Rosie and Jim

Country Life's top 10 blogs and columns of 2020, from wise owls to the invention of toilet paper

You'll scratch your chin, nod in recognition and quite probably chuckle out loud at the most-read columns from the Country Life website this year.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Rosie and Jim: On binge-watching Normal People, and discovering that 'running is pain'

This week, Rosie Paterson fails to tear herself off the sofa just as James Fisher finally stirs from his.

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

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

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.

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'

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.