CATEGORIES

Baby, it's cold outside
Country Life UK

Baby, it's cold outside

Predicting the weather using folklore is not as lackadaisical as it might seem, says Lia Leendertz, as she reveals what we can look forward to this month

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1 min  |
January 03, 2024
A fairy house
Country Life UK

A fairy house

A stylish 1920s home brought the glamour of the theatre and Hollywood, as well as the most recent fashions of healthy living, to an incomparable Surrey setting, as Clive Aslet explains

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8 mins  |
January 03, 2024
Snow magic
Country Life UK

Snow magic

At Dryad Nursery near York, botanical artist Anne Wright has been breeding some highly collectable snowdrops, writes Mary Keen

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4 mins  |
January 03, 2024
Let's hear it for Britain
Country Life UK

Let's hear it for Britain

There are many good reasons to be proud of this sceptred isle, from great thinkers via Shakespeare to the electric kettle. Carla Passino selects 50 of the best

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10+ mins  |
January 03, 2024
The foul-mouthed Miller and the prim Prioress
Country Life UK

The foul-mouthed Miller and the prim Prioress

The pre-eminent poet of the English language, celebrated for his trailblazing literary wizardry, Chaucer's time 'is, and has always been, here and now', finds Matthew Dennison

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6 mins  |
January 03, 2024
A kind of tree magic
Country Life UK

A kind of tree magic

When it comes to driving away witches or warding off evil, nothing beats the rowan tree, with its gleaming scarlet berries and pentagram markings. Aeneas Dennison walks into a forest of myths

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5 mins  |
December 06, 2023
The Generalists and the Twelfth of Never
Country Life UK

The Generalists and the Twelfth of Never

An exclusive Christmas mystery story by bestselling crime-fiction author Sophie Hannah

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8 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
What's the pointe?
Country Life UK

What's the pointe?

Underpinning the mesmerisingly graceful, yet hugely powerful skill of dancing on pointe is a simple, often pale-pink satin slipper, hewn from fabric, paper and glue. Katy Birchall explores the evolution of the ballet shoe

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5 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
The enigmatic altarpiece
Country Life UK

The enigmatic altarpiece

The magnificent 15th-century Portinari Triptych in Florence is full of religious symbolism, but what particularly intrigues Charles Quest-Ritson is the meaning of the flowers in the foreground

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4 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Dignity and impudence
Country Life UK

Dignity and impudence

Our love of pets is so ingrained, it's unsurprising that we have treasured portraits of them since Landseer's day. Katy Birchall meets four artists keeping the memory of our best friends alive

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6 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
On top of the mirey, merey moor
Country Life UK

On top of the mirey, merey moor

With the wet December sleet pelting down on his tweed cap, John Lewis-Stempel and his terriers ascend Chimney Bank on Spaunton Moor for a breath of cold, damp air and to survey James Herriot country

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4 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Sugar, spice and all things nice
Country Life UK

Sugar, spice and all things nice

Gingerbread in its many guises-from jauntily clad figures to enchanting fairy tale-inspired houses-has evolved from an aphrodisiac to a cornerstone of British festive culture, says Carla Passino

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8 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
The peel-good factor
Country Life UK

The peel-good factor

The presence and scent of citrus fruits have long put the zest into Christmas, whether candied, stuffed, studded with cloves, poached or even lauded in literature, says

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4 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Think outside the fox
Country Life UK

Think outside the fox

In literature at least, the fox will come out on top in almost every brush with confrontation, finds Kate Green

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5 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Christmas conundrums
Country Life UK

Christmas conundrums

Even the most time-honoured festive traditions need to be reviewed once in a while. Giles Kime weighs up the major choices

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3 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
It's a wonderful life
Country Life UK

It's a wonderful life

From bashing piñatas to banishing evil spirits with deep-fried doughballs, there's more to Christmas than turkey and stockings. Carla Passino goes around the world in 18 festive traditions

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10 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Peace be with you
Country Life UK

Peace be with you

AT Christmas time, our thoughts turn to the mystery of the Incarnation. That's the primary focus of Christians-or should be, although we all have other preoccupations.

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3 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Cold comforts
Country Life UK

Cold comforts

At 600ft above sea level, Rockcliffe suffers in harsh winters, but, writes Tiffany Daneff, even the worst weather cannot subdue its many charms

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6 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
It came upon a midnight clear
Country Life UK

It came upon a midnight clear

It takes a Christmas party to break the ice for the newcomers at the big house

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5 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
So, this is Christmas
Country Life UK

So, this is Christmas

Today's world would be a strange and frightening place for our Victorian forebears, yet, on Christmas Day, they would still feel right at home, says

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5 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
'Tis the season to be busy
Country Life UK

'Tis the season to be busy

Christmas represents the climax of the working year for some rural businesses. Ben Lerwill talks to six stalwarts whose lives are hectic at this time and finds out how they cope with the deadlines-as well as how they relax

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9 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Made with love
Country Life UK

Made with love

We might not give them a second thought when we kneel down to pray in church, but the humble hassock offers comfort, as well as embroidered and elaborate beauty, says the Revd Colin Heber-Percy

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5 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
When Christmas was cancelled
Country Life UK

When Christmas was cancelled

No feasting. No drinking. No celebrations. Ian Morton explores what the festive period was like when Oliver Cromwell's Christmas clampdown gripped the nation

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3 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Prodigy or eccentric?
Country Life UK

Prodigy or eccentric?

A monastic church converted to a cathedral at the Reformation is a building of European importance, yet it has twice narrowly escaped destruction, as John Goodall explains

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10 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
On the night watch
Country Life UK

On the night watch

As the diurnal delights of the animal kingdom slip into a deep slumber, John Lewis-Stempel explores the velvety black shadows where the wild things are

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5 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Away in a manger
Country Life UK

Away in a manger

From Rembrandt's shepherds, startled by an angel's appearance, to Gauguin's mother, exhausted after giving birth to her green-haloed child, the Nativity has inspired some of our greatest artists, finds

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6 mins  |
December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)
Reaching for the stars
Country Life UK

Reaching for the stars

In a busy week of New York sales, Femme à la Montre, part of the collection that the late Emily Fisher Landau formed with an insurance payout, becomes the second most expensive Picasso ever sold at auction

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3 mins  |
December 06, 2023
Supersonic flight
Country Life UK

Supersonic flight

'Even at 98, he recalls the thrill of breaking the sound barrier'

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2 mins  |
December 06, 2023
The real thing
Country Life UK

The real thing

Barbados boasts a rich artistic and design heritage, masked in recent years by big, faceless hotels, but now being brought triumphantly to the fore, says Rosie Paterson

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4 mins  |
December 06, 2023
Bay watch
Country Life UK

Bay watch

'It reminds me of soft, sugary cola-bottle sweets'

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3 mins  |
December 06, 2023