THE idea of One Hundred Years of Solitude might have caught the imagination of Gabriel García Márquez, but, for most folk, in these days of Twitter (never used it), TikTok (never looked at it) and Instagram (finally gave in and began posting gardening snippets in 2021; @alantitchmarshmbe should you be curious) the prospect of solitude is remote. Whether through more traditional print and broadcast media or Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp and... oh, you name it, society in general now feels the need to be constantly connected to the activities and opinions of others. Except, that is, for gardeners and writers who are accustomed to and revel in working alone.
As I tap out these words in the loft of the barn just across the way from our house, I hear nothing more than the ticking of clocks (it's a weakness my wife has learned to tolerate). Not for me the accompaniment of music or the incessant chatter of the radio; I enjoy the sound of the birds, which can be heard through the open window, but the barn where I write, next to our wildlife pond, has become a space that I increasingly find brings me solace when the incessant babble of the wider world has drowned out peace of mind and what few original thoughts might have entered my head.
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.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds