THE LADY established 1885 • No 6420

ContentsDECEMBER

Features 12 Juliet Stevenson

The actress tells us about her stellar career and helping refugees 26 Reliably Royal Sophie Rees-Jones, the

Countess of Wessex, is coming into her own 30 Have a Jilly Christmas

Our favourite author’s hilarious view on an annoying tradition 34 Cold Sea, Warm Heart

A festive short story by our Books columnist Maggie Alderson 40 Richard Wilson The actor is starring in a new TV version of an adventure classic 44 Quiz of the Year Test your knowledge of what happened in 2021 48 Healing Houseplants They don’t just make the room look nice, they’re good for your health too 51 Competition Win a spa break for two at Whittlebury Park in Northamptonshire 56 Big-Day Bakes Brilliant Christmas cakes and treats from Germany 64 Head for the Hills

Enjoy a winter break in the mountains 74 Positively Healthy How an optimistic outlook helped one woman defeat illness 83 The Gift of Giving

You can make a real difference by donating to charity 93 Take a Break

Why respite care is so important

Regulars 6 Lady Loves...

Give yourself a treat 8 Her Indoors

Mary Killen 10 Letters

18 The Debate

Do we still need festive decorations? 20 Modern Manners

Thomas Blaikie 23 The Curmudgeon My goose is always cooked at Christmas 24 Liz Hodgkinson I’ll be decking the halls this year for a change 52 Gardener’s Diary

Ciar Byrne 54 Him on the Farm

Robin Page 60 Notes from a Kitchen Sue Bailey 62 Ivo Uncorked Unearth the stickies 68 Fashion Fabulous party pieces 72 The Stylist

Armand Beasley 78 Health & Wellbeing Stephanie Unthank 124 Horoscopes Victor Olliver 138 First Impressions Nanette Newman

Reviews 96 Bookshelf Books of the year 101 Books of Life

Maggie Alderson 102 Art

How dance inspired the painter Nicolas Poussin 106 TV

Emily Ross 107 Stage

Georgina Brown 108 Films Jason Solomons 109 Radio

Louis Barfe

Puzzles 125 Wordsearch and

Codebreaker 126 The Ladygram

Challenge Win a handsome Spode mug 130 Crosswords

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134 Spot the Difference 136 Solutions

Classifieds 112 Holiday lets, positions vacant and much more

Subscriptions 80 Subscribe and receive a free box of Develdas Valentino chocolates

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DECEMBER 2021 THE LADY 3