Rutland behaviour
Rutland is the sort of place that looks, at first glance, like it might apologise if you bumped into it. It is small. Not just small in the way that a village is small, but small in the way a well-kept secret is small. You can cross it in the time it takes for a cup of tea to become thoughtfully drinkable. And yet, like certain cupboards and at least one well-known wardrobe, it contains rather more than its dimensions strictly permit. Rutland is small enough that history cannot help but bump into itself. In larger counties, the past has room to stretch out, to yawn, to keep a respectful distance from the present. In Rutland, it must share the same narrow lanes, queue politely at the same village shop, and occasionally apologise when it treads on its own toes. Take Rutland Water , for instance. Officially, it is a reservoir. Unofficially, it is a sort of inland sea that dreams of tides. The water lies there, doing its best impression of a respectable reservoir, bu...