Country Life

Published by Time Inc. (UK) Ltd 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 Megan Jenkins

A time to give with love • As many of us prepare to celebrate a simpler Christmas, the Revd Lucy Winkett is moved by the generosity of those often dealing with their own difficult circumstances and stresses that giving someone your time can be a great gift, too

Country Life

One foot forward, one back

Town & Country Notebook

Letters to the Editor

Boars become bores

Hoping for a Christmas miracle

The way we were Photographs from the COUNTRY LIFE archive

My favourite painting Paul O’Grady • Breakfast in the Open by Carl Larsson

125 The ghost of a Christmas past • We compare the Victorian Christmas of 1897, the year of COUNTRY LIFE’s founding, with present-day festivities

Invincible to enemies • The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin, Lincoln

All’s white with the world • It was a 16th-century change in climate that prompted painters to experiment with re-creating a snowy-white world, often through judicious use of colour. Michael Prodger reveals how some of the best-loved wintry artworks came into being

Hey, Mister Snowman • If we get lucky and the weather delivers a big fall of snow, Katy Birchall has the best recipe for building a splendid snowman that will be the envy of your village

The magic of Midnight Mass • For the Revd Colin Heber-Percy, a candlelit Midnight Mass service at his parish church in Wiltshire promises packed pews and a child-like anticipation of Christmas

’Tis the season to eat merrily • Christmas offers a chance to celebrate all those great food producers who work so passionately to ensure that our feast is as ethical as it is delicious.Tom Parker Bowles applauds some of the very best

Pigs for Christmas –and for life • Once, every rural family had a pig at the bottom of the garden in preparation for the festive feast. Julie Harding meets today’s keepers, but not all of them can bring themselves to eat their own animal

Of spice and men • Christmas is the season of sugar, spice and all things nice, but how did cinnamon, cloves and other aromatics become so entwined in the celebrations? Emma Hughes traces their story

Carve! The herald angels sing • Having become entranced by Westminster Hall’s 14th-century angels when repairing its hammerbeam roof, woodcarver William Barsley started to carve his own, as Ben Lerwill discovers

The master of disguise • Adept at cleverly camouflaging itself, the ptarmigan fools predators by turning snow white in order to survive in a harsh, arctic habitat. Simon Lester tracks this elusive species through the seasons

A winter’s tale • As the surrounding countryside of her childhood home became buried in soft, powdery snow and transformed into a tranquil winter wonderland, not even a power cut could dampen the spirit of Christmas, recalls Alexandra Wood

The Editor’s Christmas quiz • Challenge yourself with our traditional test of knowledge, drawn from all things COUNTRY LIFE Compiled by Kate Green. Answers on page 268

Plenty of room at the inn • There’s tidings of joy and community spirit during a memorable Christmas Eve at a snowbound pub

Put a ring on it • Napkin rings may have been born out of necessity, but they...