Dame Kate Bingham hands over her phone to show me a photograph of mushrooms. Not any old mushrooms, but porcini, picked in woodland near her home, a restored watermill in the Welsh Marches. It's a huge haul, possibly her best yet, she says. 'I cook them in butter, shallots and garlic -off-the-charts delicious served with grouse breast. Some not so beautiful ones I dry in the Aga and pot up to make tea.'
The date on the photo is September 5, 2020, a Saturday, six months into the Covid-19 pandemic; in between picking through her porcini, she was running online meetings with colleagues on the Government's Vaccine Taskforce (VTF). Since her appointment as its chair in May that year, the race had been on to come up with vaccines in response to the virus and every day was a work day; phone calls would often be made at night as she climbed the hill behind her house.
What Dame Kate calls her 'bifurcated life' between the big skies and sheep-cropped hills of the border country and her day job, as managing partner at venture capitalists SV Health Investors, has its roots in her childhood. Her father was Tom Bingham, probably the most respected judge of the modern era who became Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. 'Dad bought a cottage in Wales as an antidote to fast-paced London life,' she explains. "There was no indoor water, so washing up was done outside by Dad wearing an army greatcoat in cold weather. For me, London was school and the borders was play.'
Denne historien er fra February 15, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra February 15, 2023-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
