DIARY
ANDREW DEVONSHIRE January is the month when I re-arrange the books in the guest bedrooms here at Chatsworth. They all have a core consisting of The Oxford Book of English Verse, The Oxford Book of Short Stories, a volume of Henry James and Saki's short stories, a P.O. Wodehouse and a Simenon. To these I add a cross-section of the books published within the last few months. When applica- ble, these would include the latest Andrew Wilson and Dick Francis. Naim Attallah's recently published More of a Certain Age is also an ideal bedroom book, particularly if the guest is included. A Dedicated Fan, a memoir of Julian Jebb, is also admirable, particularly as we had many friends in com- mon. Most people are vain, so I try to ensure that any author who comes to stay will find at least one of their books in their room. The best example of this courtesy I can remember is when going to lunch a few years ago with Norman St John of Fawsley. He had prominently displayed not only my Wife's two books on Chatsworth and my daughter's book on the Devonshire House ball, but even my own modest and esoteric volume on my great racehorse Park Top. Naturally, both my wife and I were delighted.
To go back to bedroom books, there is always a chance that a guest may be struck down with the flu, so they will also find some heavier reading. The choice for infre- quent visitors is relatively easy. Constant visitors pose more of a problem, so I try to Persuade my wife to give them different rooms to their previous visit. Then there is the question of books for the bathroom. These must meet the need for even more occasional reading. Nigel Rees's Politically Correct Phrasebook seemed an ideal choice. Indeed it has proved so popular that I have had to order more copies since they have been disappearing. When reading this book it is difficult to know whether to laugh or crY. I hope and pray that political correct- ness will not take hold in this country as it has in the United States. Incidentally, I understand those responsible for the sym- bols for underprivileged minority groups in sign language are having problems finding those that could not be considered demeaning. As a balance, there is the excel- lent Bumper Beachcomber. This year I am adding that admirable volume Historic Houses and Castles Open to the Public pub- lished by British Leisure Publications. 'adlY a series called The Oxford Junior Classics, covering all sorts of subjects from the architecture of Dublin to horse-racing, Is now out of print and equally sadly they 100 have disappeared from the Chatsworth bathrooms. My wife runs virtually every- thing in this house, my contributions being confined to the cellar and this provision of books. It gives me enormous pleasure should anyone staying here remark on what they find in their bedrooms. It is a labour of love, since I am aware that most people with a literary bent coming to stay bring their own reading, while the others almost certainly pay no attention to what it is on offer.
When it comes to British Rail, the perverseness of the British public can never have been better illustrated. Before its pri- vatisation was on the agenda, British Rail was considered an Aunt Sally about which jokes could be made on the same lines as a mother-in-law. Now it is all to be changed it appears to be the perfect service deserving of no criticism. This reflects a national trend. We like to criticise our institutions, whether it be the National Health Service or state education, until it is suggested changes should be made in their structure. Immediately there are cries from all quar- ters that the institution is sacrosanct and should remain frozen. We are a most con- servative people. Iam a keen gardener and think that the joys of shrubs and bulbs that flower in the winter exceed those of the spring and sum- mer. I have always been a great crocus enthusiast. One year I had 72 diffeient vari- eties of species crocus in flower between January and April. This has been a very early year. Crocus levigatus, the earliest variety normally out against the south wall on Christmas Day, was over by the middle of December. But I am hoping another early flowerer, c. imperatii, will be out by the middle of this month. All gardeners' great winter stand-by, iris unguicularis, for- merly stylosa, has been in flower since early November. This change of name is yet another example of how professional gar- deners like to confuse us amateurs by con- stantly changing the names of plants. Mahonia, to which I refer in a moment, used to be Berberis. To go back to iris unguicularis, this lovely, sweet-scented flow- er, normally mauve, has a white variant, less attractive to look at and harder to bring into bloom and, therefore, something of a triumph when achieved.
North Derbyshire has a bad climate so I have to rely on the hardiest of shrubs. Nevertheless viburnum fragrans and maho- nia japonica, both sweet-scented, particu- larly the latter which smells strongly of lily of the valley, are joys that last throughout the winter months. Perhaps the jewel in the crown of winter flowering shrubs, chi- mananthus fragrans or winter-sweet, will only grow under glass here, which to many gardeners would be a confession of failure. However, since the birds like it as much as humans, growing it under protection is per- haps sensible. A bunch of it cut and put in the passage here will scent the whole house. To return to crocuses, it is one of my ambitions, virtually certainly to remain unfulfilled (like so many others), to have an article published in the Royal Horticultural Society's journal under the heading The growing of species crocus in grass'.
Finally, may I use these columns for a plug for the Polite Society, of which I have the honour to be the patron-in-chief? The likes of Jeremy Paxman regard good man- ners as wimpish. If that be the case, count me among the wimps. In recent years, enormous attention has been paid to improving the physical environment. I regard good manners as the social environ- ment, and am convinced that a great deal can be done in this field at no cost to make daily life infinitely more pleasant for mil- lions of people. I would gladly make the necessary arrangements for any reader to become a member of the society.
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