Country Life

Future Publishing Ltd, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 6JR 0330 390 6591; www.countrylife.co.uk TO celebrate our special American issue, here is a reminder of what we love most from across the Atlantic. Domestic bliss The refrigerator, the dishwasher, the washing machine, the electric iron and the microwave oven were all invented there, for which we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Influential women In 1873, Leonard Jerome, proprietor of the New York Times, rented Rosetta Cottage on the Isle of Wight for Cowes Week. Within three days, his daughter Jennie had accepted a proposal from Randolph Churchill—a plaque marks the spot; their son, Winston, was born the following year. Another heiress, Nancy Tree (later Lancaster), owner of Colefax and Fowler, was an arbiter of taste who taught the British how to decorate their…

Butterfly SOS WE have known for some time that butterflies are in trouble, with a decline of 80% since the 1970s. The problem was more recently highlighted back in August, when a plea was made for more volunteers to take part in the last week of the Big Butterfly Count, due to a dramatic decrease in sightings of these indicator species. Now, the results are in and they have spurred charity Butterfly Conservation on to request, in an open letter to Defra Secretary Steve Reed, that the Government declare a ‘Nature Emergency’ and ban ‘butterfly-killing’ neonicotinoid pesticides properly, without exception. With 85,000 volunteer ‘citizen scientists’ completing 143,241 15-minute counts (for the record, this is slightly fewer participants than last year, but they conducted more counts), there was an average of seven butterflies spotted…

Quiz of the week 1) What type of creature is a blackcap? 2) Which British couturier designed Elizabeth II’s wedding gown? 3) What is ‘albumen’ more commonly known as? 4) I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General is from which work by Gilbert and Sullivan? 5) In which century did the Black Death occur in Europe? 1) Bird 2) Sir Norman Hartnell 3) Egg white 4) ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ 5) 14th century. Riddle me this: Five (four spelling mistakes, plus the incorrect claim that there are only two errors) Riddle me this ‘Thiss sentance conntains two errorrs.’ How many mistakes are there in the preceding sentence? Time to buy On this day… September 25, 1818 Dr James Blundell performed the first human-to-human blood transfusion at Guy’s Hospital, London SE1, using multiple donors—it had previously been attempted using animal blood,…

Electric field THANK you to Kathryn Bradley-Hole for highlighting the unseen menace of radio-frequency radiation and electromagnetic fields (In the garden, August 28). I am one of the (unfortunate) people who can feel electromagnetic radiation (EMR). I noticed this more than 15 years ago, although no one could or would give me an explanation. Finally, after hearing a broadcast by Dr Olle Johansson, I recognised my health problem, which is most unfortunate given this technology is the future. A recent report in the Sénat in France on the impact of EMR on the health of intensively raised hens and also on milk production raises some interesting questions. Dianne Robat, by email Calling the shots THE attached photograph (above) may interest readers—it is the Baker rifle, recently referred to in COUNTRY LIFE, being fired…

THE countryside often finds itself dependent upon the activities of organisations whose purpose is to protect particular interests. That is perfectly understandable, but they wield such influence that we need to be vigilant in monitoring their activities. Groups such as the National Union of Farmers (NFU), the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and the Food & Drink Federation (FDF), not to mention the big supermarkets—all these can make a huge impact on how we live in the countryside and how farmers make a living and look after the land. That’s why last week’s riposte by the FDF to a serious report by Bite Back, the charity supported by chef and food writer Jamie Oliver, was particularly concerning. Bite Back had shown that the 10 largest food manufacturers had combined carbon…

Art shouldn’t be demeaned by fighting A PREDICTABLE row has just erupted over the exhibition by the National Trust (NT) of The Uninvited Guest from the Unremembered Past by the contemporary artist Nicola Turner, at the Gothic Revival house of Tyntesfield, Somerset. A series of installations made from organic dead matter, including the legs of chairs and horse hair, ‘disrupt’ the house. Their materials, according to the NT’s description ‘hold traces of memory; the horsehair has been salvaged from old mattresses and furniture, [and is] therefore absorbed with a lived history from both its time as a domestic object and as part of a living animal. The installations explore ways of listening to past, present and future’. To some, the exhibition demeans the house, its collections and its history, and to…