Countryside questions, tips and expert answers | The Field

How to find the perfect celebration cake

Q: We are saying goodbye to a lovely lady who helps on our shoot and want to know how to give her a special send-off. She has a very sweet tooth and we would like to have an extravagant cake made for her. We want to know how to find something exciting that she will remember. Can you help a group of men? BW, Surrey

How to make smoked bacon bourbon

Q: I recently read an article about the joys of smoked bacon bourbon and apparently it is something one can make. I have tried to find a recipe for smoked bourbon in various old cookery and cocktail books but have failed. Can you help?

How can lady guns learn how to shoot?

I regularly see lady guns featured in your magazine and other shooting mags. Do you know if there are any DVDS/videos of ladies' game-shoots? Or can you suggest a useful one for shooting?

How to find cartridges for a 16 bore

I shoot game with a 16 bore and have just taken delivery of a new pair from a leading London gunmaker. What disappoints is the lack of variety in 16 bore cartridges. I can find standard 26g and 28g loads but not a heavier load such as a 32g. Any suggestions?

How to restore old linen tablecloths and old fabric

Old linen tablecloths call for specialist restorers. How to restore old linen tablecloths and old fabrics.

How to freeze game

As my freezer is virtually full and I am now adding the profits of the current shooting season to it I feel the need to sort out its contents once and for all. Can you advise roughly how long one should freeze venison and pheasants for? I have a couple of joints of venison from 18 months ago! Also, what is the best way to freeze chicken carcasses for turning into stock at a later date?

Cocktail recipe: Greenall's gin and bitter lemon

How to make cocktails: The Greenall's Gin and pink grapefruit

Cocktail recipe: Greenall's French 75

How to make cocktails: The Greenall's Gin and ginger ale

How to make a French 75 cocktail | How to make cocktails

How to make cocktails: The Greenall's French 75

How to make a White Lady | Cocktail recipe from Greenall's

How to make a White Lady cocktail, and a Pink Lady cocktail and a Blue Lady cocktail...from Greenall's and The Field

Cocktail recipe - How to make Mars bar vodka | Greenall's Mars bar vodka

Mars bar vodka is a festive frivolity

Blackberry gin | cocktail recipe | Greenall's blackberry gin

Greenall's Blackberry Gin. The perfect hedgerow treat

Bloody Mary | Cocktail recipe | Greenall's Blood Cristal Bloody Mary

Greenall's Blood Cristal Bloody Mary

Cocktail recipe - Greenall's Damson Gin

Greenall's Damson Gin. This month's cocktail recipe makes the most of our hedgerows

Cocktail recipe - Greenall's Cristalnaya vodka mojito

Try this month's Greenall's cocktail recipe.

Teak-eating wasps, drinking songs and dead-bird tents:
your queries answered

Your rural quandaries solved

Cocktail recipe - Greenall's Tom Collins

Try this month's Greenall's cocktail recipe.

Gooseberry mint sauce

A query from the archives: I had a gooseberry mint sauce in a restaurant and wonder if you have a recipe for this delicious accompaniment to roast lamb?

Which mint is best to grow

We have a basic variety of mint in our garden and want to add different varieties to create an area with a wonderful aroma of mint. What others are there and where can I buy them? And what is the best way to deal with rust on mint?

How to get rid of cat hair

A local cat has been breaking into our house by squeezing through any window we leave open, no matter how small the gap. Though we have virtually cured this problem, we can't seem to get rid of the excess cat hair left behind. It appears to be stuck to various chairs and a vacuum doesn't remove it despite the manufacturer's claims. Can you help?

How to dispatch a fish

Mike Swan advises on the best way to despatch a fish

Hunter-gathering

Having retired last summer I have impressed my wife with my skills at hunter-gathering. The freezer is respectably full of pheasants and the odd brace of partridges, plus a large quantity of blackberries. I also managed to find enough sloes to make my first brew of sloe gin. To continue in this vein can you recommend a book that advises on hunter-gathering through the seasons?

How to make mead

I have found some recipes for mead but they seem to vary enormously and are rather complicated. Have you a simple one?

The Field|Country Queries|Shooting law|Ownership of fallen game

Who does fallen game belong to if it lands on a public right of way?

Drinking Toast|Mud in your eye|Country Queries

I am trying to find the origin and meaning of the toast "Here's mud in your eye." I have been to a few parties where this toast has been used and many other guests were as ignorant of its meaning as I was. Can you enlighten?

How to get rid of squirrels

Over the past months we have shot 20 grey squirrels as they have been causing extensive damage to our young sycamores and beeches. Yet other squirrels just come and take up where their fellows once stood. Will they keep coming?

Deer devastation

My house sits in the middle of a farm surrounded by forestry. We love to see the wildlife in our garden but are unable to have flower beds as the muntjac and fallow deer come and help themselves. As we don't want to fence the garden are there plants we could have that the deer would not eat? If so, what are they?

Hatching habitat

There are stirrings in the hedgerows as the peak season for first pheasant and then partridge hatching gets under way. With this comes the biggest dilemma in low-ground wild game production  where to take the chicks?

Pigeon in spring

I may be a dyed-in the wool country bumpkin, but sometimes I envy the urban gardener. Life on a town-centre vegetable plot is so pest-free.

How to trap successfully

There is a widespread myth that to be a successful trapper you need to have inherited generations of skill, learnt at your fathers knee. My father, by whom I was taught a great deal, pooh-poohed this and said that all you needed was common sense and efficient traps. He proved his point  he seemed able to catch almost anything, despite having learnt little more from his dad than how to snare rabbits and deal with mice in the larder.

How to catch crayfish

While out walking, my grandchildren and I saw crayfish in the river. We are keen to try and catch some. Is there any law against this and, if not, what is the best way of catching them?

How to move bees

Last summer a colony of bees took up residence in my attic. I have no wish to harm the squatters, but would like them to change address. They are dormant for now. Is there a humane way of getting rid of them?

How to keep champagne fizzy

I read that Sir John Mortimer has a glass of champagne a day and describes it as penicillin for the soul. What a wonderful idea. As Id only have a glass a day what is the best way to keep champagne when opened as a bottle gives six glasses? Or can you suggest a decent, reasonably priced half-bottle?

How to make orange gin

On a shoot recently I was given a snifter of 1997 orange gin, a great change from sloe gin. I would like to have a go at making this. Have you got a recipe?

How to plant a fruit tree

In this day and age you can plant a fruit tree at any time; pot-grown plants are available all year at garden centres.

Billiard table restoration

We have a tired and battered billiard table which we would like to have re-baized and restored for our growing grandchildren. The table has been stored in a barn with the chickens for many years.We are hoping the restored table will make future visits here more exciting as all the children are very competitive.

How to make your own Christmas crackers

Learn how to make crackers to ensure your Christmas goes with a bang.

How to make lavender sugar

Last year I dusted my mince pies with vanilla sugar, which I had made myself. Earlier this year I read an article saying that lavender sugar was also good, but I can't find any information on the correct quantities. I assume you can use dried lavender. <br />

How to store salami

It's a real joy to be able to buy a large selection of salami on the market, but I find I am given different advice on the best way to store it. Can you help as I plan to give whole salamis as Christmas presents this year and would like to send correct storage advice with them.

How to make your own cider

Cider's now rosy. Thanks to the clever marketing of the Magners brand, cider is a tipple to be seen with. Robert Gore-Langton tells you how to make your own cider