Perhaps you were swept away by “The Dig,” the new film released at the end of January on Netflix, starring Ralph Fiennes, Carey Mulligan, Lily James and the archaeological dig at Sutton Hoo in England.
Perhaps you’ve been transfixed by “The Crown,” and its semi-documentary recounting of several generations of the British Royal Family.
Or maybe your first post-COVID dream is to travel around England and poke around in some of the magnificent “homes” that are the setting for so many wonderful British films, modern and costume.
If those conditions apply, you might enjoy a documentary series that you can stream for free on what YouTube calls its Documentary Base.
The series is “Crown and Country: A History of Royal Britain” and it was produced by and features Edward, the youngest of the four children of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.
This is the part where I confess that my attention was never really captured by “The Crown,” so I don’t know to what degree Prince Edward and his lovely wife, Princess Sophie, are featured in it. I think one of the notable accomplishments of this royal couple is that they’ve done a remarkably good job of staying out of the headlines; perhaps this is why Town & Country magazine claims that Edward and his wife are Queen Elizabeth’s favorites: They are dependable, reliable and discreet.
I’m not a huge Royal Watcher, so I have no idea how Edward is generally perceived. I do know that he takes a lot of abuse about the documentaries he produced during his nine years at the head of Ardent Productions, which he founded and then retired from in about 2002.
I personally don’t care. I think this is a really enjoyable series and I’m perfectly fine that Edward is not as funny and lively as, say, Graham Norton. He’s certainly as personable a tour guide as the popular Rick Steves.whom I also like.
Five seasons were produced, beginning in 1998. In each 25-minute episode, the prince takes us on an informative tour of a famous site in England.
In the first episode, we travel to and learn about Sutton Hoo, site of “The Dig.”
The British press are pretty vicious about Edward and his work. I came to it not knowing about the scorn and I have to say that I found Edward to be a good story teller and a good historian. I’ve watched a lot of tours of England on the internet, and I’d rank this series at the top. There are maybe a few too many Dramatic Recreations, but they’re brief and they stay largely in the background.
And yes, Edward does have a noticeably posh accent, but it didn’t bother me. In fact, it reminded me of the way the actress Honeysuckle Weeks speaks in “Foyle’s War,” and I find her diction to be very easy on the ears.
In the 30 episodes on YouTube you learn about famous properties including White Hall and Hampton Court and Kensington.
When Edward describes the fate of their residents, you do feel as though he feels a connection to these great people, these historic events and these fabulous (and sometime excessive) examples of English design and architecture.
After all, Edward has lived in some of these houses and if he wasn’t related to all these kings and queens, he certainly has more in common with them than I do.
And every now and then he or someone will make a subtle joke about his royal status.
“Not to make too fine a point of it, but this is what your lot did to my lot,” one historian says as he shows Edward the graves of paupers and criminals at Sutton Hoo; their bodies were mangled or disfigured during or before burial.
If you’re interested in English history and houses, give “Crown and Country” a look on YouTube (Amazon Prime also has a few episodes).
Dan Moran, left, and Wiley Fails, right, walk down the fairway to the green with a competitor from Lakeview High School, center. Moran shot 52 on nine holes and Fails shot 57 during Housy's first preseason golf match.
LITCHFIELD — Housatonic Valley Regional High School took on Lakeview High School for a Berkshire League preseason match Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Hosted at Lichfield Country Club, the two teams put forth six official golfers to pair up in three foursomes with the lowest four scores contributing to team totals. Additional players from each side matched against each other for practice play.
HVRHS coach Peter Vermilyea was excited to see his team hit the links for the first time this season. Although the match did not count toward Berkshire League rankings, player scores from the meet will contribute to the season totals for state rankings.
The nine-hole course was recovering from recent heavy rains. Lakeview coach Rob Gollow described conditions as “very soft” because “it was pretty much half underwater last week.”
It was about 83 degrees at tee time with high humidity and no breeze. Mature trees provided a welcomed shade around the course.
Lakeview won the meet with a score of 163 to HVRHS’s 202.
Jonas Johnson chipping onto the green. Johnson scored 47 on nine holes Wednesday, Aug. 28 during Housy's first golf match of the new schoolyear. Photo by Riley Klein
Lakeview leader Ryan Blasavage medaled in the meet with a score of 38. John Gilbert shot 39, Vincent Salvietti 40 and Grace Thompson 46.
HVRHS was led by Jake Bosio who shot a 46 over nine holes. Jonas Johnson shot 47, Dan Moran 52 and Wiley Fails 57.
LAKEVILLE — Ann Marie Nonkin, 80, of Millerton Road, passed away Aug. 25, 2024, at Connecticut Hospice in Branford. She was the loving wife of the late Dr. Paul Nonkin.
She was born April 12, 1944 in Queens, New York, the daughter of the late John and Ann Vallen.
She was a medical technician for Manhattan Eye and Ear for many years.
She was an active Parishioner in years past at St. Mary’s Church in Lakeville, where she ran many activities. Alongside that, she was an avid gardener.
She is survived by one cousin, Joan Jalbert.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, Aug. 30 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church the Parish of St. Martin of Tours in Lakeville.
A burial will be on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, Long Island.
Memorial contributions can be made to The Little Guild, 285 Sharon Goshen Turnpike in West Cornwall, CT 06796.
The Kenny Funeral Home has care of arrangements.
CORNWALL — Long standing tax collector Jean Bouteiller will step down at the end of her two-year term this November.
With no qualified residents stepping forward to run for the position, the Board of Selectmen discussed the prospect of making the role an appointed job at a meeting Aug. 20.
Tax collectors must pass several exams and serve in the role for three years before becoming certified. With two-year terms, it would take multiple elections for a newcomer to build up experience.
Many Connecticut towns have made the change to appointing professional tax collectors as opposed to electing residents. The selectmen motioned to add this proposed change to the agenda for the annual town meeting this fall. A draft of the ordinance was sent to the town attorney for review.
First Selectman Gordon Ridgway noted that Kent is in a similar position with its tax collector stepping down. It may be possible to collaborate with Kent to appoint a full time individual to cover both towns.
“It’s always good to partner with our neighbors when we can,” said Ridgway.
Bears
Encounters with black bears remain frequent in Cornwall. Joggers have been intercepted, farmers have lost crops, and trash bins have been ransacked.
The selectmen reported farms on Cream Hill have experienced heavy impact.
“Bears are definitely enjoying the sweet corn up there,” said Selectman Jen Markow.
Ridgway requested residents submit damage reports to Town Hall. The documentation will be compiled to show the extent of the issue to towns in the state that do not experience bear encounters.
“I think there will need to be an education program for places that don’t have as many bear,” he said. “The population is growing exponentially.”
Hans Pedersen, age 7, of Sharon, showed his Guernsey, Paisley, at the Dutchess County Fair on Saturday, Aug. 24. The calf was born Dec. 12, 2023, and is from Coon Brothers Farm in Amenia.
RHINEBECK, N.Y. — The Dutchess County 9th annual Agricultural Forum was held on Aug. 22 at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds.
Local farmers, elected officials, and representatives from conservancy organizations attended the forum to discuss agricultural history and how the industry is a critical component of the county’s economic success, generating over $45 million in sales.
A. Gregg Pulver, Dutchess County Comptroller and farmer, began the forum by introducing representatives of the agricultural community and elected officials who share the same vision: “the promotion of agriculture, horticulture, mechanical and domestic arts, fine arts, and allied sciences through education, instruction, display, and competition.”
The Agricultural Society is a non-profit corporation with 80 members and 16 directors on its board. The group oversees all aspects of the well-known Dutchess County Fair and handles all off-season events.
They receive no funding from Dutchess County or other local governments. According to their website, “All agricultural fairs in New York State receive premium money through NYS Ag & Markets. The money received from NYS Ag & Markets plus additional funds donated by the Society is given to the Dutchess County Cornell Cooperative Extension for 4-H premiums.” Three-quarters of their annual income comes from the Dutchess County Fair, yet all profits they earn from operations are returned to their facilities.
However, during the forum, many farmers discuss their struggles with maintaining support from local communities and residents.
“You can buy stuff from Amazon that you didn’t even know existed,” Eric Ooms, New York State Farm Bureau Vice-President, said. “There is stuff you can buy now that you never could get before, so you don’t have the local support that you once had, that, frankly, we all miss.”
Ooms discussed the death of dairy farms and how he has been seeing a major decrease in the industry. “It’s sad for me that there are fewer dairy farms, and there used to be a ton,” Ooms said. “But the positive is that people are doing things that would have been crazy to even think about trying 20 years ago, but we have those opportunities.”
The Agricultural Society has been very involved with the local youth and supports them in many different ways. First, they give out up to $25,000 each year in scholarships. Pulver also announced the creation of a Junior Fair Board, which establishes an environment for the youth to be more involved with the community.
“We have some of the junior board members here,” Pulver said, “Thank you for sitting up there and the work that you do and advocating for not only agriculture but the future of the fair.
“We were talking about that on the radio earlier. Making sure that this energy continues here, that the youth is involved with knowing some of the old, long-standing traditions and carrying them out, and learning how some of the tough decisions are made.”
