CATEGORIES
May Day Muguet
The fragrant, waxen white bells of the native woodland gem lily of the valley, which ring in the merry month of May, symbolise romance and carry good fortune.
Scooby Dooby Doo, I Love You
THE Subaru XV is another strange concoction from the bestiary of the Dadaist Japanese car-makers.
Upstairs To Downstairs
The gradual decline of an old Catholic family helped preserve this magnificent manor house, finds John Martin Robinson
Searching For A New Movement
IT’S always good to think you were there at the start of something big, at the vanguard of a new movement.
If The Cap Fits
It’s no longer written in law that you must wear one, but, for some, it might just as well be. Rob Crossan explores the endless appeal of the flat cap
The Dahlia List
The chase is on: if you want to grow the best dahlias in your borders this year, you need to get your orders in soon, says Val Bourne
Have Violin, Will Travel
Now’s the time to book your musical holiday, says Pippa Cuckson
Man And Machine
Charles Darwent welcomes an exhibition dedicated to the French painter/film-maker, who took inspiration from mechanical modern life to develop his own take on Cubism
Chicken Fit For A King
Poached with slices of black truffle in a broth flavoured with tarragon and Madeira, there’s no finer way to treat a bird
A Man With A Van
February sees John Lewis-Stempel solve his lack of transport by purchasing a Citroën Berlingo–the French farmer’s vehicle of choice
Piping Up
Hours of intricate work are needed to craft a set of bagpipes, finds Kate Lovell
The Traveller's Riches
The Travellers Club, Pall Mall, London SW1 To mark the bicentenary of The Travellers Club, the oldest club in Pall Mall, John Martin Robinson tells the story of an institution and its home, a purpose-built Renaissance palace
Cupboard Love
Every good cook needs a well-stocked larder and the list of essential kitchen-cabinet ingredients has an increasingly international flavour, says Tom Parker Bowles
Desert-Island Magic - Joali, Maldives
Travel The great escape
It's A Love/Hate Thing
In fishing, there’s no accounting for people’s tastes and whether or not you like Marmite
Game Of Thrones
No downstairs cloakroom is complete without a wooden loo seat. Jane Wheatley investigates why burr walnut is always preferable to plastic when it comes to sitting pretty
Bach-To-Bach Bliss
Forget running marathons–Ysenda Maxtone Graham has become addicted to a 12-year project that aims to perform all of the composer’s vocal works
My Favourite Painting The Archbishop Of Wales
‘“Too idealistic” and “naïve”: two reactions to Strutt’s painting. It’s a “favourite” in a very particular sense: the Christian faith is, for some, too idealistic or naïve, but for those who understand Strutt’s inspiration, the painting is a metaphor for the Kingdom of God, in which innocence, gentleness and generosity of spirit triumph over division, conflict and self. The little child prefigures Christ, who embodies that Kingdom and, in his teaching, turns on its head what some see as the natural order in which might is right and self is king. Even if turning that world view on its head is idealistic or naïve, count me in!
Not Such A Bad Thing, Really
IADORE Rhododendron ponticum.
Chasing Perfection
One & Only Saint Géran, Mauritius
Water, Water Everywhere
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Better Bergenias
INSPIRED by COUNTRY LIFE’s Lutyens celebrations (March 20), I’ve been re-reading Gertrude Jekyll’s Wood and Garden of 1899.
East Is East
Eleanor Doughty writes a love letter to Norfolk, praising its charming villages, unspoilt coast and rising market–not to mention a good number of pubs
The Destruction Of Chaucer's London
London’s medieval suburb in Southwark has preserved an unusual street plan redolent of its history. Ptolemy Dean hopes against hope for a miracle to save it from the predations of developers
Of Tittypines And Tisty-Tosty
Once believed capable of banishing wrinkles and revealing fairy gold, the dainty cowslip has clung on despite agricultural upheaval, finds Ian Morton
High Kicks And High Jinks
Offenbach famously created the can-can music, but one of his lesser-known works will be premiered in Garsington Opera’s 30th-anniversary season. Claire Jackson reports
What, No Trouser Press?
An Oxfordshire pub is flying the flag for a more relaxed approach to interior design.
Pop-Up Plants
In the garden
Dig For Victoria
Victorian gardeners may have looked to the past or to other countries for their inspiration, but their influence can still be seen in gardens big and small today, says Mark Griffiths
Three-Hundred-And-Sixty Degrees Of Perfection
Louisa Jones hails a masterly design that more than matches this garden’s breathtaking panorama