A life less ordinary
We’ll all end up on our deathbeds eventually, but it would be nice to make it there with no regrets. Here are our 39 steps to living your best (gentleman’s) life
Our 39 steps to living your best (gentleman’s) life
1 Have a child named after you. Or, at the very least, a former flame’s dog 2 Learn to foxtrot 3 Open an expensive bottle of Champagne for no real occasion —with a sword 4 Make an anonymous donation 5 Learn to pilot a plane or fly a helicopter (or both, if you’re feeling flashy) 6 Plant a tree 7 Take part in the father’s race at your child’s sports day 8 Shear a sheep and help to deliver a lamb, calf or foal 9 Learn another language (and seduce someone using it) 10 Have a bespoke suit made on Savile Row 11 Run a marathon 12 Write a letter or give a speech that moves someone to tears 13 Train a dog—properly 14 Cook a meal entirely from produce you have either caught, killed or grown 15 Dye your hair an outrageous colour 16 Buy (or, at least, bid for) an entire barrel of Burgundy 17 Quote a poem, both spontaneously and in a relevant situation 18 Climb a mountain or sail an ocean 19 Design a piece of jewellery for your beloved
20 Hit a six
21 Break up a fight using your wit, not your fists
22 Have one of your children admit you were right about something 24 Buy a one-way ticket to an exotic destination 25 Collect a library that requires a ladder 26 Ski a black run 27 Construct a Lego Batmobile (or a castle, depending how you roll) 28 Plough a field, preferably on your own tractor 29 Write a song for someone 30 Make the news for something non-scandalous 31 Read War and Peace—and the complete set of ‘Harry Potter’ books 32 Walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall 33 Buy a very silly car (we’ll let you define silly) 34 Rescue someone, be it a fair maiden or a lost child 35 Own a pair of smoking slippers 36 Take a godchild to their first Michelin-starred restaurant 37 Demolish something substantial, either with a JCB or with explosives 38 Sleep beneath the stars 39 Get married—at least once