Comment & Opinion

Jason Goodwin: My son built a boat, and now we'll live like millionaires

Jason Goodwin experiences a high point of paternal pride thanks to a master craftsman, his son's tenacity and a loop of electrical flex.

Curious Questions: How did a car-mad racing driver come to invent the speed camera?

Speed cameras have been a fixture of British roads for three decades, but they've been around far longer than that. Martin Fone finds out more about how they came about — and, ironically, how it was a speed-loving racing driver who is responsible for their creation.

Carla Carlisle's A to Z of uncertain times: 'Never talk about money to those who have much more or much less than you'

Curious Questions: How did 'God Save The Queen' become Britain's National Anthem?

As patriotic songs come under the spotlight, Martin Fone takes a look at national anthems across the world.

Rosie and Jim: 'Why was I always so busy? How did I cope when I wasn’t busy at all?'

Our writers come to the end of lockdown, one with a Zen-like sense of acceptance, the other with a trip to Italy. We know which we'd rather copy (sorry James).

14 things everyone should know before moving to a village in the country

For the uninitiated, the unwritten rules and subtle nuances of rural life can be baffling. Giles Kime offers city dwellers advice on everything from the parish magazine to the village pub.

Jason Goodwin: 'I suspect the Church of England views parish churches as a burden and a nuisance'

Our columnist Jason Goodwin fears that the Archbishop of Canterbury 'may possibly think too much of his own gifts and too little of what has been bequeathed over the centuries'.

Carla Carlisle: 'I spend half the day preparing for the apocalypse and half looking after chickens'

The death of one of the great people of the Civil Rights movement prompts Carla Carlisle to remember 'a man whose moral compass always pointed in the right direction'.

Curious Questions: Why did people used to wash clothes in urine?

An experience far from home prompts Martin Fone to delve into the history of laundry — including the rather unpleasants secrets of removing stains.

Jason Goodwin: The night I accidentally sent a friend to go dogging on a remote West Country hilltop

Oh, Jason. It could have happened to anyone.

Rosie and Jim: 'There’s an easy solution to all of this, naturally. Ban the sun.'

Just as our correspondents were starting to think that 2020 couldn't have dragged them any lower, the unwelcome double-whammy of blazing heatwave and a government-mandated diet regime hits home.

Princess Anne on Nature, the countryside, and working towards a brighter future for all of us

The Princess Royal has guest-edited the 29 July issue of Country Life. In her leader article, she pays tribute to her parents for instilling a lifelong love of Nature and urges us all to be more careful about waste and energy in the hope of securing a brighter future for the countryside.

Rosie and Jim: 'I did not miss this. I did not miss the pain'

This week, the phrase 'be careful what you wish for' comes back to bite both of our corona-correspondents.

Rosie and Jim: The 10 rules of throwing the perfect beach picnic (N.B. You're going to need a unicorn)

This week, Rosie shares a series of tips which in now way reflect bitter personal experiences, while James reminds us all to take care of ourselves, and each other.

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.