Tag Archives: History

Country Life Magazine – February 19, 2025 Preview

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE (February 18, 2025):

The legacy

Kate Green celebrates the Revd Gilbert White, the original ecologist whose 1789 book on flora and fauna has never been out of print

Mad as a box of frogs

Our amphibious friends were once thought to possess mystical powers and they now aid the advance of medicine, as Ian Morton discovers

The ghost of golden daffodils

David Jones traces the fall and rise of the Tenby daffodil — all but extinct in the wild, but making a return as a cultivated bloom

Country Life 19 February 2025

The lure of Venice

Matthew Dennison investigates Britain’s long-standing love affair with the Italian maritime republic, fuelled by Canaletto’s enchanting, kaleidoscopic vedute

Playing the fool

Who could have foreseen the influence of tarot cards down the ages? Deborah Nicholls-Lee delves into decks and divination

Dr Ximena Fuentes Torrijo’s favourite painting

The Ambassador of Chile picks a vast, dreamlike Surrealist work that portrays a turbulent world.

A sense of delight

John Goodall marvels at the outstanding array of new and restored buildings on the grand Aldourie estate in Inverness-shire

19 February 2025

Snakes and snails and puppy-dog tales

Matthew Dennison pays tribute to Peter and Iona Opie, who pre-served much-loved folklore and fairy tales for future generations

The good stuff

Work out in style with Hetty Lintell’s elegant exercise picks

Interiors

Amelia Thorpe shares the best of London Design Week wares, plus an elegant room with a view

Shaping the view

Tiffany Daneff admires the vista of rural Northamptonshire from the delightful Modernist garden created for a converted cart house

Foraging

Listen in as John Wright shares his thoughts on wood ears, the fungus with a gelatinous texture

Arts & antiques

Thomas Girtin’s exquisite landscapes were a match for Turner before the artist was cut down in his prime, reveals Carla Passino

History triumphs over invention

A brilliantly acted historical play conquers overproduced Greek mythology for Michael Billington

The New York Times – Tuesday, February 11, 2025

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White House Failed to Comply With Court Order, Judge Rules

The federal judge in Rhode Island said the Trump administration had failed to comply with his order unfreezing billions of dollars in federal grants.

Hamas Postpones Release of More Hostages ‘Until Further Notice’

Stalling the next release of hostages from the Gaza Strip, scheduled for the coming weekend, raises new challenges for the already tenuous six-week truce and chances for a lasting end to the war.

36 Hours After Russell Vought Took Over Consumer Bureau, He Shut Its Operations

The agency had been one of Wall Street’s most feared regulators, with the power to issue rules on mortgages, credit cards, student loans and other areas affecting Americans’ financial lives.

Trump’s Actions Have Created a Constitutional Crisis, Scholars Say

Law professors have long debated what the term means. But now many have concluded that the nation faces a reckoning as President Trump tests the boundaries of executive power.

The New York Times – Monday, February 10, 2025

Why Federal Courts May Be the Last Bulwark Against Trump

With a compliant Congress and mostly quiet streets, the president’s opponents are turning to the judicial branch with a flurry of legal actions. But can the courts keep up?

Trump Will Impose Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum on Monday

The president said he planned sweeping tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports on Monday and would take other action to even out tariff rates with the rest of the world later this week.

As Trump and Musk Upend Washington, Congressional Phones Can’t Keep Up

In the three weeks since President Trump took office and gave Elon Musk free rein inside the federal government, millions of calls have poured in to members of Congress, jamming the system.

For Stunned Federal Workers, Sleeplessness, Anger and Tears

One thing lost in the Trump administration’s war on the federal bureaucracy is the collective voice of the employees. But some have begun to speak out.

The New York Times – Sunday, February 9, 2025

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Young Aides Emerge as Enforcers in Musk’s Broadside Against Government

Much of the billionaire’s handiwork — gaining access to internal systems and asking employees to justify their jobs — is being driven by a group of engineers operating in secrecy.

As Ground Shifts, ‘Flailing’ Democrats Struggle to Find Footing in Diversity Fight

President Trump’s aggressive moves against transgender rights and diversity, equity and inclusion programs have left the Democratic Party casting about for a strategy for how to respond.

For New Orleans, the Superdome Is More Than a Stadium

The distinctive domed building, turning 50 this year, is known for hosting the Super Bowl, but to locals, it’s also “the city’s living room.”February 6, 2025

Why Federal Courts May Be the Last Bulwark Against Trump

With a compliant Congress and mostly quiet streets, President Trump’s opponents are turning to a flurry of legal actions. But can the courts keep up?

The New York Times – Saturday, February 8, 2025

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U.S.A.I.D. Turmoil Threatens Key Aid Supplies to Gaza, Officials Say

Washington has funded roughly a third of the aid sent to the enclave since the war began. With most agency workers set to be put on leave, officials say that those supplies are under threat.

Musk Wields Scythe on Federal Work Force, With Trump’s Full Blessing

The president defended Elon Musk’s role in seeking to slash budgets and cut payrolls as the young aides burrowing into federal agencies came under scrutiny.

Trump’s Gaza Takeover Plan May Sound Death Knell for the Two-State Solution

Already unlikely, the prospects for creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel could vanish altogether if the United States takes over Gaza and displaces the population, as President Trump proposes.

Trump’s New Line of Attack Against the Media Gains Momentum

First Amendment experts say Mr. Trump’s lawsuits, based on an unproven legal theory, lack merit. But more could be on the way.

The New York Times Magazine – Feb. 9, 2025

Current cover

THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE (February 7, 2025): The 2.9.25 Issue (The Love and Sex Issue) features Mireille Silcoff on Generation X womens’ improving sex lives; Lisa Miller on how weight loss drugs can upset a couple’s intimacy; Daniel Oppenheimer on his realization through couples therapy that the problem in his marriage was him; Stella Tan on confessions from those who ghosted their dates; The Ethicist answers a series of sex related queries; and more.

Why Gen X Women Are Having the Best Sex

In an era plagued by sex negativity, only one generation seems immune: mine.

Digital Drugs Have Us Hooked. Dr. Anna Lembke Sees a Way Out.

The psychiatrist and author of “Dopamine Nation” wants us to find balance in a world of temptation and abundance. By Lulu Garcia

The Other Side of Getting Ghosted

Ten people explain why, instead of saying it’s over, they decided to just disappear.Interviews by Stella Tan

The New York Times – Friday, February 7, 2025

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Trump’s Gaza Plan Reflects Broader Push for Annexation of Palestinian Land

Right-wing officials in Israel, evangelical Christians in the United States and Trump appointees have become increasingly outspoken in calling for Israel to take more territory.

Abandoned in the Middle of Clinical Trials, Because of a Trump Order

The stop-work order on U.S.A.I.D.-funded research has left thousands of people with experimental drugs and devices in their bodies, with no access to monitoring or care.

A ‘Stellar Crew,’ a ‘Tragic Accident’ and a Black Hawk’s Last Flight

The Army helicopter that collided with a passenger plane above the Potomac River boasted an experienced crew doing “an unforgiving job.” Friends and relatives are still baffled and mourning their loss.

House Committee to Examine Secret Navy Effort on Pilot Brain Injuries

The Navy quietly started screening elite fighter pilots for signs of brain injuries caused by flying, a risk it officially denies exists.

The New York Times – Monday, February 3, 2025

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Trump Tariffs Threaten to Upend Global Economic Order

The invoking of national security to unravel trade agreements could scramble the international trading system in China’s favor.

Trump Favors Blunt Force in Dealing With Foreign Allies and Enemies Alike

With Canada, Mexico, China, Colombia and the Middle East, President Trump has wasted no time threatening to use American might to force recalcitrant countries to back down and do what he wants.

Trump’s Tariffs Put China in a Difficult Spot

China chose swift retaliation for trade measures in the first Trump administration, but that led to an upward spiral of trade measures and much broader tariffs.

‘We Have No Coherent Message’: Democrats Struggle to Oppose Trump

More than 50 interviews with Democratic leaders revealed a party struggling to decide what it believes in, what issues to prioritize and how to confront an aggressive right-wing administration.

Listen to this article · 9:47 

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE – January 29, 2025 Issue

COUNTRY LIFE MAGAZINE (January 28, 2025): The latest issue features ‘Ready, Steady, Go!’ – The wonderful thing about Springers…

Full of the joys of spring(ers)

The non-stop English springer is still our number one working spaniel, reveals Matthew Dennison, as he delves into this enthusiastic, energetic breed

Snake, rattle and roll

Rob Crossan investigates the deeply spiritual origins of that enduring family board-game favourite Snakes and Ladders

Heard it on the radio

The wireless broke new ground as the first form of home-based mass entertainment and is still going strong in the age of the smart speaker, finds Ben Lerwill

Friends with benefits

Nematodes are a natural way to halt the march of all manner of garden pests and Charles Quest-Ritson is a convert

Mould and behold

Josiah Wedgwood was a brilliant businessman with a remarkable social conscience. Tristram Hunt assesses his life and legacy

Catch us if you can

Owain Jones sizes up six of the best as he picks out the players to watch in this year’s Guinness Six Nations rugby extravaganza

Roger Morgan-Grenville’s favourite painting

The conservation campaigner selects a work that inspired his lifelong obsession with seabirds

A Palladian premonition

Richard Hewlings offers a fresh analysis of the architecture at Bramham Park, a highly original West Yorkshire country house

The legacy

Kate Green remembers Robert FitzRoy, the founder of the Met Office whose name lives on in the BBC’s Shipping Forecast

Dear country diary

Paul Fleckney flicks through The Guardian’s Country Diary, which has offered a snapshot of rural life for more than 120 years

Interiors

The best stoves and fireplaces picked by Amelia Thorpe, plus the alternatives to burning logs

Luxury

Hetty Lintell’s top timepieces and James Haskell’s favourite things

Magnificent mahonias

Charles Quest-Ritson makes the case for mahonias, arguing that their pleasantly scented flowers are a seasonal delight

Kitchen garden cook

Melanie Johnson pairs peppery horseradish with salmon fillets

Ring-dove beauteous!

John Lewis-Stempel coos over the much-maligned wood pigeon, that canny, keen-eyed and fast-flying stalwart of our countryside

Travel: An Historical Tour Of The Bronx, New York

SUNDAY MORNING (January 26, 2025): Comedian and actress Susie Essman was a kid from the Bronx, and maintains a devotion to this monumental, magical and, at times, maligned slice of the Big Apple.

She takes “Sunday Morning” viewers on a tour, joined by such Bronx luminaries as writer and humorist Ian Frazier, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, actor and playwright Chazz Palminteri, rapper and entrepreneur Fat Joe, and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.