1. Thou shalt not take thy iPad to bed
You'll stay up too late, wake up too early and doom scroll too much.
2. Thou shalt not leave a voicemail
Seriously, it's 2024. Nobody even knows how to listen to their voicemail anymore. Send a text or a WhatsApp message.
3. Thou shalt not have thy phone's ringtone set to 'loud'
Unless someone you love is in hospital or you're outside in a storm awaiting your exam results.
4. Thou shalt not keep the television on when a guest is visiting
If you're reading Country Life, you probably don't need to be told this. However, it's worth repeating anyway.
5. Thou shalt prefer sunshine to screen time
An exception can be made for vampires and those with skin conditions exacerbated by direct exposure to sunlight. Everyone else, go outside and touch some grass.
6. Thou shalt keep thy mobile device clean
Do we really need to spell out where you've been using it?
7. Thou shalt remember that a phone can be used to make voice calls
Bonus point for initiating those voice calls. But also, remember point 2.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness about 'being terrible with technology'
That nonsense might have washed in 1988, but not anymore. If you can tie your own shoelaces, you can use a mobile phone or a laptop
9. Thou shalt be patient when awaiting a reply to thy WhatsApp message
Just because the little blue ticks say it's been read, doesn't mean I have the time or headspace to reply within eight seconds
10. Thou shalt not consider thy voice assistant a meaningful relationship
If you're calling out a woman's name in the bedroom, it shouldn't be 'Alexa'. This applies even if they are actually called 'Alexa' — you don't want the neighbours' devices to be listening in at that particular moment
The Last Word: 'Portmeirion’s charm is rooted in eccentricity and this is why I love the place'
Pamela Goodman travels to north Wales in a rusty Land Rover Defender, where long walks, wild swimming and a visit
Credit: Simotion via Getty Images/iStockphoto
To Oliver Walston: A visionary, a farmer and a friend
Carla Carlisle writes of her friend Oliver Walston, who was often known for 'thinking the unthinkable and saying the unsayable'
Curious Questions: Why do we still love pirate stories, 300 years on from Blackbeard?
Tales of swashbuckling pirates have entertained audiences for years, inspired by real-life British men and women, says Jack Watkins.
Credit: Getty
'Water was coming in through the roof, the windows and the stone walls. It caused mushrooms to grow in the bedrooms, and sizeable bits of the ceiling to detach themselves without notice'
Water, water everywhere for Jonathan Self — especially in the places where you'd least want to have it.
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Suit yourself: I’m a 49 year-old man-about-town and I’ve never owned a suitWhen Hugh Smithson-Wright turned up to Country Life's annual Gentleman's Life party sans suit, it sparked a passionate conversation about why the formal fashion just isn't for everyone.
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'The ugliness and craziness is a part of its charm': The Country Life guide to BangkokWhere to stay, where to eat and what to do in the Thai capital.
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I was Jeremy Hunt’s main political adviser and helped put together multiple Autumn Statements and Budgets. This is what I think Rachel Reeves’s Budget means for the countrysideAdam Smith, former chief of staff to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, reflects on what last week's Budget means for the countryside and how we ensure the rural voice is heard loudly inside Budget preparations.
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‘I cannot bring myself to believe that Emily Brontë would be turning over in her grave at the idea of Jacob Elordi tightening breathless Barbie’s corset’: In defence of radical adaptationsA trailer for the upcoming adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights' has left half of Britain clutching their pearls. What's the fuss, questions Laura Kay, who argues in defence of radical adaptations of classic literature.
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53 years ago, a Wren masterpiece was replaced with a glorified roundabout. We must not make the same mistake againThe plans to rid Christ Church Newgate Street of traffic should be cause for celebration — but a mistake as bad as the one made in the 1970s is about to happen, says Ptolemy Dean.
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Nothing is more important than trust, and our institutions would be wise not to undermine itFrom big businesses marking their own homework, to the debacle at the BBC, trust has never been more important.
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The Budget: What do we need to fix a broken countryside, and what will we get?With the Autumn Budget looming, countryside and heritage organisations reveal what they are hoping to hear to fix the turmoil — and what they are dreading
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The Labour government of the 1970s saved our country houses. Will a Labour government of the 2020s save our country churches?Why not invest to save the most valuable community resources we have, perfectly placed at the heart of communities?
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William Hanson's 39 steps to being a gentlemanMany have attempted to update the codes of gentlemanly conduct for 2025, but as, William Hanson shows, the timeless rules are still the best ones
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Athena: This Government must open its eyes to the contribution that heritage and culture can make to our economyHeritage is a forgotten driver of growth laments our cultural crusader.
