Aromatherapy for chaps

The crackle of rusted leaves, the white murk of mist and, almost silently, the sudden whoosh of driven partridge above you. Goodness, I love autumnal shoots — especially before winter’s brumous air and cold smudges the best of daylight into a half-hearted, nearly defeated duty.

I think it is Nicholas Soames who is fond of booming “a gentleman doesn’t shoot pheasants before Christmas”, but the premise is not universal. At home it is true we only beat the woods after Christmas, but plenty of pheasants slip out to the game crops to join the partridge beforehand and I don’t feel too uncouth adding them to the bag.

Ever since I was a boy, I have been advised to get as many days