Tag: scotland

editorial

Ann Widdecombe: A Singular Voice Falls Silent

CSM EDITORIAL The old certainties have taken a battering this week. One of British politics’ most gloriously unrepentant characters has been snatched from us in circumstances so dark they seem to belong to another world entirely. There will be those who never cared for Ann Widdecombe’s views. She would have been the first to acknowledge that, probably with a theatrical sigh and a brisk “so … Continue reading Ann Widdecombe: A Singular Voice Falls Silent

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Wrendale

BY ALLISON LEE Hannah Dale and her husband, Jack, founded Wrendale Designs in 2012—a giftware brand built around Hannah’s watercolour paintings of wildlife. With a background in zoology, Hannah has long drawn creative inspiration from the natural world. Over the years, the couple have grown Wrendale into a much-loved brand with global reach, winning numerous industry awards and two King’s Awards for International Trade. The … Continue reading Wrendale

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Book Reviews

Riding Through War and Peace

BY JAMIE FOSTER In the summer of 2014, with the rumble of dragons awakening in the form of Russia’s seizure of Crimea, Michael Pugh made an audacious decision. Despite the splendour of his life as an expat lawyer in Moscow, he chose to leave—not by plane or train, but by horse. The resulting memoir, Riding Through War and Peace, is a breathtaking odyssey that captures a … Continue reading Riding Through War and Peace

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Social Commentary

Blessed

BY PERCY THORLEY England is in fine fettle There seems to be a constant flow of negative news stories coming, in part from the mainstream media, but in greater abundance from the online media. I fail to recognise the issues raised in these dark corners of the mediasphere for to be alive in England today is to be truly blessed. The economy powers ahead, innovation … Continue reading Blessed

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Vicar

A Prayer for Those Who Tend the Earth

VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that you are well. Today, I have written a short prayer for the quiet custodians of this land—the ones whose hands are chapped, whose backs are sore, and whose work so often goes unspoken. Dear Lord,We pray this July for the farmers who rise before the lark, whose first sight of the day is the mist … Continue reading A Prayer for Those Who Tend the Earth

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Jottings

Reggie goes to Encaenia

BY STEPHEN PAX LEONARD Reggie stabbed at the bell. “Mrs Daddywood!” “Morning, Mr Reggie. There is a letter here for you, pet. I’ll be there in one sec.” “Oh rather, let’s be having it,” said Reggie as he concealed the Hendrick’s and cucumber behind the Edwardian ‘plum pudding’ mahogany centre table. Reggie was still a tad squiffy after last night’s escapade at the Ath., but … Continue reading Reggie goes to Encaenia

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Social Commentary

Progressive Erasure

BY ALEX STORY The goals of Progressivism are “continually receding ones”, which is, to paraphrase Mussolini, “like a trodden road leading on and on to the land of heart’s desire, which though it grows closer and closer, will never be reached”. To advance towards the mirage, progress must convince. Indeed, one needs to emancipate oneself from the past and its many thorns. Complexity, you see, … Continue reading Progressive Erasure

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Books, Travel

The City Speaks in Small Voices

BY ROGER WATSON The sleek black Mercedes S350, summoned on my Uber app, drew up outside our hotel at Heathrow Airport minutes after I entered my request for a car to Terminal 5. Out popped a smartly dressed driver, beaming from ear to ear to assist with our luggage. The car was spacious, immaculate, and the journey was smooth. I detected an accent that was … Continue reading The City Speaks in Small Voices

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Opinion

Ethel

BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN There is a certain species of political creature that haunts the Westminster warren, a beast that is best understood not through the lens of constitutional theory or fiscal policy, but through the dusty, half-lit prism of an Irish builder’s breast pocket. I once knew such a builder. A tragic figure, in the end—murdered, as it happens, which is a rather definitive way … Continue reading Ethel

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countryside, Muirburn

The Burning Question

BY BERT BURNETT Why Gamekeepers Are Refusing to Endorse the New Muirburn Code Scotland’s gamekeepers have issued a stark warning: they will not endorse the Scottish Government’s new Muirburn Code, a decision they claim is born not of defiance, but of a desperate need to prevent catastrophic wildfires. They argue that the new regulations, designed to protect peatlands, will ironically create a tinderbox, stripping them … Continue reading The Burning Question

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Rewilding

Rewilders’ Wolf Howlers

BY CALUM CAMPBELL & NICK PEARCE The prospect of reintroducing wolves (Canis lupus) to the Scottish Highlands has become a recurring topic in environmental discourse, frequently accompanied by claims that this measure would naturally resolve Scotland’s deer management challenges, restore ecological equilibrium, and even contribute substantively to climate change mitigation. While these arguments possess considerable intuitive appeal and have garnered significant public support, a rigorous … Continue reading Rewilders’ Wolf Howlers

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BZy Shepherd

BY ALLISON LEE Putting respite at the heart of UK Farming At its core, BZy Shepherd is more than just a livestock contracting and farm-sitting service—it is a movement dedicated to restoring balance to the lives of British farmers. Co-founded by young duo Holly Zeidler and Adam Broomhead, alongside their six-year-old collie, Tweed, the enterprise provides trusted, fully comprehensive cover across sheep, beef, dairy, and … Continue reading BZy Shepherd

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Farming

Not Again!

BY CHARLES FARROW A Country Squire’s Guide to the Incomprehensible Stupidity of the Incomer Let me get this straight. They move out from London—Islington, usually, or that bit of Clapham where the sourdough costs more than a good collie—and within a fortnight they’ve got the RSPCA on speed dial and a Facebook post accusing us landowners of “livestock negligence.” The cheek. The absolute bleeding cheek. … Continue reading Not Again!

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From Chalk Streams to Chichester

BY ALLISON LEE Lewis Clark first started fishing with his grandfather. While fly fishing for trout, he was introduced to the countryside, and his grandfather taught him about the life cycles of various insects and the different species of birds that fed on them. Lewis’s passion for fly fishing continued while he worked in London, and he spent many weekends fishing the chalk streams of … Continue reading From Chalk Streams to Chichester

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Thoughts

Postmodern Politics

BY SEAN WALSH “Sound out 30 Manchester adjacent constituencies! There must be at least one with a humiliation fetish!” The “leadership contest” in the Labour Party is like the “war in Iran” in that neither is actually a real thing. Unless you can have a war without any warring or a competition for a job which doesn’t exist. It’s all very “postmodern”, as if things … Continue reading Postmodern Politics

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