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Floella, Baroness Benjamin: ‘66 years ago, this new world felt alien and harsh, but I grew to love the English's eccentricities and peculiarities'To celebrate the release of this week's 'English Issue', Paula Minchin spoke to six individuals on what being English means to them. Today's is the Trinidadian-British actress and Liberal Democrat peer, Floella Benjamin.
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Sir John Major: ‘For all its frustrations, England is where I wish to live. I feel blessed to be British'To celebrate the release of this week's 'English Issue', Paula Minchin spoke to six individuals on what being English means to them. Today's is former prime minister The Rt Hon Sir John Major KG CH.
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Six Senses London hotel review: Sense and serenity in the cityOccupying part of the distinguished Art Deco Whiteley building in Bayswater — once home to a grand department store — the UK’s first Six Senses is a sanctuary of peace, graceful architecture and wellbeing, says Paula Minchin
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Six things that Britain should be proud of, from world-class restaurants and Championship-winning cars to the countrysideIt is too easy to dismiss 2025 as a downbeat year of failure, but good things did happen.
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Guy Ritchie: 'My mother married an impoverished aristocrat with a knackered country pile. I've been chasing that dream ever since'The film maker opens up about his love for the countryside, and his friendship with Sir David Beckham.
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'It makes me feel as if I’ve done a good job as a father and that I did the right thing in wanting us to have a house here': David Beckham on why the countryside matters so much to him and his familySir David Beckham talks to Paula Minchin about discovering the joys of beekeeping and gardening.
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'You have to commit, due to the time it takes, but it’s worth it. The flavour is unbeatable': Slow down, and barbecue betterGoing back to ‘fire school’ to learn how to barbecue better might conjure images of scorched sausages cooked over a fast and furious heat. However, as Paula Minchin discovers, long and slow is best.
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'The Wild Rabbit is a paean to Lady Carole Bamford's ethos of comfortable, yet incredibly spoiling accommodation'At the heart of Kingham, one of Oxfordshire’s most historic and beguiling villages, The Wild Rabbit offers the chance to enjoy the authentic charm of the Cotswolds with all the trappings of a five-star hotel.
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The wine merchant: 'We’re all shattered by the time we close at 3pm on Christmas Eve'In the last of our series on the people who make Christmas in the country what it is, Paula Lester speaks to wine merchant Tom Ashworth.
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The gamekeeper: ‘I’ve lost count of the school plays that I made by the skin of my teeth’Our series on the people who make Christmas in the country what it is continues as Paula Lester meets Andrew Holloway.
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The Christmas wreath-maker: 'They sell quicker than we can make them'All this week we're running a series on the people who make Christmas in the country what it is. Today, Paula Lester meets wreath maker Ellie Taylor.
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Haymarket Townhouse hotel review: Where to stay when out on the town in London’s West EndChecking into the Townhouse at The Haymarket Hotel in the beating heart of London is like having your own exclusive pied à terre moments from the city’s best-known landmarks and West End shows, says Paula Lester.
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Tarquin Millington-Drake's tale of 500 hours, 45,000 photos, and the endless subtlety of the wild grey partridgePhotographer and author Tarquin Millington-Drake's dedication to capturing wild grey partridge is extraordinary. Paula Lester went to meet him.
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Le Meurice Paris hotel review: Illuminating art in the city of lightWhat are the ingredients of an unforgettable trip to Paris? An overnight stay at The Dorchester on Park Lane, before hopping on the Eurostar and arriving at Le Meurice overlooking Jardin des Tuileries in time for lunch, says Paula Lester.
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Hôtel Plaza Athénée review: Where dedicated followers of fashion stayIn the beating heart of Paris, stands a statuesque hotel bedecked with signature bright red awnings and tumbling geraniums that’s as haute couture as the boutiques lining the streets surrounding it, discovers Paula Lester.
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No. 131 Cheltenham hotel review: Looking out for number 131Smack-bang on the Promenade in Cheltenham — one of our most elegant spa towns — No. 131 is a chic and cool hotel that oozes glamour without compromising on its original Georgian period charm, says Paula Lester.
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Thyme hotel review: All in good Thyme in the CotswoldsThis Cotswolds idyll – which encompasses a series of cottages, manor houses and barns in the village of Southrop – is a true epicurean haven of tranquillity that’s guaranteed to be unlike any other hotel you’ve stayed at, says Paula Lester.
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Temple Guiting Manor hotel review: Manor from heaven in the CotswoldsTemple Guiting Manor is one of the country’s most handsome Tudor manor houses; together with its surrounding barns, it affords lavish and characterful self-catering accommodation in the heart of the Cotswolds. Paula Lester took a trip.
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Collective nouns for birds: Why we call it a murder of crows, murmuration of starlings and a conspiracy of ravensWe celebrate our favourite collective nouns for birds, from the weird and the wonderful to the most curious.
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The Country Life guide to the Cotswolds: Where to go, what to see, where to stay and what to eatStraddling five counties, the Cotswolds is arguably England's most famous region outside of London. Here’s our guide to what to do, where to stay and what to eat.
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Fancy owning your own London townhouse? Now you can book one for the night whenever you want…Once owned by Henry Austen — and where his sister Jane wrote parts of Sense and Sensibility — Henry’s Townhouse in Marylebone proffers Georgian splendour and a real home-from-home in the heart of the capital, says Paula Lester.
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Wild Thyme & Honey hotel review: A genuinely dog-friendly, boutique country inn in the heart of the CotswoldsMany hotels promise to be dog-friendly, but few are as truly welcoming as Wild Thyme & Honey in the Cotswolds, say Paula Lester and her labrador Nimrod.
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The champion dog trainer with a game-changing method who can teach any dog new tricksAward-winning dog trainer Ben Randall — who looks after the dogs for everyone from David Beckham to Gordon Ramsay — happened upon his own approach to training which made him hugely successful. These days, he's sharing the secret, and Paula Lester paid a visit with her labrador, Nimrod. Photos by Sarah Farnsworth for Country Life.
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Harry Parker: 'Losing my legs is one of the better things that happened to me. I’ve had a more interesting life'The former soldier, author and double amputee Harry Parker on how The Duchess of Cornwall helped him rediscover his creativity. Interview by Paula Lester; portrait by Clara Molden.
