Grand adventure hiatus: looking home to the Country Life Fair

In the midst of reminiscing about the past three weeks’ adventure, I glanced home across the pond to share in the increasing excitement surrounding the Country Life Fair, to be held on September 27th-28th at Fulham Palace, London SW6. The ripples are spreading across the UK, sweeping up stars of the Chelsea Flower Show and the BBC, not to mention luminaries from the worlds of food, gardening and travel. Author, presenter and adventurer Ben Fogle will be opening proceedings as President of the Fair, and much-loved gardener and Country Life contributor Alan Titchmarsh talks of his love for the rural way of life in his Foreword to the Fair. New exhibitors are still being announced, with Swaine Adeney, Boodles and the Present Finder of Sherborne all recent additions to the illustrious list of participants. Cleve West, whose design won Best in Show at Chelsea in 2013, and James Alexander-Sinclair, one of the BBC’s presenters at Chelsea, will be spearheading the Country Garden, and, in the Country Kitchen, chef Tom Parker Bowles (who described the Fair as 'a glorious example of rus in urbe') will be joined by Rachel Green, author and star of numerous cookery shows, and Mike Robinson, chef at the Pot Kiln in Berkshire and owner of Michelin-starred Harwood Arms in Fulham.  

Before the Fair even begins, there is reason for excitement: the Country Life Fair Grand Ball. To be held on September 10^th at the Natural History Museum, London SW7, the black-tie affair looks set to be the party of the year, with Scottish reeling, dancing to the famous Alexander’s Discotheque and a fashion show, all under the benevolent gaze of Royal Patron HRH Prince Michael of Kent. Tickets are a mere snip at £65, so click here to buy.

Quintessential England: cricket at Parham, West Sussex

Lest all this extravagance should leave your senses reeling, it’s worth remembering the value of the Fair in promoting the very best of British produce in the heart of London. The rural way of life is far from the idyll it should be these days, with red tape, endless expenses and the threat of new roads, railways and houses, not to mention the difficulties of coping with flooding and iniquitous laws, but the British countryside is still the greatest place in the world and it is time to celebrate the people who keep it so. The Fair is also giving something back in more obvious ways, by supporting several excellent charities and organisations: The Haven, Tusk, The Kennel Club, Chicks, The Prince’s Countryside Fund and Victoria’s Promise. Life in the countryside has always been about supporting the local community and looking out for others, and the Country Life Fair is continuing that tradition. So book your tickets now by clicking here, and use promo code OP14 to enter the fabulous prize draw. Let’s bring the countryside to town!

Worcestershire snow

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