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Sally Phillips: ‘I accidentally lived in a brothel’Lotte Brundle talks to the actor about returning to the stage after 20 years, her frustration at never getting to kiss Colin Firth in the Bridget Jones films and wanting to look like ET.
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A T-Rex by the name of Gus is going up for auction — and he could be the most expensive dinosaur ever soldThe dinosaur skeleton will be on the market as part of Sotheby’s Geek Week auction, next month.
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Lady Anne Glenconner: ‘Princess Margaret and I were quite naughty then, Elizabeth always had an eye out for us’The Baroness and British socialite tells Lotte Brundle about growing up with Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, her tumultuous relationship with her late husband and being a ‘gay icon’ aged 93.
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Small-scale cut flower growers have now been formally recognised by the governmentThe UK trade body that represents more than 1,000 small-scale cut flower growers, has been awarded dedicated Standard Industrial Classification codes.
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Dame Prue Leith: ‘I won't say we were rolling drunk, but we were definitely tight’The former ‘Bake Off’ star tells Lotte Brundle about growing old, her burgeoning friendship with Blake Lively and the advice Mary Berry gave her about Paul Hollywood.
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Which one will you choose? Two tech millionaire's homes have come up for sale — but only one comes with its own BatcaveThe Batman films inspired a secret lair in one London mansion, while a painstakingly-restored property in California has all the charm of the south of France.
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A Wimbledon home adorned with wisteria and overlooked by a rather marvellous windmillThis property on Windmill Road in London is a sight to behold, with more alliterative features than you can shake a stick at.
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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: ‘Nettles, grey squirrels and the occasional placenta? I’m relaxed about that’Lotte Brundle talks to the celebrity chef about getting sacked from his job at the River Cafe, chowing down on some placenta and what she’s done wrong with her tomatoes.
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Forget a message in a bottle, how about a whole ecosystem? A five-minute guide to terrariums and their nasty historyThe solution to garden-less gardening began as a happy accident, has its roots in Victorian society and, also, the colonisers of Africa. The result, terrariums, are now beloved by hipsters everywhere, writes Lotte Brundle.
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‘My first introduction to her was to do with her death, which is a strange way to meet a character’: Our obsession with OpheliaThe lead in Shakespeare’s best-known play, Hamlet, may soon be eclipsed by the fame of his female counterpart, courtesy of Taylor Swift and others, argues Lotte Brundle.
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‘We thought they could be a lovely gift for our daughter-in-law’: How an unsuspecting couple found £11,000 worth of cat paintings in a skipTwo works by 19th-century artist Louis Wain are heading for auction, after being rescued by a couple in South Wales who had no idea of their value.
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Cariad Lloyd: ‘What I would like people to get from me is a Moomin vibe’The writer, actor and comedian talks about discussing grief on the toilet, raunchily re-writing Jane Austen and the importance of championing women’s writing with Lotte Brundle.
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George Saumarez Smith: ‘My sketchbooks are full of measured drawings of buildings from all over the world’The architect talks to Lotte Brundle about the death of his brother, designing the Country Life stand for RHS Chelsea Flower Show, and his Consuming Passions.
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Marcus Wareing: ‘I’ve sacrificed more than any other chef’The MasterChef host and celebrity chef talks to Lotte Brundle.
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Great halls of literature and learning: The most beautiful public libraries in the world, as chosen by Country LifeInspired by Country Life’s ‘Garden Lover’s Library’ stand at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, we’ve scoured the globe, from Glasgow to Shanghai, to bring you a list of public libraries worth clamping eyes on.
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Clodagh McKenna on living next door to the real Downton Abbey, meeting her husband at Fortnum & Mason’s and forest bathingLotte Brundle meets the celebrity chef and TV personality.
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The real life Aladdin's cave in Manchester repairing the world's brass instrumentsFrom trampled trombones to bruised bugles, the four-strong team at McQueen's can fix them all — and they have the royal seal of approval, writes Lotte Brundle.
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It’s a race to the auction house — Steve McQueen’s most storied watch is up for grabs at Sotheby'sBidders, start your engines. The Heuer Monaco watch worn by the effortlessly cool actor in the 1971 film ‘Le Mans’ is about to go on sale.
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The eclectic New York townhouse that Lily Allen sings about in her new, headline-making album has been sold381, Union Street has sold. It went on the market just days after the singer’s latest album that details the alleged infidelity in her marriage was released.
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‘He approached death as the next part he was going to play’: Gregory Doran on life after the death of his husbandThe former artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare company set out on a worldwide search for all of Shakespeare’s first folios after his husband died four years ago. Lotte Brundle pulls up the curtain on his consuming passions.
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The theatrical-inspired London hotel suite that I would break a leg to stay in againThe Oliver Messel Terrace Suite at The Dorchester was originally dreamt up by the eponymous stage designer. Lotte Brundle stays the night.
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‘Vandalised, disembowelled and dismembered’: Artist Jack Milroy gives books a brutal treatment with beautiful resultsThe artist, now 87, once ate tinned sardines for 100 lunches in a row for his craft. He speaks to Lotte Brundle ahead of a new London exhibition.
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‘I have no concept of anyone who's like me. Now, that's either because I'm such an egomaniac that I am sort of completely self obsessed, or … because I haven’t watched enough films’: Monty Don’s consuming passionsMonty Don swerves questions with the abundant charisma that made him a ‘Gardener’s World’ darling.
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‘I try to offset that sense of boring normality by playing bass in a punk rock band with Robert Peston and Ed Balls’: John Wilson’s consuming passionsBest known for BBC Radio 4’s ‘This Cultural Life’, John Wilson is used to asking celebrities about their cultural inspirations. Lotte Brundle turns the tables.
