Country Life March 9 2016
This week's issue is bursting with features, from a walled garden in Worcestershire to our favourite collective nouns, plus we cook some perfect puddings and celebrate the cottage


This week in Country Life Magazine we have our smaller country houses issue - which celebrates the charm of the country cottage, as Ptolemy Dean explores the magic of local materials. In addition:
** Catherine Austen asks what makes Cheltenham Festival so memorable
** Charles Quest-Ritson admires the romantic walled and water gardens at Birtsmorton Court in Worcestershire
** We talk to the people who gave it all up for the countryside
** In the first of two articles, John Goodall explains the evolution of Haddon Hall: one of Derbyshire’s most celebrated houses
** From a pound of Englishmen to a sneer of butlers, we discuss our favourite collective nouns for people and professions
** Plus Simon Hopkinson makes perfect puddings
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
** If you miss this issue in the shops you can buy it online here, or download it now to your tablet
-
Graham Norton's elegant East London home hits the market, and it's just as wonderful as you would expect
The four-bedroom home in Wapping should be studied for how well it uses two separate spaces to create a home of immense character and utility.
-
Sign of the times: In the age of the selfie, what’s happening to the humble autograph?
When Ringo Starr announced that he was no longer going to sign anything, he kickstarted a celebrity movement that coincided with the advent of the camera phone and selfie. Rob Crossan asks whether, in today’s world, the selfie holds more clout than an autograph?