Country Life

• The Falconer's Tale: Tommy Durcan on how an ancient art lives on in the 21st century

  The ancient and noble art of falconry has been practised for thousands of years, but it's rarely been more easily accessible to the curious.Today, there are places across Britain, Ireland and the rest of the world where you can go on a hawk walk — or an an owl prowl — accompanied by an expert guide and a bird of prey, to see for yourself how these majestic creatures fly and hunt.One such expert is Tommy Durcan, a falconer at Ireland's School of Falconry at Ashford Castle — once a home of the Guinness family — and we're delighted that he joined the Country Life podcast to talk to James Fisher about his life and work.From the devastating energy of the hawks to the eerie silence of an owl in full flight, Tommy talks through how he came to work with these amazing creatures. Their astonishing skills and eyesight that goes far beyond that of any human are mixed with surprising fragility, where the slightest mistake during a hunt could cost them their lives. It's fascinating stuff. You can find out more about Tommy and his colleagues — both avian and human — at the Ireland's School of Falconry website.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Tommy DurcanEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Amelia Thomas: The woman who learned to talk to animals

  A few years ago, Amelia Thomas and her husband packed up their fast-paced lives and moved to a remote farm in Nova Scotia.Faced with a desolate landscape, appalling weather and a husband who — like most Finns — abhorred small-talk, she found herself spending more and more time listening to the animals she cared for in her house and on her farm. And at that point, something magical began to happen: she began to notice and, eventually, understand the many ways in which they were communicating with her.Amelia joined James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week to tell her tale, and explain how she honed her skills — from interviewing world-renowned animal behaviourists, to simply understanding that sitting quietly among animals for a prolonged period can be enough to really begin to understand the messages that we, as constantly on-the-go humans, almost always miss, from the twitch of a horse's ear to the quiet stare of a cat. It's a tale that is fascinating, inspiring and entertaining — and also a little sad, as in the case of one of Amelia's beloved pets who communicated with her as he reached the end of his life. Learning to listen to animals, it turns out, can mean hearing things that you won't always like. Amelia's book about her experience, What Sheep Think about the Weather, is out on November 13 (Elliott & Thompson, £16.99), and is a fascinating read. You can find out more and order a copy here.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Amelia ThomasEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Stefan Pitman: Making great country houses cost less to heat than a suburban semi

  Ten years ago, Stefan Pitman set up SPASE Architects. Right from the start, he realised many of his clients were coming to him with one big problem: they might own beautiful old buildings, but they cost a fortune to run.'We have really close connections with our clients,' he tells James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast, 'and we talked about what is it like to actually have the responsibility and the upkeep of these old buildings? And that's when, certainly for a number of owners and clients, we very quickly realised that there is a vast cost to keeping these buildings in use, and comfortable, and many of them aren't comfortable because of that. And because of that they fall into a state where they begin to get damp, and then you get some timber decay, and it all starts to snowball a little bit.'Fixing those problems began to become one of the firm's specialities, until one key project which made a huge impact: their work on Athelhampton Manor, where they cut a monthly energy bill that was well into six figures to between £0 and £500, saving over 100 tons of CO2 annually.We're delighted that Stefan was able to join James on the podcast to talk about that project — which won them a string of architecture awards — as well as how the landscape of preserving and insulating old buildings has changed in the last five years, and how the same principles can be applied to almost any building, 'from a two-bed terrace to Hampton Court'.Find out more about SPASE Architects at their website.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Stefan PitmanEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• The lives, wild parties and country houses of the Guinness family: Adrian Tinniswood on the Country Life Podcast

  'When they came to me and said, "do you want to do a book on the Guinness houses?" I leapt at the chance. Because, I've got to tell you, they have some astonishing houses. I mean, some really amazing places.'So says Adrian Tinniswood, who — like the Guinness family houses — is also amazing and astonishing. He's a historian and writer who has enjoyed a fifty-year career writing books about the greatest houses in Britain which manage to be simultaneously scholarly, fascinating and wildly entertaining. Adrian's new book, The Houses of Guinness (Scala, £34), is out at the beginning of November, tying in nicely with the new Netflix series about the Guinness family. 'I don't know if you've seen it, James,' Adrian tells the podcast host, James Fisher. 'It's fascinating. There's very little truth in it, but it's a fascinating piece of TV.'Adrian tells James about how his early studies in literature fell away as he began his career, first with a temporary job working at Sudbury Hall, and then when he read Mark Girouard's Life in the English Country House. 'Still, 50 years later, that book is a bible for me,' Adrian says. 'That just changed the game as far as country houses were concerned.'• Listen to Country Life podcast on Apple Podcasts• Listen to Country Life podcast on Spotify• Listen to Country Life podcast on AudibleAdrian goes on to talk through his work, his favourite places and some of the most extraordinary tales of the Guinness family's houses and the colourful characters who inhabited them. He takes us through the early days of cunning business decisions, the wild success of the stout that bears the family name and the philanthropy which ushered them into the corridors of power, right through to the wild parties where the later generations of Guinness heirs rubbed shoulders with The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. It's a wonderful episode, and we hope you enjoy it.Episode creditsHost: James FisherGuest: Adrian TinniswoodEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Amanda Owen: The Yorkshire Shepherdess on farming, life, and having tea with her sheep

  Growing up in the cityscape of Huddersfield, Amanda Owen was inspired by tales of farming life, from the adventures of James Herriot to the classic Hill Shepherd by John Forder, painting a picture of fell farming that became all she wanted to do.Fast forward to the 2020s and Amanda has become one of the best-known farmers in the country, starting with her Instagram account — where she has over half a million followers as @yorkshireshepherdess — and progressing on to television documentaries and more.While doing all this she has somehow found the time (and energy) to have nine children, keep the farm thriving, write a children's book about farming life, and appear on the Country Life Podcast with James Fisher.Amanda talks to James about her life, her inspiration, her philosophy and what she'd change if she ruled the countryside for a day — and also tells the tale of her new book, Christmas Tales from the Farm, which is out now (Penguin, RRP £14.99).Episode CreditsHost: James FisherGuest: Amanda OwenEditor and producer: Toby KeelMusic: JuliusH via Pixabay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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