Table of contents for May 2019 in The Simple Things

Morning! How do you like to start your day? It’s a bit of a family ritual. Normally at around 7am, when the boys have woken us, either me or my husband heads downstairs and makes an English breakfast tea. If time allows, we enjoy our tea in bed with our two boys – a moment of calm before the day begins. And how do you like your tea? Strong with a good splash of milk. I can’t stand weak, milky tea – my mum drinks it like that and I never allow her to make me a cuppa! Tell us a bit about what you do. I’m a floral artist and creative, with a focus on working with dried flowers. Everything from running workshops to creating content for brands and,…

* 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 vicarious travel. How long have you lived in the city? I’ve lived in Hamburg for six years. I grew up just outside the city and as a child we visited a lot. Once I finished school, I moved to Hamburg to study. Tell us what makes your city unique. Hamburg is a historic port city,…

1973 Born in South Korea followed by a brother four years later 1992 Watches and is inspired by the film A River Runs Through It 1995 Works as an interpreter and has an audience with the Dalai Lama in India 1996 Travels to Europe for the first time 2000 Ordained as a monk in Korea and works in master’s temple, Bulkwang-sa 2003-4 Lives in China and Japan for language study and PhD research 2012 Publishes Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down in Korea 2014 Reaches one million Twitter followers 2015 Opens the School of Broken Hearts in Seoul; and in Busan, 2018 2019 Publishes Love for Imperfect Things in English…

Barley Wood Walled Garden, Somerset. Feast on fruit and veg organically grown and served up at restaurant The Ethicurean, in a former glasshouse (walledgarden.co.uk). Calke Abbey, Derbyshire. Once had such a good yield that surplus produce was taken to market (nationaltrust.org.uk). Croome Court, Worcestershire. Hard hat on, walk along the 35 metre-long tunnel, once part of the glasshouse heating system (nationaltrust.org.uk). The Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall. More than 300 varieties of fruit, vegetable and herbs are cultivated here, many of which are heritage strains (heligan.com). Mottisfont, Hampshire. As well as holding the National Collection of old-fashioned roses, this property features a newly created walled kitchen garden (nationaltrust.org.uk). Osborne House, Isle of Wight. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are said to have taught their children how to grow vegetables in…

To most people, threatened wildlife conjours up pictures of gorillas, tigers and rhinos – exotic wildlife in far-flung places. But the truth is that in many countries hundreds of domestic species are fighting a losing battle for survival in our own backyards. These beautiful posters were created to highlight 50 endangered species in the US states they call home. “Humans are responsible for 99 per cent of those at risk, according to The Center for Biological Diversity,” said Luke Doyle from NeoMam Studios, who helped devise the project. It is hoped that it will start conversations about lesser-known animals, birds and insects, not just the iconic species often featured on nature documentaries. See the full set at netcredit.com/blog/ illustrated-tributeto-the-most-endangered-wildlife-in-every-us-state/ This piece first appeared in Positive News no 97. (positive.news)…

Dandelion The dent-de-lion (meaning lion’s tooth in French), despite its cheery yellow flowers and many uses as a herb, is sadly still thought of as a weed. Although largely by old-school gardeners striving for a manicured green lawn. Celebrate this humble plant by arranging a few stems and admiring a dandelion clock, whose tiny parachutes carries seed heads to disperse in the wind.…

The sun may be shining but is a light coat enough to keep a potential drop in temperature at bay? No. What you need is a sleeveless jumper. This can be pulled on over a blouse or long-sleeved T-shirt, displaying contrasting coloured sleeves or interesting cuffs, say, while it keeps your top half toasty. It is also a key element when achieving a ‘layered look’, as so often advocated by fashion magazines. You may well know this garment as a ‘tank top’, especially if you are of a certain vintage. Worn extensively in the 1970s with bell-bottom trousers and shirts with extravagant sleeves and wide collars, it came patterned with stars, stripes and, weirdly, cartoon characters. This silhouette of tight upper half, loose lower was also favoured by Northern soul…

An anonymous hand puts a quarter in the jukebox. Click, whir, needle drop. The Righteous Brothers’ ‘You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ prompts Tom Cruise to rise from the bar, sling his bomber jacket over his shoulder, and make for the sound source. Whereupon Kelly McGillis quietly sidles in and Top Gun reaches its denouement. Had the scene played out with McGillis tinnily blaring “You never close your eyes anymore...” from her phone, it might just have lacked a certain something. What is it about jukeboxes? “It’s an event,” says Chris Black. “The lights, the theatre of seeing a record being lifted, put on the turntable, the needle coming across; it frames the music.” As MD of jukebox purveyors Sound Leisure, he knows a thing or two about such matters. “It’s…

1 Make Dig around in charity shops, at jumble sales or in the back of your granny’s cupboards for old lace tablecloths or pieces of antique lace. These can be cleverly repurposed as net curtains, especially on smaller windows in a kitchen or in a downstairs loo, where privacy is something of a must. Stitch several together for greater coverage. Loop on to a curtain pole with ribbons attached at regular intervals along the top edge of the fabric. 2 Buy Voile is the modern version of the heavier, dust-gathering net curtains. The word is taken from the French for veil and, like a veil, its gauzy, semi-transparent nature lets light in while protecting your privacy. Made from sheer cotton or man-made fibre, it also blows around attractively in a…

HEAR BIRDS International Dawn Chorus Day has us thinking… Can you imagine spring mornings without birdsong? To highlight the decline in our wild songbirds, the RSPB has released ‘Let Nature Sing’, a meditative single of pure birdsong to download. rspb.org.uk Allow yourself time to get absorbed in something you really love over the long weekend, be it a long bike ride or a sewing project, and you’ll boost your mood and productivity for the week ahead. NURSERY SCHOOL It’s half term at the end of this month and garden centres around the UK are holding special events and offers as part of National Children’s Gardening Week. We find giving them their own patch or pots is a good motivator to help (OK, and maybe a promise of ice-cream). childrensgardeningweek.co.uk “The…

“Everything has its season,” says Grandpots. “Everything has its time.” He has his glasses up over his forehead and sad eyes so I know that he’s talking about something Important. Most of the time he smiles. The rest of the time he picks his ears and appears baffled. I nod wisely and look at the seed packets in his hands, some packets new with pictures bright, others dog-eared and faded. Seeds and stalks and tubers and seedlings go into the soil and out come wormy twisty earthy bird-pecked slug-gnawed fruits and vegetables. Brought home by us in a carrier bag. Frowned at by Mum. Everything we grow has a proper name, a variety, F1 Brigitte, Golden Globe, Maestro. But when Grandpots collects seeds he likes to rename them after his…

Foraged crops are free, abundant and flavourful. All you need do is get yourself to a good spot at the right time, basket and secateurs in hand, and you have some of the best crops available. Through the foraging seasons of spring, summer and autumn, we’ll show you where to find these crops, how to pick them, and ways to turn them into delicious dishes. THE MONTH OF MAY Trees hedgerows are greening up blossom and flowers are appearing in abundance, as spring comes to a head. There is pollination and fruiting on the horizon, but right now is all about the flowers, and some of the great clouds of white that billow from the hedgerow are edible, including the delicious delicacy that is elderflower. It is the very taste…

Fridge pleaser The Community Fridge Network was founded in 2017. Its fridges provide a place for residents and businesses to donate surplus food, which is available for anybody who needs it to take for free. Environmental charity Hubbub, the organisation behind the network, has already launched 50 since 2017 and aims to support the opening of a further 50 by the end of 2020. Farming’s future? Europe could be farmed entirely using agroecological approaches such as organic and still feed a growing population – as long as diets shift to being more plant-based, says European thinktank IDDRI. Its Ten Years for Agroecology report shows that pesticides could be phased out and greenhouse gas emissions radically reduced. This approach to farming puts ‘ecological principles first, chemicals last’. Pre-loved boom According to the…

There are people, and I am most definitely one of them, who find islands somehow irresistible. The mere knowledge that they are on a little world surrounded by the sea fills them with an indescribable intoxication. Islands have been the setting for both great literary works and world-changing scientific discovery. So what is it about them that touches our psyche so deeply? I think the answer is different for each of us. Maybe it’s because they are whole, delineated and fathomable entities – some can even be walked around in a day. Perhaps we also look to places on the periphery for escape, inspiration, and freedom. The values of island life – self-sufficiency, the importance of community and being accountable to each other – connect us more closely to what…

“No one can find what will work for our cities by looking at… suburban garden cities, manipulating scale models, or inventing dream cities. You’ve got to get out and walk.” So wrote Jane Jacobs in 1958. Getting out and walking inspired her idea of the city – and still inspires us to rethink the spaces in which we live, work and play. When she moved to New York in 1935, she relished exploring its neighbourhoods and walking its streets and sidewalks, until she found where she wanted to live – Greenwich Village. Working as a journalist, her experiences began finding their way into her writings. Post-war, it was an era when planners were in love with grand statements: tearing down higgledy-piggledy historic streets and replacing them with orderly zoned areas,…

Favourite shops B-LAGE Well curated, beautiful products from small labels. b-lage.hamburg Favourite gallery AFFENFAUST GALERIE A small privately owned gallery known for its young, urban art. affenfaustgalerie.de Favourite cafés TÖRNQVIST Excellent coffee from Scandinavia served with huge amounts of knowledge.tornqvistcoffee.com BALZ UND BALZ A café run by two siblings known for their hospitality and homemade stullen (sandwiches). balzundbalz.de Favourite restaurant SIMBIOSA Beautiful new restaurant with food from the Middle East. Everything is vegan but without making a big thing out of it. simbiosa.eu Favourite market The Isemarkt is found under a subway bridge; it’s a bit like Notting Hill. Stroll between the two underground stations Eppendorfer Baum and Hoheluft before finishing off with an ice-cream at Eis & Innig on the canal.isemarkt.com How to spend an hour Visiting the alternative…

Skies Recorded by the Cyanometer Suzannah Evans Lavender, delicious, forget-me-not jazz-note, nautical, electric, sea-ice atlantic trench, speedwell, recycling bin facebook, whale, harebell, himalayan snow earth-from-space, eucalyptus leaf, shadow willow-pattern, nurse’s scrubs, double denim sailor’s trousers, salt-and-vinegar, adriatic braveheart’s face, twilit fjordland, eight-day bruise cold moorland tarn, freezer buildup, thin ink cursed sapphire, canal on a bad day, chilled octopus lost orca, unfeasible purple, wet woodpigeon pea-souper, sack-bottom, chemical sunset tarmac puddle, remembrance of blue.…

You may not have realised but basket-making is one of the world’s most common crafts, practised by every civilisation in the world at some point. Tabara N’Diaye became entranced when spending her school summer holidays in her parents’ hometown of Thiès in Senegal, eagerly buying up the baskets made from local grasses and coloured strings to use for anything and everything. When she launched her homeware brand, La Basketry, with her sister, she learnt to weave baskets for herself. This beginner’s project echoes the Senegalese baskets Tabara fell in love with, made by wrapping plastic strings with a needle around the core material – a bundle of grasses. It uses the basic technique of coiling. Practise a few times and, once mastered, you can move on to shaped bowls and…

FORGET-ME-NOTS Once you’ve sown a packet of forget-me-not seeds, you never know where they may turn up next. Clusters of tiny sky-blue, white or pale pink flowers scatter their seeds freely and may suddenly appear in a pot or at the front of a border, completely uninvited. But then who wouldn’t welcome forget-me-nots into their garden? Pretty as can be, loved by bees, and with the most sentimental name in horticulture, these tiny clusters of loveliness make the most agreeable guests. Need to know They are biennials (sow this year for blooms next), grow well in most soils, in full sun or partial shade, and flower from April to June. Let them get a bit tatty towards the end of flowering, as this is when they set their seeds. How…

We’ve all heard tell of the good old days, when no one locked their doors and the neighbours would just pop by for tea and a chat. According to the Office of National Statistics, in 2017 5% of adults reported feeling lonely often or always. This makes us look back with longing more than fond nostalgia. It doesn’t have to be this way – and, indeed, there’s lots of evidence that times may be changing as we reopen our homes to one another. Research by PWC found that the ‘sharing economy’ – where communities help and support each other with goods and services – is growing and growing. LODGINGS PLUS PLUS The internet often gets blamed for our increasing isolation, but entrepreneurs such as Judy Niner, founder of mondaytofriday.com, have…

As summer approaches, rooms once dark and curtained are filled again with light. No more shutting out the world and switching on table lamps; now is the time to let natural light pour in. As cats know, stretching out in a patch of warm sunlight is one of life’s most rewarding pleasures. And now is the time to do it. “Simply washing the windows can boost light significantly” As most of us spend close to 90% of our time indoors, it’s important to maximise light in our homes and work places. (Apparently, most home buyers put ‘light rooms’ top of their list of requirements when looking at property.) The most effective way to do this is to introduce more or bigger windows. French windows or bi-folding doors that open up…

The bathroom window in our flat is lovely, in that it lets in plenty of light, but visitors (particularly my mother-in-law) have complained that they feel ‘on view’ when they use it. It has never bothered me, but I feel I should respect others’ requests for privacy. Is there an unobstrusive and elegant way to protect my mother-in-law’s modesty? Answer in brief: a bottom-up blind will shield and illuminate. A bathroom with a window is indeed a thing to treasure. So many urban flat conversions sacrifice a window in the name of space management. Fortunately, there is a compromise that will enable you to allow light in and respect your guests’ privacy. Bottom-up blinds, as their name suggests, roll up from the bottom, allowing you to shield occupants from peeping…

It had only taken a bit over an hour to get there but, by the time I arrived at Tinkers Treehouse, it felt like I’d left London far behind. On went the wellies, out came the torch and my mood felt instantly lighter. Proving that you don’t need to undertake a mammoth journey to feel like you’re far away from it all, the treehouse is in farmland near Ticehurst village in the East Sussex-Kent borders: proper countryside but close enough to London and Brighton to make it a sweet spot for city dwellers (like me) to be able to enjoy a full weekend there without having precious time taken up travelling. Plus, there’s something instantly transformative about getting to stay up among the trees. Compared to my daily life, looking…

I’m no stranger to solo travel. It’s something I urge everyone to do. While I love the company of others, and I would describe myself as extrovert, I have learnt in recent years the joy of solitary exploring. There is a magical thing that happens over time spent alone, particularly when travelling. The first few days are a whirlwind as you begin the journey, excited, discovering and moving. Then, as you settle into routine, you make space for your fears and worries to visit. They can sit at the table while you drink wine and eat shellfish on the Amalfi Coast, or lie on the hot stone with you while you enjoy the lick of the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. I have found there isn’t much to do other than…

11 11 EU states have already met their 2020 renewable energy targets – to source 20% or more of their power from renewable sources. The 2020 target is a stepping stone to the goal of 32% by 2030. 90m 90m toilets have been built since 2014, as a result of India’s sanitation drive. Some 93% of households now have access, and 500 million people no longer need to go to the toilet out in the open. 1 st Scientists have turned human stem cells into insulin-producing cells for the first time, raising hope for a cure for type 1 diabetes. The breakthrough comes from the University of California, San Francisco.…

BANANA WALNUT LOAF Makes 1 x 450g loaf 35g walnuts Rapeseed oil, for greasing 85g Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Spelt Flour 20g cornflour 1 tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp ground nutmeg 1/3 tsp baking powder 1/3 tsp bicarbonate of soda 2 large ripe bananas, plus an extra half to decorate 45g rapeseed oil 80g maple syrup 1 tsp cider vinegar 1 tsp vanilla paste Demerara sugar, to sprinkle 1 Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6 and toast the walnuts on a baking sheet for 5–6 mins until lightly browned. Cool, then roughly chop. 2 Reduce oven temperature to 180C/Fan160C/Gas 4 and grease a 450g (1lb) loaf tin with a little rapeseed oil and line with baking parchment. 3 Sift together the flours with the spices and raising agents in a…

SUSHI CONES Makes 12 400g sushi rice 30ml rice vinegar 25g caster sugar ½ tsp salt 12 nori sheets 6 tsp hoisin sauce Black sesame seeds, for sprinkling Pickled ginger, soy sauce and wasabi to serve FOR THE TOPPINGS Red pepper, carrot, cucumber, avocado, radishes, fresh chives YOU WILL NEED A 14cm saucer and a 12-hole muffin tin (or 2 x 6-hole muffin tins) 1 Cook the sushi rice following the instructions on the packet, until dry and sticky. 2 Put a pan on a medium heat. Pour in the rice vinegar, sugar and salt, and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Leave to cool to room temperature, then pour over the cooked rice, gently stirring until all the liquid is absorbed. 3 Grease a baking tray with oil, spread…

After a delay of 45 minutes, Haemin Sunim is finally on board a plane at London City Airport. He’s looking forward to reaching the Edinburgh Wellbeing Festival where a large audience will gather to listen to him talk about his new book. But sitting in his seat he hears the announcement every plane passenger dreads: there is a problem with the aircraft and the flight is now cancelled. The next available one is leaving from Heathrow at 6pm. Haemin’s event is at 3.30pm. “I felt frustrated,” he says, recollecting the episode of a few days earlier. A small cloud of tension passes across his face, which otherwise radiates calm and composure. “Five hundred people were waiting and I’d have to disappoint them. At that point, I made a decision. Rather…

‘Wind NE in morning & all day, changing in evening to S, dull all day but mild. Fruit trees on walls disbudded, French beans raised in boxes, planted out & covered at night with mats to protect from frost.’ So wrote William Cresswell in his diary for 13 May 1874. Discovered at a flea market a century later, it provided such a detailed account of his work at Audley End House in Essex that it enabled English Heritage and Garden Organic to restore the walled kitchen garden to its 19th-century splendour, when it supplied flowers, fruit, vegetables and herbs to the vast Jacobean manor house. Today, the 2.5-acre plot is as beautiful as it is productive, with 50 varieties of pear and plum currently frothy with blossom, and grapevines that…

In an age when we prize provenance and traceability, a small-scale family-run business is a great fit. How much nicer to buy something knowing a little of the people involved – the story behind a brand helps you see its products in a whole new light. Here at The Simple Things, we love a family-run business, and often feature them in the magazine. Over the page we talk to two of our favourites » “We can provide local jobs and give back to our community. The Island is home for us” Isle of Wight-based stove makers Charnwood is family run, British built and committed to its Hampshire roots. Ced Wells tells us more about it How did Charnwood come about? The company was established in 1972 by Alfred Wells and…

The food you enjoy when you’re away can make a holiday – every dish seasoned with a sprinkle of relaxation and a pinch of something new. With a couple of long weekends on the horizon, now is a good time to recreate this laid-back vibe at home. Invite a few friends over, kick off with beer punch and fancy crisps, then light the barbecue for grilled fish and salad, and hope the weather stays fine. Welcome back to the season of eating outdoors! » MENU Beer punch bowl Caviar crisps Golden gazpacho with corn Grilled fish with herbs & lemon Flowery potato salad Pound cake trifle pots Beer punch bowl WITH GINGER AND CITRUS, BEER PACKS A REFRESHING PUNCH Serves 4–6 2 bottles of blond beer or pale ale 3…

Vinegar versus soap and water While white vinegar has been much touted as a good cleaner, it is best used for mould removal or as a disinfectant, as it isn’t that great at shifting dirt. Better to fill a bucket with water and a generous splash of eco washing-up liquid, slop it on with an old cloth or sponge, then remove the water with a squeegee. OXO Good Grips stainless steel squeegee, £11.99, lakeland.co.uk Microfibre cloth versus newspaper Scrunched-up balls of newspaper are the traditional way of buffing glass and a good way of removing streaks. Reusable microfibre cloths are absorbent and washable so can be used for swishing the water on to remove dirt and grease, as well as polishing it at the end. They are often sold in…

Michael Faraday Invented the Bunsen burner, discovered elements and electromagnetism and transformed chlorine gas into liquid. Marie Curie During WWI, double Nobel winner Curie brought mobile X-ray ambulances to the Front, knowing they’d be needed. Albert Einstein One of the world’s most recognisable scientists, his equation E=mc2 is almost as famous as he is – relatively speaking. Rosalind Franklin Franklin’s X-rays were used by others to confirm their theories about DNA’s shape – and to win the Nobel Prize without her. Stephen Hawking In brief: one of the world’s most well known scientists… and guest star on Star Trek and The Simpsons. Ada Lovelace Encouraged to study science to differ from her poet dad, Lord Byron, she sketched out early computer programs. Vera Rubin It took years for this astrophysicist trailblazer’s…