Country Life

Published by TI Media Limited Country Life, the quintessential English magazine, is undoubtedly one of the biggest and instantly recognisable brands in the UK today. It has a unique core mix of contemporary country-related editorial and top end property advertising. Editorially, the magazine comments in-depth on a wide variety of subjects, such as architecture, the arts, gardens and gardening, travel, the countryside, field-sports and wildlife. With renowned columnists and superb photography Country Life delivers the very best of British life every week.

Miss Olivia Hughes • Olivia is a communications director at Procter & Gamble. She is the daughter of Nicholas and Ruth Hughes of Highgate, London, and will marry Samuel Bould at the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London, in November.

As any fule kno

Country Life

Town & Country

Town & Country Notebook

Stuff & nonsense

Letters to the Editor

How to hold the world at bay

Athena • Cultural Crusader

My favourite painting James Peill

Country-house treasures

High-tech as history • An outstanding and highly influential 20th-century house has come into the care of the National Trust. It’s a significant acquisition in ways you might not expect, says John Goodall

The legacy • Ronald Searle and Molesworth

Rule the roast • Yorkshire puddings, bread sauce, cauliflower cheese and even, heaven forbid, kimchi? David Ellis establishes what really belongs on your plate at Sunday lunch

Can you keep a secret? • Long locked away from public view, the MI5 archive is now the subject of a remarkable new book. Emma Hughes discovers a world of ‘card indexes and brush passes and last-minute saves’

Just a bit of fun • As everyone from the 11th Duke of Devonshire to Elsa Schiaparelli has demonstrated, there’s no reason why dressing up can’t be playful

Softly does it • Sumptuous suede is perfect for autumn, believes Amie Elizabeth White

The designer’s room • The hard-working utility room of a new Wiltshire house has been elevated with a warm scheme by John Cullen Lighting

A light touch • Elegant table lamps to brighten every room, selected by Amelia Thorpe

At home on the farm • Britain’s farms are fertile ground for buyers seeking pastures new, whether they are set in Shakespeare country or the shadow of the Malvern Hills, on the outskirts of glorious Georgian Bath or in beautiful Berkshire

Passive learning • A low-carbon student-housing development by Oxford’s oldest academic society offers lessons in how historic buildings can be made sustainable. Russell Higham reports

Core values • Why would a buyer just settle for a garden when they can have an orchard, too? These houses with areas for apple or pear production are ripe for the picking

Hitting the sweet spot • Small Parisian bites bring big delights

Into the blue (and white) • De Porceleyne Fles, founded in 1653, is the only original Delftware factory to survive in the Dutch city of Delft, with innovation ensuring the enduring appeal of its creations. Julie Harding dons an apron and discovers just how much skill goes into every piece

Love at first bite? • The macaron has travelled from simple almond biscuit to Parisian treasure, spawning rivalries, innovations and an extraordinary array of flavours, discovers pâtisserie aficionado Harry Pearson

Musicians take note! • Composer Béla Bartók once said that ‘competitions are for horses, not musicians’, but even he would make an exception for the Concours de Genève. As Claire Jackson reveals, since 1939 the best classical musicians in the world have come to the Swiss city to compete for critical acclaim

Spice island • Woody, warm and fruity, the...