Country mouse on his bale of hay
Despite items of great historic worth, it’s the bale of hay just outside his office to which Mark finds himself most attached


I have a bale of hay sitting just outside my office. It arrived two years ago as a prop for a photo shoot and stayed. I adore its sweet smell and pluck the odd straw to chew on in my office I like to think that it helps me concentrate. Certainly, it reminds me of the countryside, and that's no bad thing when I'm trying to edit Country Life in a very modern office block in the middle of London.
A rather wonderful scarecrow stands on guard beside the bale. He needs to, as the price of hay is at an all-time high this year due to so much of the crop being ruined by the weather. If I were a commodity broker, I would have more than tripled my money in two years on that bale.
Our visitors from across the Atlantic-Country Life is owned by the mighty American corporation TimeWarner-are often taken to see my office with its grandfather clock, Lutyens chairs and three brass hand bells, which were once used to summon the art, picture or subbing department depending on which bell was rung. They invariably squeal in delight at all the quaintness, but it's the simple bale of hay that somehow steals the show. Despite the mess, I think it's here to stay.
* Country Life Summer Subscriptions Sale - Save £55 a year!
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH 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.
-
A Hampshire Manor for sale that dates back to the days of Alfred the Great, with the most beautiful staircase we've seen in years
The ten bedroom property features an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, spa complex and stables, and it was restored by the same architect who worked on Downing Street.
-
The last miracle of St Boswell? How a Scottish potato field became the world's least-likely producer of sparkling wine
The country has produced its first ‘champagne’ after its producers, Lorna and Trevor Jackson, planted 1,000 vines nine years ago on their farm in St Boswells.