Julia Mear met Yvonne Burton at her home in Morcombelake, Dorset. This is Yvonne’s story: “I was born in the farmhouse at Westhay Farm, Stonebarrow, Dorset, in 1943, named Sylvia Yvonne, but I am known as Yvonne. My grandparents and Read more »
In workshops throughout the world, inspirational craftsmen and women have been developing complex skills to create beautiful furniture. From elegant chairs and tables, to distinctive cabinets, desks and beds, their carving, sanding, tonguing and grooving has added both function and Read more »
Ever since man first learned to communicate, passion has been a source of huge inspiration – powerful emotions have compelled human beings to reach for the impossible, and often achieve the unimaginable. Whether building spacecraft, writing sonnets or expanding the Read more »
For some of us, yes. For others, it’s a long slow process of returning to normal. I personally even had time to mow the lawn last week (the first occasion for over a month) instead of being glued to the Read more »
Moving from the city to the country to live the smallholding dream is not always all it’s cracked up to be – especially for the less obsessed partner of the Foodie in the family. Telling it like it is, Good Life Wife watches Foodie get broody.
With the end of the U-Boat threat exotic fruits, like bananas and oranges, began to reappear in the shops. Bananas were distributed on an area by area rotation system announced in the local press. A shipment of Seville oranges arrived Read more »
When someone shows a particular affinity for, or skill in a chosen hobby or trade, they are often said to have it ‘in their blood’, especially if the same interest can be traced back through their recent ancestry. We have all known of artists, musicians, writers, sportsmen and even politicians who are adept at their chosen art as a result of genes passed down through the generations. Family elders might watch a youngster play the piano or kick a football and sagely comment ‘it’s in his blood you know’. And though it’s common comment for many professions and activities, there are times when the saying just sounds odd. For example to say that George Streatfeild, of Denhay Farms in West Dorset, has cheese in his blood might be a bit of a conversation stopper, but in one sense it is true.
According to Clarissa Dickson Wright the trouble with cooking and cookery books in this country is the chefs. “People either do things which are totally banal or over complicate things” she says. “Chef’s are rather like lawyers, I mean they Read more »
Sowing in August will maximise yields from your garden. Early August is a good time to plant turnips, wild rocket, chard and perpetual spinach, Little Gem lettuce, spring cabbage and oriental leaves. Day lengths are declining now, so timing is important. Your altitude and micro-climate have a bearing, and you are also gambling how warm the autumn will be. Generally the beginning of the month is best to sow.
We seem to be having a pretty fair summer this year (sorry if, by the time you read this, rains of biblical proportions have returned!) and the hard winter seems to have promoted really good flowering. Recent prolonged sunny weather, Read more »