PICTURE OF THE DAY: The silver Spitfire above took off from Goodwood on Monday afternoon embarking on a round-the-world trip. 400 people were in attendance to wave goodbye to the carefully restored and polished Spitfire, which will be piloted by Matt Jones and Steve Boultbee-Brooks during its four-month circumnavigation.
The 1943 fighter plane will cover 27,000 miles and touch down 100 times in different 30 countries in its unprecedented flight around the world, heading first to Greenland and thereafter westwards through the US, Russia, South East Asia and the Middle East before returning to Sussex. The trip has been masterminded (and funded) by the Boultbee Flight Academy at Goodwood together with IWC Schaffhausen and Aviation Adventures. You can track their progress at www.silverspitfire.com. (Photo by Remy Steiner/Getty Images for IWC).
'Dire shortage' of fruit and vegetables awaits in event of no-deal Brexit
'Britain will face a dire shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables in a disruptive no-deal Brexit,' according to Prof Tim Lang of City University. Writing in The Lancet Prof Lang explained that there will be 'unprecedented levels of disruption to food supply chains' and the public has been kept 'largely in the dark' about the impact.
The worst of the effects will be felt in the winter, when Britain relies heavily on Mediterranean-grown fruit and vegetables. He also suggested that with prices likely to rise sharply, it's those on low incomes who will be worst hit.
The artificial 'tongue' that can tell the difference between fake whisky and the real stuff
With the whisky market having become absurdly inflated in recent years and bottles selling for tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds, it's no surprise that shady characters have been trying to pass off fakes.
What's more surprising is that their efforts are being trumped not by grizzled experts but instead technology. Scientists at the University of Glasgow have created an electronic tongue that can tell the difference between whiskies with 99% accuracy – even distinguished between different ages of the same dram.
Alasdair Clark, of the University of Glasgow's school of engineering, explains: 'We call this an artificial tongue because it acts similarly to a human tongue — like us, it can't identify the individual chemicals which make coffee taste different to apple juice but it can easily tell the difference between these complex chemical mixtures.'
The underwater robot nanny keeping tabs on Scotland's sharks
Last week we reported on plans to create a basking shark sanctuary in Scotland. This morning's Guardian has more detail about another effort to protect this species, using an underwater robot that keeps tabs on the giant fish.
Sutton Hoo's journey from 'boring heaps of earth' to wow factor experience
Since it opened to visitors in 2001, Sutton Hoo has won a reputation as being, well, crushingly dull. It's a sad fate for arguably the greatest archaeological find in British history, so it's good to see that the National Trust has spent £4m turning it into something that will 'make the hairs tingle on the back of your neck'.
On This Day... Bolivia gains independence from Spain
In 1825, after 16 years of war, the nation we now know as Bolivia gained its independence — and took its name from Simon Bolivar, the man who led the fighting against the Spanish. It's an enduringly fascinating country, as Country Life's Mary Miers found out on a recent trip.
Read more (Country Life's tour of Bolivia)
And finally... Was this really 27 years ago...?
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Game, set, match: 12 of the world’s most beautiful tennis courtsFrom Italy to Indonesia, when it comes to hotel amenities, a picturesque tennis court will always trump a 24-hour gym. So, before you book your next holiday, take a look at our pick of the 12 best.
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Five frankly enormous mansions, including one with its own private swimming lake, as seen in Country LifeSometimes bigger really is better.
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The brilliant tractor tribute to the NHS from a group of Warwickshire farmersPeople around Britain have been paying tribute to the efforts of our NHS workers at the time of the coronavirus pandemic — but few have been as creative and clever as this one.
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London's iconic red bus at risk and 6,000 year old chewing gum gives clues into our DNA historyCuts to industry subsidies and an increase in fares has left bus use at its lowest point ever, while DNA extracted from ancient 'chewing gum' allows scientists to decipher the genetic code of a Stone Age woman.
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90-million-year-old 'swimming dinosaur' skeleton found by dogs out walking in Somerset, and the nonchalant moths who don't bother fleeing enemiesA superbly intact dinosaur skeleton — described as being 'museum quality' — has been discovered on a beach in Somerset.
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Battle to ban 4x4s from the idyllic Lake District spot bequeathed by Beatrix Potter, eagle fights octopus and the 'snail's pace' climate talksThis morning we look at Little Langdale's fight for peace, reflect on the climate change talks in Madrid and discover the soundtrack for Brexit.
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Country Life Today: How Greta Thunberg shifted the dial on climate change — and the backlash shows just how muchThis morning we ponder whether Greta Thunberg is the Joan of Arc for the environmental movement, look at a key election — one from 19 years ago — and ponder the marvel of 'dad tidying'.
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Country Life Today: Great news for those who love our great country pubs — the years of decline are overThere is a great sign of health in the pub industry, we look back at Edward VIII's abdication message and fret about Greenland's melting ice.
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Country Life Today: Spain accused of being 'a deplorable choice' for UN climate conferenceA no-holds-barred assault on the Spanish fishing industry, Banksy raising awareness of the homeless and the woes of the Christmas jumper are in today's news round-up.
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Country Life Today: 'This is perhaps the ultimate wake-up call from the uncontrolled experiment humanity is unleashing on the world’s oceans'In today's round up, we examine why oxygen loss is putting oceans at risk, discover that action to cut air pollution brings almost immediate benefits to human health and find out which bird's arrival marks the start of winter in Gloucestershire.
