BBC Country File Magazine
6 July 2010
Although Jasper Conran is known chiefly as a fashion designer, his interests spill over into architecture, interiors, plants, craftsmanship and conservation. The outwardly cosmopolitan son of Sir Terrance Conran, he is also passionately engaged with the English countryside. Tellingly, he chose this topic as the subject matter for his first book, Country, in which the spirit of rural life is captured through his eyes.
Conran has homes in London and Somerset, so he knows both sides of the coin, but he was brought up in the country and this is where his roots remain. He likes the values of strong rural communities and the benefits of being close to nature. In Country, the author draws inspiration from the countries he knows best, such as Dorset, Wiltshire, Derbyshire, Cumbria and Cornwall. The pages are peopled with friends and acquaintances or quirky characters that catch this eye, and also houses he has visited, rare breeds, and country pursuits and customs. It’s whimsical, surprising, a little bit nostalgic and written in a thoughtful essay style.
It soon becomes obvious that this is no jumping on a bandwagon kind of book, but the story of a lifelong attachment to the countryside and, in Conran’s own words, it’s “lovely disorder”. He doesn’t just do chocolate box either – he’s a happy at rugby clubs and gypsy horse fairs as he is visiting grand houses and Women’s Institute ladies.
A clutch of slightly eccentric friends such as Tim Hurn Dorset or Marwood Yeatman in the New Forest add to the intriguing mix. As does the unearthing of wacky English rituals, such as Garland Day in Castleton, Derbyshire – think man on horseback wearing a giant flower wreath.
But what brings the book to life and makes it lovely, though not essential, is Andrew Montgomery’s photography. A fine artist by training, Montgomery has an impeccable eye for composition. Once you’ve digested Conran’s words and anecdotes, linger over the pictures and be transported to a world that is not yet lost in time
