CATEGORIES
Finally meeting my Waterloo
As commuters dash to catch their train home from south London and lovers meet under its giant clock, Julie Harding explores Waterloo–Britain’s busiest railway station–on the eve of its 175th anniversary
Open all hours
‘If we don’t have it, you don’t need it’: an Aladdin’s cave of useful items, the local hardware store is the shop that time forgot
Their way to heaven
One hundred years ago, a utopian community of artists, farmers and thinkers sought ‘a country life worth living’ in the heart of West Sussex
Nature's towers of strength
The world’s strongest people have nothing on the horned dung beetle, which can tow the equivalent of six double-decker buses, or the golden eagle, with a grip that could burst a car tyre
Hay, good looking
Sweating under the heat of the June sun, John LewisStempel helps his former neighbour Ian–with the aid of a Massey 135–to gather in hay bales before the rain falls
Sprung from the earth
The reconstruction of a Romano-British villa at The Newt, Somerset, has prompted a wonderful experiment in living archaeology. Bronwen Riley steps into the past
Oh, what a circus
The idea of misused patriotism is the theme of an intelligent play that features Putin’s rise to power and Giffords is still the best circus in town
A colourful life through a lens
Suffragette and groundbreaking photographer Madame Yevonde was as adept at capturing COUNTRY LIFE Frontispiece subjects as she was at creating conceptual art with high-society models sporting rubber-snake headdresses, says Lucinda Gosling
Why treasure is a universal word
The new Treasure House fair carries the hopes of the art and antiques market
Keeping the faith
The garden at Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire The home of Lord and Lady Camoys: From their first mention in the late 14th century, the gardens of Stonor Park have gone through as many ups and downs as the family that still lives there. Today, after decades of careful work, they are in top form, finds James Alexander-Sinclair
Pearls of wisdom
Pearls of wisdom What Jackie Kennedy’s $35 necklace tells us about price and value
Legend of his time
Jacky Ickx won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times between 1969 and 1982. As the gruelling endurance race turns 100, Simon de Burton talks to ‘Monsieur Le Mans’ and finds that motorsport wasn’t the first career choice for the famous driver
Let it go to your head
As supple as an Olympic gymnast and as uncrushable as the bulldog spirit, the Panama hat has long been a staple of the British gentleman’s summer attire, says Harry Pearson
Life, the universe and everything
Does the meaning of life hide in our mystical relationship with our world, as captured by the cave art of prehistoric men, asks Robin Hanbury-Tenison
Medieval beauty: The Cloisters, New York, US Part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
One of the most important museums of medieval art in the world could only have been created in 1930s America, as Jeremy Musson discovers
The man who bought Stonehenge
On a whim in 1915, Sir Cecil Chubb made a bid for a plot of land that would never get planning permission. Bernard Bale looks at the life of the barrister who gave Stonehenge to the nation
Flights of fancy
Capturing images of British butterflies dancing through the air like petals on the breeze has been a labour of love for photographer Andrew Fusek Peters, as he tells Ben Lerwill
The big one
It’s the series we’ve all been waiting for. Can Pat Cummins and co resist the hottest team in world cricket,
The green furniture trade
Devoted to recycling by its very nature, the antiques world is now finding evermore innovative ways to go green, from straw-bale buildings to sea freight
The master of the shadow
The painter-turned-renowned printmaker’s light shone but fleetingly, and he has been overshadowed by his friend David Hockney, yet Norman Stevens left a luminous legacy that deserves greater recognition,
Go ahead, jump!
True crickets once basked in the warmth of the kitchen or sang their cheerful summer song in the fields. Now, after years of decline, some species are making a welcome comeback,
Fool me once
A fat green blob wearing a three-day growth of stubble, sexy it is not, et the gooseberry adds a welcome sharpness to jellies, jams and a simple fool,
How to be a human squirrel
Pickling and preserving is a great way to extend the shelf life of seasonal produce, says John Wright, who shares some of his top tips and ideas
Ramblers retreat
IN the village where I grew up, all the cottages grew the same pink rambling rose against their walls. Blowsy, prickly and very sweet scented, my grandmother told me that its name was ‘Albertine’, a Wichurana Rambler introduced in France in 1921, the year my father was born.
Romancing the garden
Stopping spraying and allowing plants to self-seed was the first step in the gradual and brilliant reinvention of the walled garden at Serge Hill,
The heat is on
Lucy Denton investigates how heat pumps can help our heritage buildings in the move to a more sustainable future
To the manor reborn
A charming Tudor house in Dorset comes to the market for the first time in almost three centuries
Better than new
Sustainability relies on creating furniture and appliances that can be fixed–and the skills to do so,
The land of raw milk and honey
Raw milk has been vilified in the press and by food agencies and competitor industries for decades, but its superior taste and health benefits demand we take a second look,
Farming for the future
Food security and land management are two of the most pressing issues facing the UK today, but the way forward isn’t simple. Here, nine guardians of the land outline what they think the next step should be