Wag and Wool
BY ALLISON LEE There can’t be many dogs that own a wardrobe to rival their owners. However, for Monti, owning luxury clothing isn’t something he has to worry about—thanks to his owner, Toni Walker, and her business, Wag and Wool. Toni Walker became a dog owner in 2018 when Monti came to live with her and her partner, and they quickly found him to be … Continue reading Wag and Wool
A House of Dynamite
BY ROGER WATSON This apocalyptic film is entirely about the journey and most certainly not about the ending; there isn’t one. That isn’t a spoiler, but established common knowledge from existing reviews. A House of Dynamite (2025) adopts a familiar theme: an ‘incoming’ threat. An unidentified aggressor—presumed to be North Korea, though China and Russia are considered and dismissed—launches a suspected nuclear missile from somewhere in the … Continue reading A House of Dynamite
Britain’s Post-Liberal Awakening
BY RICHARD DUWELL-TRUMBELL Over the past two years, something unexpected has happened in Britain. Across architecture, politics, culture, religion, and even the digital sphere, a new seriousness has emerged — a revival of tradition, form, hierarchy, Christian identity, and civilisational ambition. This essay attempts to map the moment. Not nostalgically, but as the first field report of a real intellectual shift. There are moments in … Continue reading Britain’s Post-Liberal Awakening
Animated Atrocities
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN One must, in this digital age, develop a hide as thick as a Hereford bullock’s to withstand the daily onslaught of technological ‘marvels’. The latest abomination to clatter regularly into my inbox, courtesy of some Silicon Valley simpleton who doubtless thinks a wellington is a type of pastry, is the ‘animation’ of old family photographs. Using some devilish algorithm, these grinning ghouls … Continue reading Animated Atrocities
Lies, Legerdemain, and Lynx
BY BERT BURNETT This recent article Scotland: The Big Picture (SBP), which uses Slovenia as a model for potential lynx reintroduction in Scotland, is a textbook case of advocacy masquerading as objective analysis. It presents a seductive but profoundly misleading comparison, one that exemplifies a growing concern: you simply cannot trust these narratives when they peddle a partial story, economically with the truth to suit … Continue reading Lies, Legerdemain, and Lynx
All that Glitters is not Green
BY STEPHEN PAX LEONARD Erik the Red famously named Greenland as such in the 10th century in order to persuade people to settle there. Greenland is one big sheet of ice, and the only thing green about it is the colour of the vast meltwater lakes that sit on top of the Greenland Ice Sheet during the summer months. But, don’t take it from me. … Continue reading All that Glitters is not Green
Andy Burnham – What He Said, What He Meant
BY PAUL T HORGAN Well, it was all over before it started. The accelerated timetable for Labour to select a candidate meant that less than a week after offensive Whatsappist Andrew Gwynne decided he had to stand down for mental health reasons as MP for Garton and Denton, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has been told not to give up the day-job that he liked … Continue reading Andy Burnham – What He Said, What He Meant
Sunk Cost Fallacy Territory
BY SEAN WALSH Starmer’s demise is like the final minute of the spin cycle: never ending. I suppose part of the fun in making political predictions is the post-hoc analysis of “why I was right when I said this would happen and it didn’t”. And knowing you can be serially wrong without any professional consequence. There’s quite a bit of this about at the moment, much of … Continue reading Sunk Cost Fallacy Territory
A Prayer for Justice
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and settled into the new year. This year, in a time of lies and war, let us especially pray for justice and for peace: Almighty and most merciful God, King of Kings and Judge of all the earth, we humble ourselves before Thy sovereign majesty. We acknowledge that from Thy hand comes … Continue reading A Prayer for Justice
Smiths
BY ALLISON LEE I am constantly in awe of the number of farmers who have diversified to protect their incomes. I have spoken to numerous farmers who, for various reasons, have had to tap into an alternative income to keep their farms afloat. They do this without complaint or blame, quite simply because they have no choice. Many of today’s young farmers have been brought … Continue reading Smiths
The Farnsworth Dilemma
BY NICHOLAS ENGERT I recall studying the history of 20th century architecture back in the 70s and being enthralled by the work of one of the Great Four architects of the first half of the century. The Great Four being Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wight, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. Whilst all four produced buildings of immense importance there was only one that, … Continue reading The Farnsworth Dilemma
Age of Timorous Bureaucrats
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN Look around you. Cast your eye across the sclerotic state of our nation – the rudderless ship of government, the suffocating blanket of nanny-state regulation, the timid hand-wringing in the face of genuine threats, and the sheer, unadulterated dullness of it all. We are governed by managerial technocrats, men and women whose greatest ambition is to navigate a focus group, whose boldest … Continue reading Age of Timorous Bureaucrats
A Letter from America
BY JOHN NASH Last week, US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum fired a polite paper dart at UK Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds (our Minister in charge of UK Rural Affairs, who unfortunately doesn’t understand that hunting is one of the most important rural management functions). He urged her to reconsider the fraudulent Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Act 2025. Sadly, nobody told him that the wheel of … Continue reading A Letter from America
Counting the Days
BY PAUL T HORGAN While the Conservative Party is vying with a lump of uranium to see how much of its mass can leave the main body – and doing rather better – this is a deflection from the big question: Sir Keir has failed as a Prime Minister, so when will he step down? The defection of Robert Jenrick has had a predictable outcome. … Continue reading Counting the Days
Reverse, Ferret?
BY CALUM CAMPBELL A recent article by Jamie Mann in The Ferret—titled “Deer are damaging hundreds of protected areas across Scotland. Experts can’t agree how to stop them”—has sparked controversy among those familiar with Scotland’s deer management and conservation landscape. While the piece presents a dire picture of “rampant deer” causing widespread ecological harm, a closer examination of available data and official assessments reveals a narrative that … Continue reading Reverse, Ferret?
A Prayer for CSM
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, this week I’d like to offer a prayer top those who produce this magazine. Over the years there have been prayers for almost everyone else. Now we should focus on our own, so to speak: Heavenly Father, Creator of rolling hills and quiet valleys,We, the faithful readers and stewards of Country Squire, gather our thanks.We give thanks for the … Continue reading A Prayer for CSM
Simonstone
BY ALLISON LEE What happens when a young local lad with common sense but no hospitality experience takes on a place that he knows has the potential to be something special? That was the question Jake Dinsdale asked himself when, at the tender age of 26, he took on Simonstone Hall, a traditional country-style hotel situated in the pretty village of Simonstone, just a few … Continue reading Simonstone
The Quivering Delusions of Labour’s Eunuchs
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN They strut through Portcullis House with the preening confidence of minor clerics in a newly-installed theocracy. The air, thick with the scent of over-brewed Fairtrade coffee and the damp wool of second-hand suits, hums with a whispered mantra: “Two terms, at least. Probably three. A realignment. A job for life.” Among them, a particular specimen – let us call him ‘Gavin’ (ex-BBC, never had … Continue reading The Quivering Delusions of Labour’s Eunuchs
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club
BY ROGER WATSON I finally made it. After more than twenty years of regular visits to Hong Kong: work trips; conferences; airport dashes; and copious social events, I crossed a threshold that had somehow eluded me all this time: the doors of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club. That it took so long says less about any lack of curiosity and more about a persistent assumption that … Continue reading The Foreign Correspondents’ Club
A Transcendental Manifesto on Lexical Vectors
CITY GRUMP I CARE. PASSIONATELY. ABOUT THIS ARTICLE. With an almost theological fervour, I do. It is, indisputably, a paradigm-shifting game-changer. Therefore, permit me to curate this epistle for your edification. However, our inaugural manoeuvre must be to unpack, deconstruct, and interrogate the very lexicon that promises to incentivise proactive leverage and maximise cross-platform impactfulity for our 2026 journey. We are compelled to lean in, to synergise with the zeitgeist. This constitutes my formal reach-out. Let us be transparent: not a single iota … Continue reading A Transcendental Manifesto on Lexical Vectors