Last night, a generous friend served a dish from the age of Escoffier. When I say that it comprised a whole truffle, surrounded by foie gras and deep fried so that the entire confection looked like a gigantic scotch egg, you’ll know that Christmas has begun. I woke up in the early hours of the morning wondering whether to call an ambulance; if I survive, I told myself, it will be Melba toast and water from now on.
That resolution died with the alarm clock, when I found I hadn’t perished from over-indulgence. Abundance, overdoing things, a cornucopia of richness—they’re the essential elements of the season. Fortunately, I have a self-imposed restraint. Suits made 20 years ago—before we had children—impose the sartorial equivalent of a gastric band. But who can say no to mince pies?
And those family rituals. You can only add to them, never detract. Admittedly, the mood of the preparation—with pudding and cake made —is calmer than of yore. When the children were little, the added effort of having to conceal the existence of stocking presents, as well as attend Nativity plays and carol concerts, left us exhausted by the dawn of Christmas morning. Yes, calmer now. I rather regret it.
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'I have lost a treasure, such a sister, such a friend as never can have been surpassed': Inside Jane Austen's Winchester home, the house where she penned her final words and drew her final breathJane Austen spent the last days of her life in rented lodgings in Winchester, Hampshire. Adam Rattray describes the remarkable recent discoveries made about the house in which she died.
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An utterly charming island home in Scotland with gardens so beautiful they made the cover of Country LifeAn Cala on the Isle of Seil has a fascinating history that is only enhanced by its amazing setting.
