Country Mouse

A year to remember

IN terms of the house build and our wedding, we look as if we are about to turn into the home straight. We have employed Minty Moore, Rachel’s goddaughter—who, almost as importantly, is a wedding planner—to get us to the church on time. She has been a godsend and has caught several balls that would have been dropped. The biggest surprise so far is that a first-class stamp costs 85p. Still, we have stuck to tradition and are sending proper invitations.

The house requires almost constant decisionmaking, from where lights and plugs should go to cellar doors and bath taps. Meanwhile, I have been distracted by planning the garden and the wildflower meadow. The hedges have all gone in, but I am desperate not to miss this year’s brief opportunity for planting an asparagus bed, as well as some raspberries, blueberries and strawberries.

At work, the plans for our 125th anniversary issue (May 11), Platinum Jubilee edition (May 25) and the outline for The Duchess of Cornwall’s guest-edited issue (July 13) are all coming together. All roads lead to May, it is going to be quite a time and the next three months are going to be the most exciting of my life, but only if I remember to organise the honeymoon.