Home
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: Sweet woodruff
Despite its Latin name – Galium odoratum – neither its flowers nor leaves smell of much, but, as soon as they're picked and start to dry, the smell is wonderful; a sweet smell of freshly mown hay with an under scent of marzipan. They keep this fragrance, so are great to add to potpourri, or for fragrant bunches in linen cupboards. Some even say it deters moths, though I prefer artemisia for this (see Home Remedy, 4 May issue).
Once the leaves are dry you can keep them to make a soothing tea, which is said to help insomnia and anxiety. Traditionally, it was used to aid liver function and help with gall stones. It can also be used to flavour May wine and beer. But be warned – too much of this little plant can induce dizziness and vomiting, owing to coumarin, the very chemical that gives it its sweet smell.
Sof McVeigh: www.thehomemadecompany.com
Restaurant reviews
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
“HEAVEN forbid that we should go back to the days when beauty was under suspicion and plain girls were assumed to have angelic natures.”
The Lady. With Prejudice. 28th April 1938
Your vote...
Q: Would you wear a £1 bra?
Sign up to receive our weekly newsletter
Advertising
Get in touch
Browse
Visit
