Country mouse: power cut in the office
Mark has to write his column from across the road from the office as a power cut while the magazine goes to press threatens publication


The weekly publishing cycle for Country Life comes to a crescendo each Monday morning when we go to press and the last pages are written and sent to the printers. Even the normal calmness of our offices is gently ruffled by this event, but, today, we are challenged by a complete breakdown to our power supply.
No computers, no phones, nothing. I am writing this in a cafe across the road in a race against time so that the magazine arrives in the shops or at your home this Wednesday. I hope it does. Technology aside, this is a fabulous time of year because the clocks have changed.
For commuters and countrymen, that hour of extra light in the evening makes such a difference. I can't understand why we don't run at summer time all year round. It's proven to be safer for children getting home from school and, frankly, it's more cheering for all of us. Perhaps the political parties might consider adding it to their manifestos before the next election. It would prove to be very popular.
Am I alone in loathing the ubiquitous migraine yellow of oilseed rape? Certainly, in my family, I'm on my own, but the violence of the colour against the subtle greens of the rest of the countryside jars with my senses. At home, I'm surrounded by the yellow peril like never before.
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Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
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