290 years later, March still comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb | ‘One of the finest townhouses in East Anglia’ is on the market | Titter ye not — Frankie Howerd’s Kensington townhouse is for sale
Snow, rain, wind... and even a bit of sunshine. The month so far has seen it all, and it caught our Country Mouse columnist on the hop, particularly since he'd spend the first 10 days of the month in the Tropics. 'I have been clinging to the idea that March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb,' writes Mouse in this week's magazine, citing the proverb that first appeared in Thomas Fuller’s snappily-titled 1732 compendium Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs; Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British.
'That adage has stood the test of time for good reason,' adds Mouse. 'The sun moves into the northern hemisphere next Monday; a week later, the clocks change, which is my favourite day of the year and one that I shall celebrate with good food and fine wine with my family.' As for today? The Ides of March 'may have been something for Julius Caesar to beware of' but 'these days, it feels like a real turning point in the year. March is like the old football adage: "It is a game of two halves."'
Elsewhere in this week's magazine you'll find delightful cottages, bees, Simon Jenkins' solution to the second home problem at a time of chronic housing shortages, and much more besides. Below, meanwhile, our pick of the week from the website includes a very special house indeed in Bury St Edmunds, and John Goodall's article on the 'national scandal' of Ruperra Castle. If you're keen to support efforts to save the latter, please do sign the petition to get the matter brought up for debate in the Senedd. Toby Keel, Digital Editor
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