Table of contents for January 2020 in The Simple Things

Clean money The European Investment Bank has pledged to phase out its multibillion-euro funding of fossil fuel projects over the next two years. After 2021, the EU’s lending arm will no longer bankroll coal, oil or gas projects, and will instead make lending decisions that are in line with the Paris climate accord. It’s part of a wider European strategy to be carbon neutral by 2050. Women in space Electrical engineer Christina Koch and Dr Jessica Meir, both Nasa astronauts, completed the first all-female spacewalk in October. The two women repaired a power control panel on the International Space Station, which took seven hours. Earlier in 2019, a similar mission involving Koch and astronaut Anne McClain was called off after it was discovered that there was no medium-sized spacesuit available.…

People love to moan about where they grew up. Especially those of us who left our home towns to study, for work, for love or just to see more of the world (sometimes all of the above). And when we go back to visit family, we spend our time, not exploring them as they are now but sitting in our parents’ homes while they fill us in on schoolfriends we can barely remember, housing developments and hospital closures. How much better to see these places we once knew so intimately, with fresh eyes. If you stayed, seeing the changes unfold as your own life moved on, it’s less a journey of re-discovery and more a reminder to enjoy what’s on your doorstep. For others who’ve moved ‘back home’, there’s a…

* There’s no better way to get to the heart of a city than through the people who live there. Every month we ask someone, clearly in love with their city, to take us on a personal tour and tell us what makes it so special. You may feel inspired to visit one day or to rediscover the charms of a city closer to you, but for now just sit back, relax and enjoy some armchair travel. How long have you lived in the city? I’m Singaporean born and bred. I’ve lived here 35 years. I really can’t think of anywhere else I’d call home. Tell us what makes your city unique Its diversity is something I’ve grown to appreciate the more I’ve travelled – so many nationalities and ethnicities…

1. See a show in the West End 2 Eat macarons at Ladurée in Paris 3 Start a business 4 Read some Persephone books 5 Take a trip to Brighton 6 Create a fabric with my 7 daughter Go on a big bike ride 8 Create a sketchbook 9 Make a seating area in our garden 10 Do more sewing 11 12 Go Eat mudlarking ice-cream at Fortnum & Mason 13 Watch a film at The Regal in Evesham 14 15 Buy Go back shoes to at Irregular favourite Choice restaurant my 16 17 Choose Grow a a cutting new perfume garden 18 Learn to cook a new dish 19 Make marmalade and/or jam 20 Take the family to Disneyland Paris 21 Make a wooden spoon 22 Go fossil hunting…

Lauren Bravo is a self-confessed clothing addict, endlessly scrolling online boutiques. Viewing her overstuffed wardrobe and realising all that mindless purchasing wasn’t making her happy, she made a decision to stop shopping for a year. In her newly free time she began researching fashion effects on the planet and on her own well-being, and the resulting reflection made her change her ways. This inspiring, sparky book offers “a guilt-free guide” to getting the most from your clothes – Lauren recommends using charity shops, (as a donator and as a shopper), getting on board with de-cluttering, buying better and mending more. (Headline Home)…

After the feasting of the festive season, January brings new beginnings and a chance to make changes. If you’re cutting down on meat and dairy, this vegan menu for six is a good way to start. Nothing is too tricky or too technical, if you’re new to plant-based cooking, and when the food’s this tasty, you won’t feel there’s anything missing. From robust winter vegetables that will fill you up, to Egyptian spices that add an extra dimension to your dinner – not to mention an indulgent dairy-free cake – this is a meal that puts plant-based ingredients at its heart. So gather round the table and tuck in. » Beetroot-topped seed crackers with dukkah This rich-red hummus brings warm colours and earthy flavours to an easy starter FOR THE…

The Zandra Rhodes CV 1940 Born in Chatham, Kent 1965 Graduates from the Royal College of Art 1969 Begins her own fashion label and launches first collection. Travels to the United States 1972 Named Designer of the Year 1997 Awarded CBE 2000 Creates costumes for San Diego Opera’s production of The Magic Flute. Costumes for the likes of English National Opera and San Francisco Grand Opera follow 2003 Fashion and Textile Museum opens in London 2014 Becomes Dame Zandra 2016 Creates prints for fashion labels Valentino and Anna Sui 2019 Barbra Streisand plays Hyde Park, resplendent in a Zandra Rhodes ensemble. The exhibition Zandra Rhodes 50 Years of Fabulous opens at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum and an accompanying book is published…

How many people definitely know what they want to do aged 21? “University careers advice was terrible when I graduated in 2000,” says Tanya de Grunwald, “and it’s not much better now. Unless you want to be a doctor or a lawyer, or join a big corporate graduate scheme, you’re on your own.” Tanya felt so strongly she decided to write a guide for ‘baffled graduates’ called Dude, Where’s my Career? That was back in 2008. Careers blog Graduate Fog followed, and Tanya has spent the past decade or so highlighting graduate issues – dominated by her campaign work against unpaid internships. When Tanya first started writing about them, there was little information in the public eye about these schemes of free labour disguised as work experience. She soon realised…

COOL SHOPS Lower rents make for indie businesses and distinctive shopfronts. Seek out and support the bookshops, craft spaces, florists, homeware and hardware stores that go that extra mile I-SPY 10 points STREET FOOD & DRINK Where there was once a dodgy burger van there could now be a coffee-to-go truck or pop-up street food stands. Points also for farmers markets, and food festivals. I-SPY10 points ALLOTMENTS Nowhere exhibits civic pride more than a patch of allotments. Always a mix of cultures and backgrounds and a hotbed of innovation. And these days – usually full. I-SPY 5 points WATERFRONT Most towns grew up on a river bend or crossing place, or on the coast at a safe harbour. Later came canals and docks and, after their long decline, their history…

• People called ‘Margaret’ win Bingo more often than any other name. • Around 80% of Bingo players are women (mostly called Margaret presumably). • Bingo is most popular in Scotland, where one in five people say they play as opposed to one in 20 in England. • The biggest Bingo win in the UK was at Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales where Christine Bradfield won just over £1.1 million. • There are thought to be 552,44 6,474,061,128,648,601,600,000 winning combinations on any one Bingo card. So, Scottish women called Margaret, living in Wales, with a head for maths: get down your local Bingo hall this weekend!…

Favourite shop BOOKS ACTUALLY I want to buy something, anything, every time I walk in. Ask the friendly staff for recommendations for good Singaporean literature. booksactuallyshop.com Favourite gallery LEE KONG CHIAN NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM It’s fascinating to see how much nature we have around Singapore. Plus the sperm whale skeleton that washed up locally in 2015. lkcnhm.nus.edu.sg Favourite bar HOSPODA MICROBREWERY This tiny outlet serves simple but great Czech beers. It’s not too pricey and never crowded. 180 Albert St, #01-19 Favourite restaurant MELLBEN SEAFOOD RESTAURANT I love the savoury goodness of the claypot crab bee hoon soup. 232 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, #01-1222 Favourite market EAST COAST LAGOON FOOD VILLAGE A hawker centre by the beach with great food, including the famous Singaporean chilli crab and black pepper…

In the UK, we don’t generally like talking about money. We make positive choices to buy Fairtrade or organic, yet we’re often unaware of how our current account or electricity supplier might climate change or social inequality. For decades, the mainstream banks in particular have benefitted from a lack of accountability, using the money we deposit and the interest we generate for investments that benefit their bottom line and keep shareholders happy. We don’t choose where this money goes, the bank does. And while it’s sometimes used for good, such as investment in new technologies, it’s often used in areas we would never consciously support: fossil fuels, mining, tobacco and nuclear weapons. The banks don’t shout about this and we, typically, don’t ask. According to research from ethical bank Triodos…

I was working on a charity campaign about hunger, and to raise money and awareness, I decided to live on wartime rations for 40 days. I chose rations partly for the victory rolls and jaunty headscarves, but also because in the Second World War, Britain faced real scarcity. I wanted to connect with the reality of scarcity, since I’d never experienced it. I also knew that rations worked. They were boring, but nutritious. By 1943, Britain was eating a homegrown diet, seeing us through the war and beyond. So, armed with recipes and a stiff upper lip, I prepared to feel hungry and find interesting things to do with potatoes. I did feel hungry, and I got bored of potatoes. A particularly dark day was Spam Fritters Day. Tinned food…

• Vintage fabrics don’t have to be confined to just curtains or cushions. Lace on walls gives texture to a room and can even be used in the bathroom. • Don’t be afraid to repurpose antiques, for example, an old dressing screen found in a brocante in Northern France has been cleverly used as an elegant headboard for Helen’s spare room. • In an older property, vintage chandeliers can add drama and give a room a more feminine look. • If some of your upholstery is looking more shabby than chic, rather than buying new, either embrace the ragged edges or get it reupholstered, which will often be cheaper than buying a new piece of furniture of the same quality.…

Subtitled ‘23 spellbinding ways to make nature more visible’, Simon Barnes is determined to help us all appreciate the wonders of the natural world. The advice in this book is easy and affordable – simply head outside, pick a spot and sit still for a while and wait for insects, birds and small mammals to appear in your eyeline. You could enhance the experience by buying binoculars, a moth trap or a butterfly-attracting Buddleia, but you could also just learn to recognise the songs of regional birds hidden in the treetops, decipher the tracks of deer and fox and look out for bats at dusk when summer finally rolls round. Let the wild rumpus begin. (Simon & Schuster)…

Somewhere in My Heart Aztec Camera I Don’t Want a Lover Texas Geraldine Glasvegas Don’t Talk to Me About Love Altered Images Movin‘ on Up Primal Scream I Can’t Help Myself Orange Juice French Navy Camera Obscura Dignity Deacon Blue Just Like Honey The Jesus and Mary Chain Sparky’s Dream Teenage Fanclub Smile The Supernaturals The Dark of the Matinée Franz Ferdinand Don’t You (Forget About Me) Simple Minds Sunshine on Leith The Proclaimers thesimplethings.com/blog/scottishplaylist *With apologies to all the great bands that we didn’t have space to include stop look listen A dram and a dance for Burns Night on 25 January…

DAL BELLO Prosecco Doc Treviso Extra Dry, £13.90 Who doesn’t like to start the meal with the palate cleansing fine bubbles of a prosecco. Floral notes and a light citrus tang make this a perfect wine to go with beetroot and dukkah and will bring your guests to the table. LA GIARETTA Valpolicella Volpare 2018, £17 A lighter style of red wine from Italy, this wine will not overpower the various flavours going on throughout the menu, instead complimenting it with crunchy red fruits and supple summer berries. DOMAINE DES BERNARDINS, Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2018, £13.50 When served chilled this sweet wine really refreshes the palate. With aromas of fresh grape and citrus notes, this will spar beautifully with the richness of the cake and make it feel…

Wellness can sometimes feel like a complicated, expensive and time-consuming goal when actually the things that make a proper and lasting difference are really quite simple. Think how much better you feel after a good night’s sleep, a morning walk or a catch-up with a friend. All seemingly straightforward occupations, but often neglected in our busy lives when they are actually the best prevention and remedy for stress, illness, lethargy and low mood. At this time of year we’re often persuaded to try the latest diet or exercise trend or to make a list of resolutions to overhaul our lives. However, there is a simpler approach: going back to doing the basics and doing them well. It’s also worth remembering that if you want to make changes, the key to…

SHARP AND SWEET From the gloom of a British kitchen in January glows one saving grace – citrus. These globes of golden orange, sunshine yellow, bright green and pretty pink are at their best in winter and hold a whole summer’s worth of Mediterranean sun turned to sharp and sweet juice. Clementines have been in season since November, reaching their peak of perfection a little ahead of their stint as one of the scents of Christmas. However, the new year welcomes the brief but glorious season of blood oranges, with their stained-glass colours, honeyed mandarins, and Seville oranges, made for steaming up kitchens with the fug of bubbling marmalade. All other citrus fruit are at their best now too, picked before the harshest of the Mediterranean weather comes along, then…

There are days when you are a hostage to your tights. A familiar sinking feeling descends as you stride out only to find them creeping inexorably towards the pavement, the gusset dropping, your knees resembling an elephant’s in their bagginess. As you make the inevitable stop-off at Boots to buy an alternative pair, you may curse this item of clothing. On such days, it is worth remembering that there was a time when tights weren’t even an option. Pre-1960s, women had to assemble a cumbersome duo of ladder-prone American Tan stockings and suspender belt to cover their legs. This assembly of clips and straps not only created a lumpy outline, but the suspender clips had a tendency to ping open, and thighs were left chilly. An American weaving mill owner,…

Pot roast Indian-spiced chicken Spices, sweet potato and the richness of ginger and coconut combine for a new take on a chicken dinner Pot roast Indian-spiced chicken Serves 6 FOR THE SPICE PASTE: 1 tsp black mustard seeds 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp garam masala ½ tsp ground turmeric ¼ tsp ground cinnamon 2 red chillies, halved and deseeded 3 garlic cloves, finely grated 2cm ginger, peeled and chopped 2 tbsp malt vinegar 1 tbsp groundnut oil FOR THE CHICKEN: 1.8kg chicken 1 tbsp groundnut oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, finely grated 2cm ginger, peeled and grated 400g can of cherry tomatoes 1 tsp soft light brown sugar 400g can of coconut cream 400g sweet potatoes, scrubbed,…

How can I ensure that my TV doesn’t dominate my space? Stylists take pains in upmarket interiors shoots to avoid showing TV sets, yet the fact remains that most of us do have one and it has to go somewhere. The best approach is usually to hide it in plain sight. Placing a TV set against a dark or even black backdrop is one clever way of making it pretty much invisible when it’s switched off, and with black walls moving firmly from ‘teen goth bedroom’ territory into the ‘chic interiors’ camp, this could be a canny design move as well. Alternatively, distract the eye by nestling the TV among books and ornaments on top of a unit, or surrounded by artworks if it’s wall-mounted. Purpose-built TV cabinets are notoriously…

NUMBER 9 DOCTOR’S ORDERS During the Second World War doctors used to give soldiers a laxative that would flush almost any bug through your system. It was known as number 9 as it was ninth in the Field Medical Planner. 57 HEINZ VARIETIES For the number of varieties of pickle Heinz claimed to make in their slogan. There were actually never 57 varieties. 7 AND 6, 76 (THE RESPONSE IS: ‘WAS SHE WORTH IT?’) Refers to the cost of a marriage licence (7 shillings and sixpence) before decimalisation. 8 AND 0 GANDHI’S BREAKFAST Apparently Gandhi always skipped breakfast, so he ‘ate nothing’. Groan. *This call changes according to who the Prime Minister is at the time. Bingo call correct at time of going to press.…

Home is Here, Now After Philip Larkin Vicki Feaver Home is here now at this table with its gouged and scratched wood where I’m peeling an orange – the spray from the zest sending shivers up my nose, and the bright rind falling in a long curl. It’s the quiet time at the end of the day: no bird song, no wind; just my in-and-out breaths and the faint tearing of pith parting from flesh. About the author Vicki Feaver was born in Nottingham in 1943 and, by the age of 11, she knew that she wanted to be a poet. The collection I Want! I Want! describes how she slowly found her voice and now, keenly aware of the frailty of her body and memory, how she longs to…

Crowd funding As its name suggests, this is about raising small amounts of money from a large group of people, via the internet. At its simplest, individuals can post a request for money, to fund anything from medical procedures to new headphones, and wait for compassionate givers to do the rest. Some crowd-funding platforms, such as Kickstarter, specialise in tech and creative projects. Crowdfunder, a UK platform, has raised over £60m for start-ups, charities, community groups and sports clubs to date. Effective altruism Effective altruism funds pool hundreds of donations, and are managed by experts who find the highest impact organisations to make grants to, which are often not open to individual donors. You might like to go a step further and join a community of effective givers. Giving What…

Hellebores The garden may be looking a little sparse, meanwhile hellebores not only give a pop of colour outside, their pretty pink, warming red and bright white petals can bring much needed winter hues indoors, too. Surprisingly frost resistant, these plucky plants also have a dark side with medieval tales telling of witches using them to summon demons and to help them fly. All very His Dark Materials.…

Bright and breezy, this novel recipe book abandons the traditional wordy format for a more graphic approach. There are little pictures of essential ingredients, accompanied by the amount needed and arrow signs to indicate what should be added and when, as well as the pots, pans, cooking temperatures and times. There are main meals – rib-eye roast with pesto potatoes, red curry chicken in coconut milk, and lovely leek and emmental gratin. There are breads of all kinds, from tear and share scamorz to tomato focaccia. For pudding, get baking lemon bars, chocolate pear loaf or pineapple upside down cake. (HarperDesign)…

When Kirsty Thomas discovered that many children go to school without the art tools they need and were being put off pursuing creative careers, she immediately set to work trying to change it. The former teacher created kits (art, design, ceramics, textiles or photography), that you can purchase and are then delivered to an aspiring creative on your behalf. Kirsty also invited some of the UK’s most exciting artists and illustrators to join the project by designing prints to sell in the Make Bank’s shop.themakebank.org.uk…

ANDREA GROSU, Kent “I’ve always felt a really strong connection with plants and I have to thank my parents for that. Growing up in the Romanian countryside you learn a lot about medicinal plants, foraging for mushrooms in the forest, growing your own vegetables and how to care for your flower garden, so my parents made sure I knew my way around any kind of plant. Plants are now one of the first topics me and my mother talk about when I call her. She really loves the updates, especially if any of my plants are flowering. “I started collecting properly two years ago when I moved into an apartment with big west-facing windows. I have about 100 plants now and they do take up a lot of space, so…

For most of us, a trip to Scotland means taking a few days off and why not when you can leave all thoughts of real life behind and find yourself in a world of glens, burns, heather and pine forests? Glen Dye in Aberdeenshire has them all in abundance, along with creature comforts in its four cottages and cabins. If you live in southern England, the Highlander Caledonian Sleeper to Aberdeen, or the Lowlander to Edinburgh, make the journey part of the trip (there’s something special about travelling through the night, and the new mattresses on board are super comfy) and then it’s a glorious drive to the Grampians either way. From Aberdeen it’s only 45 minutes to Glen Dye, whereas the route from Edinburgh will take you via Scone…

“Urban regeneration,” they called it. Walking to work, Eva was disconcerted by the laminated plans stapled to lampposts, the brash billboards boasting of apartments, offices, a shopping mall. Eva pictured it, a bland, bulky edifice dropping down like a giant’s boot among the small shops and salons. She unlocked the door of the café. The curtains patterned with fruit and foliage never failed to make her smile. She placed clean silver teaspoons in a bowl on the counter, checked that every table had napkins, sugar cubes and a jam jar with fresh flowers, then turned over the hand-painted sign at the door. ‘Oranges & Lemons. Come in, we’re open!’ Customers’ conversations were dominated by the changes to come. Mr MacNeil fretted about increased traffic. The library would close, Mrs Spencer…