The Independent

4 min read

It’s one month until Christmas Eve, and in Donnybrook in Dublin, chaos is brewing. The Late Late Show is a weekly chat show on RTÉ, the national broadcaster in Ireland. But on the last Friday in November every year, something special happens. It’s To

Country Life

2 min read

1) From which language does the word ‘scampi' come? 2) The sola plant, Aeschynomene aspera, is used to make what sort of headwear? 3) Pernio or perniosis, a medical condition caused by exposure to cold, is more commonly known as what? 4) What are

The American Scholar

4 min read

Consider the hummingbird for a long moment. A hummingbird’s heart beats 10 times a second. A hummingbird’s heart is the size of a pencil eraser. A hummingbird’s heart is a lot of the hummingbird. Joyas voladoras, flying jewels, the first white explor

Cottage Life

13 min read

Otters epitomize everything we could be and should try to attain. In this next life, I could expect no greater move on the karmic scale than to return as an otter • DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR ➲ MAKES THE CASE FOR THE OTTER • I HAVE NEVER REALLY UNDERSTOOD TH

It GiRL

1 min read

• Manatees are fully aquatic mammals which are sometimes called sea cows. • They are herbivores and munch on plants and algae for almost half the day! • They come up for air every 3 to 5 minutes but are able to stay under water longer. • The Manatee

Woman's Day

2 min read

Our Books Editor Wade Sellers gives us his fave picks for the week! Exclusive interview! To celebrate its release, we are giving you the chance to win one of 10 copies of Sophie Green's new novel The Bellbird River Country Choir! To enter, simply hea

REVOLUTION DIGITAL

6 min read

I described him in my last story with these words: “His countenance is known the world over. His visage has become an obsession for men and women alike. There are legions devoted to his ineffable style, his ability to move effortlessly between sublim

Harrowsmith

5 min read

Sitting down for a virtual cup of coffee with singer-songwriter Leela Gilday was essential for an issue dedicated to the North. Gilday, a member of the Dene Nation, was born in the Northwest Territories. Her family is from Délįnę, a community on the

The Rake

6 min read

I described him in my last story with these words: “His countenance is known the world over. His visage has become an obsession for men and women alike. There are legions devoted to his ineffable style, his ability to move effortlessly between sublim

Cage & Aviary Birds

3 min read

MY ORIGINAL pair of Derbyan Parrakeets are truly magnificent birds, with a character all their own. They are friendly and confiding, without being too tame and they always appear to be in a splendid condition. Their feathers have a perfect bloom whic

Woman's Weekly

3 min read

The countdown is on for International Polar Bear Day on 27 February, which falls around the same time that cubs first emerge from their Arctic dens. Newborns born in November and December weigh just one to two pounds, but by late February, they’ll ha

go

2 min read

In May 2023, new designs and colours for our bank notes and coins were announced. The illustrations of the Big Five are even prettier now, and because South Africans love the natural beauty of our country so much, new plants, birds and animals were a

Country Homes & Interiors

2 min read

Every winter, from November to February, Horsey and Winterton beaches in Norfolk become crowded with seals, who come ashore to give birth, feed and fatten up their pups. It has to be one of the most extraordinary natural phenomenons on earth, and it

Boating NZ

3 min read

An aide memoir is the mail which comes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, delivered with a cheery chat if you happen to be in the vicinity of the mailbox when the postie calls. I suppose we could carve notches on a stick, like prisoners on a cell wall,

Getaway

5 min read

The radio crackles into life. ‘We have a visual of two sub-adult male lions, walking east along Duma wall.’ Daryl Dell reaches over to the radio… and turns it off. A strange thrill this, ignoring a lion sighting. But today we are birders, and that is

Country Life

4 min read

1) What’s the largest fish found in British seas (and the world’s second largest)? 2) Which bishop settled on the Farne Islands, where he kept ducks that are now commonly named after him? 3) Which is the UK’s lowest point, at 9ft below sea level? 4)

Country Life

4 min read

1) In ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, what does St Nicholas hold in his teeth? 2) The writer and composer of Silent Night hailed from which European country? 3) Which three British mammals enter true hibernation in winter? 4) What’s the original La

Country Life

4 min read

1) Which settlement was Roman Britain’s first colonia, but only received city status in 2022? 2) What colour is the female blackbird? 3) The expression ‘My salad days’ appears in which Shakespeare play? 4) Fair Maids of February is a name for which m

K-Zone

1 min read

As the founder of DeadlyScience, Corey Tutt loves sharing cool science facts. He’s also the 2020 NSW Young Australian of the Year. Wow! DeadlyScience provides science books and equipment to remote schools in Australia. For more information, you can v

Country Life

4 min read

1) Which is the largest owl ever sighted on the British Isles? 2) Which is the UK’s largest AONB? 3) Which British composer wrote the tune used for the American national anthem? 4) Where would you find the Canonteign Falls, England’s highest manmade

Adirondack Explorer

2 min read

Most people hike through rattlesnake habitat and hope they won’t see a rattlesnake. But my son, Ned, and I are not like most people. I’ve been keen on snakes of all kinds since earliest memory, and Ned, who by the age of 5 or so had discovered a knac

BBC Countryfile Magazine

1 min read

It seems many people think that in order to find countryside, you need to head miles out into the country. We could all name areas of Britain renowned for their excellent countryside. We could probably all name areas where we have national parks. I l

Orion Magazine

3 min read

WITH PADDLE TAILS and semi-opposable thumbs, orange teeth reinforced with iron, and pelts laced with oil, the beavers moved onto our property. Their lodge stuck up from the pond’s bank like a messy bun tied up quickly. We had more questions than we k

go

2 min read

Are you a Top Gun fan? If you're in Cape Town, head up the coast and enjoy the aerial acrobatics of former military fighter jets at the very first West Coast Saldanha Bay Air Show! There will also be a drone race, radio-controlled aircraft galore, fo

Amateur Gardening

2 min read

WE spend a lot of time watching the birds on and around the feeding station, because we have a clear view through our kitchen window. It’s better than daytime television, and we get more arrivals and departures than Heathrow – in a normal year, that

Evening Standard

3 min read

I moved to Hadley Wood about 18 years ago from Kent. We came to visit a friend in Hadley Wood and I fell in love with the area. It’s so beautiful. For me, it was aspirational. I thought: how can I ever live here? We found what was probably the litt

Chat

1 min read

Phil Ridler-Edwards, 52, from Portland, Dorset Do you prefer books or movies? I love watching a good romcom snuggled up on the sofa with my wife Selina and a glass of wine. When Harry Met Sally… is one of my all-time faves. What was the first album t

New Zealand Listener

2 min read

IN WELLINGTON From the deck of our family bach here in a remote part of Buller, you look out to the distant vista of the local river hugging the far side of the valley until it turns out of sight on its slow run to meet the Tasman Sea. You also look

Vegan Life Magazine

5 min read

On the Isle of Skye, Scotland, nestled in 76 acres of gorgeous croft land, you’ll find Lotus Heart Sanctuary — a safe haven for rescued ‘farm’ animals as well as people. Last year, we met with Lotus owner, Lynn Jolly, just as she was launching her ne

Saturday Star

4 min read

YOU get people who think they are celebrities or influencers, you get real celebrities and influencers in popular culture and then there's Kingsley Holgate. Neither an influencer nor a celebrity in the modern meaning of the word, but the easily recog