Dancer, actor, father of four and farmer. There are very few things that Kelvin Fletcher cannot do. ‘Hold on’, you might say. ‘What do you mean farmer? I thought that was just acting?’ Well, it was, until about three years ago when Kelvin and his wife Liz decided that they needed a change of scenery. Plans to move to Los Angeles were touted, but a far more sensible decision (we think) was made: a move to a small family farm in the Peak District.

• Listen to Country Life podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen to Country Life podcast on Spotify
• Listen to Country Life podcast on Audible

Not your typical move for an actor and he’ll be the first to admit it. But since the move, he and his family haven’t looked back. Even better for us, they decided to bring some TV cameras with them to document the experience, leading to the creation of Fletchers’ Family Farm, the second season of which began yesterday.

Did playing a farmer on Emmerdale provide any experience for the real thing? What are some of his favourite animals? What did he wish he'd known before he started? And is he still dancing? All these questions, and more.

Episode credits

• Host: James Fisher
• Guest: Kelvin Fletcher
• Producer and editor: Toby Keel
• Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, the only daughter of the 11th Duke of Marlborough, has by any measure led an extraordinary life. As a girl she moved from the family home in Oxfordshire to Blenheim Palace, the family seat and — by any measure — one of the finest buildings not just in Britain, but the world (it has UNESCO World Heritage Site status to prove it).

• Listen to Country Life podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen to Country Life podcast on Spotify
• Listen to Country Life podcast on Audible

Ever since then, first as a resident, then as a world-renowned interior designer who has played a leading role in the conservation of this 18th century masterpiece, her life has revolved back and forth around Blenheim, and we were thrilled that she agreed to talk to James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week.

Living at Blenheim, as she explains, brings great privilege: she tells how her father bought a speedboat, and taught Henrietta and her brother to waterski on the lake. Yet living in a house of global stature, and which opens its doors to visitors every day of the year, also brings unique pressures: everything from where to park and struggling to find a spot of lawn on a sunny day, to wondering how on earth they'll raise £10 million to replace a leaking roof that is three centuries old.

Lady Henrietta also discusses Woodstock Designs, her hugely successful interior design company, and talk about her latest book, Blenheim: 300 years of Life in a Palace (Rizzoli, £57.50), a truly sumptuous publication which tells the tales of those who have lived in the palace over the centuries, illustrated with beautiful images taken by Hugo Rittson-Thomas.

Episode credits

• Host: James Fisher
• Guest: Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill
• Producer and editor: Toby Keel
• Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The idea of 'nature as a healer' as become a truism, often repeated without much thought given to how or why it should do so.

One man who has thought about this phenomenon — and spent much of his life researching and writing about it — is Professor Miles Richardson, a member of the psychology department at Derby University, founder of the Nature Connectedness Research Group, and author of The Blackbird's Song & Other Wonders of Nature: A Year-Round Guide to Connecting With the Natural World.

We were thrilled, then, when Miles agreed to join James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast this week.

• Listen to Country Life podcast on Apple Podcasts
• Listen to Country Life podcast on Spotify
• Listen to Country Life podcast on Audible

Did you know, for example, that merely looking at a picture of a flower for a few minutes boosts your mood in very real psychological and physiological ways? Or that even when you're blindfolded, your body knows and responds to the difference between objects that are man made and those that are artificial?

It's a completely fascinating episode of the podcast which explores all this and much more.

You can find more about Miles and his work — particularly with the Nature Connectedness Research Group — at his research website, his blog and his Twitter page.

Episode credits

Host: James Fisher

Guest: Professor Miles Richardson

Producer and editor: Toby Keel

Music: JuliusH via Pixabay

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.