As London was receiving a blast of monsoon weather on Friday, this town mouse was sitting in her office wondering if her house (a basement flat) was going to be flooded with unwelcome visitors from the lower rungs of the rodent kingdom. Concern mounted on the way home when I overheard someone on the Tube excitedly reporting that my decidedly less charming cousins were being pushed up through drains all over the city. Thankfully, all was in order, which is more than can be said for friends who were making the final preparations for their wedding on Saturday.
The setting, an Old Rectory just outside Princes Risborough, was classic material for an English country wedding. It was, however, due for a deluge, according to the weatherman's map. In a flash of brilliance, the bridegroom's mother went online and bought up what must have been the entire stock of umbrellas on JollyBrolly (tag line: 'Let us be on your side when the weather's not'). The rain held off for the crucial moments (it's never fun when it's too wet to leave the church), the bride glowed all day, and the dancefloor was the stage for some typically ambitious moves.
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McLaren Special Operations — The secret Surrey skunkworks producing Britain's most bespoke supercarsThere's owning a McLaren and then there's owning an MSO McLaren. James Fisher finds out what makes the bespoke division of Britain's premier supercar manufacturer so special.
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18 country houses across Britain, from £400,000 to £4 million, as seen in Country LifeOur look at the homes to come to the market via Country Life this week picks out a charming Kent cottage and an Arts and Crafts house in Leicestershire.
