The Pheasant
The pheasant is not English. It arrived from somewhere between the Black Sea and China, yet has become the definition of traditional country sport. A look at the bird's odd position in English culture and literature.
Ritual Notes: The Barbers and Bars of St. James's
The barbers and bars of St. James's have been doing things properly for rather a long time. Which is why people keep going back...Three bars, two barbers. Makes a pleasant afternoon - haircut, shave, then round to the bar. The same combination each month, or vary it.
The Grey Partridge and What It Tells Us
The grey partridge belongs to a particular kind of English countryside – one that existed before intensive farming, before broad-spectrum pesticides, and before the landscape was asked to produce quite so much, quite so quickly.
Christmas Cards Without Leaving the House
Not everyone can make it to a London stationer before the Christmas run begins. Fortunately, several sources worth knowing have made it rather easy to order quality cards without leaving one's desk. These are not the digital print-on-demand services that clutter the internet, but rather...
London's Stationers: A Short Guide to Paper, Ink, and the Christmas Post
There is a moment in November when London begins to feel like itself again. The clocks have gone back, the evenings draw in early, and somewhere in Mayfair the scent of ink and warm paper drifts into the street. Christmas cards need writing, and a proper card deserves proper stationery.
Cup Day, Melbourne 2025
Cup Day always sneaks up, even when one knows it's coming. By the time one glances at the morning papers, half of Melbourne seems to have found a hat, a horse, and a reason to take the day off.
The Four Days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival: Dress, Decorum, and Distinction
ach November, the lawns of Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne become a theatre of sport, ceremony, and style. The Melbourne Cup Carnival extends across four days, each with its own rhythm, colour, and unwritten dress code. To attend the Carnival well is to understand its sequence
A Tradition in Motion: The History of the Melbourne Cup
From colonial paddock to global stage, the Melbourne Cup has traced Australia’s rise from frontier to modernity — one furlong at a time. The first Melbourne Cup was run in 1861, when the city was still a young colonial settlement.
The Season Under Other Stars
While the northern countryside settles into mist and pheasant calls, the Southern Hemisphere is bright with its own anticipation. In Melbourne, the air sharpens, the jacarandas bloom, and the lawns of Flemington Racecourse are cut to a billiard's smoothness.
The St Leger Stakes 2025: Why Yesterday's Classic Proves the Best Horse Still Wins at Doncaster
Yesterday's St Leger Stakes reminded one why this particular afternoon in September continues to matter. As the oldest Classic settled into its familiar rhythm at Doncaster Racecourse, there was that satisfying sense of witnessing something...
The Glorious Twelfth: Grouse Season Upon Us
There is something rather magical about the twelfth of August. Not merely because it marks the official opening of grouse season across Britain's moorlands, but because it represents one of those moments when the countryside seems to exhale after the long summer months.
Glorious Goodwood: A Garden Party with Racing Tacked On
"A garden party with racing tacked on" — King Edward VII's memorable description of Glorious Goodwood remains as apt today as it was over a century ago.