BASSET HOUNDS: Incorrigible, vocal and partial to unguarded food, basset hounds are as human as a dog can be, reveals devotee Flora Watkins.
TOY SOLDIERS: Lining up Wellington’s infantry or the ‘Arabs of the desert’ was once a childhood staple, but no longer, rues Charles Harris .
WINTER CITRUS: Citrus fruits, from familiar lemons to exotic calamondins, will light up winter, advises John Hoyland.
MY FAVOURITE PAINTING: David Bradley, actor, chooses Monet’s poppy-strewn meadow .
WALKING LIFE: Fiona Reynolds tackles the steep slopes of The Wrekin .
ROBINS: The first book to be devoted to the story of a single bird, David Lack’s The Life of the Robin is still revered, says Jack Watkins.
ARCHITECTURE: The history of 16th-century Rippington Manor, Cambridgeshire, is unexpectedly complex, discovers John Goodall .
A STAINED GLASS WONDER: Heraldic stained-glass windows designed by A. W. N. Pugin for Gothic Alton Towers in Staffordshire have been triumphantly restored, finds John Goodall.
INTERIORS: A country kitchen in town and how the past is informing the new .
SCALLOPS: Tom Parker Bowles relishes the sweet succulence of scallops, a rare morsel with both pagan and pious connotations.
SAUDI ARABIA: Saudia Arabia to the South Downs via Cornwall and Milan.
CRICKET: James Fisher assesses England’s — admittedly slim — chances in the next Test against Australia.
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Why are humpback whales flocking to the UK?Humpback whales are typically infrequent visitors to the Cornish coast, but this year they've been spotted in increasing numbers in the South-West, the Isles of Scilly and as far up the Channel as Sussex.
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Classical style meets fun and flair in a seven-bedroom manor in CornwallAt Polstrong Manor, the current owners have combined period charm and elegant modern interiors to create a flamboyant country home 10-minutes from the beach.
