About My Country Hideaway

My Country Hideaway is a small, unhurried magazine about the life that happens in and around a home. Some days that means a draughty window or a pipe that needs lagging before the frost. Other days it means a quiet evening in front of a screen, a new hobby for the weekend, a trip somewhere, or the practical side of running a small business from the kitchen table.

We write the way we would talk to a neighbour leaning on the fence: plainly, without hurry and without pretending to know more than we do.

What you will find here

• House and hearth. Upkeep, heating, the yard and the jobs that come round every season, in House and Decor.
• Screens at home. How internet television works, choosing a set-up, parental controls and accessibility, in Streaming and Tech.
• Weekend pleasures. Fire pits, bird feeders, games and pastimes, in Hobby and Gaming.
• Everyday living. Food, gifts, getting about and the odd personal interest, in Lifestyle, Travel and Personal.
• Work and errands. Advertising, services and tools for small firms, in Business, with a few odds and ends in Misc.

Step-by-step pieces are gathered in Guides & Tips. If you would like a single overview of every section, What We Write About lays them out side by side.

The people at the table

Four writers share the work, each under a pen name. Lettice looks after the house and the hearth: heating, plumbing worries, firewood and the yard. Gethin covers screens and gadgets, from internet television to the software small businesses lean on. Elspeth writes about hobbies, food and travel, and has opinions about bird seed. Auberon edits every piece, keeps the guides in order and handles the notes readers send in.

None of us is a licensed tradesperson, doctor, lawyer or financial adviser, and we do not write as if we were. When a job needs a plumber, an electrician, a chimney sweep or another qualified person, the article says so plainly.

A few promises

• We do not invent figures, studies or quotes. If something cannot be checked, it does not go in.
• Practical guides carry safety notes wherever fire, ladders, tools or heat are involved.
• Articles on health, money or legal matters stay general. They are a starting point for your own questions, not a substitute for advice from a professional.
• When we get something wrong, we fix it. Spotted an Error? explains how to tell us.

Where to begin

New readers often start with How to Winterize a House or wander through Our Reading Shelf, a hand-picked list for long evenings. How a piece moves from idea to page is described in Behind the Front Porch, and the Reach Us page is the way to write to us.

Pull up a chair. There is no rush here.