They Can’t Laugh Back
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN There’s a well-known anecdote from the Soviet Union: A judge walks out of his chambers laughing his head off. A colleague approaches him and asks why he is laughing. “I just heard the funniest joke in the world!” “Well, go ahead, tell me!” says the other judge. “I can’t – I just gave someone ten years for it!” There’s a similarity in … Continue reading They Can’t Laugh Back
England’s Green & Pleasant Wilderness
BY GRAHAM CUNNINGHAM One of the consequences of getting older is that things ain’t what they used to be. This is something often said of the English countryside – amongst many other things of course. You will regularly hear tutting about suburban sprawl, new road schemes, wind turbines, agri-business farms, poly-tunnels and endless fields of rapeseed. You are on pretty safe ground in the pub … Continue reading England’s Green & Pleasant Wilderness
For the Disaffected not You
CSM EDITORIAL News that Labour are bottling a no confidence vote in Boris Johnson’s Conservative Government comes as no surprise. This is the party that volte-faced from Leave to Remain and whose key lieutenants disagree on a pact with the SNP. This is the party that met with Barnier and Verhofstadt in the back corridors of Brussels and Strasbourg when Theresa May was trying to … Continue reading For the Disaffected not You
English Garden Gin Cocktail
Ingredients: 50ml Gin 75ml pressed apple juice 25ml elderflower cordial 25ml freshly squeezed lime juice Cucumber slices, for garnishing Instructions: Place ice into a glass. Pour over the gin. Pour over the apple juice, elderflower and fresh lime juice. Stir gently. Add cucumber slices to garnish. Continue reading English Garden Gin Cocktail
Varadkar Playing With Fire
BY SEAN FLYNN The Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar recently admitted that “we (Irish) should be afraid” of a no deal Brexit taking place. Meanwhile Irish businesses, like the alcohol industry, have warned that a no-deal Brexit could see Irish jobs at risk, businesses shut down and expensive tariffs tacked on to drinks. A report from the Central Bank of Ireland (ICB) has also predicted that a no-deal … Continue reading Varadkar Playing With Fire
White
BY ANDREW MOODY “Across the board, identity politics endorse the concept that people are essentially tribal, and our differences are irreconcilable, which of course makes diversity and inclusion impossible. This is the toxic dead-end of identity politics; it’s a trap.” It took me a long time to read American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis’s first non fiction book WHITE, and I must confess it was … Continue reading White
A Prayer of Thanks
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are healthy and that life is treating You and Your loved ones well. This week I would like You to look around You. It may be that You are looking at Your children, or photos of children. Look at Your home, Your car, Your pet. Look at the sky, the trees, the wildlife. Don’t … Continue reading A Prayer of Thanks
Scottish Estates Under Threat
Scottish Grouse shooting estates fear any introduction of a licensing system will expose them further to false claims by campaigners vying to have them closed down. In 2017, Scottish Government announced an independent review of grouse shooting, looking at new legislative options including licensing. Campaigners want licensing so that, should criminality be suspected on a grouse moor, licences could be removed on a reduced proof … Continue reading Scottish Estates Under Threat
The Case for Rewilding
BY SARAH BATES A dramatically changing climate is threatening to destroy natural ecosystems, risks species extinction and the collapse of complex food webs. For some, the concept of “rewilding” is key to a sustainable future. They argue for changing landscapes to uncultivated states and introducing or re-introducing plant and animal species that should thrive in a biodiverse environment. A global project of reforestation would help … Continue reading The Case for Rewilding
