is a dangerous habit. When wielding cutlery, follow your better judgement.
Esta historia es de la edición November 29, 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 November 29, 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
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds