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.
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.
This week, the phrase 'be careful what you wish for' comes back to bite both of our corona-correspondents.
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's local farm shop has it all — including prices which ring up in historic dates.
This week, Rosie finally heads back to Devon while James finally heads back to the pub.
Well, okay, actually it is. We asked Jonathan Self to write it — and to pick out his favourite examples from history.
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.
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.
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.
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 takes on the rats, and loses.
Jigsaws have been around since the 18th century and have gone through all sorts of iterations. Martin Fone traces their curious history.
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.
You'd think it would be simple. It's anything but, as Martin Fone discovers.
Jason Goodwin's efforts to transcribe his father's colourful life story are suffering all sorts of unusual interruptions.
We've been using soap for thousands of years, as Martin Fone finds out. But how does it actually work?
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.
