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Royal Nursery
July is fast approaching, and the arrival of the Royal baby is imminent. But among burning questions, such as whether it will be a boy or a girl, and the name the Duke and...
Langton-Lockton
Britain’s greatest garden?
There is a no more privileged way to visit a great garden than in the company of a member of the family who created it and who has known and loved the place since...
Globe Trotter
Sports packages
FATHER’S DAY FAVOURITES Television coverage of great sporting events is extensive nowadays but nothing beats watching it from a ringside seat. Show dad – or hubby – how...
HOME REMEDY: Berries
Rowan berries are the first to come out in late August, bright red and loved by the birds, so they don't last for long. Not so much a home remedy, they make a good jelly.
Next to appear are the elderberries – a little later than usual, owing to the cold spring. These are my favourite and no winter is complete without an elderberry syrup to keep colds at bay. Don't eat them raw – they're slightly toxic.
Blackberries are packed with vitamin C and other antioxidants, great for fending off colds and also rich in manganese, which is excellent for bone, joint and cell health. Gather hawthorn quickly as the berries shrivel or get eaten by the birds. Use them for tea – fresh or dried – to support your heart; but NOT if you are on heart medication, please.
Finally rose hips – these often stay around the longest and are a wonderful source of vitamin C. They were pretty much Britain's main source of it during the Second World War.
Sof McVeigh: www.thehomemadecompany.com
Home help
Upholstery
Much of the latest upholstery is tailored and fitted with interesting details, such as visible stitching and fancy buttons. The feel is 1950s, a period currently in vogue....
Battle of Hastings
Solar-Power
‘Bring me sunshine, in your smile. Bring me laughter, all the while…’ Do I need to carry on? Morecambe and Wise were immune to global warming. Theirs was a world where the...
Recipes
World changing dishes
'Nothing more beautifully conveys our interdependence than the food we eat,' writes Meryl Streep in her foreword for new book Share: The Women for Women Cookbook. 'Food...
Wines of the week
drinking with my father
Much to my father’s disappointment, I have never shared his interests. He was a schoolboy prodigy at sport, whereas I was puny, lazy and hopelessly uncoordinated. To this...
Kevin McCloud
What really makes a home
Dubbed the thinking woman’s heartthrob, it truly is somewhat impossible not to warm to Kevin McCloud. Ever charming, often critical but always courteous the stalwart of...
Entertaining
Small Gatherings
'Our kitchens are now the centre of our lives – with the kitchen table at its very heart; the place we gather for sustenance, nourishment, festivity, safety and...
Langton-Lockton
grow-it-yourself joy
It has been too cold to go to the allotment – in my yearning for warm weather I seem to have lost all resistance to the interminable cold. On rare recent visits the...
Holiday Homes
GREAT Britain
WHERE TO BUY Britain ticks all the boxes for what you could want from a holiday. City breaks: London, Bath, York; seaside escapes: Brighton, Cornwall, West Wales; country...
Home
Sheds for ladies
Traditionally they were the place where husbands went to hide. No longer. Ladies, it is time to reclaim your potting shed, for there is no reason why the shed at the end of...
Afternoon Tea
Tea not out
There are few things more quintessentially British than afternoon tea. Dainty sandwiches, delicious cakes and scones still warm from the oven typify a British summer. And...
Daily tip from the lady archive
“A GRACEFUL walk is a great asset, for sometimes it can create an illusion of beauty where little exists.”
The Lady. Pleasant Exercises for Grace. 2nd April 1931















