(Very) modern manners

IT’S not just the lower orders who are feeling the pinch.

Countess Bathurst has been left nursing some nasty injuries, thanks to her efforts to save energy as the nights draw in.

‘I have these random bruises on my legs,’ confides the chatelaine of Cirencester Park, the Gloucestershire stately home where Princes William and Harry have played polo. ‘I’ve realised it’s because I refuse to turn the lights on when walking round the house after dark and I suspect I bump into more things than I notice.’

Earl Bathurst’s 57-year-old wife adds: ‘I’m trying to save the planet — and I’m mean.’