Country mouse honours John Humphreys
Mark presents a lifetime achievement award to a great countryman and write, John Humphreys


One of the greatest men I know received a lifetime award last week, and I was privileged to present it to him. John Humphreys, who has written for Country Life for the past few years in his ‘The Countryman' column and his wonderfully evocative descriptions of our wildlife, is a man I'm immensely proud to have as a friend.
I first met him when I became editor of Shooting Times more than a decade ago and his advice, passion and gentle steering were the greatest help to a naïve and rather impetuous young editor.
The son of the local vicar, John has packed more into his life than anyone else I know. He's a man of enthusiasms, but shooting, fishing and the countryside are his greatest loves.
It was only fitting that the presentation was jointly made by John Swift, chief executive of the BASC, and Helen Phillips, chief executive of Natural England, who came under John's spell when she visited his little wilderness at Hunter's Fen and learnt more about shooting than she could possible have imagined. Sadly, John is suffering from cancer at present, but I know I speak on behalf of everyone who has ever met him or anyone who has read a single word of his shining prose in wishing him the very best.
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Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
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