Comment & Opinion

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.

Curious Questions: If not now, when?

It might be morbid to write your own obituary, says our columnist Carla Carlisle, but nobody knows your story better than you — and now is the time to do it.

The Prince of Wales: 'After the suffering and the selflessness we are witnessing, we cannot allow ourselves to go back to how we were. This is a moment in history.'

In a personal message at a time of national crisis, The Prince of Wales applauds how adversity is bringing out the best in people and urges us to never forget the crucial importance of Nature and farming.

Rosie and Jim: The instruments your neighbours are learning, ranked from pleasant ditty to audible hatecrime

This week, Rosie gives an eyeful to the neighbours she'd assumed didn't exist, while James gets an earful from the ones he can't get away from.

Curious Questions: How will we greet each other in a post Covid-19 world?

Kissing cheeks will surely be frowned upon, and even the humble handshake may struggle to regain its pre-eminence. But what other options will we have for greeting each other when the world gets (cautiously) back to normal?

Rosie and Jim: 'Mungo could either be a 12ft python trying to devour the cat, or a six-year-old child with his hand in the cookie jar, and everything in between'

'Throughout history, it’s spring that has given humanity the fortitude to survive'

The beauty of spring in Britain makes the lockdown infinitely more bearable as many make the most of their time at home, says Country Life's mystery columnist, Agromenes.

Jason Goodwin: 'There's a hum about the whole house that reminds me of a great ship charting its course through the high seas'

The gardener’s lot is a happy one, says Jason Goodwin, even though you might end up with an inch of wood in your hand.

Curious Questions: How do you survive social isolation? A former Royal Navy submarine commander on the five things you need to do

The greatest children's books that hit the spot for young and old, as chosen by Alan Titchmarsh, Jilly Cooper, Ian Rankin and more

Children’s books offer an escape from reality that can last well into adulthood. Here's our pick of the very best.

Rosie and Jim: 'I’m fairly sure the elderly lady with excellent hair doesn't usually winch her shopping up through a second floor window'

Country Life's Rosie Paterson and James Fisher are, separately, in isolation at opposite ends of the country.

Rosie and Jim: 'The robin has probably been here for years; I’ve only just noticed him. He’s probably as curious as I am'

Country Life's Rosie Paterson and James Fisher are — as we all are — in isolation, entirely alone except for their computers, phones, and the sum of human knowledge via the internet. Here's how it's working out for them.

'Isolation is a revelation... there’s the time to see in depth what, before, we’ve only caught in passing'

Country Life's mystery columnist Agromones finds the silver lining in self-isolation.

Curious Questions: Why do the clocks go forward in Spring?

As we move from Greenwich Mean Time to British Summer Time, Martin Fone ponders the reasons why — and wonders if we'll always continue to change the clocks twice a year.

Jonathan Self: 'Tend your vines and crush the horror'

Jonathan Self has turned his eyes inward during social isolation – not just to his mental health, but to his garden.