NAPOLEON BONAPARTE thought he was disparaging Britain when he called this country 'a nation of shopkeepers'. What a dilettante. This country has long inflicted much worse on herself: her people call her Blighty (compare this with the habit of the Italians, who refer to their nation as Il Bel Paese, The Beautiful Country) and her capital is the Big Smoke (Paris's nickname is The City of Light; Rome's is The Eternal City). The British are unrivalled champions of self-abasement, but our New Year's resolution in testing times is to put the Great back into Britain and celebrate what makes this country a place we are proud to call home.
1 Understatement
No one in Britain has a huge problem: we are invariably 'in a bit of a pickle'. We are only ever 'a little put out', even when we are completely gutted, but if we are truly pleased with something, we say 'it's not too bad. Alexander Fleming dismissed his discovery of penicillin, which has saved an estimated 200 million lives, with: 'One sometimes finds what one is not looking for. When 650 men of the Gloucestershire Regiment faced off tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers during the Korean war, Brig Thomas Brodie told his American allies by radio that things were 'a bit sticky' (the Americans took him at face value and told him to hold the position; only 39 men survived).
2 Endearing animal characters
Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.' A few decades later, 'Mr and Mrs Brown first met Paddington on a railway platform' and, in between, A. A. Milne filled a forest with a philosophising bear and his pig, kangaroo and donkey friends.
3 Cracking the Enigma code
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All gone to pot
Jars, whether elegant in their glazed simplicity or exquisitely painted, starred in London's Asian Art sales, including an exceptionally rare pair that belonged to China's answer to Henry VIII
Food for thought
A SURE sign of winter in our household are evenings in front of the television.
Beyond the beach
Jewels of the natural world entrance the eyes of Steven King, as Jamaica's music moves his feet and heart together
Savour the moment
I HAVE a small table and some chairs a bleary-eyed stumble from the kitchen door that provide me with the perfect spot to enjoy an early, reviving coffee.
Size matters
Architectural Plants in West Sussex is no ordinary nursery. Stupendous specimens of some of the world's most dramatic plants are on display
Paint the town red
Catriona Gray meets the young stars lighting up the London art scene, from auctioneers to artists and curators to historians
The generation game
For a young, growing family, moving in with, or adjacent to, the grandparents could be just the thing
Last orders
As the country-house market winds down for Christmas, two historic propertiesâone of which was home to the singer Kate Bush-may catch the eye of London buyers looking to move to the country next year
Eyes wide shut
Sleep takes many shapes in art, whether sensual or drunken, deathly or full of nightmares, but it is rarely peaceful. Even slumbering babies can convey anxiety
Piste de résistance
Scotland's last ski-maker blends high-tech materials with Caledonian timber to create 'truly Scottish', one-off pieces of art that can cope with any type of terrain