Throughout his rugby career, whether playing for Leicester Tigers, England or the British & Irish Lions, Tom Croft was encouraged to uphold the sport’s core values of teamwork, respect, discipline and sportsmanship. Just as he may not have foreseen the success that would come his way when he first picked…
“I’m a strong person and don’t muck about with what I need to say,” warns Dame Kiri Te Kanawa who, as a world-renowned soprano, is foremost associated with the gentility of opera. Her eyes sparkle warmly. “I put it down to my Māori heritage. My blood tribe, the Ngāti Porou,…
Given his reputation for humility, it comes as little surprise that three-time Formula One (F1) world champion Sir Jackie Stewart happily credits a long line of others for his success. What may raise an eyebrow, however, is the importance this energetic octogenarian sporting legend places on shooting. “It made my…
The saying ‘An Englishman’s home is his castle’ suggests a desire to shut the door on the world but there is no such attitude from the Welshwoman residing at Belvoir Castle. The Duchess of Rutland is renowned for her passion for sharing the heritage of her home alongside treasuring her…
It’s mid-morning on a blustery early summer’s day, and all six foot five inches of Tommy Beresford is thundering towards me, dark glasses on, to say he has one more chukka to play before he can break. We’re on the silky green pitches at Manor Farm on the Cowdray estate,…
Dame Jilly Cooper grew up in the countryside of Yorkshire. Apart from a brief spell in Camberley during the war, where she amused herself feeding “wartime carrots” to the Staff College horses and learning the names of wild flowers with her mother, she grew up around Ilkley, where her family…
“I’m very keen on Portuguese water dogs, Boxers of course. Oh, and I love lurchers and whippets. And the Hungarian pumi is a rather fabulous herding dog but rare in this country.” One senses Clare Balding’s list of favourite dog breeds is long. “Every dog I meet is my favourite,”…
“Around here, we’ve got various trusts looking after nature. Well this is the Vinnie Trust,” grins Vinnie Jones, arms stretched out towards the 150 acres of Sussex he calls home. He may be smiling broadly, but Jones is deadly serious. “All this is for my grandchildren. It is so important…
Farmer Will Young is making the world a better place, one million or so social media followers at a time, with the help of his Tasmanian girlfriend, Jessie Wynter, plus two donkeys, two emus, many sheep, some pigs, goats, alpacas, more sheep and his family. Oh, and sheep – did…
The Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind needs little introduction as the former Defence then Foreign Secretary who went on to chair the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament that oversees the UK’s security services. Yet any fear I had of feeling intimidated is soon dispelled by that familiar, affable soft…
