A trip up North this week, which was originally going to include a visit to the Game Fair. This having been cancelled because of the heavy rains, it made it all the more painful to then have nothing but bright sunshine and a brisk breeze all weekend, the yellow signs pointing the way gleaming uselessly. But, forgive this town mouse, I was grateful for the weather, as I was in Grassington, a beautiful Yorkshire village just inside the national park, for a family wedding. It was a particularly modern marriage,and not because of the long red dress the bride wore, or the informal ceremony by the river. No, it was a firmly 21st-century union of two people because of all the step-relations involved between us all, there were more steps than lead to the Whispering Gallery at St Paul's Cathedral.
Former and current husbands sat on either side of the wife, former and current wives were dance partners in the ceilidh, children gave thanks for the step-brothers and sisters who made up their new family. Less a family tree than a web but perhaps the way for us to celebrate connections in an increasingly complex society.
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'These aren't just rooms. They are spaces configured with enormous cunning, artfully combining beauty with functionality': Giles Kime on the wonders of WOW!house 2025WOW!house 2025 is here. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to explore more than 20 indoor and outdoor spaces, dreamt up by the biggest names in design, says Giles Kime.
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'The very best North Yorkshire has to offer': The £25 million Kirkham EstateWith 1,103 acres and on the market for the first time in a century, we've got a new frontrunner for the sale of the year.
