Country Life

When it comes to the world of British art, few names are more widely recognised than David Messum. From extolling the virtues of the English Impressionists to resurrecting interest in the Newlyn School, David has spent more than 60 years reminding us all that English art is as good as any across the world.

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We were very lucky that when we asked him to join us on the Country Life Podcast he said yes. Not everyone says yes. We started off talking about his early career in the art world — from what inspired him to get into art, to his early days working at Christie’s and Bonhams — before moving on to the establishment of his eponymous business, which has been championing British art since 1963.

What inspired him to revisit the late 19th/early 20th-century West Country painters known as the Newlyn School? Who are some of his favourite artists working today? What’s his favourite painting? What would he do if he could change one thing about the art world? All these questions and more are answered.

And it’s not for us to shout from the rooftops, but we are pretty sure this is a Country Life exclusive, as David tells us it’s the first time he’s been on a podcast. Listening to his whimsical tales of his life as a collector and dealer, it’s unlikely to be his last. Tune in below, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: David Messum

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

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This week on the Country Life Podcast, Matt Thompson — Curatorial Director of English Heritage — joins our host James Fisher to talk history.

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Recent research from English Heritage asked people to name their favourite periods of the past, and as you might expect the headline findings reflected the widespread interest in the Romans, World Wars, Tudors and Victorians.

But dig deeper, as Matt explains, and a huge number of fascinating stories are revealed by the thousands of sites and artefacts that sit within English Heritage's collection.

He shares many of these with James, talks about the organisation's role in stimulating our love of history and throws light on some bizarre objects — not least a single bone from a Barbary Macaque found in a Roman city. Matt also names his all-time favourite English Heritage site, and it's a beautiful, unspoilt site that's free to visit.

Episode credits

• Host: James Fisher
• Guest: Matt Thompson
• Editor and producer: Toby Keel
• Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
• Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

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The thing about good ideas is that they sound incredibly obvious only after they’ve been invented. Take Deliveroo, for example. Looking back, of course it makes sense to get restaurants to deliver food, above and beyond the old-fashioned takeaway. Of course being able to summon a cab using an app will be a successful business, considering we tell everyone where we are all the time. Why didn’t I think of that?

Violet Manners has had an idea. In her own words, she was quite surprised that nobody else had thought of it first. How do we take privately owned country homes, castles and gardens, and create a simple way of allowing people to look at them, understand them, and then visit them? By creating a site where you can look at them, understand them, and then book a visit. It’s called HeritageXplore.

She joined the Country Life podcast this week to talk about HeritageXplore, what it offers, why it’s important and what it means for our, well, heritage. We expanded into conversations about how stately homes and gardens, often considered something ‘old’, are becoming something new, through tv shows such as Bridgerton and Downton Abbey, and how it’s important for privately owned country houses to take advantage of the wave of interest in these buildings and their stories.

And Violet is the perfect person to bridge the gap between heritage and the digital space. She tells us about growing up in Belvoir Castle and why her and her sister were entrusted with fishing pigeons out of the pipes. Listen to the full episode above, or wherever you get your podcasts. HeritageXplore is found at heritagexplore.com, and you can listen to Violet's own podcast, Hidden Heritage, wherever you get your podcasts.

Episode credits

• Host: James Fisher
• Guest: Lady Violet Manners
• Editor and producer: Toby Keel
• Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
• Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

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The award-winning journalist Chris Haslam doesn't just like beaches; he loves them.

Chris, chief travel writer for the Sunday Times, recently returned from spending seven weeks touring the coastline of Britain to produce his list of the very best beaches in Britain.

It's a mammoth undertaking, in which he and his dog — a Jack Russell called Dave — drove over 5,500 miles to inspect beaches from the tip of the Highlands to the Kent coast, and from the furthest tip of Cornwall to the broad sands of East Anglia and Lincolnshire.

He found beauty, joy, and plentiful fish and chip shops — but also came into contact with once-beautiful coastal spots that were clean and beautiful a decade ago, but are now tarnished by pollution.

For all that, though, Chris remains a huge fan and advocate of British beaches: 'Nowhere I've been in the world has the variety and raw natural beauty of the British coastline.'

He spoke to Country Life's James Fisher for this wonderful episode. You can read Chris's full list of beaches here.

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• Host: James Fisher
• Guest: Chris Haslam
• Editor and producer: Toby Keel
• Music: JuliusH via Pixabay and the Fly Guy Five via Epidemic Sound
• Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

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Buckingham Palace’s East Wing has opened up to visitors for the first time in 2024. St James’s Palace did so at the tail end of 2023. Even Balmoral — a royal residence privately owned by the Windsors, rather than part of the holdings of the Crown — has opened up its doors, something which would have been unimaginable during the lifetime of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Why has it happened, and what can it tell us about the Monarcy today? Country Life’s Architectural Editor John Goodall joins host James Fisher in this episode of the Country Life Podcast to talk about this, and much more.

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Some of the topics are very much in John’s ballpark: how to get your house featured in the pages of Country Life, and what you can expect once it happens, for example. But, never a man afraid to stray out of his lane, John also delves into the wonderful world of Taylor Swift concerts, how to build 1.5 million homes, and why sequin-covered books on architecture might one day be best-sellers. He even squeezes in a bit about how Oxford University ought to do a better job of keeping track of their own buildings. Enjoy.

Host: James Fisher

Guest: John Goodall

Editor and producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay and the Fly Guy Five via Epidemic Sound

Special Thanks: Adam Wilbourn

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Look around you. You might be reading this in your home. Or perhaps someone else’s home. The point is we spend a lot of time in our homes, more so now than ever before (apart from that year we don’t talk about).

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They are our own private spaces — reflections on ourselves, our styles, our opinions, our choices, our ideas. Every choice you make when it comes to your home, from the wallpaper to who you choose to share it with, is both an extension of yourself and often an extension of the world around you. Homes are something we look at most days, and yet something that we probably don’t often think about all that often.

I know this now because I spent 30 minutes talking to Sonia Solicari, the director of the Museum of the Home, who opened my eyes to what ‘the home’ really means. At her museum, based in Hoxton in East London, the home is used to understand and explain history in a fascinating way. Through rooms, from a parlour in 1695 to what the living room of the future may look like, we can understand the world around us.

These are just some of the fascinating insights from our talk. Another one is how Sonia explained to me how everyday objects often found in the home changed our lives. Did you know that the invention of the thermostat may have given rise to the moody teenager? There’s a free little tidbit for you.

It’s been one of my favourite podcasts we’ve done and I would highly recommend you listen to the rest. There’s even a bit where a squirrel interrupts me by staring at me through the window, but at the time of writing I've not yet heard the final cut, so I’m not sure if Toby left that bit in. The only way you'll find out now is to have a listen for yourself. And in doing so, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (the podcast, not the squirrel).

— James Fisher

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Sonia Solicari of the Museum of the Home

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

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The landscape photographer Charlie Waite is a true national treasure. A fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, he has published dozens of photography books and founded the Landscape Photographer of the Year awards back in 2006.

We're absolutely delighted that he joined us on the Country Life Podcast, telling host James Fisher about his life in photography, how he was shaped by his early years in theatre and film, and his philosophy on how to produce — not just 'take' — a photograph has evolved.

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He tells us about how he has been inspired by some of the greats of the craft, from Ansel Adams to Henri Cartier-Bresson, quoting some of the advice he has taken on board from his heroes. Charlie is also passionate about sharing his love of landscape photography with as many people as possible, both through his Light & Land workshops and tours, and with his latest venture, an exhibition at the Mall Galleries in September 2024 in which Charlie's pictures will hang alongside those of other landscape photographers, amateur and professional, from across the world.

Episode credits

• Host: James Fisher
• Guest: Charlie Waite
• Editor and Producer: Toby Keel
• Music: JuliusH via Pixabay
• Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

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The Carbuncle Cup — the award given to the worst new building in Britain — has returned after a six-year hiatus. Competition judge and magazine editor Charlie Baker spoke to James Fisher about why pointing out bad architecture matters.

You can see pictures of all the buildings Charlie and James discuss in our show notes.

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From the rollercoaster of mortgage rates to the calling of a surprise election, the economic landscape of Britain never seems to sit still these days.

Thankfully, award-winning property journalist Annabel Dixon writes regularly for Country Life to help us make sense of what's going on and we're delighted that this week she joins James Fisher on the Country Life podcast.

Annabel talks about whether now is a good time to buy, the best places to look, what you can expect if you move across the North-South divide and much more — including her own dream house and part of the country.

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Host: James Fisher

Guest: Annabel Dixon

Editor and Producer: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

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We lead busy lives these days — which might be all well and good for getting things done, but is the last thing you want on holiday.

That's the central idea behind a new book by the travel writer Liz Schaffer, Slow Travel Britain, in which Liz travelled to 22 off-the-track parts of Britain to really take them in. From walking Hadrian's Wall to exploring the unspoilt corners of the Pembrokeshire coast, Liz made a point of taking her time, talking to the people she met, and avoiding — at all costs — falling in to the trap of box-ticking sights and places.

We're delighted that Liz joined us on the Country Life Podcast, speaking to our own Travel Editor, Rosie Paterson, to discuss the places she saw, the people she met, and what she learned about travel — and indeed herself — on the way.

Liz's book is published by Hoxton — you can order a copy here.

Episode credits

Host: Rosie Paterson

Guest: Liz Schaffer

Producer and Editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn

On holiday this week but will be back next time: James Fisher

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