I’M afraid we’ll no be here for a few days.’ Willie looks a bit sheepish as he goes on to explain: ‘We had a bit of an accident yesterday.’ My mind races around various possibilities. Of all the operations that happen on the estate, with the possible exception of loading cattle onto trucks, felling trees is the most dangerous.
Foresters are a hardy breed and all too many of the ones I have known have carried some disfigurement with them as badges of their trade and as a permanent reminder of the need for health and safety in the workplace, even if, or rather, particularly, if your workplace happens to be 60ft up a tall beech tree.
Jock, who tended our woods when I was a child, was missing a little finger. I used to stare at it in their cottage, with hindsight probably rather rudely, as I tucked into the local delicacy, homemade tablet (pronounced ‘tarblet’, an extra-sweet form of fudge) made by his wife, Nancy, who was our nanny. He had cut a piece of timber rather too finely and pushed it through the circular blade in the sawmill. Family legend has it that my grandmother packed the severed digit in ice and drove him to the hospital, but they were unable to sew it back on.
Denne historien er fra September 15, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra September 15, 2021-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
