City of London livery companies

The Lord Mayor’s Show, an 800-year-old pageant chronicled by Pepys, painted by Canaletto and the first outdoor event ever to be televised live, is a fixture of English life. So too are the City of London livery companies whose colourfully robed members comprise a key part of this show, and…

Blackcurrant sorbet

A perfect summer pudding with rich colour and fresh taste. Sorbets are light and refreshing but still packed with flavour. (See Philippa’s recipe for blackcurrant clafoutis here.) Recipe for blackcurrant sorbet Serves 4 Ingredients 500g (171⁄2oz) blackcurrants 200ml (7fl oz) water 150g-200g (5oz-7oz) caster sugar Zest and juice 1 orange…

cutting estate tweeds

Shooting can attract the flashier type: those who arrive by helicopter, who shoot with a Fabbri Titanium gun and wear £350 alpaca socks. But if you really want to impress your host – or indeed your guests – there’s a classier way of showing off: turn up wearing your own…

Charlie Thorburn of Mordor Gundogs

The first time I catch up with Charlie Thorburn, the gundog trainer to the 1%, he has just joined the M6 Toll and has been awake for a long time. Thorburn is on his way home to Perthshire from New York where he has been delivering a trio of fully…

lavender sugar

A reader writes: Last year I dusted my mince pies with vanilla sugar, which I had made myself. Earlier this year I read an article saying that lavender sugar was also good, but I can’t find any information on the correct quantities. I assume you can use dried lavender? Could…

shooting high pheasants

Risk assessments are now a vital part of any shoot, and it is incumbent upon us all to make what we do as safe as possible. Kevin Wissett-Warner, an independent rural management consultant who advises shoots across the south of England, gives his advice on how conduct a risk assessment.

Best gundog

Breaking into shooting is difficult in the best circumstances, and becomes even more so when you have an HPR. But old assumptions that they are noisy and hard mouthed are gradually dying out, says David Tomlinson. (Read more on HPR breeds here.) It’s no longer just labradors and spaniels in…

Lady Glenconner

Even the walnut tree in the garden here has a venerability graced with a novel twist. “It is so old the holes are filled with polystyrene to stop water getting in,” explains Lady Glenconner, million-copy bestselling author, formerly lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret, wife of Mustique creator Colin Tennant and, before…