Comment & Opinion

Jason Goodwin: Supermarkets sell 10,000 different things, but it turned out we hardly need any of them

Jason Goodwin's local farm shop has it all — including prices which ring up in historic dates.

Rosie and Jim: 'While the rest of England celebrated the return of the pub, I celebrated the return of the hairdresser'

This week, Rosie finally heads back to Devon while James finally heads back to the pub.

An entire feature on sarcasm? Oh, yeah, that's a GREAT idea

Well, okay, actually it is. We asked Jonathan Self to write it — and to pick out his favourite examples from history.

Rosie and Jim: The seven rules of cycling that no cyclist will ever tell you

Rosie Paterson and James Fisher share the truth about cycling, and wonder how it is that March was simultaneously 28 years and yet only two months ago.

'It took my son and daughter-in-law a weekend to set up an online shop... In a week, we sold £10,000 of wine that was languishing in the bonded warehouse'

Carla Carlisle's lockdown has taken her farm shop to places she'd never imagined — but now she's there, she's not sure whether it's for better or for worse.

Is the time right to reintroduce beavers across Britain? Maybe, but it must be done carefully

Country Life's leader article from the June 17 issue takes a look at the benefits and pitfalls of bringing beavers back into the wild across Britain.

Rosie and Jim: 'I’d happily trade my flatmate in for a one-way flight to the Mediterranean'

This week, Rosie encounters a real, live person while James ponders how he's wasted this unique opportunity for self-improvement. On the plus side, at least he's come up with a reasonable excuse for why it doesn't matter.

Jason Goodwin: 'My friend was puzzled to discover me up a stepladder, cradling my airgun and scanning vegetable beds'

Jason Goodwin takes on the rats, and loses.

Curious Questions: Why do we call picture puzzles 'jigsaws'?

Jigsaws have been around since the 18th century and have gone through all sorts of iterations. Martin Fone traces their curious history.

Carla Carlisle: 'It sounds tactless, but I’ve long believed that the most beautiful word in the English language is "cancelled"'

Raging against the lockdown isn't for Carla Carlisle, as she admits to 'a swoosh of contentment' whenever she thinks about how little she has to do — and how nobody will judge her for not doing it.

Curious Questions: When does summer start?

You'd think it would be simple. It's anything but, as Martin Fone discovers.

10 sustainability myths busted, and six things you can do to make a real difference

Jason Goodwin: 'I found myself shaking my fist at an aeroplane, as outraged by the interruption as any uncontacted tribesman in the rainforest'

Jason Goodwin's efforts to transcribe his father's colourful life story are suffering all sorts of unusual interruptions.

Rosie and Jim: 'Please, just put the Le Creuset down Doris'

Curious Questions: How does soap work?

We've been using soap for thousands of years, as Martin Fone finds out. But how does it actually work?

Rosie and Jim: 'You’re stuck/safe in one of the UK’s most beautiful swathes of countryside, so give thanks and get outside'

It's not just flour and toilet roll that's hard to get hold of during lockdown; it seems that paragraphs are in short supply too, forcing our writers to resort instead to bullet point lists.

The head of the CPRE: 'Just looking at open fields and woodland and hills makes you feel great... The countryside has a soul, and people can feel that'

Crispin Truman, the CEO of CPRE tells us about his favourite places in England, the importance of rural spaces, and what he would do if he was the King of the Countryside for one day. 

Peat takes millennia to generate, and bogs store 10 times more carbon than forests — using it in gardening is madness

Mark Griffiths explains exactly why the continued practice of cutting peat from bogs for use in horticulture must be stopped.

Rosie and Jim: 'I have baked myself out of my jeans'

Have our correspondents reached the peak? More like the trough.

Curious Questions: Why do clocks go clockwise?

There's nothing to stop the hands of a clock from running backwards — indeed, some actually do — but the overwhelming majority move, well, clockwise. Martin Fone investigates.