Taking time to live well

May

FOLK
Maypole cake & buttercup meadow picnics • The magic of nightingales
Spring greens pizza • Sheds of character • Garden like the Bloomsbury Set
Square-metre safari • How to stop saying sorry • Taking a coddiwomple
 Visit us at
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
on stand PW225

Timeless designs for a lifetime of summers spent outdoors.

Kitchens Furniture Accessories Lighting Paint Design services

neptune.com
 A could-do list
May
Visit a village that’s ‘doing’
May Day and enjoy the fun

Dedicate a Sunday to reading

and a roast

Make a Beltane posy from your

garden for a friend

Use a bank holiday to do a small

home project from start to finish

Gather friends for drinks outdoors

in the longer evenings

Try some of our ideas,

make up a few of your own,
or just read and enjoy
IMAGE: ALICE PATTULLO AT HAMILTON WESTON WALLPAPERS
 This month is one that revels in challenging convention and the
customs, eccentricity and mavericks Bloomsbury Set finding expression,
- just think of dancing around inspiration and solace in their
the Maypole for starters. May Day gardens, we’re meeting folk who do
also has its roots in the tradition things differently. While we may
of protest and standing up for not count ourselves among these
what you believe in. Behind these pioneers, we all have our passions,
celebrations are passionate people; be it collecting treasures,
the old expression ‘there’s nowt so a fondness for wearing ribbons
queer as folk’ has been reclaimed, and bows or baking a Whitsun cake.
now it recognises the diversity Let longer, lighter days and
and creativity that abounds when the magic of birdsong fuel our
we’re given the freedom to be. own May rituals. So, read poems
From the sheddies who get about blossom, wear your heart-on-
imaginative with the idea of a your-sleeve and go on a pilgrimage
simple hut, to the dancers fusing of your own making. May should
folk and street, a fisherwoman always be a month to remember.

Lisa EDITOR LISA SYKES

PHOTOGRAPHY: HOLLY JOLLIFFE
 Come what May
GIVE A NOD TO TRADITION AND CELEBRATE THIS LOVELY SEASON
BY TAKING FRIENDS AND FOOD INTO THE GARDEN FOR
A WHITSUN-INSPIRED GET TOGETHER
Words & recipes: LUCY BRAZIER Photography: JONATHAN CHERRY

6
 GATHERING

M
ay is a magical month, happily
bookended by two long
weekends – May Day and
the Spring Bank Holiday
– both steeped in ancient
folklore, religious significance and sunshine
(hopefully). While May Day maintains its
recognised celebrations of Morris dancers
and maypoles, there’s no longer much of
a fuss at the end of the month.
Whit Monday, as it was known until the
early 1970s, marked a break in the farming
year with different counties upholding their
own traditions. Fairs, parades and pageants
were thrown to honour the occasion, special
dishes prepared, and white dresses worn to
church and gatherings. We think it is high
time we brought back a little Whitsun spirit
and celebrated the final flourish of spring
before we embrace summer proper. Make the
most of the long weekends and invite friends
and family to join you in the garden to linger
over the best of the seasonal fare and even
a maypole-inspired cake. »

Mow the lawn,

lay the table and
get the hay-fever
remedies at the
ready, May offers
a feast of long
weekends

7
 Quick elderflower &
rosemary cordial
Great with sparkling water…
or with vodka, soda water, and
a rosemary sprig twizzle stick Cordially kick
things off with a
homemade cordial…
or maybe a cocktail.
It is a long weekend,
Makes 1 ltr after all
15 elderflower heads
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
500g sugar
A generous sprig of rosemary

1 Pick the elderflower when the sun is

shining and shake well in case of bugs.
2 Use a fork to remove the flowers
from the stalks and put them in a
bowl, along with the lemon zest and
juice. Pour 1 litre of boiling water over
the top and leave to steep overnight.
3 Using a piece of muslin or a jelly
bag, strain the liquid into a saucepan.
Add the sugar and simmer for a
few minutes. Pour the warm liquid
into a sterilised bottle, poke in the
rosemary, seal and leave to cool
before storing in the fridge.
Cook’s note: This is a speedy version
of elderflower cordial – as it doesn’t
use citric acid, it needs to be stored
in the fridge and drunk within a few
days of making it.

8
 GATHERING

Salad days: good

company, the sun on
your skin and the
sound of distant
lawnmowers make for
memorable times - the
dog approves too

Pickled radish on rye

Delicious with a generous
slathering of butter
Whitsun
Waldorf salad
Serves 6 The classic New York salad given
250g radishes a British twist – raisins are a
5 tbsp white wine vinegar traditional Whitsun ingredient
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp fennel or mustard seeds
Loaf of rye bread
Unsalted butter Serves 6
4 apples, chopped into 1cm chunks
1 Trim the ends of the radishes before 4 celery sticks, chopped into 1cm
slicing them, no thicker than a pound chunks
coin, and put them in a sterilised 100g walnuts, roughly chopped,
jam jar with a vinegar-proof lid. plus a few extra to garnish
2 Put the vinegar, sugar and seeds 100g raisins
in a pan and bring to a simmer. Once 100g natural yogurt
the sugar has dissolved, remove from 150g mayonnaise
the heat and pour over the radishes. 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Stir and leave to cool before storing (optional)
it in the fridge. Use within a week.
3 Serve on rye or sourdough, thinly 1 Put the apples, celery, walnuts
sliced and thickly spread with butter. and raisins in a bowl.
Cook’s note: You can add flavour to 2 Combine the yogurt and
the butter by softening it and stirring mayonnaise and add to the rest of the
in chopped herbs, crushed garlic ingredients, giving it all a good stir to
or anchovies. For easy canapés, cut make sure that everything’s coated.
the bread into bite-size pieces and 3 Before serving, garnish with a
top with a couple of slices of radish. few chopped walnuts and parsley. »

9
 GATHERING

Asparagus and
pea quiche
Asparagus for all with this
affordable – and tasty way
– of stretching the harvest

Serves 6
FOR THE PASTRY:
150g plain flour
90g cold unsalted butter, cubed
One of the signs of
1 egg, beaten, for brushing
spring is surely a
FOR THE FILLING: quiche coming out...
3 eggs and one of its
pleasures is eating it
2 tbsp flour
200ml single cream
100ml whole milk
1 tbsp chopped tarragon
125g asparagus, cut in half
lengthways, blanched
200g fresh or frozen peas
150g cheddar, grated
20g parmesan

1 Start by making the pastry (you

can also buy ready rolled and skip
this step). Sieve the flour and salt into
a bowl. Add the butter and rub it into
the flour. Be careful not to overwork
it as you don’t want breadcrumbs.
There should still be lumps of butter
as this makes the pastry flakier. Add
3 tablespoons of ice-cold water and
bring the pastry together with your
hands. Shape it into a ball, wrap in
baking paper and chill for 30 mins.
2 When it’s ready to roll out, grease
a 25cm quiche tin and dust your work
surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll
the pastry out and carefully lay it over
the tin, tucking it in with a overhang
of pastry. Don’t trim this just yet as it’ll
shrink in the oven. Line the case with
a sheet of baking paper and fill with
baking beans. Bake blind in the oven
at 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6 for 20 mins.
3 While the pastry case bakes, make
the filling. Break an egg into a bowl and brush the base with egg before quiche to cool before carefully
and whisk in the flour. Once combined, returning it to the oven for 5 mins. removing it from the tin.
whisk in the second egg, followed by 6 Remove the pastry from the oven Cook’s note: The classic filling
the third, until you have an emulsion. and scatter the peas over the base, combination with cheddar cheese
4 Whisk in the cream, milk, tarragon followed by the grated cheddar is a winner, but swap for goat’s
and season with salt and pepper. Set and then the cream and egg mixture. cheese or gruyère, as you like, and
aside. Meanwhile, blanch the Position the blanched asparagus experiment with different herbs.
asparagus in boiling water for 1 min. on top and grate over the parmesan. This can also be made the day before
5 Take the pastry case out of the oven, Cook for 40 mins, or until the middle and warmed through in the oven
remove the baking beans and paper, is springy to the touch. Leave the before you take it to the table.

10
Herby broad bean
couscous
Freshly popped broad beans and
herbs bring the flavours of spring

Serves 6
250g couscous
6 tomatoes
250g fresh or frozen broad beans,
blanched
3 spring onions, chopped
4 tbsp fresh chopped mint
4 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 Put the couscous in a bowl, barely

cover with boiling water and leave
to absorb for 5 mins.
2 Cover the tomatoes with boiling
water for a minute before skinning,
deseeding and chopping them.
3 Break the grains up with a fork
then add the beans, tomatoes, spring
onions, herbs, lemon juice and zest.
Drizzle over olive oil and season.
Cook’s note: Broad beans fresh from
the pod are worth the extra effort.
You could also try adding fresh chilli,
preserved lemon, olives or feta. »

A day spent eating

al fresco and catching
up with loved ones will
leave you happy but
perhaps dog tired

11
 GATHERING

For those less keen

on dancing, perhaps
introduce table-top
maypole weaving –
the winner gets the
biggest slice of cake!

Maypole cake
Whether you end up dancing or
not, the Maypole encapsulates the
month’s playful spirit – we think
it’s the, er… icing on the cake

Makes 1 cake
350g rhubarb, cut into 1cm chunks
50g caster sugar
Zest and juice of 1 orange
300ml double cream, whipped
Icing sugar, for dusting
FOR THE CAKE:
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
Zest and juice of 1 orange
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/

Gas 4. Put the rhubarb in a roasting
tin, sprinkle over the sugar, orange
zest and juice. Cover and cook for
15 mins, or until the rhubarb is soft,
but not falling apart. Leave to cool.
2 To make the cake, beat the butter
and sugar together until creamy. Add
one egg at a time with a spoonful of
flour to stop the mixture curdling.
3 Add the orange zest and juice. tins for 15 mins before transferring To make a tabletop Maypole
Fold in the flour and baking powder to a rack to cool completely. Use a knitting needle and 6mm-wide
and pour into two greased and lined 4 To serve, fold the rhubarb into the ribbons. Tie the ribbons to the top of
20cm sandwich tins. Bake for around whipped cream and generously cover the needle and pierce the cake,
20 mins, checking they’re cooked the base of one sponge with the mix. leaving the ribbons to stream around
by piercing the middle with a skewer Sandwich the second cake on top and or tuck them underneath the base
until it comes out clean. Leave in the dust lightly with some icing sugar. of the sponge.

12
 unch
Collection la
7th April!
 PASSIONS

M O D E R N
E CENTRICS
The folk dancers
Words: JOHANNA DERRY HALL Photography: JONATHAN CHERRY

14
 IN A WORLD THAT CAN FEEL
INCREASINGLY UNIFOR M ,
WE’RE CELEBRATING THOSE
HAPPILY DOING THINGS a bit
d if f e re n tl y. Me e t t h e
PEOPLE WHO ARE seriously
P A S S I O N A T E about
their pastimes . PERHAPS
THEY’LL PERSUADE YOU TO
run a folk club in the 1970s, and I was brought up going
to ceilidhs. At 15 I wanted to be in a company like we’ve
TRY s o m e t h i n g N E W ? got now. But it didn’t exist.”
Meanwhile, what captured Natasha’s attention was
the way folk dancers use props –sticks, hankies, ribbons
ass a village green in May and you might – and how that linked to the way some street dancers
be treated to the sight of people dancing use scarves and canes in styles of dance such as ‘locking’
with ribbons around a maypole, or (freezing mid-sequence and then carrying on as if
the white-costumed, hanky waving nothing happened). The pair began working together
knees-up of a well-choreographed – Natasha even helped choreograph the maypole section
Morris dance. So far, so traditional. of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony – and
But look again – did that three hand reel just break into the first piece they created was a fusion of street dance
a dance battle? Did someone just drop into a breakdance and folk steps: “Morris and house, locking and breaking.”
freeze mid Circassian Circle? Are the dancers moving Gradually they began to build a dance company, of
to a soundtrack of beatboxing? If Folk Dance Remixed the kind Kerry had longed for when she was a teenager,
were involved, then very possibly all of the above. with a fiddle, bass, guitar, and beatbox, six dancers,
Traditional English folk dance is evolving. Back in a stage manager, and a sound engineer.
2010, street dance artist and choreographer Natasha “We didn’t want the street dancers doing the street
Khamjani saw a call out from the English Folk Dance bits, and folk dancers doing the folk bits,” Kerry explains.
And Song Society who were looking for ideas on how “Everyone learns everything, so it’s more like a fruit
folk music and dance could be ‘remixed’ for a modern salad than a soup. We want to celebrate both.”
audience. She was introduced to Kerry Fletcher, For over a decade now, Folk Dance Remixed have
a Morris dancer, Molly dancer (similar to, but not the performed all over the UK, as well as travelling abroad
same as Morris) and step dancer, and the pair hit it off. to work with refugees and asylum seekers, weaving
“It was early May. We set up the maypole and in other national dances as part of their workshops.
speakers, put on some hip hop and house While the skills are important, participation is key.
Leave your bells
tunes and danced folk dances,” says “Dance can be intergenerational and cross-cultural. It
and hankies at home, Natasha. “So much of the footwork was breaks down barriers and makes people feel included,”
Folk Dance Remixed similar, and that sparked our interest.” says Natasha. When people see them perform, the hip
are here to shake things hop beats draw them in and the mix of ethnicities in
Kerry has a longstanding background
up, thanks to Natasha
(second from right) and in folk traditions. “Folk was my first the company and dance styles means people are able
Kerry (far right, opposite) language. My mum, Dixie Lee, used to to see themselves in it, she explains. »

15
 PASSIONS

“EVERYONE LEARNS
EVERYTHING, SO IT’S
MORE LIKE A FRUIT SALAD
than a soup”
Closer to home, the pair run creative workshops
in schools – Ceilidh Jams with a deck of cards showing
a mix of street dance foundation steps and folk patterns,
as well as Street Dance The Maypole workshops, which
they run at community events.
“Really it’s about getting people to have some fun and
let go – throw your handbags in the middle and join in,”
says Kerry. For the set dances they don’t call by gender,
but might ask everyone in blue to head to the middle,
and then everyone else. If there’s a group of three, they
change the dance to make the group fit, and if there’s a
wheelchair user, they make sure all the movements are
easily adapted so they can join in. Part of the ‘remixing’
is that although the dances might seem fixed, there’s
always room to innovate and get creative.
“One of the interesting things about folk dance is the So, while Folk Dance Remixed are updating traditional
patterning,” says Natasha. “When we run Ceilidh Jams dances and making them relevant for a new generation,
in schools I’ll show them what a three hand reel looks like it’s less about preservation, and more about the sense
and then ask, ‘Can you put your style into it?’ With street of togetherness people feel when they take part.
dance, you get a lot of freestyle moments and in breaking, “It’s super lovely to see strangers holding hands
you get dance battles called cyphers. We bring in those and dancing together,” says Kerry.
elements to free up the restricted sections.” Natasha agrees, recalling times when she’s managed
“When we invite people to take to get a whole night club in a giant circle folk dancing.
The group are all
a freestyle, it’s magic,” says Kerry. “Even though the dances might be seen as stuffy or not
about joining in, “A young person drags their dad into cool for younger generations, if they can put their own
freestyling and having the circle, and while they’re rolling twist on it, it becomes more relevant to them,” she says.
fun… until you realise
around breakdancing, he’s doing the “People hold hands, they have a laugh and they connect.
your dad’s doing a
full-on John Travolta Staying Alive dance – that’s a moment It’s a lot of fun and what’s life without fun and joy?”
right next to you of connection. It’s joyful to see.” folkdanceremixed.com

16
Poles apart? Folk
Dance Remixed aren’t
about preserving old
traditions, but evolving
to make it inclusive –
producing moves that
are 50% folk, 50%
street, but 100% joy

17
COMPETITION

W IN A
T
SEASAL
G IF T
CARD

A Cornish summer
WE HAVE SEASALT CORNWALL GIFT CARDS UP FOR GRABS
TO PUT TOWARDS SOME NEW SUMMER STAPLES (OR, KNOWING
THE UK WEATHER, A REALLY GOOD RAIN COAT)

S
ummer is nearly here and if you a sun-baked palette – just the thing for HOW TO ENTER
want to welcome it properly, you those halcyon summer days. Look out For your chance to
have to dress the part, which is for soft organic cottons and breathable win a Seasalt gift card,
a wonderful excuse for a wardrobe linen for a cool and effortless summer enter our competition at:
refresh. Strolling around the enticing feel, along with classic pieces you’ll thesimplethings.com/blog/
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the much-loved fashion brand can now then The Simple Things has teamed up
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find a party-ready jumpsuit as utility- that inviting Falmouth store…) received and notified soon after. Subject
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*The Simple Things editor Lisa enjoyed a weekend away in Falmouth. To see what she got up to, turn to p114.
CAKE
IN THE
HOUSE
The humble flapjack goes on holiday,
each bite a memory of sunnier climes

BAKLAVA-INSPIRED FLAPJACKS

Makes 16
FOR THE NUT FILLING:
80g unsalted butter, melted
100g pistachios
100g walnuts
40g caster sugar
2½ tsp ground cinnamon
20g honey
FOR THE FLAPJACKS:
5 tbsp sesame seeds
350g rolled oats
210g unsalted butter
60g light soft brown sugar
3 tbsp golden syrup
3 tbsp honey
¼ tsp fine sea salt
1½ tsp cinnamon
3 tsp rose water
FOR THE GLAZE:
8 tbsp honey
Juice of 1 lemon
6 tsp rose water
1 tsp rose petals, to decorate
1 tsp crushed pistachios, to decorate

1 Preheat the oven to 190C/Fan 170C/

Gas 5 and line a 20cm square baking
tin with baking paper.
2 For the filling, toss the pistachios and 5 Place the butter, sugar, golden syrup, and rose water. Once baked, brush
walnuts in 2 tablespoons of the melted honey, salt and cinnamon in a large pan over the flapjacks. Allow to cool
butter. Transfer to a baking tray and and heat gently until melted, stirring to room temperature, then place
roast for 10 mins, or until lightly golden. to combine. Turn off the heat and stir in the fridge for at least 2 hrs.
Leave to cool, then finely chop half the through the rose water, then gradually 8 Once chilled, slice into diamonds
nuts and roughly chop the other half. add the oat mixture and mix well. and decorate with rose petals
3 Place all the nuts in a bowl and mix 6 Pour half of this into the baking tin and pistachios to serve.
with the caster sugar and cinnamon. and flatten, then spread the nut mix Cook’s note: To make these vegan,
Stir the honey into the remaining on top. Finally, spread the rest of the swap the honey for more golden
melted butter and pour over the nut flapjack mix over the nuts and press syrup and use vegan butter.
mix, stirring until combined. Set aside. down until flat. Transfer to the oven
4 Gently toast the sesame seeds in and bake for 25 mins, or until firm and
Taken from Flavour Kitchen
a dry frying pan for 5 mins, then pour slightly browned around the edges. by Crystelle Pereira (Kyle Books).
into a bowl with the oats and mix. 7 In a bowl, mix the honey, lemon juice Photography: Vanessa Lewis

19
 My day in cups of tea
We joined flower presser (and regular contributor to The Simple Things)
Vanessa Grzywacz in her garden to find out how she spends her day in cuppas.
Morning! Tell us about your first cuppa. How special. What are your essential tools?
It’s made with mint from the garden. I own lots of flower presses but I also use heavy books
Do you have a morning routine? with blotting paper and a weight on top.
It starts with a dog walk in the local woods, sometimes Elevenses, what do you take? Any biccies?
followed by a quick ‘run’ as I’ve signed up for a charity Decaf coffee with milk and collagen stirred in, and
10K. Then it’s home to work, pressing an M&S chocolate-covered custard cream, please.
flowers or making flower artwork. Yum! Do you have a favourite mug?
How did you end up doing that? My ‘crazy gardening lady’ tin mug. A friend bought it
I’m a freelance graphic designer, but after a particularly sad period when gardening was my
I wanted another creative outlet. I’d saviour. I’m clumsy, so something I can’t break is great.
pressed some flowers and made them What’s for lunch? How do you spend it?
into an artwork and then I sold some Omelette and salad. I try to get outside or go for a walk.
on Etsy – and Flower Press Studios What do your afternoons look like?
VANESSA GRZYWACZ
lives in Coulsdon, Surrey,
was born. I love planting a flower, Mornings are creative, while I usually sort orders in the
and is the Creative watching it grow, and turning it into afternoon, before my daughter gets home from school.
Director and founder of something special. I also press bridal One last cuppa?
flowerpressstudios.com.
Her Simple Thing is filling
bouquets and special flowers that are A tea after dinner, but no caffeine or I wouldn’t sleep.
her trug with flowers. a memento, such as when a loved one What are you currently most looking forward to?
@flowerpressstudios. has passed away. Summer evenings – I’m often still gardening at 10pm.

20
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 May

SEASONAL THOUGHTS TO HELP YOU ENJOY THE MONTH

THINGS TO NOTE AND NOTICE

MAY’S STAR SIGN Nature spot

TAURUS: 20 April to 20 May NIGHTINGALES
Taurus, the bull, is one of the Famed for their beautiful song,
oldest constellations, having been sometimes warbling throughout the
recognisable since the Bronze Age, night, too, here’s how to spot one.
when it marked the sun’s location What? Throughout May, male
during the spring equinox. It’s nightingales sing with incredible
also been found in cave paintings. range and melody to attract
Taurean attributes: Taureans tend migrating females. Often mistaken
to love home comforts: soft blankets, for a robin, nightingales are larger
the best-smelling aromatherapy oils, and plain brown and their song
excellent food, fine wine… Great at has more depth and range than
self care, they know the importance the humble redbreast’s.
of looking after themselves. Where? Mostly in the southern
Local lore half of Britain (draw a line between
the Humber and Severn estuaries).
GROVELY FOREST You’re more likely to hear than see
RIGHTS Field work them as they like the more dense
Each year, for one day only, on shrubs of broadleaved woods.
29 May (Oak Apple Day), the Watercress When? They do sing through
good folk of Great Wishford May is peak time for watercress, which can be the night but you’re most likely to
in Wiltshire reassert the found throughout the UK, though it’s less hear them around daybreak, mostly
rights they’ve held since at common in Scotland. You’ll spot it in cloud-like during May and early June, though
least 1603 to collect wood ‘drifts’ on top of clear, shallow water, mainly in climate change means nightingales
from Grovely Woods, owned streams, in woodlands and wetlands. It likes are arriving in Britain in April now.
by the Earl of Pembroke. chalky areas and grows well among gravel.
On Oak Apple Day, villagers Part of the Brassicaceae family, it’s related to
march to the forest, to collect plants such as kale, cabbage and mustard. With
oak branches and take them evergreen leaves, it grows tiny clusters of white
back to the village to hang and green flowers from May to October, with
from the buildings. They then tiny pea-like pods from July. Don’t be fooled by
head six miles to Salisbury ‘fool’s watercress’, though, which grows in
Cathedral, carrying a banner similar conditions – when crushed, fool’s
reading ‘Grovely! Grovely! watercress smells of carrots; real watercress
Grovely! And all Grovely! smells peppery, like cress.
Unity is Strength’ and If you see it growing in a stream it’s usually a
chanting “Grovely, Grovely good indicator of clean water as it won’t grow
and all Grovely”. After the where it’s polluted. However, give it a good
(slightly sinister) chanting wash and preferably cook it as there’s a risk of
and marching, there is a much parasites. Farmed watercress is safer to eat and
cheerier procession and fete. you can visit many of the farms where it’s
Go, Grovely! grown, particularly in Dorset and Hampshire*.

*19 May is Alresford Watercress Festival in Hampshire, where you can see it growing and taste plenty of freshly picked watercress.

22
 NOTES

THINGS TO PLAN AND DO

MINI ADVENTURE
A DAY OUT: Admire some topiary
ANTLER SHED HUNTING
For a walk that’s a little different, try antler
shed hunting. Roe deer naturally shed
their antlers in winter while muntjac bucks
shed in spring – then they grow back. It’s
good to leave antlers alone for a while as
other animals chew them for the calcium,
but by May you can pick up shed antlers
without fear of taking anyone’s lunch.
Plan a walk somewhere you know
muntjacs favour, such as a deer park or
forest. The antlers are well camouflaged,
so look carefully on the ground as you
walk. Good places are at the foot of
trees, where bucks may have rubbed
their antlers on the trunk, or near hedges
where an ambitious jump may have
knocked a loose antler free. Antler
shed hunting is slow work, so just
WORDS: IONA BOWER. ILLUSTRATIONS: CHRISTINA CARPENTER, SHUTTERSTOCK

take your time and bring snacks.

If you find some, choose whether you
use them for craft projects, give them to
your dog or hang them on the living room
wall for that medieval baronial hall feel.

Giving a hedge the edge since there are plenty of others,

Ancient Greek times, topiary from Castles Belvoir to Hever,
really knows how to lift a topiary animals at Wenlock
garden. Whether you want Priory in Shropshire, to knot
BACK GARDEN PROJECT
to get lost in a maze, wander gardens at Sudeley Castle
among clipped borders, or in the Cotswolds. Make a Beltane smoke wand
hobnob with privet peacocks, Topiary came to the parks Beltane is the fire festival that marks the
there’ll be a park or stately and gardens of Britain via start of summer in the Celtic year. It’s
home near you to inspire the Italian Renaissance and marked by lighting candles and bonfires.
your hedge-trimming dreams. Court of Versailles, so if you’re These smoke wands are said to ‘cleanse’
Levens Hall near Kendal, in planning a topiary tour, we your home – and they smell great, too.
Cumbria, claims to be the oldest think it requires a picnic fit for You will need: String or embroidery
topiary garden in the UK, so is a King (or at least a continental thread; a bunch of greenery (such as
an excellent place to start, but European). Perhaps panzanella cedar or pine) or herbs (such as sage
salad or a Galette des Rois? and rosemary) – but don’t mix them.
If you return home with Cut long lengths of herbs (about
a yearning for a knot garden 20cm) and hang somewhere warm to dry,
or privet squirrel of your own, or cut 20cm lengths of greenery. Gather
AN APP FOR MAY the best place to start is with into bundles about 5cm thick and wind
some box balls in pots. Practise the string around the end to secure. Next,
Get Wylder is a wellbeing app trimming them into shape wind the string diagonally up the wand,
designed to help you connect first before you try anything then wind it back down, criss-crossing
to nature more, using challenges, trickier, but before you know over the upwards spirals and secure. Light
daily inspirations and local info it you could have a whole it and gently shake to extinguish the main
to encourage you to get outside menagerie smiling up at flame. As it smoulders, waft it around your
and get your hands dirty. you from your borders. space, avoiding smoke alarms, of course.
PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID DEAN/GETTY IMAGES
A simple thing...
Looking at this image, it’s not
hard to understand why so
many myths and customs have
grown up around this month.
There could be pixies, just
under that branch – or maidens,
making their way to wash their
faces in the dew, as the custom
goes. Whether you try that
yourself or not, a fine May
morning is always worth getting
up for. It is, quite simply, magic.
 MY CITY*

VILNIUS
RUTA JUSEVICIUTE INTRODUCES US TO THE COSY AND FRIENDLY
LITHUANIAN CAPITAL, WITH ARCHITECTURE SPANNING THE AGES
1

2
 3 MY CITY

Ruta Juseviciute is the founder

of Vilnius Playground, a blog she
runs with photographer Milda
Vysniauskaite. The blog explores
the Lithuanian capital’s best-kept secrets by
interviewing locals and sharing their stories.
See vilniusplayground.com or follow on
Instagram: @vilniusplayground for more.

How long have you lived in the city?

I was born in Vilnius and lived here until I graduated
high school. I then lived abroad for almost a decade.
Moving back and starting a blog about my home city
helped me rediscover Vilnius as an adult and served
as a creative outlet. Plus, I kept hearing from expats and
visitors from abroad that many places worth visiting
here are well hidden. So, I thought I’d spread the word
about our local culture, cafés, restaurants, sights, and
4
everything in between to show the real face of the
capital and not just the touristy and popular places.

What makes your city unique?

Vilnius has so much variety packed into a small city
of only half a million people. You can walk through
thousands of years of history in just 15 minutes, from
the medieval Old Town, to the rich baroque architecture.
Cross one of the bridges over the river, and you’re in the
business district and the city’s newly developed quarter.
There’s a reason why some call it the Rome of the Baltics.

What’s it like in May?

May is when the weather gets warmer and reaches
around 18°C. It’s also when the city comes alive and
starts to buzz again. In places like the Town Hall
Square and tiny Old Town alleys like Savičius, the
bars and restaurants take their tables out onto the
5
street, and you get to enjoy an Aperol Spritz or a coffee
outside, catching up with friends or people watching.

What time of day do you most enjoy?

WORDS: RUTA JUSEVICIUTE. PHOTOGRAPHY: MILDA VYSNIAUSKAITE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Very early on a weekend, around 6–7 am. The city is Opposite page:
still sleeping and quiet, but it’s already pleasantly warm. 1 Make tracks for

I stroll through the cobbled streets, seeing any new Trakai Island Castle on
places and enjoying the architecture, noticing all the Lake Galvė, just half an
hour from the city
details I don’t necessarily get to see during rush hour. centre. 2 Early
I follow this with a freshly-brewed Americano at an mornings are quiet in
early opening café, like Huracán on Vokiečių Street. the Old Town - and the
evenings are sociable.
3 A stroll down

What are the parks like? Gediminas Avenue

There’s greenery throughout Vilnius – it has a lovely comes with the
backdrop of Vilnius
mix of trees and flowerbeds. My favourite is Vingis
cathedral. 4 For a lush
Park, which is popular for running, cycling, and other meal, head to the bars
sports. There are serene trails through the park and and restaurants of
it’s also a venue for large-scale concerts and events. Paupio Turgus. 5 The
city has a thriving
gallery scene. 6 Red
Tell us about the people who live in your city sky at night – Vilnius
Vilnius has changed significantly over the past ten years. is a delight!
6
We’ve moved from a somewhat reserved culture to a »

27
 MY CITY

“They call it the Rome of the Baltics

– you can walk through thousands
of years of history in just 15 minutes”
flourishing European capital – that goes for both
the infrastructure and people’s openness. Vilnius is
becoming a more popular place for foreigners to move
to, due to its booming tech scene and its entrepreneurial
spirit. But even so, you’ll often bump into someone you
know because it’s not a large city. You’ll likely also know
the staff in your favourite bakery and shop, and chat with
them when you go in. Generally, locals are welcoming,
easy going, and curious about what has brought
visitors to Lithuania. At first we might appear quiet
and reserved, but that’s just the surface. Lithuanians
are the Italians of the Baltics; give it time and crack the
outer shell, and you’ll see the warm demeanor and a
much more communicative side to us.

Where do you like to gather with friends?

The tempo of my life has got a bit calmer in recent years.
Now, we often host drinks or dinner parties at home
or go to someone’s house in the suburbs. But when the
weather’s warm, nothing beats meeting your friends
for an after-work drink at bars like King & Mouse
or Alchemikas, or eating dinner outside at Gaspar’s.

So tell us what you’d be eating

Traditional cuisine here is quite hearty, with dishes
featuring potatoes, meat, barley, and pickled veggies.
2
For example, cepelinai are large potato dumplings,
usually filled with meat, and bulviniai blynai are crispy
pan-fried potato pancakes, served with a dollop of
1 Come spring, the

city embraces
sour cream. But when it comes to restaurants, there’s
café culture with a solid selection of contemporary options, using local
plenty chances to eat products and heavily influenced by Scandinavian
al fresco. 2 The food – I recommend the beef tartar at Ninteen18
fashionable Paupys
neighbourhood, or the tasting menu at Amandus.
located on the banks
of the river Vilnelė. How do you get about the city?
3 Vilnius offers

plenty of green
I love walking in Vilnius – I find it meditative. It’s so
spaces to escape to, different from all other big cities like Berlin or London.
all within a stone’s Within 20 minutes, you can reach most of the city
throw of the city
centre. After living abroad, where you can’t get around
without a car, I really appreciate the convenience of
all the essential things being within walking distance.

Where do you go shopping?

It depends on what I’m after. For local food, Halės
Turgus, the covered market, is always good. I also enjoy
discovering new local jewellery and handbag designers
– they’re unique, good quality and a good price, too.

3 Where do you like to escape to?

Early on Sunday mornings, I like to walk all the way up

28
 MY CITY

to Subačius observation deck, which has a panoramic

view – it’s a serene start to the day. Another option
is driving to Trakai, which takes around 30 minutes.
The first time there, you have to visit Trakai Island
Castle, which is known for its Gothic architecture
and is built on an island in Lake Galvė, one of the
deepest lakes in Lithuania. But personally, having
been many times, I enjoy strolling around the tiny town
itself and following one of the scenic routes by the lake.

What are your favourite local cultural experiences?

A must-see gallery is MO. It’s relatively new and
was designed by the architect Daniel Libeskind.
It has several exhibitions each year, and has one
of the country’s largest private art collections, with
Lithuanian artwork dating from the 1960s up to
present day. It also hosts film screenings, concerts
and has exhibitions and activities for children.
5
What attractions are loved by locals and tourists alike?
Užupis (meaning ‘beyond the river’) is one of the oldest
quarters east of the Old Town, stretching along the right
bank of the river Vilnelė. During the mid-20th century,
particularly in the Soviet era, Užupis was quite a remote
and run-down suburb, lacking architectural monuments
and infrastructure. But several decades ago, artists and
nonconformists started moving there. The newcomers
turned abandoned spaces into creative studios and
in 1997, to celebrate Užupis’ bohemian identity, the
community proudly announced itself an independent
republic with its own constitution, which you can
see engraved on plates on a wall in various languages.
Užupis is now one of the most prestigious parts of the
city, favoured by bohemian crowds and those who 6

enjoy its cafés, galleries and independent shops.

4 Vilnius is compact,

has a wealth of history

What’s been your best discovery about your city?
and plenty of green
St John’s Bell Tower, the highest point in the Old Town, spaces – so much so, it's
which has a great view. I also love our coffee scene. been named as next
We have so many cafés serving great coffee, including year's European Green
Capital by the European
Brew, Kitchen Coffee, Backstage Cafe, and Demoloftas. Commission. 5 The city
fares well for all sorts of
What do you miss most if you’ve been away? pockets and palates.
6 You can get carried
The quaint Old Town streets and the sunset views
away by the trams on
from the Hill of Three Crosses in Kalnai Park. Vilnius’ main street,
Gediminas Avenue
What one thing would you change about your city?
I’d love it if every neighbourhood could unleash its
uniqueness and have more restaurants, shops, and
coffee shops locally. Right now, a lot of these are
concentrated in the city centre.

What keeps you here and where else would you live?
I moved back because Vilnius has always had a big piece
of my heart. Its cosiness, architecture, and the people
keep me here. But if I had to live somewhere else, it’d be
Ibiza, especially off-season. It’s warm, multicultural,
and it has the beach and the sea – which I love.

29
 MY CITY 1
SN
FOR AP IT
L AT
ER

COULD-DO VILNIUS
Ruta’s favourite places in the city
1 Raštinė - great coffee
and notable notebooks.
2 The First Swallows FAVOURITE SHOP
sculpture watches out Raštinė
over the city. 3 Spa out, Both a shop and a café, it has a well-curated
recharge and relax at the
Bokšto Spa 4 … then head
range of notebooks, pens, and postcards. It also
for refreshments at serves delicious coffee and yummy desserts.
Backstage Café rastine.cc

FAVOURITE BOOKSHOP
Humanitas
At this tucked away shop, you can find
publications in English, ranging from art and
photography to literature about Lithuania.
2 humanitas.lt

FAVOURITE CAFÉ
Backstage Cafe,
Serves freshly brewed coffee and divine
cinnamon buns. The brunch menu is also good.
Instagram: @cafebackstage

FAVOURITE RESTAURANT
Ninteen18
An intimate restaurant with beautifully
preserved architecture and great tasting menus.
3 nineteen18.lt

FAVOURITE HOTEL
PACAI
Once an 18th-century mansion, this hotel has
contemporary amenities and old-world elegance.
hotelpacai.com

FAVOURITE SPA
Bokšto Spa
Located in the Old Town, it has a modern and
sleek interior and a swimming pool.
bokstospa.lt

FAVOURITE WAY TO SPEND AN HOUR

The trendy neighbourhood of Paupys. There are
dozens of new apartment blocks and green
spaces along the banks of the Vilnelė. Paupys
Turgus, the indoor market, sells local produce
and groceries, and there are nearly 20 cafés,
restaurants and bars here, too.

THE ONE THING YOU HAVE TO SEE

Walking past Vilnius’ iconic landmarks. Start
from the Hill of Three Crosses, where there’s
a great view of the city, then descend to
Bernardinų Sodas (Bernardine Garden). Walk
along the river Vilnelė to Užupis, soak in its arty
ambience, and continue to Paupys for a coffee.

30
 PR E C I AT I O N O F B
AP LU E
N TITS
A

Words: FERGUS COLLINS

re any creatures busier than blue tits with looks, and it’s common enough that if you fill a birdfeeder
a nest full of hungry young? Having up to with peanuts or sunflower seed hearts, you’re sure to
14 nestlings means it’s dawn-till-dusk work attract blue tits to it – they love these protein-rich treats.
for the adults in May, trying to find enough I’ve heard people talk about ‘my blue tits’, but recent
caterpillars and other tasty invertebrates studies have shown that a typical garden might be visited
to satisfy the brood. Whenever I feel by dozens, if not hundreds, of blue tits over spring as the
challenged by childcare, I think of blue tit parents and birds forage on wide circuits. It’s virtually impossible
how they are rushing around at this time of year. to tell individual blue tits apart. But then again, they
They seem to be everywhere: in gardens, parks and probably think the same about us.
woodland edges, ceaselessly flitting along twigs, hanging The combination of charming boldness and amusing
upside down to inspect every leaf for prey. Unlike their acrobatics helps distinguish the blue tit from the three
larger great tit cousins, blue tits rarely deign to forage other tit species that often visit gardens. The larger,
on the ground, but they may make up to 1,500 sorties robin-sized great tit has a bold black stripe down its
a day in search of food. breast and a strident two-note song: ‘teacher-teacher’.
Blue tit breeding is all about timing. Though a female The tiny, reticent coal tit has no blue plumage, while
blue tit may begin laying her eggs in late March, she won’t the long-tailed tit tends to flit through the trees in
start incubating them until the last one is laid – so the family groups like troupes of miniature monkeys.
process may take up to two weeks. When you realise that Blue tits haven’t always been viewed so fondly, though.
a single egg weighs 1g and the female only weighs 10g, it’s In the days when almost everybody had milk delivered
an impressive physiological feat. The eggs then take two to their door, the little bejewelled bandit learned to peck
weeks to hatch, by which point, in late April or early May, through the foil cap to get at the cream. But the rise of
there should be a host of insects to feast on. supermarket shopping and skimmed milk mean that this
During courtship and incubation, the male is out once-common theft is now just a memory.
ILLUSTRATION: ZUZA MISKO

defending the territory – trilling a ‘tchee-tchee – diddly- It’s this long intimacy with us that I find most
diddly-diddly’ song, the ending a high-pitched nervous endearing. But I need to remind myself that the antics
giggle. But nervousness is not something I’d ever ascribe of these tiny birds are not for my amusement – especially
to the blue tit. Despite its size, it’s irrepressible – assertive in spring when every feeding mission is vital for the
to the point of aggression with larger birds. The white face, survival of the next generation of busy blue tits. So
blue cap and black eyeliner give the bird rather dashing I watch them with joy – and a lot of hope.

31
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33
 W N
LAWN KITCHEN

S E

HOUSE
ORCHARD

Strawberries G R AV E L PAT H
MINI

PATCH
HERB
COLD
RAISED BEDS

FRAME
Broad beans
Lettuce

Corn
Spring onions

Anya
potatoes
Peas Radishes

Nettles Sweet peas Pumpkins

Elderflower

HEDGE

Taales from
veg patch
MAKING THE MOST OF THE HARVEST AT HOME, THEN PACKING IT
UP FOR A PICNIC, KATHY SLACK SERVES UP SEASONAL FOODS
AND SHARES STORIES FROM HER BACK GARDEN GROWING
Words & recipes: KATHY SLACK Photography: KIRSTIE YOUNG

P R E PA R E T O P I C N I C to produce crops – lettuce, spinach, rocket, all the herbs.

On the first properly warm day of the year you might But anything that produces a ‘fruit’ of any sort – carrots,
expect to find me in the veg patch, bothering the weeds. courgettes, beetroot, beans – are still some way off. Peas
But you will not. I’ll be picnicking in the buttercup field and radishes are the notable exception since they can
behind the village green. Lolling about like a Laurie Lee be sown in early March and grow quickly so have had
character, basking in the sun and eating cake. I believe long enough to produce a first, tentative crop. My wild
that the sun must be welcomed in with a nice meal strawberries are just ripening, too, so we won’t starve.
and my full attention or she might take offence and The herbs are the real hero of the month. I have
sulk behind a cloud before you can say “deckchairs”. a few in a bed just outside the kitchen and I find this
So, I bring the harvest indoors to prepare it, then head is so sheltered it allows me to keep more tender herbs
ILLUSTRATIONS: ANNELIESE KLOS

out again to create a picnic that’ll make summer feel like tarragon and lemon verbena going all year round
so welcome she can’t help but stay for months. rather than replanting each spring. In fact, this year the
Well, that’s the plan anyway. The patch has other, tarragon is so rampant that it has swamped the parsley
less idyllic, ideas. The days might be warm, but there’s and needs taming. I cut great fistfuls of it for the kitchen
still a chill in the night air so, while many crops are well and the smell is divine. Alongside the tarragon I gather
on their way, the plot hasn’t produced much to eat yet. the first peas, wild strawberries, radishes, lettuce and
Those plants that offer edible leaves are just starting lemon verbena to make a picnic to welcome the season. »

34
 GOOD THINGS TO EAT

Let me show you around my garden

in the Cotswolds. I grow fruit and veg
for my recipes and also for my soul,
because I’ve found growing food –
reconnecting with the soil – to be a
powerful restorative in rough times.
All this abundance is what inspires my
cooking and my way of life. I look out
on the raised beds, the herb patch, the
tomato pots, and the fledgling orchard,
wondering what to cook. I’m never
sure where the growing stops and the
cooking starts, which is how I like it. I
hope that these simple recipes, and the
stories behind them, inspire you to get
your hands in the soil, too.

35
 GOOD THINGS TO EAT

Pea & lemon arancini 1 tbsp chopped parsley this point you can tuck in, eating half
of it now and leave the rest to cool,
with tartar sauce Juice of ½ lemon
or set aside all of it to cool. Either
1 Whizz half the peas in a food way, refrigerate the rice earmarked
processor along with a couple of for the arancini as soon as possible.
Arancini are a faff, I’ll admit. tablespoons of water and a pinch It will need a few hours to chill.
Traditionally, they’re made with of salt to make a bright green purée, 6 Arrange three bowls on a chopping
leftover risotto, so feel free to make then set aside. board. Fill one with the flour. Beat the
extra, have risotto for supper, then 2 Melt 30g of butter in a large pan set egg thoroughly in the second, then
use leftovers for this recipe. If you’re over a low heat. Add the shallot and pour the breadcrumbs into the third.
embracing the faff and using fresh cook gently for 10 mins before adding Put the radio on while you have clean
peas, add the pea shells to the stock the garlic and continuing to cook hands – this stage is going to take a
as it warms for maximum pea flavour. for a couple more minutes. while! Scoop out a tablespoon of the
3 Add the rice and fry for 2-3 mins. set risotto, use damp hands to shape
Makes 24 arancini (or risotto for 2, Turn the heat up and add the white it into a sphere and roll it in turn in the
then 12 arancini) wine, allowing it to bubble briefly. flour, the egg, and the breadcrumbs.
300g frozen peas, defrosted (or 4 Add the warm stock (or water if Arrange on a lined baking sheet and
fresh to make 300g podded peas) preferred) a ladleful at a time, allowing repeat until the mixture is used up.
50g butter the rice to simmer quietly and absorb 7 Pour the oil into a high-sided pan
1 large shallot, finely diced the liquid for a few minutes before so it is roughly 8cm deep. Heat the
2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste adding the next ladleful. Keep the oil until it reaches about 150C (or until
with a pinch of flaky sea salt mixture moving while you do this so it a hunk of bread goes brown within a
175g risotto rice doesn’t stick. At around the 15-minute minute or two). You’ll need to fry the
100ml dry white wine mark, when you’ll probably be about arancini in batches, so lower 5-6 balls
500ml chicken or veg stock, hot to add your last ladleful of stock and (depending on the size of your pan)
Zest and juice of 1 lemon the rice is almost cooked, add the into the oil so that they’re submerged
30g parmesan cheese, grated remaining whole peas, the lemon and cook for 5-7 mins, or until hot in
70g plain flour zest, the pea purée and a pinch of the middle and golden on the outside.
1 egg, beaten salt and cook for another 1-2 mins. Lift out with a slotted spoon, drain
75g panko breadcrumbs 5 Remove from the heat and beat on kitchen paper, then repeat.
750ml sunflower oil, for frying in the remaining butter, the grated 8 Meanwhile, mix everything together
FOR THE SAUCE: parmesan and a squeeze of lemon for the tartar sauce. Serve the
5 heaped tbsp mayonnaise juice (you might not need all of it). mountain of hot, crunchy rice
1 tbsp capers, chopped Adjust the seasoning, adding more balls on a plate with the cool,
5-6 cornichons, chopped lemon juice and salt as you see fit. At tart sauce beside for dunking. »

36
Pea arancini

37
 New potato salad

New potato, little gem

& tarragon salad

Step aside mayo-slicked potato

salad, there’s a new star in town.
This potato salad allows the first new
potatoes of the year to take centre
stage, emboldened by the pepper,
aniseed and salty supporting trio
of olive oil, tarragon and capers.

Serves 2 (or 4 as a side)

750g baby new potatoes, Jersey
Royals if available
2 little gem lettuces
Lemon, fennel & 1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp demerara sugar
Small bunch of radishes, trimmed elderflower loaf
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 In a bowl or freestanding mixer,
1 tsp dijon mustard cream the butter and sugar together
1 tbsp chopped tarragon, plus extra A cake to capture the spirit of the until light and fluffy. Gradually
to garnish season in an English cottage garden add the eggs, beating well before
1 shallot or tropea onion, finely sliced – all fragrance and zing. This is really adding more. Fold in the flour.
1 tbsp baby capers, chopped, plus a basic (and quite sturdy) sponge 2 Add 1 tablespoon of cordial, the
extra to garnish cake, but the flavours lift it out of lemon zest and half the fennel seeds,
the ordinary and make it a terrific then stir gently to create a batter
1 Put the potatoes in a pan of cold, cake for picnics. that falls off the spoon when given
salted water. Bring to the boil and a gentle ‘thunk’. Spoon into a lined
simmer for 10 mins, or until just Makes 1 cake 900g loaf tin and bake at 180C/
cooked. Drain and set aside for 250g unsalted butter, softened Fan 160C/Gas 4 for 50 mins, or
a few minutes to cool slightly. 250g caster sugar, plus 3 tbsp until a skewer comes out clean.
2 Meanwhile, break the lettuce leaves for the syrup 3 Meanwhile, combine the lemon
into a bowl. Add the radishes and the 4 eggs, beaten juice, remaining cordial, and
warm potatoes, halving any big ones. 250g self-raising flour 3 tablespoons of caster sugar in a pan
3 For the dressing, whisk together 4 tbsp elderflower cordial set over a medium heat. Bring to the
the olive oil and mustard then stir in Zest and juice of 2 lemons boil and bubble for 3-4 mins, or until
the tarragon, shallot (or tropea if you reduced by half and syrupy. Set aside.
have it), capers, plus a good pinch of 4 Remove the cake from the oven
salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and, while both are still warm, brush
and toss everything together gently. “I create a picnic that’ll make the cake with the syrup. Sprinkle over
Arrange in a serving bowl and finish
with a few whole baby capers and
summer feel so welcome she can’t the remaining fennel seeds and the
demerara sugar. Leave to cool then
the odd tarragon leaf. help but stay for months” slice and serve. »

38
 GOOD THINGS TO EAT

Elderflower loaf

39
 GOOD THINGS TO EAT

Macerated lemon
verbena strawberry
pot & shortbread

If your strawberries are a bit bashed

about and past their best, this is the
recipe to bring them back to life. The
verbena is lemony but also floral and
almost sherbet-y – an ideal pep up
for soggy strawberries.

Serves 2
250g strawberries
1 tbsp chopped lemon verbena
2 tbsp caster sugar
Shortbread biscuits, to serve

1 Hull the strawberries and chop

into halves or quarters.
2 In a jar, bash the verbena and sugar
with the end of a rolling pin or pestle.
3 Stir in the strawberries. Leave for
10-15 mins and marvel as the sugar
draws out the juices of the fruit to
make a syrupy, jammy compote that’s
Strawberry pots
ideal for piling on top of shortbread
biscuits – shop bought or home
baked, the choice is yours!

PRESERVING
THE BOUNTY
Lemon verbena grows leggy
and floppy in my herb bed
and needs a firm hand. I cut
it back, which encourages yet
more growth, but rather than
composting the leafy stems,
I hang them in the kitchen
until dried and use the leaves
for herbal tea. It works just
as well with fresh leaves
and apparently has immune-
boosting properties.

Follow Kathy on Insta: gluts_gluttony

or visit her website: kathyslack.com.

40
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 WISDOM

“The power of language has never gone

away for me. I am constantly reminded
of just what an incredible tool language
is; the greatest invention by humans”
Like blossom on urban streets, poet laureate Simon Armitage believes that verse can bring
beauty to unexpected places – and he’s on a mission to share it with as many as possible
Interview: IONA BOWER

t 15, I wasn’t interested in anything. ability to talk to and about ‘ordinary people’. “I don’t
Just sport really. Then we started reading want to be a poet who’s sitting in an office, writing, but
Ted Hughes in school and I was bowled spending less and less time in the world, experiencing
over by these little packages of language. all its bumps and knocks and coincidences. I think
Only black marks against a white poetry belongs to everybody.”
background, but put in the right order, they make
astonishing things happen in your head.” POEMS FOR THE PEOPLE
Simon Armitage is in his garret of a study, Bringing poetry to everyday folk is what Simon set
surrounded by books, “and about 200 boxes of pens” out to do in writing Walking Home, in 2010. He walked
that he’s accidentally hoarded over the years. You’d the 256 miles of the Pennine Way, from North to South,
expect nothing less of a Poet Laureate, but he came as a troubadour, walking up to 20 miles each day and
to poetry via an unexpected route. Born in Marsden then performing each night to fund the next leg. “I love
in West Yorkshire, poetry was rebellion for the walking and where I live [the Holme Valley in West
teenaged Armitage. Yorkshire] the scenery is epic. The rhythm of walking
“I thought of poems as subversive, secretive,” he and your slightly raised heartbeat are in tune with
explains. “Something I could enjoy without having poetic rhythms. And it’s an activity where the ‘film’
to talk to anybody else about it. As quite a furtive up ahead of you is changing all the time; you can
teenager that was very appealing.” never anticipate what’s around the next corner.”
After studying Geography at Portsmouth, and then Certainly, the folk around the next corner might
a Master’s in Manchester, he worked for eight years as not have anticipated seeing one of the nation’s best
a probation officer, years which he has often said were loved poets standing in their boozer. “I wanted to
difficult ones and which left him with rather a bleak prove that everybody has a right to poetry, to show
outlook. He escaped that career to make a go of it as a them it was worthy of a wet night out in Wensleydale
poet and has since published more than 20 collections on a Wednesday,” he says, with easy alliteration. This
of poetry, as well as plays, travel novels, songs and aspect of bringing poetry to the people is very much
more. “I’m not much cop at anything else,” he shrugs. part and parcel of poetry for him. “Part of the folk
“I found my forte in writing poetry.” But it’s clear his tradition is that the diction is that of the spoken word.”
years in probation work remained with him in an Having published translations and dramatisations of

42
many works in the oral tradition, including Sir Gawain “Poet Laureate is a role with history
And The Green Knight, Pearl and The Odyssey, Armitage
is well used to bringing folk into the 21st century and
and status and tradition, so it’s an
bringing poetry ‘to the folk’, too. opportunity to make things happen”
FINDING A FOOTHOLD
This idea of breaking down barriers is also at the the trees – perhaps enticing those who might not have
centre of his new project with the National Trust, felt that was something for them. “Poetry was once
the publication of Blossomise, a collection of poems a gate-kept activity, but now it’s more inclined towards
and haikus which explores themes around the fleeting new and different voices. In years gone by, nature
beauty of blossom. Simon explains that they hope was also the preserve of people with a certain cultural
to create a National Blossom Day similar to the background, but recently people of more diverse
Hanami festivals in Japan, maybe using the poems as backgrounds have been encouraged to get involved,”
a wassailing ceremony, bringing people out to serenade says Simon. “A lot of planting done by the National »

43
 WISDOM

Blossom: a CV
By Simon Armitage

Blossom was a pavement artist.

Painted the trees
in concrete estates and sad precincts.
Painted the streets.

Blossom was a fruit farmer.

Lived on the land.
Raised and nurtured saplings
with an invisible hand.

Think of Blossom as solar panels.

When the weather turned
and the seasons unravelled
Blossom was a weathervane.

Blossom was a mountaineer.

Didn’t look down. Weighed anchor
in hairline fissures
and stress fractures

“Everybody has a right to poetry – I Blossom the magician transformed

wanted to show it was worthy of a wet winter’s curfew hours
Wednesday night out in Wensleydale”

Trust is in urban or deprived areas. Nature can find

a foothold in unlikely places – the tiniest crack in
a brick wall or in railway sidings.”
This ambition to bring poetry to unexpected places
PHOTOGRAPHY: ANGELA HARDING; NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES;

might seem at odds with the lofty job of Poet Laureate,

a ten-year tenure Armitage holds until 2029, but he
thinks otherwise. “It’s a role with history and status ‘Lockdown’. It was pointed out to me at the time I
and tradition, so it’s an opportunity to make things became Laureate that there might be some ‘big events’
happen.” He’s already launched an environmental on the horizon,” he says wryly. “I don’t think they quite
GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY; ADOBE STOCK

poetry prize (the Laurel Prize), does a tour of libraries realised what some of them might be… But obviously
every spring to champion what he calls “a beleaguered there was the death of Prince Phillip and the Queen
but essential service”. And he is currently developing and then the coronation. Writing earnestly about
a National Poetry Centre in Leeds. people you don’t really know can be difficult.”
With his writing, too, he’s not exactly been idle.
“I was made Laureate in May 2019. Lockdown started P O E T R Y I N T H E E V E R Y DAY
in spring the following year, and it felt like there was So where do you start when you sit down to pen
a Laureate-shaped hole there so I wrote a poem called a poem about the longest-serving British monarch,

44
into foaming white petals.
Abracadabra: flowers.

Rootless and homeless, Blossom

rode and drifted
on thermal currents
as the climate shifted.

Blossom the ballet dancer

was reborn
in the hardcore techno and thrash-metal
of the thunderstorm.

As a sculptor, Blossom
trained and wrangled
reluctant limbs in the studio
of the walled garden.
Poetry in motion: From
the King to everyday folk,
Blossom was a dictionary. Simon believes everybody
has a right to poetry.
Knew how to spell resurrection Walking also inspires his
and the true meaning work and his words can be
seen carved in The Stanza
of revelation. Stones Walk in West
Yorkshire. Angela
Harding’s artwork for the
Blossomise collection

Taken from Blossomise by Simon Armitage

(Faber & Faber). Illustrated by Angela Harding

or a pandemic, or a blossom tree? “I’m not fussy about “that there are only three things you need to know
where I write. I’m very happy sitting in a café or on about writing poetry… and nobody knows what they
a train with people. I don’t mind if there’s something are. Actually,” he adds more seriously, “I think that
going on just ‘offstage’, where you can tune in and you can’t be a writer unless you’re a reader. You might
tune out. I think it helps, even if it’s only a few seconds, spend your whole life creating something only to
going away and coming back, that opportunity of find out Wordsworth did it.”
reappraisal before you redraft.” So, if daffodils did it for Wordsworth, what are
He makes it all sound so easy. But what about the ‘simple things’ that inspire Simon? “I think all
the rest of us? Can anyone write poetry? He smiles the things in life that are important to me are pretty
mischievously, “I always say to students” (he is simple, actually,” he says. “Vinyl albums are one.
currently Professor of Poetry at Leeds University) There’s a nostalgia to them – I like things that are »

45
 WISDOM

Blossomise explores
the beauty of blossom.
Simon hopes there will
one day be a National
Blossom Day similar to
Japan’s Hanami festivals

RHYME
AND REASON
Simon’s lessons for life

“A sense of astonishment at
the power of language has
never really gone away for me.
I am constantly reminded of just
what an incredible tool language
is; the greatest invention by
“I say to students there are only three human beings. Imagine if
somebody had invented
things to know about writing poetry… language last week, how
and nobody knows what they are” much they’d be trying to
charge you for a subscription!”

analogue. I’m a terrible collector of pens, too,” he “I’ve always maintained

admits. Hence the massive, stolen collection in his that, as a poet, one of the
attic. “Everywhere I go I think ‘that looks like a really
nice pen’ and I’ll pick it up. There’s a great beauty in
privileges is that you don’t
the simple Biro,” he muses. He’s finding his form now, have to say the first thing
and remembering more and more simple things he that comes into your head.
loves. “When I went on Desert Island Discs my luxury We retain the right to think
item was a tennis ball, just to throw and catch. That’s
about things and reply later.”
a simple thing, right?”
The cogs are still turning, though. “I’ve thought of
another simple thing,” he grins. “A cheese sandwich... “In writing about blossom,
No wait – I’m going to go with bread and butter. It’s I’ve felt a sense of transience
my favourite meal.” His enthusiasm for listing all his
and impermanence. I think
best things is endearing. Just how a poet should be;
finding joy in the everyday. After all, without simple there are some life lessons that
pleasures, Wordsworth would have had no ‘Daffodils’ we can learn through looking
fluttering and dancing in the breeze. at how nature functions.”

46
 Small
ways
to live
well
Join us for Season 2 of
our podcast, a six-week
suggestion box to put
a spring in your step

Small Ways To Live We may now be in British satisfaction. And the joys of
Well is hosted by birdsong, blossom and bluebells.
Summer Time but the weather
Editor, Lisa Sykes,
who will be opening hasn’t always caught up with the We'll be your companion from
the windows and calendar, so we need help to when the clocks go forward,
enjoying lighter days alongside make the mental shift from right through to May Day.
colleagues from The Simple Things.
winter to spring. This podcast is
There are six episodes in Season 2:
A spring tonic, each embracing a gentle reminder to note and Season 2:
small ways to make the most of the notice what’s going on in your Spring Tonic
season. Episode 1 is released on patch. We’ll talk about jobs and is supported
Easter Monday (1 April), then every by Pause, a monthly subscription box
Sunday. Subscribe via your podcast
jaunts that take you outdoors, brought to you by the charity Mind.
app so you don’t miss an episode. projects and pastimes that bring pauseformind.org.uk/simple
 Sorry, not sorry t was during a cervical smear test that I realised
just how much I say sorry. As the nurse attempted to
locate my cervix, I found myself apologising. “I think
SERIAL APOLOGISER LUCY NICHOL it’s tilted,” I said. “Sorry.” On reflection, this was the
most ridiculous thing I’ve ever apologised for – and
LOOKS AT WHAT’S BEHIND OUR
ILLUSTRATION: HÜLYA ÖZDEMIR

I’ve apologised for some ridiculous things. But saying

OVERUSE OF THE S-WORD sorry for the way my body was made. For something
I had no hand in. Basically, for being a woman!
Apologising needlessly is something many of us
do. Even if we’re not using the ‘s’ word directly, we are
apologetic in announcing ourselves, in taking up space,
in sharing an idea. How many messages do you end

48
 WELLBEING

with the words ‘no worries if not’? You might be asking ”How many messages do you sign
for time off to go to a funeral and yet you’ll still drop
those four little words in, minimising your ask. It off with ‘no worries if not’?”
might seem harmless or polite but in doing so you’re
unwittingly suggesting that your needs aren’t as I start worrying that I’m going to be ‘found out’ for not
important as the recipient’s. really being good enough, I can find myself apologising
Positive psychology practitioner and coach, Ruth before I’ve even done anything (for example, “Sorry,
Cooper-Dickson, explains that the words we use this is probably a bad idea, but…”).
can reflect how we feel about ourselves. “If you’re
somebody who says ‘just’ a lot; for example, ‘can PEOPLE PLEASING
you just’, or ‘is it okay to just’, or if you overuse the Ruth says that this is where apologising so much comes
‘s’ word or sign off emails with the words ‘no worries into play – it’s a byproduct of people pleasing and low
if not’, then this is a sign that you’re not advocating self-esteem. It might stem from how we were brought
effectively for yourself. If we do not advocate for up. For example, if you were always expected to be a
ourselves, then we are unlikely to be meeting our own ‘good girl’, get the top grades or the perfect job, you’ll
needs. It’s a sign of people pleasing – always placing find it much harder to fail or take risks – and personal
the importance, the value, on the other person.” growth stems from these experiences. “If you’re feeling
like you don’t belong, or you’re not worthy, you’re
T H E A P O LO GY E P I D E M I C far more likely to apologise for simply existing.”
I asked people to share some of their needless apologies. Most people-pleasers will find it helpful to work on
One woman said sorry to the person who drove into protecting boundaries, says Ruth. A good way to start is
her parked car. Another to their parents for ending with picking a boundary you’re struggling with – such
a long-term relationship (what?). Apologising for our as not accepting excessive or unfair criticism. “You
bodies and for being female was a common theme, from know you might have to have difficult conversations
the woman who said sorry to her boss when informing or push back to people you’ve always felt subservient
him that she was pregnant to another who apologised to, but the more you practise it, the easier it’ll become.”
to hospital staff for going into labour the day before her
planned C-section. Someone else apologised for having M I N D YO U R L A N G U A G E
‘rubbish veins’ when going to give blood and for gagging If you recognise that you regularly use apologetic
during an endoscopy. The responses certainly made me language, pause and take a moment to read back over
feel less alone in my over-apologetic nature. But they your emails or messages before you press send, and
served as a clear reminder that women, especially, tweak them to ensure that you’re not devaluing your
apologise far too much. needs. Ruth says we should also take a moment before
responding if somebody asks something of us, especially
IMPOSTER SYNDROME if it’s a colleague, client or even a friend who we always
So where does ‘over apologising’ come from? Ruth has say yes to. This is obviously easier if the request comes
spent a lot of time researching impostor syndrome and in by email or text message, but if you’re speaking
says that the two are often linked. “Impostor syndrome directly, you could simply say that you need to check
should really be referred to as impostor phenomenon,” your workload or diary, and you’ll get back to them as
she says. “That’s what it was originally coined back soon as you can. Ruth says: “Be honest and assertive,
in the Seventies by the researchers Clance and Imes sometimes you really do need to put yourself first.”
who were conducting a study with a group of female My own experiences of over-apologising led to me
executives about feelings of anxiety and self-doubt. write a novel appropriately entitled No Worries If Not!
The word ‘phenomenon’ was used instead of ‘syndrome’ (HarperNorth) about one woman’s mission to stop
because they didn’t want women to feel there was saying sorry. And while I never use that phrase to
something else they had to fix about themselves.” sign off emails any more, I know I still apologise when
In basic terms, Ruth explains how it stems from I needn’t. The key is not to beat yourself up over it. As
feelings of self-doubt, anxiety and low self-esteem, Ruth says, self-compassion is about recognising when
often around work or stepping out of our comfort zone. we over apologise, but being kind to ourselves when we
This all makes sense to me because I’ve often felt slip up. She said: “Instead of hitting ourselves over the
like an impostor. I can get myself through a competitive head with the proverbial stick when we catch ourselves
job application process, be invited for interview, deliver needlessly apologising, we should see it as a learning
a formal presentation and, when I’m offered the job, exercise and move on.” Besides, as Charlotte finds out
I start to believe I must have somehow ‘fluked’ my in my book, sometimes there is a place for an apology.
way through it all. Of course, once I’m in that position, Do it less often and it can pack a much greater punch.

49
 STYLE

WEARING
WELL
Stories of the clothes we love
BOWS
Words: LAURA BROWN

T
here’s a condition I suffer from reinvented time and time again.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ANTHROPOLOGIE.COM; HOUSEOFDISGRACE.CO.UK; MATCHESFASHION.COM; SISSEL-EDELBO.COM

that I like to call Sprout Syndrome The common thread is a sense of
– as in, “You hate sprouts? Wait playfulness. Rather than being twee,
until you try my sprouts!” One of my I think bows have a very definite
many symptoms is an unwavering belief air of mischief about them.
that no one truly dislikes bows, they And beyond that stereotypical
just haven’t found the right bow yet. girliness, there are umpteen variations
I’m convinced that I can convert even all along the bow-fort scale (ahem) to
the staunchest member of the anti-bow suit every style and mood. When I’m
brigade, and in doing so, bring a loopy feeling fancy, I opt for big, bold bows,
dose of joy to their lives. the sort that are so structured, they
I love all bows (except for the dainty practically need their own planning
ones that sometimes show up on an permission. For days that call for folksy
otherwise plain pair of pants… even nonchalance, a loosely tied ribbon of
this pro-bow propagandist snips those velvet or silk does the trick. To be prim
off). However, they’re often dismissed and proper, only grosgrain or satin will
as being frivolous and overly cute – the do, just like the party dresses of my
fan club includes Hello Kitty, Minnie childhood. Bows even make their way
Mouse, Ariana Grande and millions into my gardening attire of a mud-
of schoolgirls, after all – so for those spattered boiler suit teamed with an
who aren’t fond of frilliness, a bow
“Being superfluous to insouciant little scarf around my neck.
can seem superfluous to requirements. requirements is one of the Every bow I wear combines
But really, being superfluous to traditional craft, history and fashion,
requirements is one of their greatest bow’s greatest charms” all knotted together to create something
charms. This is adornment for new, every single time. It’s just so fun
adornment’s sake, a way to fancy up so much versatility can be found in a to be festooned in such a way, so if I ever
an everyday outfit or add a finishing simple strip of fabric or fashioned from pick up on even the merest hint of bow
touch to a formal frock. Added to hair length of ribbon just adds to its appeal scepticism, my reply will be inevitable:
or hems, shoes or sleeves, the fact that – over the centuries, the bow has been “You hate bows? Wait until you try…”

50
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WA N D E R L U S T walking in a group can offer a sense of security
‘A love of walking’ (noun, German) and connection. Take a look at groups such as
Black Girls Hike (bghuk.com), for Black women
While wanderlust might evoke an appetite for to explore nature (see TST issue 111); Every
foreign travels, the original expression means Body Outdoors (everybodyoutdoors.co.uk),
something different. Wandern is the German hosting hikes for plus size people; and Muslim
verb ‘to hike’, while lust signifies ‘joy’ or Hikers (muslimhikers.com), all working to
‘pleasure’. Whether with friends or strangers, make the outdoors a more inclusive space.
 OUTING

TALK THE WALK

THESE EIGHT WORDS FOR WALKING MAY HELP INSPIRE
NEW JOURNEYS ON FOOT
Words: JO TINSLEY Illustrations: EMY LOU HOLMES

S O L I VA G A N T
‘To wander alone’ (adjective, English)

Deriving from the Latin words solus

meaning alone, and vagans meaning
to wander, this forgotten English word
describes someone who loves to walk
by themselves. Solo walking can be
immensely freeing, affording us the
space to connect with ourselves and
allow our minds to daydream, to
compose and finish thoughts. Clearly
marked with acorn symbols, National
Trails like the South Downs Way or
the Ridgeway follow old drovers’ roads
and trackways that have been used
since prehistoric times, providing
easy-to-navigate routes through some
of England’s finest landscapes. Walking
along stretches of these popular paths
in daylight can help you feel secure
so you can let your mind wander and
build your confidence walking alone.

DA U W T R A P P E N
‘To get up before dawn and go
for a walk’ (verb, Dutch)

This delightful Dutch term (literally

‘kicking the dew’), dates back to the
Middle Ages when devotees would
travel on foot to different churches for
prayer. Nowadays the custom, which in
the Netherlands might involve walking
barefoot through the morning grass or
going for a bike ride at dawn, is believed
to be healing. Even if you’re not an early
riser, there’s something grounding about
walking barefoot over dewy grass and
springy moss or feeling the squelch of
mud between your toes. Barefoot trails,
such as those at Godolphin in Cornwall
or Castell Henllys in Pembrokeshire,
lead shoe-less walkers through various
textures from smooth slate to tickly fir
cones, crunching gravel to sticky clay. »

53
 OUTING

T R O U VA I L L E by bypassing busy streets and taking

‘A chance encounter with something the more circuitous routes. In Brighton
wonderful’ (noun, French) & Hove, for instance, you can detour
down the city’s many ‘twittens’ –
This evocative French word literally old Sussex dialect meaning a narrow
translates as ‘a find’ or ‘a treasure’, and passageway between buildings. It was
is used by French travellers to describe once said that you could travel from one
a chance encounter with something side of the city to the other using these
glorious, such as an unexpected vista, alleyways, which today unveil charming
a quaint café or a hidden backstreet. flint fronted cottages, tiny oases behind
When exploring a city on foot, invite wrought iron fences and old shop floor
opportunities for unexpected delights mosaics in the most unlikely places.

CO D D I WO M P L E
‘To travel purposefully towards
a vague destination’ (verb, English)

While striding out to reach a

charming village, castle or pub
certainly has its pleasures, setting
off with nothing particular in
mind invites spontaneity; it frees
us up to follow an intriguing path
or climb a hill simply to see a new
view. A ‘coddiwomple’ might be
a wholly unstructured walk or
perhaps a moment of drifting away
from the path to explore on a whim.
If aimlessly wandering feels like
a recipe for getting lost (and not
in a good way), then why not apply
the same principle to exploring
a rambling country estate where
you can’t go too far astray? Seek
out places that invite wonder
such as Hawkstone Park Follies,
Shropshire, where you can meander
through 100 acres of labyrinthine
tunnels, sandstone caves and
rhododendron jungles. Or
Puzzlewood, Gloucestershire, a
maze of enticing pathways between
mossy rock formations – with no
set trails, when you reach a fork
in the path, simply choose your
route and walk purposefully ahead.

54
PA S S E G G I ATA
‘A leisurely stroll taken in the
evening for the purpose of
socialising’ (noun, Italian)

Similar to the Greek volta, meaning

‘let’s take a turn’, the Italian
passeggiata is more than an evening
stroll, it’s a social occasion. Slow-
paced and unhurried, this gentle
promenade is a chance to catch up
with friends, often converging in
scenic sun traps to soak up the last
of the day’s light. Most places will
have similar traditions; in Bristol,
balmy summer evenings can feel
like impromptu festivals as walkers
amble down to the Harbourside
to watch rowers and dinghies
out on the water, a cider in hand.

“Let your strolls be

guided by your senses,
each new turn a game
of chance”

WA L D E I N S A M K E I T
‘The feeling of being alone in
the woods’ (noun, German)

A combination of wald, meaning

forest, and einsamkeit meaning
loneliness or solitude, this evocative
German word with no direct English
equivalent can loosely be translated
as a longing to escape the crowds
and have some calm time to yourself
in nature. More than just a walk in
the woods, this German tradition FLÂNERIE market; each new turn, a game of
hints at a contemplative or even ‘The act of strolling with no purpose chance. To be a flâneur is to set your
spiritual experience where you through an urban environment’ own pace and savour the moment – what
might feel a deep connection with (noun, French) piques your interest and where will it
the environment. While remote lead you? Moving unnoticed through
places such Northumberland’s This French word, literally meaning a crowd, a flâneur is also a spectator,
Kielder Forest – recently named the ‘stroller’, ‘saunterer’ or ‘loafer’, describes a people watcher, who thrives on the
quietest place in the UK – provide a solitary figure drifting through energy of the city. Rather than drifting
solitude in spades, enchanting bustling streets, ushered on by a sense through an unfamiliar city, why not seek
woodlands can be found closer to of curiosity and the sensory pleasures out flâneur-friendly neighbourhoods
cities. The New Forest has over 140 of a city. To embrace this instinctive way – rich in culture and architecture –
miles of tracks and paths through of walking, let your strolls be guided by such as Manchester’s vibrant Northern
heath and woodland, where you’ll your senses and the innate spontaneity Quarter, Liverpool’s historic Albert
find towering sequoias and Douglas of a city: you might follow the sound of Dock or exploring the many hidden
firs that are some of the tallest and church bells, the scent of freshly baked stairways of Edinburgh’s Old Town,
oldest trees in Britain. bread or the flow of people towards a one of Britain’s “most walkable cities.”

55
WORDS: SOPHIE COLSON. PHOTOGRAPHY: BIOSPHOTO/ALAMY
A simple thing...
The fox can seem a pest to
some, but what better time
to recall a child-like love for this
folktale favourite than in May,
when fox cubs take their first
steps beyond their den? Pause
a moment, remember the
stories you were told when
you were first venturing out
into the world, and try to spot
a cub doing the same.
 TIPPLE
OF THE
MONTH
Dust off the punch bowl (or use your
biggest mixing bowl) and invite others
over for this sociable, summery sip.

HIBISCUS AND IRISH RUM PUNCH

Makes 20 x 150ml servings

150g caster sugar
3 tbsp dried hibiscus flowers
(available from health food shops
or Asian food stores)
6 limes, plus 4 extra limes, cut into
wheels, to garnish
1ltr concentrated guava juice
(available from Asian food stores)
700ml Two Shores Golden Rum
(or any golden rum of your choice)
375ml Martini Extra Dry vermouth
Ice cubes

1 Place the caster sugar and hibiscus

flowers in a large saucepan.
2 Grate in the zest of six of the limes and discard the solids. Add the guava Bartender’s note: Add the ice to
using a fine grater, then squeeze juice, rum and vermouth and stir again. the glasses and not the punch bowl
in the juice. Pour in 1 litre of boiling If you want to make the cocktail less as it can make the cocktail watery.
water and stir to dissolve the sugar. strong, add a little more guava juice
Add a lid and let it sit for a few hours to dilute it down.
(or, ideally, overnight in the fridge). 4 For each serve, pour 150ml of punch Taken from Irish Kitchen Cocktails
3 Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the into an iced tumbler and garnish each by Oisín Davis (Nine Bean Rows)
hibiscus syrup into your punch bowl one with a slice of lime. Phototgraphy: Joanne Murphy

58
 THE BIG IDEA
So many wellbeing books, so little time. Our deconstruction of someone’s
fresh thinking could send you in a new direction

THIS MONTH WE READ WEATHERING BY RUTH ALLEN

In a nutshell How does outdoor therapy work?

Geologist and psychotherapist Ruth Allen offers a By accompanying Allen as she walks and talks to her
fascinating exploration into how landscape can help us clients we can see how ‘meeting the landscape can
to better understand how the mind works. In her work as help to meet the issues they have in hand.’ She describes
an outdoor therapist, Allen combines her passion for and how therapy in a clinical setting can feel like something
knowledge of rocks with therapy. In Weathering, she ‘got broken and must be shut away to be fixed’, whereas
offers the reader a ‘wandering snapshot of my work’ as going outside helps us to open the door and create
we’re led up and down the Dales of the Peak District. a through-flow of air as we ‘reassociate with the reality of
life as a thriving, pulsing, risky and decaying thing.’
Why now?
‘We’re living at a time when we can neither comprehend Who can it benefit?
the implications of what’s happening to our earth Anybody. Allen explains how most of us push things
nor get on top of our depression, anxieties and stress,’ down and bury our issues. The problem with this is that
writes Allen. She believes that geology is a way into we’re ever at risk of ‘our surfacings demanding to be
our human relationship with the natural world and that noticed and often at a time when we have no capacity to
the landscape has much to teach us. ‘It’s easy to forget hold them.’ We’re not designed to be at capacity all the
that the slow tectonic work of rocks is what shaped life as time and it’s a humbling thing to realise that your body
we know it, creating the landmass that we call home.’ can only do so much. By moving the body outside, she
Reflecting on how the landscape mimics the human says it will give up clues. ‘Bodies taken outdoors usually
inner landscape, she discusses the ‘peril of having a hard work out what they need with little interference.’
exterior or thick skin, built on soft, vulnerable
foundations’ and how, as a therapist, ‘I am always What can rocks teach us about life?
keeping an eye on where the land might slide next.’ Rocks have broad shoulders, says Allen. They carry
a lot of weight. They can teach us how to load-bear
So is it nature or self-help? because life is not light work. Touch, feel, stand on, move
Both. Anyone with an interest in hills and rocks will on, listen to and feel the sensation of your skin against a
be enthused by Allen’s knowledge and evocative nature rock and you can find something ‘wildly resourcing for
writing. And anybody who has lived will be able to relate life in a weathering world.’
EXPLAINED BY REBECCA FRANK. IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK

to the parallels she draws between the rocky landscape

and human nature. While walking the Peak District’s
edges, we learn how the layers of sandstone and
limestone formed over 315 million years ago, ‘telling the
story of a land that is always trying to maintain balance
without collapse, a body holding its material as best it
can before the energy dwindles and all is dropped, only
to initiate new ways of moving forward.’ Allen reflects on Read more in
how humans need edges – or boundaries – as a place to Weathering: How The
Earth’s Deep Wisdom
challenge ourselves and grow. ‘Spending time at a
Can Help Us Endure
physical edge can help people get perspective on a Life’s Storms by Ruth
predicament,’ she writes. Allen (Ebury Press)
 perfeczta
for pizs
oven

bring the pizzeria

to your garden

this Summer
es of pizza ovens
Perfect for all typ
kitc h en o ven s, if it’s raining!),
(and se
gh Co’s easy-to-u
The Northern Dou y
d o ug h crea te s restaurant-qualit
pizza
a few sim p le steps. All you have
pizzas in
is ch oo se yo u r fa vourite toppings
to do
ne over to yours.
and invite everyo

FIND US here
in t h e f r o z en aisle
and
northerndoughco.com
@northerndoughco
 LIVING WELL

Pizza piazza
SPRUCE UP THE GARDEN FURNITURE BECAUSE
COOKING OUTDOORS SEASON HAS OFFICIALLY BEGUN.
TIME TO EXPERIMENT WITH THE PIZZA OVEN*
Recipes & Styling KAY PRESTNEY Photography: REBECCA LEWIS

*Or just use the actual oven then eat them outside
 THE BASICS
Pizza dough

Making your own dough is easier Part feast, part

therapy, part
than you may think – and it can workout, knocking
be cheaper, too. back a silky pillow of
dough is one of life’s
simple satisfactions
Makes 6 pizzas
1 tbsp caster sugar
14g dried yeast
800g 00 flour
200g semolina
1 tsp sea salt

1 Fill a jug with 500ml of warm water

and stir in the sugar until dissolved.
2 Add the yeast and give it a quick
stir then leave for 5 mins – it should
start to activate and bubble.
3 Put the flour and semolina into a
stand mixer and add the jug contents.
Give it a gentle stir, then mix with a
dough hook attachment on a medium
speed for 10 mins. If you don’t have a
stand mixer, you can do this by hand.
4 Remove the dough from the mixer
and give it a short knead with your
hands, stretching and folding on a
floured surface. Give the stand mixer
bowl a wipe around with a little olive
oil and put the dough back in. Cover
with a clean tea towel and leave in
a warm place for an hour to rise.
5 Once risen, punch down the dough
inside the bowl to knock the air out,
then turn it out onto a floured surface.
Gently knead it before dividing into
ADDITIONAL IMAGES: ISTOCK

six balls. Set aside until ready to use.

Cook’s note: You can freeze the
dough at this stage by wrapping it
tightly in clingfilm. Defrost before use.

62
 LIVING WELL

Just like Mama used to

make – at least that’s
what you can tell your
friends when they ask
for the recipe. Then
cement its authenticity
with a chef’s kiss

Homemade 1 Fry the onion and garlic over

tomato sauce a gentle heat in the olive oil
for 6 mins, or until softened.
2 Put the tomatoes in a blender
for 20 secs, or until smooth.
Good sauce is a staple, so make a bit 3 Add the tomatoes to the frying
extra for the freezer and you’ll always pan, along with the tomato paste
have some for emergency pizzas. and dried herbs, giving it all a good
stir to combine the ingredients.
Makes enough for 6 pizzas 4 Simmer over a medium heat for
1 small onion, finely chopped 15-20 mins, regularly stirring until
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped reduced to a thick, rich sauce. Transfer
1 tbsp olive oil to a bowl ready to use on your pizzas.
8 medium-sized tomatoes, roughly Cook’s note: If you don’t use it all
chopped up, you can store in a sealed glass
2 tbsp tomato paste jar in the fridge for up to one week.
1 tsp Italian seasoning You can also make this in larger
½ tsp dried oregano batches and freeze once fully cooled. »

63
 LIVING WELL

Is that… sunshine?
Everyone outdoors, it’s
time to pizza al fresco
(but keep a brolly
handy, just in case)

THE RECIPES
Spiced aubergines

Use as a spicy side dish, or on your

pizzas – the delicious choice is yours.

Makes 6 slices
1 large aubergine, sliced lengthways
into 6 long slices
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp rose harissa paste
2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 Brush the sliced aubergine

with the olive oil and season.
2 Spread thinly with the rose harissa
and sprinkle over the Italian seasoning.
3 Place in the pizza oven (the oven
temp. should be around 400C) and Halloumi red then tear the basil and place on top.
cook for about 4-5 mins. The timings peppers 2 Drizzle with the olive oil and season.
will depend on the oven temp which 3 Place in the pizza oven at the same
can be variable, so open the oven temp as the aubergine recipe for
every minute and check – the flesh about 3-4 mins, exact timings will
should be translucent. You should Oozy cheese? Check. Sweet depend on the size of the peppers
also turn them around (keeping the peppers? Check. Tasty charred and heat of the oven. Open the oven
same coated side face-up) to face edges? Oh, go on then! every minute to check, turning around
the opposite way occasionally to so that both ends are evenly cooked.
ensure even cooking and avoid Makes 4 slices Once the cheese has fully melted and
one end becoming charred. 2 long red peppers, halved the edges of the peppers are slightly
4 Serve on a bed of rocket as a side, and deseeded blackened take them out and serve
or slice and add as a pizza topping. 150g halloumi, grated as a main or as a side.
Cook’s note: To cook in the oven, A few sprigs of fresh basil leaves Cook’s note: To cook in the oven, add
place on a lined baking tray in a 1 tbsp olive oil the peppers to a baking sheet and
preheated oven at 220C/Fan 200C/ bake in a preheated oven at 200C/
Gas 7 for 20-25 mins. 1 Stuff the halloumi into the peppers, Fan 180C/Gas 6 for 20-25 mins.

64
Spring shoots pizza

Keep things light, fresh and

seasonally green.

Makes 1 pizza
1 ball of homemade pizza dough
2 tbsp homemade tomato sauce
225g mozzarella
1 tbsp ricotta
4 stems of fresh asparagus
2 tbsp frozen peas
A few sprigs of fresh basil

1 On a lightly-floured surface to
stop it from sticking, roll out your
pizza dough to create a thin base.
2 Dollop the tomato sauce in the
centre of the dough and use the back
of a spoon to spread it out evenly,
leaving a 2cm gap around the edges. Chilli & paprika spicy
3 Tear up the mozzarella and scatter garlic pizza bread
it over the tomato sauce, then use
a teaspoon to dot small amounts
of the ricotta on top of the pizza.
4 Cut the tough ends off the Ignite your taste buds by giving your
asparagus spears (save them for garlic bread a bit of extra kick.
vegetable stock!) and cut each
of the remaining spears into four, Makes 1 pizza bread
adding them to the top of the 2 garlic cloves, peeled
pizza, along with the frozen peas. 1 fresh chilli
5 Use a floured pizza peel to carefully 1 tbsp olive oil
place the pizza in the oven (the temp 1 tbsp butter (room temperature)
should be around 400C). Check 1 tsp dried paprika
it every minute and turn it halfway 1 ball of homemade pizza dough
through cooking. It should take
around 2-3 mins to cook and is done 1 Place the garlic cloves in a pestle
once the edges start to brown and and mortar and crush to a paste
the cheese has melted. You may find 2 Deseed and finely chop one third of
large dough bubbles pop up on the the chilli and add to the garlic paste.
top of the pizza, but you can puncture 3 Add the olive oil, butter and paprika
these with a fork when you take it out and mix thoroughly.
to turn, but take care as they’ll release 4 On a lightly-floured surface to
hot air when you do so. stop it from sticking, roll out your
6 Once cooked, remove your pizza dough to create a thin base. Using
from the oven and finish with a few a floured pizza peel, transfer it to the contents of the pestle and mortar
sprigs of torn basil leaves on top the oven (which should be at 400C). which will melt into the dough. Dust
before serving. Keep a close eye on it as it’ll cook with a little extra paprika and cut
Cook’s note: To cook in an oven, very quickly! Open the door every into slices, then serve immediately.
heat a baking sheet in the oven for 20 seconds and give it a turn halfway Cook’s note: To cook in an oven,
30 mins then cook the pizza at 200C/ through using the pizza peel – this heat a baking sheet in the oven
Fan 180C/Gas 6 for 8-10 mins, or until will ensure it cooks evenly without for 30 mins then cook the pizza at
the cheese bubbles and edges start charring on the side nearest the 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6 for 8-10 mins,
to brown. You may also like to try burning wood. The pizza bread or until the edges begin to brown.
adding a little torn prosciutto to base should take around 1 min. The hot baking sheet will help you
the pizza before cooking. 5 As soon as it comes out, pour over get a crispy pizza base. »

65
LIVING WELL

Nectarine & apricot

pudding pizza

Blending the sweetness of the fruits

and dark chocolate with the savoury
base to prove that pizzas don’t just
have to be for mains.

Makes 1 pizza
1 ball of homemade pizza dough
2 tbsp apricot jam
1 large fresh nectarine, stoned
and cut into 1cm thick segments
1 tbsp dark chocolate chips
2 tsp icing sugar

1 One a lightly-floured surface to

stop it from sticking, roll out your
dough to create a thin base.
2 Spread the jam on top, leaving
a 2cm gap around the edge. Place
the nectarine on top of the jam, then
sprinkle over the chocolate chips.
3 Use a floured pizza peel to carefully
place the pizza in the oven (the temp
should be around 400C). Check
it every minute and turn halfway
through cooking. It should take
around 2-3 mins and is ready once Everyone can get
a pizza the action
the chocolate starts to melt and – savoury or sweet?
the edges turn golden. Fruity or chocolatey?
4 To serve, place on a board and Thanks to Ooni for All bases are covered,
supplying the pizza quite literally
dust with icing sugar. oven for the shoot.
Cook’s note: To cook in the oven, To find out about
place on a lined baking tray in a wood-fired, gas and
multi-fuel pizza ovens
preheated oven at 200C/Fan 180C/
for your garden, plus
Gas 6 for 8-10 mins, or until the extras and recipe ideas,
edges begin to brown. visit uk.ooni.com
 COMPETITION

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 HER OUTDOORS
THE WOMEN OF THE BLOOMSBURY SET FOUND SOLACE AND JOY
IN THEIR GARDENS. A CENTURY ON, THERE’S MUCH TO ADMIRE
– INCLUDING IDEAS FOR ENJOYING OUR OWN GREEN SPACES
Words: FRANCES AMBLER

68
 LOOKING BACK

orothy Parker may have quipped

that the Bloomsbury Set ‘lived in
squares, painted in circles and loved
in triangles’ but she neglected to say
how they gardened. It’s a shame she
overlooked it – their gardens played
a central role in their lives, loves and art. Through
four Bloomsbury women and their gardens – Virginia
Woolf at Monk’s House in Rodmell, East Sussex, her
sister, artist Vanessa Bell at nearby Charleston, arts
patron Lady Ottoline Morrell at Garsington Manor,
Oxfordshire, and Vita Sackville-West’s famous
Sissinghurst, Kent – we can discover more about
their makers and how they wanted to live. In fact,
they also offer plenty of creative inspiration for today.
These are four very different sized gardens –
Monk’s House’s ¾ acre compared to Garsington’s
200 acres and Sissinghurst’s 450 – and four different
kinds of gardeners. Vita would become a gardening
columnist for the Observer, while Virginia stuck to
planting and weeding, following the horticultural
vision of her husband, Leonard.
Although there’s no ‘uniform Bloomsbury style’,
the gardens have some things in common, says Emma
House, curator at London’s Garden Museum, where
an exhibition about these women, called ‘Gardening
Bohemia’, opens this month. “All have water and
ponds: they thought reflection and water central
to a garden.” They also reflect the group’s travels
– Persia influencing Sissinghurst; Italianate gardens
at Garsington and Monk’s House. Then there’s
“the idea of ‘rooms’, enclosed outside spaces, which
PHOTOGRAPHY: THE CHARLESTON TRUST; ©THE ESTATE OF DUNCAN GRANT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DACS 2023. PHOTO: TATE;
©BOLTON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY/©ESTATE OF VANESSA BELL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DACS 2023/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

Sissinghurst is famous for and can be seen at Monk’s

House on a smaller scale.” What united these gardens
is how they were used. “Women need a space to be
creative – these gardens filled that need in quite an
important way,” says Emma. Women needed a space to be creative
ESCAPE ROOTS
– these gardens filled that need
The gardens of Bloomsbury’s paintings seem idyllic
– more so when you consider their context. In the
First World War, men who refused to fight faced
prison, with an exception made if they undertook
agricultural work. Ottoline invited friends to come
and work on the grounds at Garsington, a sanctuary
for those ‘who saw the war as it really was’. Vanessa’s
husband – Clive Bell, a Conscientious Objector took
up her generous offer. Vanessa, meanwhile, leased
Charleston Farmhouse in 1916 for the sake of her
lover, fellow artist Duncan Grant, and his lover
David Garnett. ‘I’m making great efforts to get (Clockwise from
hold of a pig, rabbits, etc, and get the garden dug,’ far left) Charleston
she wrote in February 1917. shown in Garden Path
The outside world couldn’t be shut out entirely, In Spring by Duncan
Grant, 1944; and View
however, as Vita discovered during the Second World Into A Garden by Bell,
War, sharing Sissinghurst with The Women’s Land 1926; the artist herself
Army. “Vita became quite reclusive,” Emma explains. reclining outside
She spent more time in the garden – “an emotional »

69
 LOOKING BACK

WHAT WAS THE

BLOOMSBURY SET?
Rather than being a ‘club’, the Bloomsbury Set was a loose
grouping of authors, artists and thinkers that established itself
around the Bloomsbury home of Virginia Woolf and her sister
Vanessa Bell in the early 20th century. They were known for
pushing conventions in art and literature, but also how they
lived their lives – to some infamy. Their experiments were full
of contradictions: they were often racist and snobbish, reliant
on servants and their wealth. But in challenging conventions,
they were hugely influential in British life’s modernisation.

(Clockwise from above)

Vita enjoying the
flowers of her labours
in Sissinghurst Castle
Garden in 1958; Vanessa
Bell in Summer In The
Garden by Roger Fry,
1911; and Lady Ottoline
snapped in 1924

support and space for wellbeing.” She wasn’t the only is happiness… Both stiff and scratched all over today,
one reliant on their outside space. “It’s quite a modern with chocolate earth in our nails.’ Crucially, in her
concept but we know Vanessa and Virginia used their lodge, surrounded by the beauty of her garden, she
gardens for their mental health,” says Emma. had the space to think and write. It’s no coincidence,
For Virginia, in the fortunate position of having Emma says, that her A Room Of One’s Own essay
both town and country homes, summer at Monk’s – about what a woman needs to be able to express
House was about escaping urban life – enjoying herself – was written in that lodge.
peace, solitude and a sustaining routine. Every
morning, ‘with the daily regularity of a stockbroker,’ O P E N I N G T H E G AT E S
Leonard said, she’d commute across the garden For Vanessa and Ottoline, their gardens were used as
to her writing lodge, to work until lunch. Though a challenge to restrictions placed on women of their
Leonard was chief gardener, Virginia always noted class. Ottoline’s journal outlines her desire to ‘open
what was happening and enjoyed getting her hands the prison doors – drive the imprisoned mind out – to
dirty. In May 1920, her diary describes ‘the first pure walk – to run – to rejoice – to sing.’ She described her
joy of the garden… weeding all day to finish the beds garden as a ‘theatre’, with grand, landscaped grounds
in a queer sort of enthusiasm which made me say this (all four gardens employed gardeners), of terraces,
ponds, hedges and a much-used oblong pool. It was
the backdrop to an impressive roll call of visitors:
Surrounded by the beauty of her garden, Siegfried Sassoon, Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence
and many more. Charleston, likewise, opened itself to
she had the space to think and to write family and friends. Photographs reveal how sociable

70
 NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON; MONDADORI/GETTY IMAGES; ©PHILIP MOULD & COMPANY; TATE, PRESENTED BY TATE MEMBERS 2012 ©THE ESTATE OF DOROTHY BRETT. PHOTO: TATE
PHOTOGRAPHY: ©BRADFORD MUSEUMS & GALLERIES/©ESTATE OF VANESSA BELL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, DACS 2023/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES; JOHN HEDGECOE/GETTY IMAGES;

Above: Garden At
the gardens became – lounging, swimming, games Monk’s House, Sussex,
painted by Vanessa
and gossip, but also somewhere new ideas could Bell in 1947 – Virginia
be debated, new relationships forged, freely Woolf's garden to be
(homosexuality wasn’t legalised until the 1960s). precise. Left: Woolf
in that same garden
“Out in the countryside, in the grounds of these
gardens, they had space and safety, too,” says Emma.
“They were places that didn’t conform to ‘norms.’”
One of the most famous photographs of Garsington
– taken by Ottoline herself – shows the artist
Carrington posing nude atop a garden sculpture.
The enjoyment of the garden is full-bodied and
sensual. A beautiful letter by Vanessa evokes the
heady scent of the ‘pinks’ (roses) drifting across a
warm June evening; Ottoline describes the ‘delicious’
sensation of ‘running on the grass with bare feet
with only my nightgown on.’ (Grass seeds were found
in her jodhpur’s pockets when they were displayed
for a recent Charleston exhibition.) When Vita and
Virginia had an affair, the latter described it as ‘full
of lust and bees, mingling in the asparagus beds.’

C R E AT I V E G A R D E N I N G
Just as Virginia’s garden sustained her writing,
Vanessa’s garden inspired her art. ‘I’m painting
flowers’, she wrote in summer 1930. ‘When the sun
comes out… you can’t conceive of what the medley
of apples, hollyhocks, plums, zinnias, dahlias, all »

71
 A moment for
reflection: The Pond
mixed up together is like.’ Into the framework of the
Charleston garden, Vanessa planted the colourful
They saw gardens as places of
At Garsington, 1919, by
Dorothy Brett. Home
things that she and Grant wanted to draw and paint. possibilities... a place of refuge
of Lady Ottoline Morrell, Abstracted echoes of flowers appear in the textiles
and scene of naked that they designed, too. or one of freedom...
dancing and bathing in
That’s not to overlook the creativity displayed
its less serene moments
in the design of the gardens themselves. Vita into their lives; they integrated their lives into the
compared herself to ‘an artist painting a picture… a garden, as with all these examples. Some integrations
dash of colour here, taking out another dash of colour were architectural – as Charleston was remodelled,
there, until the whole composition is to one’s liking’. French windows onto the garden were added to the
When Vita and her husband Harold Nicolson, a studio and Vanessa’s bedroom (as seen in her 1926
former MP, diplomat, and also a writer, acquired View Into A Garden) – but, most simply, down to their
Sissinghurst in 1930, the grounds were mostly used attitudes. The everyday creativity inside Charleston
for growing food. A labour- (and finance-) intensive farmhouse, where even the most mundane of
overhaul was necessary to establish their influential surfaces is elevated with colour and pattern, carries
garden ‘rooms’. The ‘White Garden’ saw white (and into the garden. There are mosaics created from
grey and silver) flowers planted against a frame of smashed crockery, sculpture casts repurposed as
box hedges and yew. The focus switched from colour planters. The boundaries of inside and out dissolve.
to heights and shapes: ‘grey clumps of foliage, pierced While we might not have Bloomsbury budgets,
here and there with tall white flowers’ – delphinium, time or scale of gardens, there is plenty to learn from
Gardening Bohemia:
foxgloves, irises and more. Opening the gardens to these women – not least the taking of pleasure and
Bloomsbury Women the public less than a decade later, they knew the nourishment from our gardens. They saw gardens
Outdoors is at the worth of the achievement. as places of possibilities. It might be a place of refuge
Garden Museum,
Their son Nigel Nicolson described the garden as or one of freedom; it can allow creative experiments.
London from 15 May
to 24 September. ‘an accompaniment to their books, like the left hand A garden was – and can still be today – a place where
gardenmuseum.org.uk on a piano to the right.’ The garden was integrated we can simply be ourselves.

72
 Blackdown, we build Shepherd Huts
you make memories ...

blackdownshepherdhuts.co.uk
[email protected] | 01460 929774 |
 P O SITIV E N E W S F R O M A R O U N D T H E W O R L D

PU T TING IN T O UCH
A hand developed by Swiss
and Italian researchers
is taking prosthetics to a new
level. When a volunteer tried
it out for the first time, he was
able not just to feel changes
in temperature, but even
the warmth of another
person’s touch.

50%The fall in
deforestation in the
Amazon in 2023
compared to 2022.
The drop also marks
the lowest recorded
deforestation rate
in the past five years.
H E D GE YO U R B E T S
Go the whole hog in helping this species make a comeback

T
hough they’ve been in decline Meanwhile, the People’s Trust for WIKI L E A PS
for several years, there’s hope Endangered Species (PTES) is also asking
Expanding its scope, Afghan
the humble hedgehog is making people to keep an eye on hedgehogs,
activist Laleh Osmany and poet
a comeback. A survey published by as well as other creatures such as water
Salma Khalil Alio from Chad are
BBC Gardeners’ World earlier this voles and foxes, as part of its Living With
among 530 women from around
year reported that hedgehog sightings Mammals surveys. Between now and
the world now with profiles
were up by 2%. A small change, granted, October, volunteers can take part in PTES’
on Wikipedia in English. Their
but finally one in the right direction. Great British Hedgerow Survey, health-
biographies are part of a newly
Hedgehog Awareness Week takes checking local hedgerows as part of a
completed project to ensure at
place 5–11 May, and the British Hedgehog simple survey. It all helps build a picture of
least one woman from every
Preservation Society is inviting people to how hedgehogs are doing, and hopefully,
country in the world is
make their gardens hedgehog friendly will bring them back to full strength.
represented on the platform.
spaces, with leaf piles, wild corners and For more, visit hedgerowsurvey.ptes.org
off ramps in ponds in case they fall in. and britishhedgehogs.org.uk.

74
 BETTER NEWS

Excellent women
Better menstruation info, period
World Menstrual Hygiene Day is 28 May,
yet the World Bank estimates that, globally,
500 million women don't have access to
the products and facilities they need.
In 2017, South African academic and activist
Candice Chirwa was just 21 when she was
working at the UN Population Fund’s office in
Johannesburg, reviewing policies surrounding
period poverty in eastern and southern
African countries. “What came up was that
menstrual health is under researched, so
I became a menstruation activist.”
She founded a non-profit called Qrate which
helps young people through workshops, blogs,
and media, earning herself the nickname
COMPILED BY: JOHANNA DERRY HALL. PHOTOGRAPHY: @RACHELSUZANNEILLUSTRATION; BELONG AND READY GENERATIONS; PAUL GENGE, FOR HEDGEHOG STREET; STILLSBYTOM

‘Minister for Menstruation.’

MIN D T H E GE N E R ATIO N GA P “My first period was scary,” she says. “My mom
said, ‘here’s a pad, don’t tell anyone.’ I kept that
Bringing together young and old can spread joy internal shame and

S
stigma to myself.
inging, children clapping, It’s a model that’s been tried
It motivated me to
the sound of laughter in other European countries in
ensure that others
and play – all noises you’d different ways. In Helsingborg,
don’t feel afraid
associate with a nursery. But this Sweden, for example, elderly
and are equipped,
one is different. Belong Chester people and people in their 20s –
empowered,
is the first dementia care village both groups at risk of loneliness
and able to manage
in the UK to also house a nursery – have been housed together at
a natural
for small children. SällBo as an experiment in the
biological function
For several years now, Belong ways intergenerational living
without fear. ”
has worked with charity Ready can improve mental wellbeing.
Generations to explore what “We see improvements in the
the benefits of old and young physical and mental wellbeing
coming together could be. of people, including those living
“Intergenerational with dementia – and the nursery
connections bring a great parents are excited by their
deal of joy,” says Belong’s CEO, children's advances in vocab,
Martin Rix. With experience language, social and emotional
of building networks with local skills,” says Martin. “The nursery
schools and community groups, is a joyful addition. We’re excited
they took things a step further. to see what the future holds.”

“
Everything was grey before,
and there was no future.
Now a rainbow has appeared
on the horizon”
Volodymyr Kozlov, a singer with Kharkiv National Opera and Ballet in Ukraine,
which is reopening – albeit underground – after a two-year hiatus.

75
76
 IDEAS

Small wonders
LOOKING AT THE NATURAL WORLD UP CLOSE AND IN
DETAIL CAN REVEAL AMAZING PLANTS AND ANIMALS. TRY
A ONE-METRE SAFARI OUTDOORS, SUGGESTS JENI BELL

s my feet stomped the pea family and sole food source

up the steep chalk for the caterpillars of the butterfly
slope, my mind that had demanded my attention.
was busy, mentally As I tuned into where I was,
replying to emails, other colours started to emerge:
listing chores, milkwort’s dark blue petals, the
and planning meals. As usual, I was amber splashes of the orange-tipped
hurrying and not paying attention butterfly’s wings, and the five-spot
to my surroundings. But, between burnet moth’s red spotted markings
the spring sun’s warmth, the steady on its dramatic black wings.
incline and my hurried pace, I found Living close by, I’ve always been
myself needing to catch my breath. aware of the abundance of life in
On stopping, a flash of colour these chalk downlands. You can find
caught my eye, drawing my gaze up to 40 species of wildflower in
downwards. A common blue just one square metre, but I’d never PA S T U R E S N E W
butterfly, decked out in the colour slowed down enough to witness it. You can take this square-metre-
of cornflowers, sailing over a sea of It made me wonder, how many mindset anywhere. It doesn’t have
yellow: cowslips, meadow buttercups of these square-metre pockets are to be in the wilds, it could be a
and bird’s-foot trefoil; a member of we missing? Ecologists often mark favourite tree, a garden, or a window
out one-metre quadrats for their box filled with pollinator-friendly
surveys, examining one area closely plants like lavender. You could do it
and paying attention to the often waiting at the bus stop, or on a walk
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY; ISTOCK; ALAMY; ANNELIESE KLOS

overlooked. What if we were to in the park. It could even be as simple

do the same? To stop and draw an as watching a single square of sky,
imaginary quadrat around us. What deciphering the shapes of clouds
would we uncover by looking closer, drifting across it.
by slowing down, by really noticing? Hedgerows make excellent spots
Especially now, as spring has settled for square-metre safaris, as they
into its stride and summer’s just offer both shelter and feeding
around the corner, when nature opportunities for wildlife. They’re
is fully awake, the wildflowers are often comprised of several species
blooming, birds are nesting, and like elm, elder and bramble but
the weather is calling us outside. at this time of year, the hawthorn »

77
 IDEAS

“Not only do we feel calmer and

more relaxed, but the more we
look the more we start to see”

and its creamy blossom is the overstimulation), but there’s plenty S L O W R E WA R D S

star. Blackcaps forage between going on just beneath the surface. Not only do we start to feel calmer
the blooms, the bright song of Tadpoles are just starting to morph and more relaxed with this simple
the equally bright yellowhammer from legless beings into little act of looking, but the more we look
tumbles over its white petals, and froglets, developing limbs and the more we start to see. It becomes
hidden in its depths, other birds lungs. Dragonflies and damselflies the key to unlocking doors to whole
such as blackbirds and dunnocks often favour the same spots as they other worlds. Stone walls transform
sit tight on nests. Hedgerows also forage for insects to devour. Throw into jungles of moss and pennywort,
act as corridors, connecting several down an imaginary quadrant, alive with colonies of armour-plated
different habitats, used by secretive really focus in, and you may spot woodlice. A picnic by the riverbank
species like the dormouse who the bulkily-built emperor dragonfly, reveals the lace wings of mayflies
will be searching out nectar or the more jewel-coloured bodies as they embark on their brief but
from bramble flowers. of demoiselle, their black-banded beautiful 24-hour lifecycle. Beach
You might prefer peering into a wings carrying them along the days become a mindful practice of
pond. Not only is the water soothing pond’s edges. You might even see rockpool watching, trying to pick
(time spent around blue spaces helps the alien-like husks left by emerging out the piercing red eyes of velvet
reduce everyday stresses caused by dragonfly larvae, clinging to reeds, swimming crabs, hiding among
iris leaves or other water plants. the seaweed curtains.
This practice would work equally Here on the downs, enthralled by
well in a woodland, where delicate this metre-squared metropolis, my
dog violets and wood anemones ambition to rush to the top of the hill
often adorn the forest floor. In has disappeared. I was so hypnotised
southern areas, there might be by the common blue butterfly and
wood ants marching among them, immersed in a world of wildflowers,
maintaining their nests built from my thoughts slowed down, quietened
huge piles of twigs, soil and leaves. enough to hear the trilling notes of
These feisty creatures with reddish skylarks falling around me. My quick
brown bodies and pincers have the leg stretch dissolved into a chance
ability to spray formic acid (which to take a mindful moment, to allow
apparently smells like chip shop myself to be still and to really savour
vinegar) when feeling threatened. the beauty of the season.

78
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 Casting some light
OFFERED JEWELLERY OR FISHING RODS FOR HER 21ST,
MARINA GIBSON CHOSE RODS. IT REIGNITED A LOVE FOR
FISHING, GIVING COMFORT, PURPOSE AND RESPITE PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVEN LANDLES; SHUTTERSTOCK

y new rod seemed to reproach time. The rod tip lifted. Slowly, carefully, I
me, as if it knew it had fallen ‘peeled’ the line upward, an elbow movement
into inexpert hands. Just to bringing the tip of the rod to just above eye
set up my equipment I was height. Then an acceleration of the upper arm,
leaning on barely trained taking the rod back in a straight line and to a
muscle memory. I swore stop behind me. A pause, just long enough to let
quietly as I tied on my fly, fingers fussing over the magic start to happen. The loop unrolling
the knot. A final check: hook the fly you have behind me, a fleeting display of geometry to
tied onto the zip of a bag and pull tight. It held. observe from over my right shoulder. And the
With the line laid out ahead of me, fully final action: a mirror of the backcast, bringing
extended onto the stillness of the lake, it was both rod and line sharply forward to a stop,

80
 REFLECTION

again and again until the slack line has

disappeared from my side, sending the fly
onto the water – towards the spot where
I saw the trout rising to the surface to feed.
These were rituals that defined the weekends
of my early twenties at the trout lake at Syon
Park on the outskirts of West London. At a
time in my life when I badly needed something,
it became my escape. I’d go almost every
weekend, spirits rising at the thought of
a day with nothing else to worry about. rigour and precision, a recognition of my slowly
Lake fishing for brown and rainbow trout evolving technique and skills.
is one of the simplest and most accessible My childhood experience of fishing showed
forms of angling. This was how I first learned me the excitement and challenge that comes
to fish, near home in Stow. And now it was how with angling, but gave me little appreciation of
I would learn to fish for myself, tracking the how fishing can empty the mind and soothe the
trout that moved through the gentle water. So soul. My anxiety would drain away, displaced
much of a day spent watching, searching for the by my need to watch the water, hear its music
and absorb the clues that indicate where and
“The fly is there to lure the when to cast a fly. I learned to love the simple
feeling of fishing: being in an environment
fish but in so many ways it is where nothing else matters, where the water
the angler who gets hooked” beneath you has been flowing this way since
long before you existed, and will continue
rising ripple – the telltale shift against the to do so after no one is left to remember you.
current – that discloses the presence of a trout. At the lake I became less self-conscious, more
Every Saturday was a chance to occupy willing to ask other anglers for help and advice,
myself with the rigours of casting: a discipline and increasingly grooved in the mechanics of
that tempts, taunts and teaches you with its my cast. Knowing that it would take time to
nuances. Looking down the lake, I’d wonder improve did not deter me. I was firmly back
at how others could reel off cast after elegant under the water’s spell, being reminded that,
cast while my own movements felt lumpy, the while the fly is there to lure the fish, in so
fish seemingly repelled by every fly I chose. many ways it is the angler who gets hooked,
Then the doubts would clear and rhythm dragged further and further into the world
would arrive. I would know that I had given of endless possibilities that fishing contains.
just enough time for my loop to take full flight, There is always another fish to pursue,
put the right amount of force into the stroke, another river whose nuances need to be
and would be rewarded by seeing my fly soar understood, and another variation on the
as it landed just where I wanted it. Sometimes cast to learn. Only after you have mastered
such moments would not arrive until late in the basics can you appreciate angling’s steep
the day, after hours of trial and error, effort learning curve, with its endless gradations of
and empty nets. Still, I would work away. experience and ability. These are progressively
One Saturday I had, at best, 15 minutes before revealed through years of practice, a spiral
I would have to walk back to my car in the dark, staircase of knowledge that simply keeps
empty-handed. Having tried everything else, on ascending. Every time I packed up at
I played my last card: an orange blob fly, fluffy the end of a day’s fishing, there was only
and Fanta-coloured. On the first try it took, a one question in my mind: where next?
trout pulling the line so hard I almost dropped
the rod in surprise. Adapted from Cast, Catch, Release: One Woman’s
It did not just feel like a triumph to cap a long Search For Peace And Purpose By The Water by
day’s work; it made me 11 years old again, the Marina Gibson, out now (Hodder Press). Follow
tug of joy in my stomach. It felt like a reward for Marina on Instagram @marinagibsonfishing

81
rhinogreenhouses.co.uk
0800 694 1929
 FLOWERS IN THE HOUSE
Bringing blooms indoors: it’s what every home needs

Forget-me-nots
There’s a story of how these star-
shaped flowers got their common
name. The tale tells of a knight (in
full armour) walking with his lady by a
river, stooping to pick a tiny blue flower,
but falling in. Before being swept away,
he threw her the flower, calling out
WORDS: JO MATTOCK. PHOTOGRAPHY: ISTOCK

“Forget me not!” The blooms became

popular in medieval art and on
Victorian Valentines. In the garden,
they tend to be prolific, so at this time
of year, don’t forget to pick a few to
bring in. These symbols of enduring
love certainly look lovely in a small jug.

83
 HOME TOUR

THE RUN OF THE MILL

AN OLD DEVONSHIRE MILL HOUSE, PACKED WITH ORIGINAL FEATURES
– INCLUDING A WATER WHEEL – HAS BECOME A ONE-OF-A-KIND
FAMILY HOME

Photography: CARMEL KING Words: KAREN DUNN

84
The beating heart of this
unique family home, the
kitchen, has a wonderful
view of the old water
wheel. With views like
these, the kitchen chores
must seem that little bit
more appealing
 HOME TOUR

n the edge of Exmoor in curly house?’” smiles Marta. “She then explained Wheel appeal: The
Devonshire, sits a higgledy- that, as a teenager, she’d to go horse riding and property may be rented,
but that hasn’t stopped
piggledy house. Surrounded by they’d always stop at the mill, which was derelict Marta and her family from
fields of grazing sheep and a at the time, and she’d sit on the curly staircase. putting a big, colourful
stream that leads to a ford, the I love that it’s a part of local history.” stamp on the place. She
loves that it’s so cherished
property has an old water by locals and hopes, one
wheel sitting lazily at its side while wisteria creeps REINVENTING THE WHEEL day, to get the water
up the walls. Once a rundown watermill, it’s now The family hope to “stay until we’re old and grey.” wheel turning again
home to Marta Dowling, her husband Curtis, their Looking around, it’s easy to see why they wouldn’t
daughters, Amelie and Lily, and cats, Alfie, Charlie want to leave, especially as the owner is happy for
and Scruffs (the best mouser). them to put their own stamp on it. “He’d lived here
The family began renting the property, just two since he was a little boy, so you can feel the love
miles from Tiverton, five years ago after falling in he has put into renovating it. It’s meant that we’ve
love with its quirks. The old mill house and cottage only had to do cosmetic things, and he trusts us to
have been joined together giving it an unusual look after it and make it a home,” explains Marta,
layout with lots of steps and tons of unique spaces who is originally from Poland. “I loved the mill
and cubby holes. “When friends first visited us, wheel as soon as I saw it. Hopefully the next step
they kept getting lost in the house!” says Marta. will be getting it working again. It’s stationary at
One unusual feature is the stone staircase, now the moment and will take a lot of work, including
inside the house, it was once exposed to the rerouting the water, but the dream is to get it
elements and is fondly remembered by locals. running so it can provide energy for the house,
“My husband was filling in a form to donate some which would be amazing.”
furniture and the lady serving him said: ‘Is that the Living at the mill has also inspired Marta to be »

86
 “I’VE PAINTED A LOT OF WALLS AND
FLOORS! WE ALSO BUILT OUR BOOK
NOOK, WHICH WE ALL LOVE TO READ IN”
 “DESPITE LIVING HERE FOR YEARS,
MY HUSBAND SAYS IT STILL FEELS LIKE
HE’S ON HOLIDAY”

Second-hand furniture is
all part of the look and also
means Marta is not
reaching for the stain
remover every time a child
or animal approaches. She
moves the furniture around
every now and again to
give things a budget-
friendly refresh
 HOME TOUR

The mill has inspired

sustainable living with
a kitchen built to last
and reloved furniture
throughout. Marta
loves to grow flowers
and veg

89
 HOME TOUR

more sustainable in other ways, including learning The kitchen, with its view of the old water wheel, Amelie’s room (above left)
to grow her own veg. “The garden took a bit of work is the heart of the home. Hand-built by the owner, with its vintage bed and
cosy canopy was pipped
as the woman who’d rented before us kept geese, so Marta loves it as it feels timeless. “It’s not ‘on trend’ to the top spot of Marta’s
we had to remove miles and miles of chicken wire, but it’ll always be loved,” she smiles. When it comes favourite spaces after her
weeds and brambles,” she says. “Our neighbour to her favourite space, it used to be Amelie’s room dressing room revamp
(right). Forget wardrobes,
grows huge vegetables for the village show and was with its canopy over the bed and the beautiful this is a little Narnia to
always bringing us things from his garden. It built-in wardrobe, but a recent redecoration of escape to – even the cats
inspired me and I caught the growing bug. We’re her dressing room has edged it to the top of the approve. The bathroom
now almost self-sufficient throughout the summer; list. “I find myself going in just to sit and look (above) has also recently
been refreshed with some
I just need a goat!” around with a cat on my lap,” she admits, “so bold colour and panelling
I think that’s my favourite now. Animals always
THROUGH THE MILL pick the best rooms to hang out in.”
Inside, the house is a mix of old and new, with Living in a building like this can have some
splashes of colour. “We go to a lot of antique fairs downsides, but the positives far outweigh any
and I love buying from Scaramanga and Nukuku negatives. “One Christmas Eve it rained so much
online,” she says. “I prefer old furniture as, with the ford was too high to drive through and the
two kids and lots of pets, I can’t be getting precious footbridge was submerged. We were stuck in the
if something gets a mark on it.” house and I couldn’t pick up the turkey,” laughs
While no major renovations have been needed, Marta. “But the house is so cosy in winter and
Marta is a dab hand with a paint brush. “I’ve it’s lovely to be near the water in summer, our
painted a lot of walls and floors! We also renovated old dog Bella was always trying to jump in.
the bathroom recently and put panelling in, and we Despite living here for years, my husband says
built our book nook, which we all love to read in.” it still feels like he’s on holiday.”

90
MARTA’S STYLE
O The house doesn’t have

much storage, so we bought

lots of trunks to store things in.
O Rather than buying new

furniture, I like to move things

from room to room and change
things up regularly for a refresh
O We got an amazing sleigh bed

for Amelie at an auction and a

bedside cabinet from eBay. They
look like a set and cost a fraction
of the price of new pieces, so
it’s always worth holding out
for second-hand finds.
 Load, light, relax…
BRITISH BRAND CHARNWOOD COMBINES THE LATEST
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES WITH THE CLASSIC CHARMS
OF WOOD-BURNING STOVES
 ADVERTISEMENT PROMOTION

Charnwood’s Skye E700 wood-burning stove (opposite) launches later this year. After loading and lighting, you can sit back and let the app do all the work. In fact, your
only job may be securing the best spot to enjoy its warmth, ahead of other family members! Charnwood’s Haven and C-Four stoves (above, left and right, respectively)

F
eeling tempted by the primal combustion intelligence. This intelligent Charnwood, a name synonymous with
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the way we experience the timeless joy ensuring a clean, highly efficient burn. sustainability, bringing together decades
of a crackling wood fire. Charnwood, a The result is not only a positive impact of expertise with cutting-edge technology.
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93
 PRO
H O M U D LY
EMA
DE

S T I TC H T H E LOV E
GENTLY MARK MAY’S TRADITION OF PROTEST WITH A
WHAT-I-STAND-FOR PROJECT FROM THE CRAFTIVIST COLLECTIVE
Project: SARAH P. CORBETT Photography: LIZ SEABROOK
 WEEKEND PROJECT

2 3

HEART-ON-SLEEVE
BADGE
Stitch words of what you hold dear
and wear them for all to see: you’ll
remind yourself to protect what you
love, and encourage others to join in.

You will need:

Tracing paper 5 6
Black pen
Carbon transfer paper (blue)
Green cotton, plain or patterned,
10cm x 10cm
Green felt, 10cm x 10cm
White felt, 12cm x 5cm
Water-soluble fabric marker or
ballpoint pen
Stranded cotton thread
Embroidery needle, size 5
Fabric scissors
Embroidery scissors
Sewing pins 7
Metal brooch pin back, with safety CRAFTERTHOUGHTS
clasp and three holes, 30mm x 5mm While this project can be adapted to
Embellishments such as buttons, many causes, it was created in support of
badges or ribbon to help attract The Climate Coalition’s #ShowTheLove
more attention, optional campaign. With that campaign in mind,
while stitching your heart, you may want
1 Using a black fineliner pen, trace the to reflect on the following:
heart shape and banner shape (find
the templates on our blog and print O How can you limit your own carbon

them out at thesimplethings/blog/ footprint, through what you buy, your

heart-on-sleeve-template) onto habits and where you invest your money?
your tracing paper and cut out O What challenges face leaders trying

each shape to fit your upper arm to tackle this problem? How can you
(larger templates) or wrist (smaller more questions than answers, support them while also holding them
templates). Then pin your paper heart but that is still helpful. accountable as their critical friend
onto your chosen green fabric to cut 5 Pin your stitched white banner in rather than an aggressive enemy?
out. Follow the same instructions for position at the centre of your cotton O How can you encourage others to think

your green felt. Do the same for the fabric heart. Cut your white thread about one thing they love in our world?
banner shape onto white felt. the length of your shoulder to your O If you see someone looking at your

2 Using a water-soluble fabric pen on thumb. Separate your thread slowly badge as you wear it, offer them a smile
your white felt banner, write one thing so that you have two strands to fix and an explanation. Maybe ask them:
that you love about the world and your banner in place using a running “What would you stitch on your heart?”
want to protect from global warming, stitch around the edges. You could
using a lower-case cursive font as also sew a blanket stitch on the ends
large as possible. Hold it steady. of the white banner for durability.
3 Cut a length of embroidery thread 6 Now for the back of your badge.
Taken from The
as long as your arm. Separate it into Cut your embroidery thread the you see a green felt border around Craftivist Handbook
two groups of three strands. length of your shoulder to thumb. the green fabric heart, with the by Sarah P. Corbett
4 Knot the tail end of your thread and Position your badge back in the white banner and badge back facing (Unbound). The
Craftivist Collective,
stitch over your words with a simple centre of your felt heart where the outwards. Cut your thread shoulder- set up by Sarah in
backstitch (Use French knots for any heart is widest. Use all six strands to-thumb length. Separate your 2009, is a group using
dots.) Use this time to reflect on the of thread to attach your badge thread into two groups of three. thoughtful, beautiful
crafted works as a form
crafterthought questions provided back with a whip stitch through Use a blanket stitch to stitch around
of activism. See also
opposite and capture any ideas on a all of the metal holes for strength. the whole heart for a neat edge our Gentle Protest
piece of paper. You may end up with 7 Pin both hearts together so that and to stop any fraying. feature in TST134.

95
 SHED AHEAD
PHOTOGRAPHY:COURTESTY OF READERSHED.CO.UK

Why limit your shed to storage? Take your cue from these shed-lovers who show
that with a bit of imagination and a fair bit of elbow grease, they can become whatever
kind of space your heart wants them to be

Words: JULIAN OWEN

 GARDENS

heds are generally simple affairs erected

for modest purposes; a flat-pack that can
– with only minimal hammered thumbs
and muttered oaths – become a wee storage
space for bikes, bags of topsoil, and not-quite-
finished tins of paint.
Occasionally, though, in the hands of a rare breed known as
‘sheddies’, they can become the manifestation of an ambition
altogether more vaulting. They might, for instance, include
a bed-housing loft space or a rooftop apiary. Perhaps they’ll
double as a pub. And rather than overlapping plywood planks
they may instead owe their construction to upturned boats,
living tree trunks, or hundreds of recycled milk cartons.
Thus, creations likely to appeal to Andrew Wilcox, coiner
of the ‘sheddies’ collective noun and founder of the Shed of
the Year contest. Indeed, all the concepts listed above are
past entries in a competition whose popularity has seen
it attract both sponsorship (Cuprinol, naturally) and even,
for four series, its own Channel 4 show.
Shed of the Year’s foundations were laid in a 1999 pub
visit, when Andrew explained to friends that he wanted to
build one for himself but was struggling for ideas. “We got
talking about sheds from our past,” he recalls, “and I decided
to set up a website to see what other people have created.”
The competition followed eight years later.
Andrew’s passion was cultivated in the Rhondda Valley
allotment where, in one of his grandfather’s examples, he
“spent a lot of time learning how to garden and chill out with
a brew.” A good shed, he says, comes down to individuality.
A self-designed build might be unique, “but, even a decorated
off-the-shelf one is brilliant – it’s all about personality.”
Enjoy this selection, which find sheddies being inspired by
people from Michelangelo to a bloke on Grand Designs.

T H E A L LOT M E N T S H E D area with a compost loo, so if they must

pee they’re not ruining my cherry tree.”
This shed puts an altogether cultivated spin Beautifully finished though it might be,
on that hoary old chauvinist epithet, “her Kelly underlines that her creation is very
indoors”. Kelly Haworth was wondering much “a working shed, not just for show.
how to afford a shed for the family allotment It’s a nursery for young plants, a place to
when, on Facebook, she “stumbled on harvest everything I’ve grown, whether
someone giving away all these old 80s doors that be herbs or food or cut flowers.
with glass panels and thought ‘They’d be “It’s also my quiet place. The great thing
ideal!’” Three weeks later, she’d collected about an allotment is it’s not attached to
the 15 doors that comprise ‘the Potting Shed’. your house, so there’s no ‘I’ve got to do
“All except two were free; people were glad the housework!’ or ‘I’ve got to help the kids!’
to be rid of them.” A light-giving, Wickes- When the weather starts to improve, I go
sourced corrugated roof tops the assemblage. every day for at least an hour, sometimes
Improvised though it might be, Kelly I take a book. It clears the cobwebs.”
knew what her design should contain. A couple of years ago, Kelly saw Shed of
“I needed a little kitchenette area for a cup the Year on TV and decided to give it a shot.
of tea, because it’s four minutes’ walk away “I thought, ‘What’s the worst that could
from the house.” Some free pallet wood later, happen?’” In fact, she won. “The world went
et voilà! A work bench and tool store were mad for about two weeks!” she says. “People
A door to another world: similar necessities, similarly built with doors phoning, papers, TV… I had no idea what
Kelly’s shed is made of
and pallets. And then there’s the children’s a big a deal it would be, but it really is. People
Facebook freebies and
budget materials, but needs. “Because I sometimes take them with love their sheds in Britain, don’t they?”
affords her a little escapism me and they don’t like to wait, there’s a little @ohhomelygirl »
 I realised I could save it, I decided to really
turn up the volume and bring my skills as
an artist to bear on making it really special.”
Initially, that meant referencing the home
of artist, activist, and filmmaker, Derek
Jarman. “Prospect Cottage in Dungeness
is a long-term inspiration for its overall
feel. I like that low maintenance dry garden
look, the simple black outside and flowers
providing the colour.”
The interior, meanwhile, owes much
to the arts and crafts movement (“people
like William Morris, being decorative for
decorative’s sake”) and renaissance palazzo
ceilings such as the Sistine Chapel. “There
are lots of painted ceilings in Italian palaces
that aren’t as tall as they seem, but the
trompe-l’œil style makes them seem grand.
I thought, ‘Can I apply that to the shed?’”
He could. He did. “I realised the ceiling
was split into four sections, so I designed it
around the four seasons.” Further stimulus
came from previous competition entrants.
“I found out about Shed of the Year in
lockdown year, when a couple of finalists
THE ARTIST’S SHED were priests who’d turned their sheds into
chapels from which they did their sermons
It’s an ugly duckling story for the ages. on Zoom. They’d stuck religious imagery
For a long time, says Archie Proudfoot, the on the ceiling, which I thought was really
Shed of the Year’s reigning champion for interesting. I’m not religious, so I wasn’t
his ‘Frankenshed’, “was a horrible rotten going to take that angle, but I could make
shed falling apart in the corner of my a Pagan version celebrating nature because
garden.” Three key ingredients lay behind it was a garden shed.”
its transformation: the Italian renaissance, A shed still replete with secateurs, spades,
an iconic English polymath, and a global compost, etc. “I like that boundary line of
pandemic. “I’d avoided dealing with it, but, playing with things being functional but
two years into lockdown, I’d done all the very beautiful. It’s everything you’d expect
Archie was inspired other bits of DIY that needed to be done.” from a garden shed – it’s cold, there are
by the artistic greats,
Utilising a bed frame and old fence posts spiders, it’s dusty. It looks very celestial
but did Michelangelo
also have to deal for a cost-cutting refurb, Archie found that in the photos, but in winter it isn’t at all!”
with spiders? he was actually enjoying himself. “Once @archieproudfoot
 GARDENS

Taking inspiration from

his kids’ favourite film,
luckily no dragons
needed training when
Chris built his dream shed

In truth, the genesis of this story goes back

a little further than his daughters’ viewing
habits. Back to the London basement which,
when it came to Chris’ craft – using wood
and/or metal to make cameras, furniture,
and toys – was far from ideal. “It was a
nightmare if I created dust,” he recalls, “and
it all had to be carried through the house.”
Dreams of an outdoor space came to
fruition when Chris and family moved to the
New Forest, the bauhutte concept already
pinned to the drawing board. “I’d been on
a course for round wood-framed building
making with Ben Law, from Grand Designs,”
he explains. “His shed is the basis of my
T H E WO R KS H O P S H E D design, just a different shape and size.”
Topped with that upturned longship of
Boy befriends fire-breathing beast, boy a roof, ornamented with Viking motifs, the
brings an end to the war between humans finished interior is as well appointed as the
and be-winged pyromaniacs, man builds exterior implies. “I always wanted to have
spectacular shed. Thus, the plot to classic running water, so that it could also be used
animation, How To Train Your Dragon, as an artist studio and for my daughters to
and its lesser-celebrated coda. do painting.” Electricity was also planned
“These round timber buildings look very from the beginning, while, for winter’s
much like the Viking buildings in the film, sake, “we bought a wood-burning stove.”
which is what my kids were watching at If the backdrop wasn’t hand-designed,
the time,” says Chris Walter, outlining the its optimisation certainly was. “There
inspiration for his ‘Viking Bauhutte’ shed. are trees right behind, creating a big green
That, and a rather more prosaic factor. “Also, canopy, so we put in the large window at
the curved shape meant that I didn’t have to the back. With that, a wind-up radio, and
worry about things like gutters and eaves.” the doors open, it’s a nice place just to spend
time in – it’s very much part of family life.”
chriswalter-photography.co.uk
Topped with that upturned longship of
a roof, the finished interior is as well Got a shed to share? Entries for the 2024 Shed
of the Year competition close on 31 May 2024.
appointed as the exterior implies Visit readersheds.co.uk/enter.
 SHARING
STORIES
It’s offici a l, a s ubs criptio n to
THE SIMPLE THINGS m a kes you feel goo d

‘Brilliant March and happy reading!’ ‘The first time this year that I’ve sat in the garden ‘Easy like Sunday morning’ @mombailey26
@chari_bronte to read @simplethingsmag’ @heidi_swain

PHOTOGRAPHY: SHUTTERSTOCK

‘Now I can properly enjoy Saturday morning with ‘Today, it’s a pottering about kind of day’ ‘#favorite #magazine #thesimplethings’
a cinnamon roll & coffee’ @lucia_learns_to_fly @annierudkinartnhome @justdecide2
‘What Sunday is all about: relaxing, reading, ‘My Easter treat to myself. Can’t wait to dive into ‘No work tomorrow! Got my magazine and some
sunshine’ @fedintheshedandotherstories this with a brew tonight’ @sadies_slow_living flowers to brighten the place’ @msxpat

‘Time to chill with @simplethingsmag in the ‘I highly recommend this magazine’ ‘I got a little moment with my cappuccino
sunshine. Happy bank holiday’ @westy1526 @yoga_with_izy on the balcony. It is sacred’ @ceciliasalster

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 1 2

Things to
want and
wish for
Loving your home, inside
and out. Books and treats
for you to enjoy.
Edited by LOUISE GORROD
Book reviews by EITHNE FARRY

1 Cake stand > £75 Bring more ta-da! to tea time with this sustainable mango
wood cake stand. nkuku.com 2 Throw > £120 If it’s great weather for ducks,
use this wool throw to cosy under. jjtextile.co.uk 3 Seeds > £3 A pretty packet
of seeds is always a welcome gift – and gives again when they come to bloom.
herboo.com 4 Plate > £2.50 Enjoy dinner among the flowers. matalan.co.uk
5 Fruit bowl > £65 A sunny enamel bowl for fruit (and fruit punch – see p58).
falconenamelware.com 6 Napkins> £36 for four Proper table linen for proper
get-togethers. sophieallport.com

102
 WISHLIST

It’s always nice to have guests for dinner…even if

they’re uninvited! A pretty tablecloth and napkins
add a sense of occasion to al fresco eating – we’ll
leave the guest list up to you.
Linen tablecloth > from £105; Linen napkins
> £32 for two, both poppyandhonesty.com
 WISHLIST

Shopkeeper
Bookshop
browse of the
month

HOME COOKING
Cold Kitchen by Caroline Eden
ªCaroline Eden is
restless, consumed
by the need to
journey far and
wide. Here she
remembers her
travels in snowy
landscapes and
desert-dry villages, and
soulfully describes the food
and the people that made
each trip so moving and
memorable. Back home in an
Edinburgh basement kitchen,
she heads to her pantry
where she’s stocked ‘a flavour
atlas of the world’ in pickle
Domestic bliss of metal with a riveted handle, which
A modern hardware store for those you season to create a natural non-stick
jars, packets of spices, in coating — it’s the ideal pan and I use them
who love beautiful design as well
baskets of vegetables and every day,” explains Hazel. “I really value
bowls of fruit, and sets about
as functionality.
things which make like easier, that feel
recreating Springtime Soup ªHazel Rattigan isn’t just a shopkeeper; a bit life-affirming in the way that they
with Bulgur, Tomatoes and she’s a curator of everyday elegance and assist, or feel good in the hand — a wooden
Herbs from Tbilisi, Bilberry functionality. Her modern-day hardware handled hairbrush, for instance, or a
Jam that tastes of the store, Objects Of Use, is a testament to her great vegetable peeler.” Hazel’s favourite
Scottish Highlands and, appreciation for craftsmanship, tradition, products are each carefully chosen
evocative of Riga, Dark Beer and simplicity in our daily lives. Hazel for their ability to lift mundane tasks of
and Rye Bread Pudding, with scours the globe for household tools daily life and attracts a wide variety of
cinnamon. (Bloomsbury) that embody these principles, from the customers. “The shop seems to generate
intricate craftsmanship of Japan and a positive energy and people visit from
minimalist designs of Finland to products all over the world —it’s rare to go a whole
made within a few miles of the Oxford day without hearing an interesting story
store. “The shop really began with a frying or meeting someone who makes.”
pan from de Buyer in France, a solid piece objectsofuse.com

B L O O M W H E R E YO U G R O W
The Garden Against Time by Olivia Laing

ªIn 2020, Olivia Laing began to restore a As she dug flowerbeds, her mind delved
garden. Tucked away behind a wall in Suffolk, into the idea of gardens – from the biblical
it was a once lovingly tended space, which, Eden to the utopian garden of Derek Jarman,
over time, had grown a little ramshackle. wrested from the sea shingle and boundary
Armed with seeds, masses of bulbs, roses free at Dungeness, as revealed in this
and scented shrubs, she transformed the engaging, elegant blend of memoir,
space into a refuge and a place of possibility. history and hopefulness. (Picador)

104
WISHLIST

Maker
of the
month

becoming sort of a little archive

Capturing the and a snapshot of society in time,”
community explains Ana. “In the last year, I’ve
Painting the town to preserve focussed on painting locations that
a snapshot of society. have been in their communities for
decades, but are not necessarily
ªAna Gallego found solace in trendy. A piece of history.”
watercolour painting amid the Through prints, greeting cards,
pandemic. Transitioning from her and original art, Ana’s illustrations
career in engineering, Ana now invite viewers to cherish the
illustrates significant architectural establishments over fleeting overlooked beauty woven into the
landmarks and local businesses, trends. Particularly enamoured fabric of everyday life. Ana says,
capturing the essence of with South London’s architectural “When a painting brings a smile
communities. Her collection, gems, Ana’s work not only to someone’s face because the
ranging from pubs to chapels, immortalises these historical person recognises the location
serves as an archive of societal treasures. “I like to think that it makes me feel very proud.”
landscapes, emphasising timeless my collection of shop fronts is anagallegoillustrations.com

S L O W FA S H I O N
Less by Patrick Grant

ªPatrick Grant, stalwart of The Great and the alarming consequences it has for the
British Sewing Bee and Saville Row has an environment. Harking back to a past where
impassioned mission statement: “Stop buying clothes were repaired, recycled and reused,
so much rubbish.” Grant writes fondly of old he encourages us to buy fewer garments,
tweed, fishermen’s jumpers and his father’s to chose ones that are built to last, and to
ties and saves his ire for the fast fashion learn how to sew, darn and patch them, so
industry (but applicable to all our purchases) we can love them for longer. (William Collins)

105
 WISHLIST

Take inspiration from those

tiles that you’ve coveted while
travelling and introduce some
eye-catching ones at home.
The pleasure of stepping
barefoot onto a cool tiled
floor on a warm day awaits.
Tiles > £67.75 per sqm
bertandmay.com

102
 2
1

Festivals
Fairs and
Markets

Muncaster Sausage Festival

> Celebrate all things sausage
at Muncaster Castle, Cumbria,
on 4-6 May. This family-friendly
festival promises to be a
banger with sausage tasting,
local makers and food stalls, a
sausage dog competition and
birds of prey flying displays.
muncaster.co.uk
Saltaire Makers Fair
> Held as part of the Saltaire
Arts Trail weekend on 5 and
6 May at Victoria Hall, West
Yorkshire, this makers market
features contemporary art
and design from local makers.
3
saltaireinspired.org.uk
Living Crafts
> Living Crafts celebrates
its 50th anniversary in the
parkland of Hatfield House,
Hertfordshire, on 9-12 May.
With stalls from makers, 4
workshops and activities to
join in with, it’s a great day out.
livingcrafts.co.uk

1 Dress > £57 Easy-to-wear and with eco credentials.

nomadsclothing.com 2 Print > £25 It’ll always be spring with this
linocut botanical print by Ellen Maragaki. notjustashop.arts.ac.uk
3 Side table > £159 This stone top and teak base table should
inspire more than just occasional use. wheresaintsgo.co.uk
4 Beanbag chair > £680 In smart velvet and with extra support,
this chair proves beanbags aren’t only for kids. sofa.com
5 Cushion > £8 habitat.co.uk 6 Jug & cup set > £18
Barbecue, garden party or picnic? A shatterproof set to
do the job whatever the day ahead holds. next.co.uk

107
GROWING

PHOTOGRAPHY: DORLING KINDERSLEY: BRITT WILLOUGHBY-DYER; GAP PHOTOS; SHUTTERSTOCK

PLANTS for FREE

‘GROWING ON’ YOUR FAVOURITE PLANTS MEANS MORE FLOWERS FOR
LESS MONEY – AND YOU CAN GIVE THEM TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS, TOO

Words: ANYA LAUTENBACH

 Divide and conquer!
Make more plants
from those you already
have by taking cuttings,
dividing plants in two,
or letting branches root
themselves – a technique
known as layering
hen I was a child,
our windowsills
were always
packed with rooting
treasures – my
mum’s cuttings.
“Home is where your plants grow,” she’d say.
Propagation may sound complicated and
a bit daunting, but it’s essentially a natural
process that occurs in our gardens all the
time. Plants have evolved many natural before you plant them, and preferably in low-growing clumps such as snowdrops,
ways to reproduce: some by seeds dispersed the morning, rather than in the middle primulas and heucheras can be pulled
by wind, animals or water; others from bits of a hot day so they don’t dry out. apart by hand. For those that form a tight
of stem that have broken off or spread along It’s crucial to cut the part of the plant mass of rootstock, such as peonies, astilbes
the soil and formed new roots. where growth cells are present, or the and agapanthus, you’ll need a sharp knife,
Propagation is particularly beneficial if cutting will fail. For example, just below garden fork or even an axe. Try to be careful,
you want to include multiples of the same a leaf node (where the leaf joins the stem) for but don’t be scared of division. Plants are
plant in the garden. Many perennials – such a softwood cutting – that’s a cutting taken very accommodating and most respond
as rudbeckia, heucheras, echinaceas, and in spring from a plant’s tender new growth. well to whatever you do. Ideally, plant the
asters – look better planted in groups or In most cases, you’ll plant your cuttings divisions straight away so they don’t dry out.
drifts, and you can create a beautiful ‘hedge’ into a pot of compost – a mix of 80% peat-
by planting a row of the same type of tree or free general purpose compost and 20% LAYER BRANCHES
shrub, including cottage-garden favourites horticultural grit to improve drainage. When a low branch of a shrub or climber
such as lavender, hydrangeas and roses. You can tell when young plants have rooted touches the soil, it can take root and produce
as you’ll see roots coming out the holes a new plant. Layering simply mimics this
TAKE CUTTINGS in the base of the pot and new strong process by burying part of the stem in the
Cuttings produce exact clones of the plants growth. Once your cuttings have rooted ground (scrape away a section of bark to
they’re taken from, so it’s crucial to use well, give them more space to grow by prompt growth hormones to stimulate root
healthy plants to avoid regenerating any potting them on into larger containers formation), anchoring it down with a stone,
diseased cells – they also have a better filled with a richer compost. rock or wire loop, and waiting for it to root.
chance of survival. Always select the most Some plants root quickly, in two to four
vigorous, non-flowering shoots from new DIVIDE PLANTS weeks, while others – including wisteria
growth. Ideally, take your cuttings just Division involves digging up clumping and climbing rose – can take up to a year.
plants, cutting them into two or more pieces Once rooted, the branch can be cut from
and replanting sections that will grow into the parent plant and planted out.
“Propagation may sound new plants. Try to divide plants on a day
daunting but it’s a when the soil’s damp. Dig the plant out and
divide it into smaller pieces where the roots
Taken from The Money-Saving Gardener:
Create Your Dream Garden At A Fraction
natural process” divide naturally. Smaller plants that form Of The Cost by Anya Lautenbach (DK)

109
 The corners of our homes that mean
My place the most. This month: ON DISPLAY
Compiled by: LIZ BOYD

These shelves help to surround my family with the things that we love and that make us happy.
Everything that you see is special to me. The stacking baskets are from Hong Kong where we lived as
children and there are stones painted by my children 15 years ago. There are lots of second-hand finds,
artwork by friends and collected books. I change it up around every six months and keep it colourful.
Lisa Dawson, York @_lisa_dawson_

110
 HOW WE LIVE

I’ve collected vintage

pottery and ceramics for
as long as I can remember
– it’s a bit of an obsession!
I regularly scour vintage
fairs, car boots and charity
shops looking for ‘treasure’
and I love to add dried
flowers and seed heads.
Tess Dixon, Newquay
@tesslovesflowers

“I filled an old print tray with items from

holidays. I love looking at it and
remembering the places we got each piece”

Every item here means something to us. I copied the idea

from my parents-in-law: filling an old print tray with items
from holidays and small items with meaning. I love looking
at it and remembering where we got each piece.
Niamh Gillespie, Dunany, Co.Louth @niamhgillespiedesign

I found this at a local antiques shop, and pondered There are a lot of my gran’s objects from her display cabinet here.
it for weeks before buying it. I loved the worn patina. There is a brass frog on a chair that is one of the pieces I remember
It was originally going to be for garden bits but became most. She was my favourite person and it’s a lovely reminder of her.
a backdrop for collectibles like my pottery and baskets. I will occasionally add flowers and plants but the items stay the same.
Linda Harbrecht, Pennsylvania, USA @stonecottage2250 Heather Craig, Dunfermline @heatherscolourful

111
 HOW WE LIVE

Patterns make me happy

and I don’t care if they
clash! They are a mix of
old and new finds – my
favourites are my Seltmann
Weiden coffee pot and my
blueberry cups and saucers.
Orla Kiely is a big influence,
I just love her patterns!
Victoria Bannon, Torsaker,
Sweden @vicpic9

It’s important to surround yourself with things you

love and these shelves always put a smile on my face.
I’m constantly bringing in new finds for my shop so the
shelving is always changing as I hunt for new collections.
Alicia Dennelly, Connecticut, USA @angelholm_ct

I love being surrounded by books (especially colourful ones)

as I love reading and it makes the room feel homely and cosy.
I sometimes change things when cleaning but I always keep all the
plants together as I love how dramatic they look along the top shelf.
Emma Bryans, Bangor @flawsomehome

I find beauty in old rugged pieces, particularly if they’re

rusty or a bit worn. All the shelves are repurposed boxes –
one is from WW2. I love the copper measuring cups. I quite DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE SPOT IN YOUR HOME?
often propagate shoots in them or display dried flowers. If you have a garden path that you love, or a spot in your outside space
that is a favourite sun trap, get in touch and share your best picture at
Katie Ellen Rhodes, Dronfield @fuzzy_stone_home [email protected]

112
 BELONGINGS

W H AT I T R E A S U R E
Great-grandma’s sampler
by Jennifer Jones

O
ur family has a great tradition
of sharing tales of family
members. Vignettes
were painted of parents,
grandparents and great-
grandparents. I felt that I knew them. sampler needed to witness Caroline’s ability
I never met my great-grandma Caroline, to sew different seam styles. Four rows of
but I grew up hearing so much about her. drawn thread work are impeccable. The
Born in the mid-19th century, her early life mother-of-pearl buttons stitched to the
was one of hardship and challenge. When shirt’s front are spaced evenly, and each
I gaze on the sampler that she sewed when sleeve ends in the tiniest of cuffs, potentially
she was 14, I gain some sense of the woman fastened through a minute buttonhole by one
that she was to become. mother-of-pearl button. Caroline’s initials,
I only have snapshots of Caroline’s life, C B, are sewn in a cross stitch that needs
gleaned from family conversations and from a magnifying glass to detect each stitch.
scrutinising family history records. We know Whenever I gaze on the sampler I wonder
that she was born in Canterbury, Kent, but if she taught her pupils to craft the same
by the age of 11, Caroline is a homeless child quality of work. She certainly taught her
in a convent in Birmingham. We don’t know
why she’s homeless, but 10 years later she’s “The sampler is a shirt,
a school mistress in Lancashire. What caused possibly a nightshirt, and
her social mobility is unknown.
Caroline was probably still a resident at the
the stitching is exquisite”
convent when she crafted the sampler. I can three daughters, with one of them – my
imagine the nuns encouraging their charges grandmother, Winifred – becoming a
to become skilled in handicrafts, particularly seamstress. Caroline was widowed at the age
sewing. The sampler takes the form of a shirt, of 36. Those turbulent early years appeased
possibly a nightshirt, and the stitching is by good teaching from the nuns seem to have
exquisite. Even now, the stitches are secure, given her the strength to rebuild her life. She
neat and clear. I’m sure that the patience and went on to run a shop successfully and to buy
tenacity needed were features of her life. The two houses which she let out – all evidence
of a strong, feisty lady. The sampler is now
150 years old and I constantly celebrate the
work crafted by a homeless child. Whenever
I look at the sampler, I sense her spirit.
What means a lot to you? Tell us in 500 words;
[email protected].

113
 Where we stayed
‘Hawthorn Dene’, as it says in the
original Victorian stained glass
above the pink front door, was
always a private hotel, built as a
boarding house for workers at the
port. In 2016, new owners stylishly
modernised it. The rooms have
windows jutting out on three sides
of the house, meaning six of the eight
rooms have views over Falmouth
Bay, and window seats from which
to enjoy them. Rooms are simply
furnished to draw your eyes to the
almost Mediterranean sea view
and the famous Cornish painters’
light. A sitting room with wood-
burner, games and books is a cosy
area in which to socialise and the

Weekend away breakfast room is a cheerful chatty

space (though breakfast in bed is
positively encouraged). Special
THE SHOPS, EATERIES, CULTURE AND BEACHES mention for the stunning bathroom
tiles, good showers and comfy beds.
OF SCENIC (AND OFTEN SUNNY) FALMOUTH MAKE
IT AN IDEAL SUMMER GETAWAY

Words and photos: LISA SYKES

easide B&Bs are a cliché of dragon-ish landladies, poky en suites

shoehorned into bedrooms and a sterile dining room with the hushed
PHOTOGRAPHY: LISA SYKES

atmosphere of a library. Thankfully, you can forget all of this and can
really enjoy the modern boutique experience that is The Sandy Duck in
Falmouth. It’s ideally positioned on a hill above the town – simply stroll
right for the beach or left for eating, drinking and shopping. Arriving
by a beautiful rural rail journey and borrowing e-bikes to scoot around town makes
a car unnecessary. Just don’t forget to pack your cossie…

114
 A PLACE TO STAY

the harbour and quayside – pizza, subtropical gardens on the uni

pies and cider hit the spot sitting campus to view the degree shows.
under sunny skies at The Stable. Sunny, warm weather meant
the National Maritime Museum
What we did Cornwall lost out to the beach. With
A bit of everything. Falmouth is three town beaches, everyone has
a headland with the sea on three a favourite. Gyllyngvase ‘Gylly’
sides, so it takes a while to get beach is a stroll down the hill from
your bearings; the shoreline keeps The Sandy Duck and the Gylly
appearing where you least expect Beach Café does a great line in
it; over rooftops, around corners and brunch, lunch or dinner, with views
through small alleys. It’s also hilly of Pendennis Castle, the Lizard
so the hop-on-hop off Cornish Beryl and Helford River from its deck.
e-bikes are a great way to explore
and get around. Pretty soon we felt
What we ate like locals – enjoying a sundowner
Full marks to The Sandy Duck, beer on the quayside where the
which gets it so right – despite it people watching is entertaining.
being a B&B (no need to serve dinner With boats coming in, and water
when there are myriad options on and light constantly changing,
the quayside and around the town), there’s plenty to keep you occupied.
snacks and drinks are on offer from The cobbled high street through
1-7pm. There’s complimentary cake the oldest part of town is filled
when you arrive – my teenage with indie stores, vintage shops
daughter and I were in luck with and galleries. Willow & Stone has
lemon meringue & blackcurrant unusual paraphernalia for the home
cake – and I enjoyed a gin in our and beautiful ironmongery, and the
second-floor room to drink up that local branch of Seasalt (the company
view. Breakfast was a celebration of
Cornwall, hearty full English but
HQ is based here) handily has the
tide times chalked outside daily.
The best bit
modern, too; salmon from a Cornish As someone who went on childhood
smokehouse with mashed pea and a beach holidays in Cornwall, I
poached egg on toast, pancakes or thoroughly enjoyed the art, culture
porridge. Specially blended teas, and and harbour town life here. You
coffee from Olfactory roastery, just can still tick off all the reasons
up the road in Penryn. Even the we love the county – cream teas,
apple juice (highly recommended) is great beaches, cliffs and surf –
from a Cornish vineyard. A short but Falmouth is the third deepest
walk takes you to eateries around natural harbour in the world, and
the docks and marina are home
to naval ships, tall ships, and super
yachts. The university specialises
in arts and creative degrees, and
many of its alumni settle and build
their practice here. Even the plant
life is cosmopolitan, arriving from
We also liked all parts of the globe and nurtured in
the microclimates created by stone-
A university town, Falmouth has
walled plots and mild temperatures.
good bookshops, good beer and
culture out of all proportion to
its size. I made an excellent haul
of second-hand Agatha Christies Double rooms at The Sandy Duck
in Bookmark on Arwenack Street in Falmouth start at £130/night.
and had a wander through the thesandyduck.co.uk

115
A little thoughtfulness goes a long way...

Our thoughtfully curated boxes are a perfect way to

show friends or family that you care and are thinking
of them when you can’t be there.

The letter, which can be as long as you wish, is printed

on beautiful, watermarked paper and makes a
wonderful keepsake.

We are also happy to create bespoke boxes.

Please do visit our website and get in touch

www.friendinabox.co.uk
[email protected]
@friendinaboxuk
 That's
all

iscellany
folks

Spring
n festivities, floristry toolkitss and
nd spotting ladybirds. Plus, hopping frogs and fluttering hankies
nd
d by FRA
Compiled R NCES AMBLER Illustrations KAVEL RAFFERTY

down to a tea towel

Illustrator Zoe
Mingos creates
designs celebrating
British landscapes
–what could be nicer
than looking at an
expanse of bluebells
while drying the
dishes? £12 from
thevillagegreen.online
What to do with...
H A N D K E RCHIE FS

BRICK IN THE WALL

How many five-letter words can you find reading
PRACTICAL: Well,
aside from duty on
than handkerchief
flirting? There’s a
sniffly noses, you could guide to this historic
down the face of our wall? The letters of each word
can only read downwards on touching bricks,
also sew old (clean!) art at newengland.com.
taking just one from each line.
hankies onto ribbon for SILLY:Y A hankie is key
bunting or sew together to many a magic trick.
to make a curtain. We won’t divulge any
PHOTOGRAPHY: ADOBE STOCK; ISTOCK; SHUTTERSTOCK

PLAYFUL: Morris secrets, but should you

dancers know how want your own colour-
Designed by to flutter a hanky: find changing handkerchief,
London street a local side through just say “abracadabra”
artist ESP one of the UK’s three and look up the ‘magic
(and adopted Morris organisations. handkerchief’ tutorial
by Extinction Or what’s more playful on ikatbag.com.
Rebellion 7 years
later) to be easily
understood and
(answers on page 124) reproduced: an a jolly good follow
hourglass within
Finders Keepers
“Alone we can do so little;
the circle of the
earth showing Curated internet trawls for vintage decorative oddities

together we can do so much”

the need for that time forgot, think anything from finger purses
urgent action. to space age ice buckets (jillianlucas.substack.com).
Helen Keller

117
 Track record
G R E E N S L E E V E S What Some say that the lady’s
do you think of when you green sleeves imply
hear Greensleeves? Either: promiscuity (from a bit of
‘Oooh, ice cream!’ Or: ‘Ahhh, action among the grass),
the romantic intrigues of while others argue that it’s
Henry VIII!’ Surprisingly, about the lady taking offence
the two are linked. First, at this implication…
Henry. Some have Henry Perhaps that ambiguity
down as composer, while he has helped it be adapted into
was wooing wife no.2 (of six), many different genres: jazz,
Anne Boleyn. But, although country, ice cream van… The
Henry was into his music and latter come about because
some compositions survive, Mr Whippy founder Dominic
the first written record of Facchino was said to be an
Greensleeves wasn’t until admirer of the Tudors and
some 33 years after Henry’s alighted on Greensleeves as a
death, when ‘A Newe catchy, copyright-free tune to
Northen Dittye Of Ye Ladye play from his vans’ clockwork
PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES

Greene Sleves’ was registered music boxes. It not only

in the official Stationers’ changed the soundtrack of
Company record. Also, it’s
an ‘Italian style’ composition:
not heard on these shores
until Elizabeth I’s reign.
British summertime from
1958 onwards, but also for
those down-under after
Mr Whippy made his
How to...
H E L P WIT H H AY F E V E R
No-one’s nailed down its antipodean debut
meaning over its 444 years. in 1962. We’re in full season for hay roses and foxgloves, rather
fever, or allergic rhinitis, as than those using wind
it’s technically called. While pollination, like the daisy/
there’s no cure, these steps aster family. Keep it off.
³PET CORNER (and talking to your The NHS suggests putting
pharmacist or doctor) may vaseline just inside your
help a little. Have some nostril, and wearing
foresight. Antihistamines wraparound sunglasses.
DOGS IN BLANKETS are most effective if you And get it off. Shower
begin taking them a few and wash clothes (and
weeks ahead of peak. And, animals) once you’re in.
as much as you can, don’t Suck it up. Get a pollen
Daisy, 11, Cocker Spaniel go out when the pollen filter for your car, and check
“I like to be kept abreast on count is high. Avoid hay your vacuum has a HEPA
plans for the month ahead.” while the sun shines. Plants filter. Eat yourself happier.
give off pollen at different Studies show carotenoids
As nominated by Amanda Tanner
times, so gently experiment (in peppers, tomatoes,
with what triggers your sweet potatoes and more)
symptoms. Grass pollen is may offer some protection.
the most common allergy: Quercetin (in berries and

a fo lk si ng er ’s jo b to co m fort dist urbed highest in early mornings red grapes) is also good
‘‘It’s and evenings. Pollen levels for allergies. Then, of

rtable people ”
peak in wind and just after course, there’s the local
people and to dist urb comfo storms. Flower power. In
gardens, look for insect
honey wisdom. Though still
unproven, when it’s that
Woody Guthrie pollinted plants such as tasty, it’s surely worth a try.

118
 Take THREE QUICK-FIRE QUIZ

Got a lotta bottle leftover? These can help you put a stop in it.
1 Which ancient Roman
goddess – associated
with spring and nature –
was celebrated from
28 April to 3 May?
2 Which US city’s famous
‘Welcome’ sign is 65 years old
this year?
3 A 14th-century poem by
Gruffudd ab Adda is the first
written evidence for what
tradition in the UK?
4 Which seasonal flower
was likely also known as
‘mother-die’ as it was so often
RAYOS GREEN SPHERE LEMON AND CHILI CAIRN WINE STOPPERS muddled with hemlock?
Made from marbled resin, Fruity hand-blown glass A set of two from Ferm Living 5 What did Terence Conran
each one is a bit different. designs, available in a set of two. Best for: Natural wine fans? open on Fulham Road,
Best for: Looking a treat on a Best for: Telling bottles apart They’re made from FSC-
Deco-inspired drinks trolley. at a speedy glance. certified ash and cork. London, on 11 May 1964?
£12.50, oliverbonas.com £35, sandralexandra.com £39, goodhoodstore.com (answers on page 124)

³GOOD GAME SUDOKU

Fill the grid so that every column, every row
and every 3x3 box contains 1 to 9

SEAGRASS FLYING DISC

This will run circles around the plastic
versions, made from hand-woven
seagrass and cotton
instead. Help
get the outdoor
games off
to a flying
start. €15,
kikkerlandeu.
com.
(answers on page 124)

119
 R
READE DS
MEN
RECOM

A GOOD READ COLLECTIVE NOUNS

I enjoyed Cloud Atlas so much
I had to stop reading it for
a day as I didn’t want it to
be over. It’s a wild ride from
the 1800s into the distant
future, with
worlds so vivid
it almost feels
like reality.
My favourite
David Mitchell
book so far.
As suggested by Fiona Hamilton
Read a good book you want
to share? Tell us all about it
by emailing thesimplethings@
icebergpress.co.uk

³IT'S IN THE BAG

A p a n d e m o n i u m o f p a r rot s

T ROMAN
TALK LIKE… AN ANCIEN
rs!;
ad fundum: bottom’s up, chee
apage: away with you!; asinus
FLORISTRY
Scissors and secateurs can help with cutting needs, while
a floral knife is a handy tool for clean cuts and thorn
strippers will make short shrift of sharp stuff. You’ll need
ad lyram: ‘an ass to the lyre’, an
t
tape: pot tape is water resistant – as the name suggests,
awkward person; beastia: beas
it attaches things to pots/containers; stemtex is paper-
e);
based and used to bind stems together. Likewise, you’ll
(also, someone who acts like on
want some stub wire for arrangements, and the more
wly’;
delicate reel wire for the likes of corsage. Foam was once
Festina lente: ‘Make haste slo
up)
fucus: seaweed (but also make-
an essential but – as it’s essentially single use plastic –
many florists instead use flower frogs or chicken wire
to position their beautiful blooms in place.

120
 The stories of bees and bugs
T H E S E V E N-SP O T L A DY BIR D

Our relationship with this almost ubiquitous beetle is long and

significant; the name ‘ladybird’ supposedly originates from
cultivators of old who, dismayed by damage caused by aphids,
prayed to the Virgin Mary. The arrival of the beetles that set to work
on the aphids seemed miraculous, leading to the name Beetle of
Our Lady, compressed into ‘lady beetle’ and later ‘ladybird’. Today
it’s a portent of good fortune throughout its extensive global range.
Over summer, local aphid populations are dispatched swiftly by the
hungry, highly efficient larvae as they emerge from their eggs, as
tiny, knobbly, black larva. It’s ideally timed; as summer peaks, so do
Scan to aphid numbers and several generations of ladybirds feast over the
see warmest months. Once the larva is ready to metamorphose, it
more attaches itself to a surface and moults into a hard-shelled pupa –
emerging as a pale, spotless adult; the carnelian red and black
spots develop over a few hours. They spend the rest of the summer
fuelling up in preparation for hibernation.

Edited extract from A Year Of Garden Bees & Bugs by Dominic Couzens and Gail Ashton.
Illustrations by Lesley Buckingham (Batsford)

Heritage
hunter
WORD UP!
Commonly confused phrases and linguistic muddles

Yeondeunghoe, lantern lighting S H O E IN

festival, Republic of Korea Have you ever tried to scare animals away by waving your arms
towards them? If so, you were shooing them away – you might
This festival – which begins on the even have shouted “Shoo!” as you did so. If you thought you were
eighth day of the fourth lunar month, shouting “Shoe!” then you were wrong. It’s from the idea of shooing
so this year on 10 May – originated as animals into something that we get ‘shoo-in’, meaning someone or
a religious festival, linked to the birth something certain to succeed. Before being used more generally,
of the Buddha. It’s now a national a ‘shoo-in’ was the winner of a rigged horse race; the term later lost
holiday, celebrated across religions its connotations of
to mark the start of spring. Temples rigging and simply
and homes hang up lanterns – a came to mean any
symbol of enlightenment. Though horse certain to win
it’s known in English as the ‘lotus – although, clearly, if
lantern festival’ lanterns also take the any certainty existed
shapes of the likes of fish, flowers, in horse-racing, no
ducks and cranes. In Seoul, around one would bet on it.
100,000 lanterns feature in an Taken from Damp Squids & Card Sharks by Robert Anwood (Quadrille). Illustration © Daniel Rieley
elaborate parade in the capital.

121
 Will be
mist
GOOGLE VOX…

+ + = 7.5 out of 10 of us in
the UK have at least one
cup of tea a week.

Store cupboard sums

Hair mist: A treatment for hair that feels dry or damaged.
Place 30ml aloe vera gel and 40ml rosewater (or another
hydrolate/floral water of your choice) in a pan and heat gently.
Add 5ml (1 tsp) organic honey and allow to melt, then add 17% manage to enjoy
5ml glycerin and mix thoroughly. Leave the mixture to cool at least 20 cuppas
and decant into a spray bottle. each week.
Taken from Natural Homemade Beauty by Leoniek Bontje
(Batsford). Available from batsfordbooks.com and all SEEING
SEEING DOUBLE
DOUBLE
good bookshops. Each pair of words shares two middle
letters. The first has been filled in as
an example. Complete the remaining
³SIMPLE YOGA words to find the mystery keyword
reading down the middle.

A BIT OF A stretch
Adapted child’s pose. Good for back and shoulder pain. Increases the opening
across your shoulders. 1 Start kneeling on all fours, legs hip width apart.
’
2 Place two yoga blocks in their lower position under each hand. 3 Adjust
feet so that your big toes are touching, but keep rest of feet and legs apart.
Widen the distance between your knees. 4 Sink back on your heels as
you would do in a standard child’s pose, keeping your hands on the blocks
and letting your head sink down between the blocks to your mat. Hold the
position for five deep breaths. 5 Alternatively, stack the two blocks on top
of each other, and place your elbows there instead. Bring palms together
in a prayer position, while pushing back towards your heel. Hold for the
five breaths. You can also try bringing your hands over your head – still
in the prayer position – and holding them against your back. To increase
the stretch further, gently try moving your elbows forward on the blocks. (answers on page 124)

122
 IDENTIFIER
Pond life
Spotted a damselfly in distress? Or copped a caddisfly? No need to muddy the waters, thanks
to our handy guide there will be no flies on you (they’re all in your pond instead).

Great diving beetle Common toad Azure damselfly

Great in size, at 3cm, and at diving, too – not Known for their epic spring walks (not hops) to Particularly active from May to September, how to
so good at navigation. Flying at night, it often breeding ponds. Worthy of love, warts and all. assure that it’s an azure? The males, true to name,
mistakes wet roads and car roofs for ponds. Orwell agreed, writing an essay in their honour. are pale blue. Females are black and green, though.

Water slater Smooth newt Caddisfly

The water-loving relation of the woodlouse, also Pissed as one and you may be considered legless. Often the model for the fake bait in fly fishing.
known as a ‘hoglouse’. Actually a crustacean, In fact, they’ve four of them and, unlike frogs and Wait with baited breath to see if there’s some in your
so think of it as a mini lobster (just not as tasty). toads, their front pair develops before the back. pond – they’re believed to indicate clean water.

Common darter Pond snail Common frog

Midges and small flies should be on red/orange The UK is home to about 40 water snail species. Enjoys a shallow dip, quickly making themselves
alert, this species’ name comes from their way Far from moving at a snail’s pace, their eggs are at home in urban ponds. On the hop in June
of ambushing their prey in one swift movement. carried to ponds on plants and other animals. and July as froglets begin leaving the water.

These illustrations are the work of artist Valerie Harrison of Rie Designed (riedesigned.co.uk), taken from one of her nature
identification charts, which she sells alongside other wildlife gifts. You can follow her on Instagram @rie_designed.

123
 How hard can it be... Clever thinking
Smart ideas for boosting your brain
T O LIV E L O NG E R

Forever in good genes. They connection with family and

are less of an influence than friends’. And 102-year-old Dr
you may think, responsible Gladys McGarey in The Well-
only for about a third of the Lived
v Life says we need to
factors in getting to 85, says find our ‘juice’, or life’s driving
the USA’s National Institute purpose. (See our August
on Ageing. No secret formula. 2023 issue.) A little of what
Longer living is linked with all you fancy. It worked for the
the stuff we know about: sleep, oldest woman recorded.
a balanced diet, exercise (a Jeanne Calment (who died
daily brisk 15 minutes’ walk can aged 122) would say yes to
lower early death chances by dessert with a port and a
about 20%). And – easier said cigarette. Quality not quantity.
than done – being as stress Even with medical advances, Attention
free as possible. Only connect. we still will age. So, it’s also
‘Blue zones’ (bluezones.com) about increasing the quality
Schedule time for distraction throughout
are places in the world where of longer living. In How Not To your day. Allocate 5 or 10 minutes every
inhabitants live longer. While Get Old,
d Jane Gordon embarks 60 to 90 minutes. You could use the time
some dispute the concept, on challenges like languages, to check messages, scroll social media
their ‘9 power habits’ aren’t dancing and upping strength
only about physical care but and balance. The results are or, more beneficially, go for a walk or call
about staying connected funny but show that some a friend for a chat.
socially and mentally, too. Like hard work is required. And The science: Attention naturally wanes
Maria Branyas Morera, who at finally… At 107,7 Rosella Lamont
after about 30 seconds and your brain has
117 is the world’s oldest person, revealed her secret. It was,
and says it’s aided by ‘good quite simply, “Don’t be daft”. to work very hard to maintain focus. It can’t
keep up that effort for prolonged periods
without a break. Play around with timings

DID YOU KNOW? A snail can have

up to 12,000 until you find what works best for you.
Taken from Brain Gym by Dr Sabina Brennan,

teeth. They’re microscopic (thankfully!) illustrated by Andy Goodman. Available at laurenceking.com

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS
NICE FIND
Sudoku solution

Second-hand shopping Brick in the wall

lover Nancy Cavaliere Blown, braid, brain, brand,

brown, flail, frail, gland, grain,
(@casacavaliere)was in grand, groin, growl, grown.

a New York thrift store Quick-fire quiz

when some $1.99 plates 1. Flora – the festival was

caught her known as floralia; 2. Las Vegas;

3. The Maypole; 4. Cow Parsley;
eye. They 5. (The first) Habitat

turned out Seeing Double

to be Picasso 1. Basket 2. Risked
3. Ghetto 4. Poetry 5. Orchid
originals, 6. Anchor 7. Nobody 8. Reboot
later selling 9. Broken 10. Smoker
Mystery keyword: Sketchbook
Puzzles provided by Lovatts Crosswords
& Puzzles (lovattspuzzles.com)
for about £27K.

124
 JUNE ISSUE

DABBLE
Gathering Wisdom Gardens
A picnic and a paddle Green goddesses How to harness the sun

Ideas Cake swap! Wearing well

The joy of a simple shelter Your best hand-me-down recipes Why we love a beach bag

IF YOU ENJOYED THIS ISSUE…

… you can buy the next one at picsandink.com from 29 May 2024
If you really liked it, might we suggest a subscription delivered to your door? – see page 100

ON SALE 29 MAY 2024

PHOTOGRAPHY: ALI ALLEN; REBECCA LEWIS

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 PLAYLIST

Soundtrack to May
FOLK

Detectorists Johnny Flynn

Old Ladies Lament Rachel Sermanni
Pleasant Month Of May Lisa Knapp
Hares On the Mountain Shirley Collins, Davy Graham
Plaisir D’Amour Joan Baez
Woodcat Tunng
Hen Garol Haf Cerys Hafana
Magpie The Unthanks
Long For Light Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening
Blossom: A CV LYR
Early Mornin’ Rain Peter, Paul & Mary
Silver Dagger The Staves
Unknown African Boy (d.1830) Angeline Morrison
Helplessly Hoping Crosby, Stills & Nash
The Garden Of England (Seeds Of Love) Sam Lee, Bernard Butler

DJ: FRANCES AMBLER. IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK

Master Crowley’s Lankum
Canadee–I–O Nic Jones

Take a listen at thesimplethings.com/blog/folkplaylist

stop
look ‘‘Twas in the pleasant month of May in the springtime of the year.
listen And down by yonder meadow there runs a river clear,
See how the little fishes how they do sport and play
Causing many a lad and many a lass to go there a-making hay.”

126
 CU
A N DT O U T
KEE
FOOD TO SHARE P

Too good to keep to ourselves. Try it and pass it on

Spiced honey
scotch bonnet
ham with
pineapple rice
Inspired by the spices used


in Caribbean dishes, this

rich and sticky celebration
ham makes a tasty spring
Sunday roast. »

127
 Spiced honey scotch bonnet ham
with pineapple rice

Serves 7-8 the cooking water – you’ll need

2.5kg unsmoked or smoked boned 650ml, so top it up if needed.
and rolled gammon joint 3 Preheat the oven to 220C/Fan
1 onion, halved 200C/Gas 7. Using a knife, remove
1 carrot, roughly chopped the ham skin, then score the fat.
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped 4 For the glaze, blitz all the
1 fresh bay leaf ingredients in a food processor
1 scotch bonnet chilli, halved until smooth. Brush half over the
½ bunch of thyme, tied together ham and roast for 15 mins. Brush
FOR THE GLAZE: again with the remaining glaze
½ tsp allspice and roast for a further 10–15 mins.
1 tsp dried thyme Leave to rest, but keep the oven on.
½ tsp ground cinnamon 5 For the rice, heat the butter in an
½ tsp ground cloves ovenproof pan. Add the onion and
100g clear runny honey a pinch of salt and fry gently for
½ scotch bonnet chilli 15 mins. Add the garlic granules,
50g pineapple, peeled and cubed allspice and dried thyme, and
1 tbsp vegetable oil cook for 1 min more. Stir through
FOR THE RICE: the rice, pineapple and kidney
80g unsalted butter beans, then pour over the reserved
1 onion, finely chopped ham stock and bring to a simmer.
1 tsp garlic granules 6 Once simmering, cover and
1½ tsp allspice transfer to the oven for 20 mins,
2 tsp dried thyme then remove from the oven and
400g long-grain rice leave the lid on for 10 mins. Fluff
300g pineapple, cubed the rice, stir through the spring
2×400g tins kidney beans, drained onions and season with salt.
4 spring onions, finely sliced 7 Slice the ham and serve it
alongside the pineapple rice.
1 Place the ham in a deep pan and Cook’s note: Bring the ham to
add the veg, chilli and herbs. Cover room temp 2 hours before cooking
with cold water and bring to the to help it cook more evenly. It’ll
boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
cook gently for 1hr 40 mins. Turn
off the heat and leave for 30 mins.
Taken from The Modern Spice Rack
2 Line a roasting tin with foil, add by Esther Clark and Rachel Walker


the ham and leave to cool. Retain (Hardie Grant). Photography: Matt Russell

128
GETTING IN TOUCH WHERE WAS THAT?
[email protected] Good things to eat and drink Shop: Objects Of Use 104 Home tour 84
020 3950 1835 Whitsun gathering 6 Maker: shopfront art 105 Wishlist 102
thesimplethings.com Baklava flapjacks 19 Falmouth B&B break 114 Plants for free 108
Visit our blog, sign up for our Meadow picnic 34 On display 110
newsletter and listen to our podcast Hibiscus rum punch 58 Feeling better What I treasure 113
Pizza piazza 61 Poem 44
The Simple Things Scotch bonnet ham 127 Sorry, not sorry! 48 Proudly homemade
Iceberg Press Lessons from the earth 59 Beltane smoke wand 23
The Old Bakery Good people & places Playlist 126 Heart-on-sleeve patch 94
3b Hoskins Road Modern folk dancing 14 Bedtime story 130 Homemade hair mist 122
Oxted My day in cups of tea 20
Surrey RH8 9HT My City: Vilnius 26 The comfort of things … and more
Magical blue tits 31 Bows 50 Could-do list 3
Poet Simon Armitage 42 Taking a coddiwomple 52 May almanac 22
/THESIMPLETHINGSMAG
Good news 74 Bloomsbury gardens 68 Miscellany 117
/SIMPLETHINGSMAG Mindful fisherwoman 80 Square-metre safari 76 Treasures 132
/SIMPLETHINGSMAG Sheds of character 96 Forget-me-nots 83

/SIMPLETHINGS

MEET THE TEAM

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Iona Bower Commissioning Editor Subscription Manager
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Jo Mattock
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Louise Gorrod
May

Co-founders
David Parker, Guy Foreman, Lisa Sykes
icebergpress.co.uk

The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press, printed by William Gibbons and distributed by
Seymour. We print on chlorine-free paper and our subscription copies are wrapped in paper, which
FOLK
Maypole cake & buttercup meadow picnics • The magic of nightingales
Spring greens pizza • Sheds of character • Garden like the Bloomsbury Set can be recycled. © Iceberg Press Limited 2024. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may
Square-metre safari • How to stop saying sorry • Taking a coddiwomple

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AT HAMILTON WESTON WALLPAPERS

 BEDTIME STORY

R IV E R M AG I C

A short story by LIBBY PAGE

illow went down to the river in

search of magic. Her whole life her
grandmother had told her stories
about the water, tales of kingfishers
and otters, sprites and full moons
that gave those who swam beneath
it courage and wisdom. At least that’s what her grandmother
always claimed, laughing her infectious chuckle that was
almost a cackle.
As a child, Willow delighted in these stories but quickly
grew to realise they were just that: stories. However, at
35 and one week after her grandmother’s funeral, Willow
found herself wanting to find the river magic of her
childhood again.
She left the house while her husband and daughter
were still sleeping, scribbling a note to tell them that she’d
be back in time for the school run. It felt strange to step
outside while the sun was still rising, the village quiet
and the air smelling of cut grass and roses from the garden. “Ahh, this is wonderful,” said Sam as she slipped into
It was quiet down by the river. As Willow stepped the river, letting out a happy sigh. “I’ve been meaning to
through the long grass and the bluebells she listened come down here for ages. I’ve heard people rave about the
to the sound of the bubbling water and thought that magic of wild swimming. I thought I should give it a try.
she could hear her grandmother’s laugh. Because who doesn’t want a bit of magic in their life?”
“Oh, hello,” she said as she realised suddenly that she Willow was inclined to agree as she turned onto her
wasn’t alone, spotting a woman a little older than her back to float for a moment, looking up at the trees that
spreading a towel on the riverbank. bowed their branches over the water. There was still part
“Hello to you too. Here for a swim?” of her that hoped to see some sign from her grandmother
The woman wore a swimming costume and – a voice or the splash of an otter or perhaps even one of
a friendly smile. the sprites that she always told stories about. It was hard
“Yes, but I don’t want to disturb you if you’d rather not to feel disappointed despite the beautiful morning.
swim alone.” After their swim they clambered out, holding onto
“Of course not. It’s nice to have company. It’s my each other to prevent them from slipping in the mud.
first time. Are you a regular?” Sam passed Willow her Thermos to share, the steaming
Willow pulled out her own stripy beach towel. “I hot tea immediately warming her bones. “Flapjack?”
came here a lot as a child but I haven’t been back in Willow asked in return, breaking her homemade slice
years. My grandmother swam here every day for more in half and handing the bigger piece to Sam.
than fifty years.” They sat side by side in companionable silence, the
“Wow,” replied the other woman, looking impressed. sun warm on their faces as the river flowed before them.
“I’m Sam, by the way.” “Same time tomorrow?” Sam asked with a smile. And
ILLUSTRATION: LARA PAULUSSEN

Sam waited as Willow got ready and the two women Willow smiled back at her new friend, realising that she
walked down the bank to the river side by side. As the had found a type of magic at the river after all.
cool water lapped against Willow’s toes she tried hard
not to cry out, partly at the cold and partly at the memory
Libby Page heads back into the water in the follow-up to
of her grandmother. Feeling the river against her skin
her best-selling The Lido, with the feel-good, life-affirming
made her feel closer to her, imagining her taking these The Lifeline (Orion) as a local river-swimming group embraces
same steps into the water every morning. new friendships and a comforting sense of community.

130
 M AINTENANCE FR EE
GAR DEN FUR NITUR E
Inspiring people to enjoy more time
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 Treasures: No 3
Salt: A not-so-secret ingredient, able
to transform taste with only a sprinkle.
Worthy of show, then, rather than hiding
away; every grain truly worth its salt.

ISSUE 143 • MAY 2024 • PRINTED IN THE UK

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