BY STEWART SLATER Returning to Babylon from India, Alexander the Great marched his army through the Gedrosian Desert. Taking longer than expected, food began to run short, and water ran out. When it appeared that the glorious story of conquest would come to a tragic end under the baking Persian sun, some scouts returned to the army announcing the discovery of an oasis. As proof, … Continue reading Why We Should Encourage Downing Street Partying
BY JOHN NASH Humans have always been hunters (and many still are, for reasons of everyday subsistence, therapy, sport, field management, pest control and so on) and it is an unassailable fact that we were hunters long before we were humans. So, if I may, I would like to poke a word or two in edgeways through the waterfall of infantile, woke revisionism that cascades over … Continue reading Mere Role Play
BY ANTONIA FILMER Nowadays good health seems to be all about the microbiome, an eco-system of trillions of microbiota which inhabit the human gut; each person’s microbiome is unique and requires thoughtful management to avoid the many illnesses that can result from poor digestion. Some symptoms of microbiome imbalance include, bloating, food intolerances, bad breath, IBS, acid-reflux, candida, fatigue, auto-immune conditions and depression; Hippocrates was an … Continue reading Homage to Ayurveda in the Malvern Hills
BY SARAH GREENWOOD In the recent ‘Trail of Lies’ cartoon, produced by LACS and narrated by Chris Packham, there was an assertion that: ‘During a decade long study, hunt monitors reported that only 1% of so -called trail hunts lay a potentially genuine trail’. Hmm! Hunt Monitors! An interesting use of words. This appellation makes them sound like a peer reviewed group of people lawfully … Continue reading The Truth About Hunt Monitors
CSM EDITORIAL The recent tweet by Lord Adonis that ‘if Boris goes, Brexit goes’ should merely remind so-called red wall voters that ‘when Boris goes and anyone half competent takes his place, Labour goes’. Remoaning caricatures like Adonis only play to their lounge – an echo chamber of increasing electoral irrelevance. He and the Gina Millers will be looked back on like the anti German … Continue reading If Boris Goes, Labour Goes
BY NOEL YAXLEY If ever there was a time of the year to conjure up images of the ‘winter blues’ it is January. If Covid restrictions had you reaching for the bottle, how about a spot of Dry January? But for those who truly aspire to reach the heights of ascetic self-denial, how about signing up for Veganuary? For the uninitiated, Veganuary is an annual … Continue reading Veganuary
BY JIM WEBSTER The whole system of farm payments is up in the air. To be brutally frank, this isn’t surprising. On a general, first world level, governments have blown so much money on the pandemic they are scrabbling behind the sofa for loose change. I would be surprised if, in five years’ time, any country hasn’t cut its agricultural support, or moved the money … Continue reading Spending the Money Thrice
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN Around this time of year some time ago I was sitting outside a café in snowy but sunny Prague overlooking the rather nondescript building of the Ministry of Industry, also known as Petschek’s Palace, near the top of the city’s Wenceslas Square. I remember happily puffing on a cigar being talked to by a superfluously chatty yet elegant Spanish acquaintance who thought … Continue reading Reforming Petschek
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You and Your families are well. By now You are likely to be getting used to the daily grind after the Christmas break. Soon it will be Easter! This week I’d like to think of those who are suffering. 2 Corinthians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the … Continue reading A Prayer for the Suffering
BY SARAH GREENWOOD Dear Editor, Having watched the recent ‘Disney’fied production narrated by Chris Packham about ‘fox hunting’, there are some comments about this ‘production’ I would like to draw your attention to: Overall, the Chris Packham et al portrayal of the countryside is misleading, claiming it is a place of ‘tranquility’ and ‘serenity’ with all creatures living in harmony, when it patently is not. … Continue reading Fantasy Cartoon Cobblers
BY FRANK HAVILAND On the subject of Tony Blair’s knighthood, I feel it is important to disclose an interest: I loathe Tony Blair. Incidentally, I dislike Lewis Hamilton and everything he kneels for, but opposing his knighthood would never cross my mind; even if it is for playing Scalextric. No, there is something particularly sinister about our Anthony – which is why there is currently … Continue reading On The Blair Knighthood
CSM EDITORIAL Dear Readers, Happy New Year to you all. So, what can you expect from Team Country Squire this year? Well, we have just soft-launched Country Squire India which some of the UK team are already involved in. With the assistance of our editorial adviser, Dr Kaustav Bhattacharyya in Bangalore, we have put together an impressive list of contributors and shall be holding some … Continue reading The Year Ahead
Whether you’ve recently bought a new house with a less than desirable garden, or if a long spell of disuse has led to your garden growing wild, taking the time to renovate the space and transform it can make you fall in love with your property again. However, fixing it can be a tough ordeal depending on how overgrown your garden has become. Here are … Continue reading How To Transform An Overgrown Garden
BY PAUL T HORGAN It was Bagehot who stated that the “Above all things our royalty is to be reverenced, and if you begin to poke about it you cannot reverence it…Its mystery is its life. We must not let in daylight upon magic.“. Unfortunately, rather than daylight, a portion of our royalty has been illuminated by something akin to a battery of 800,000,000 candela … Continue reading The Prince’s Dilemma
BY STOCKTON HEATH ‘RIP GETTR, 2021-2021’ gleefully wrote one mainstream Twitter blue-tick just months ago. Towards the end of last year Jason Miller’s social media platform indeed seemed fated to go the same way as previous Twitter alternatives such as Gab and Telegram i.e. downhill fast. In the instantaneous world of social media gratification ‘teething problems’ does not cut the mustard. You get just one … Continue reading Dethroning Twitter? The Rise and Rise of GETTR
BY EFFIE DEANS I don’t think I have read a word by J.K Rowling. When the Harry Potter books became wildly popular, I abstained. Perhaps that was a mistake. Lots of other people have enjoyed them, maybe I would have too. I rather like classic children’s fiction. But somehow the prospect of reading about child wizards going to school did not appeal. My loss. So … Continue reading Truth Sets You Free
VICAR Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, I trust that You are well and have enjoyed new year celebrations. Happy 2022! This week as we get back to normality after this Christmas holiday season, please let us dwell on those persecuted Christians. Around the world, many believers are persecuted – imprisoned, even killed – for their faith. Since Jesus laid down His life, 43 million … Continue reading A Prayer for the Persecuted
BY JOHN NASH Dear CSM Reader. You are probably vaguely aware by now that there is something very, very, wrong with this dying government’s attitude to rural matters. After all, most people who make a living on or from the land thought they could rely on the Conservative Party for its down-to-earth policies – policies that once balanced the touchy-feely, self-centred anthropomorphic dreams of … Continue reading The Cancer at the Heart of Extremist Animal Rights Lunacy
BY JIM WEBSTER You load sixteen tons, what do you get Another day older and deeper in debt Saint Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go I owe my soul to the company store It’s a funny old world. You really have to be careful what you read. As it was I picked up a book on the Dark Ages and medieval agriculture … Continue reading Whose Serfdom?
BY EFFIE DEANS There is a difference between how we judge the taste of carrots and how we judge the effectiveness of face masks, the likelihood of Covid spreading and the performance of the economy. The statement “carrots taste great” can be both true if I say it and false if you say it. It is a matter of taste. It is subjective. But there … Continue reading Scottish Nationalism is not Truth
