House & Garden September 2000 [antikvár]

FROM THE EDITOR The world at your fingertips; House Garden has all you need to know The Sitwells - Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell, that is - once had reason to sack their buder. Outraged, the man retahated by burning tlieu' address books. Ignoring the old chestnut that revenge is a dish best eaten cold, he struck swiftly and painfully to the veiy heart of the household; the literaiy trio was distraught. You won't be surprised to learn that I don't employ a buder myself. I don't need one, for heaven's sake. I can destroy my own address book, and I just have. It was a small electronic gizmo and held every name and telephone number I have ever recorded and quite a few which were a complete mystery to me. And now it's gone and everyone I've ever known with it. And no, I doA't have a back up - that too flew into the fathomless depths of Lake Windermere with the crumbs shaken from a picnic rug. Ah well, back to the drawing board. Summer is coming to an end and children will soon be returning to school and adults to their occupations. Time for a fresh start and a new address book. It's such an invigorating time of year, after all. Refreshed after the holidays, this is a moment to take stock, embrace new ideas and dust off projects. But where to start? Possibly right here, with the September issue of House & Garden. It includes over 750 telephone numbers and 300 e-mail addresses. Instead of ringing round my friends to find out about their holidays - in reality an excuse to tell them about mine and mourn its passing — I could think about the next one and book a winter break in Dubai or a weekend in Amsterdam, having been inspired by our travel section starting on page 146. Then I could send for some new roses and enrol on a course, having browsed the Garden Shoppingpages (152 to 154). After that, I could resolve never to miss another good exhibition and see what Celina Fox has to say about Lowry starting on page 5 7, and tick things in Roundelay (pages 69 to 70} which sound interesting. Having read David Oliver's master class on paint (pages 35 to 36), I could order a new colour to ginger up the spare bedroom or, feeling nostalgic for the flowery exuberance of my summer garden, I could track down the floral prints shown in the decorating feature starting on page 104. Finally, I could resolve to cook nothing but new dishes for the next month and try all nine of them featured so appetizingly in the Wine & Food section. By the time I've done all that, the loss of a mere address book v\dll have faded into insignificance - although it might be difficult rusding up enough willing victims to eat all those meals ? oj^ ( yeoJ^