Table of contents for June 2020 in The Simple Things

• Jean Ricard, a researcher at the National Meteorological Research Centre in France tried to figure out the characteristics that would describe all rainbows and came up with four. First is the primary bow with red at the top and violet at the bottom. Above that, secondary reflections inside a rain droplet always form a fainter bow above the primary bow, with the colours reversed. Between the two is a dark region called Alexander's band. And sometimes, there are more, supernumerary bows. Based on those characteristics, Ricard determined there are 12 different types of rainbow. They can also appear as twins, triplets or quadruplets. • Full Circle Rainbow: All rainbows can potentially form a full circle. If you’re on top of a mountain or in a plane, you can sometimes…

First cup of the day, and what are you up to? My first cuppa is while feeding my newborn, often accompanied by Peppa Pig – as I also have a two year old! How did you end up doing what you do now? I’ve always loved clothes. I studied fashion, but then fell out of love with the industry and had an urge to do it my way. I founded Stalf in 2015 – at first it was just me, but now we’ve ten women working here: designing, researching, cutting, sewing, pressing and packing. We’re guessing that you don’t work from home… I currently split my time between home and our studio, which is 20 minutes away. But before my working day starts, I try and get out with my…

Even the most emotionally temperate of us will have experienced a flurry of fluctuating emotions in recent weeks. From fear and uncertainty to irritation and anger, even moments of comfort and relief – and possibly all in the same day. Our emotions aren’t just things we feel in our head, they have a very real impact on our bodies, too. A quickening of the breath, aching jaw, churning stomach or extreme tiredness can all be symptoms of our emotions at play. While you may be experiencing new, and at times uncomfortable, emotions, try not to be ashamed of your feelings or push them aside. Better to acknowledge and accept the emotion, try to understand more about why you’re feeling that way. The Box of Emotions is a collection of 80…

It doesn’t take much to make a good garden party. Summer sunshine, a long warm evening, a few twinkly lights and the people you like the most around an outdoor table. Here at The Simple Things, we love a midsummer gathering, so the team have recreated some of our favourite summery recipes at home. From a fondue that’s too good not to share to berry-flavoured booze and decadent deserts, these are tried-and-tested ways to make the ordinary fancy, without being too busy in the kitchen. Getting together with friends or the wider family hasn’t been possible for a while, but if it’s still off limits in real life there are two ways to go – get your household to dress up nice and each make a dish or pick 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, but for now just sit back, relax and enjoy some armchair travel. How long have you lived in the city? Nearly 15 years, but I grew up in a village in Salzkammergut, the lake district north of Salzburg, so I’ve known the city since childhood. When I first moved here at 18, I had a love-hate relationship with Salzburg, as I’d originally planned to move to a larger city. But with time, I learned to appreciate…

Brigit Strawbridge Howard’s sitting room is all windows. From the comfort of her sofa she can survey a tucked-away Dorset valley of gardens and fields and she often pauses to point out the busy goings-on outside – families of long-tailed tits, a blackcap hunting for berries. It’s the closest thing you can get to being outside while remaining indoors, which suits her just fine. As a writer, conservationist and self-taught naturalist, Brigit is passionate about our “back door wildlife” – not the charismatic creatures that star in Attenborough documentaries, but the small brown things that chirp and creep and flutter throughout our gardens – so easy to overlook but also so very important. And for her, it starts with bees. “If you get it right for bees, you get it…

Despite it being her busiest time of year, Elizabeth Miller is still smiling. She and her team are knee-deep in calves, lambs, piglets, kids, ducklings, foals, goslings and chicks being born on her 160-acre tenancy in Hook, Hampshire, but she says all the hard work will be worth it: “Close interaction with farm animals is rewarding, fascinating and therapeutic.” As an offshoot of Miller’s Ark Animals, where visitors have been meeting her livestock at open days for nearly 30 years, Elizabeth founded her charity, Animal Touch, in 2001 for individual interaction with her furry and feathered residents, for which people donate what they can. The first centre of its kind, it runs sessions for people who have special needs, require rehabilitation or help to de-stress, and those who wish to…

❍ Work backwards – look at what you’ve got in your fridge/freezer/cupboards already and think about how you can use them rather than starting with a recipe. ❍ Plan ahead – knowing what you’re going to cook in advance and using a shopping list will help avoid coming home with bags of shopping but few actual meals. Stick to your list where possible and try not to be tempted by offers. ❍ Cook and buy less – you need only cook around three or four dishes from scratch a week. For the remaining days you can create meals with leftovers and from your store cupboard essentials. ❍ Use it up – keep your eye on use-by dates and find ways to use up food that’s nearing it. Best before dates…

This year marks 200 years since the birth of Florence Nightingale. Born into privilege, Florence went against her family’s expectations and opted out of a life of luxury to work in healthcare – a move that would transform not only her life, but nursing as a whole. In 1854, Florence led a team of 38 nurses to the front line of the Crimean War – the first women to be officially allowed to serve in the army. But it wasn’t a warm welcome. Not only did male doctors look down on them, they were working in a true hellscape. Florence described the hospital as “the nearest thing to hell on earth”. NURSING UNDER FIRE The Crimean was the first high tech war of the modern era, which meant casualties poured…

Filo-wrapped brie with hot honey and anchovies Serves 10-12 45g roasted red bell pepper (homemade, or from a jar) 3 oil-packed anchovies, minced 1 garlic clove, finely grated ¾ tsp finely grated lemon zest 450g filo pastry, thawed if frozen 10 tbsp unsalted butter, melted 1 large wheel of brie Hot honey (or regular honey with a pinch or two of cayenne), to serve Crackers and/or bread, to serve 1 Heat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/ Gas 7. Over an open flame, roast the peppers for about 10-15 mins, turning often, until the skins are black and blistered. Place in a heatproof bowl, cover, leave for 15 mins then use paper towel to rub off the skins. 2 In a separate bowl, stir together the roasted peppers, anchovies, garlic, and…

When I was a girl, my mother tried to teach me to cook Pakistani food. She’d summon me to the kitchen and make me stand over huge steaming pots, heaps of dry spices simmering in hot oil with mounds of garlic and ginger. She never followed recipes but cooked by instinct, throwing in a little bit of this, a little bit of that. It confused me: at school my Home Economics teacher insisted cooking was a science and that ingredients ought to be measured, precise. My mother would scoff at this and make me stir the spices furiously with a wooden spoon, cumin and coriander seeping into my skin. I’d wait until the magic spot when the oil bubbled and separated from the spices and it was time to add…

Hanging baskets have rather fallen out of favour in recent years, but this easy project – ideal if you’re a novice gardener who loves a bit of DIY – takes two hanging baskets and turns them into something out of this world. Feel free to pick your own flower combinations (plants that grow upright work best) when creating your spheres – and don’t stop at just one. “I suggest you create three, hanging them at different levels for maximum impact,” says container gardening expert, Isabelle Palmer. “Don’t pack with plants, but pick blooms that last all summer long.” Suspended spheres THIS PROJECT TAKES HALF A DAY, BUT GIVES JOY THROUGH THE WHOLE SUMMER YOU WILL NEED: Two metal hanging baskets Spray paint Newspaper Moss Black landscape material (for lining the…

Even if you’re not able to open your garden this year, it’s not too early to think about joining an event next spring and summer. Clive opens his garden through the National Gardens Scheme, which raises money for nursing and health charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie and Hospice UK. But here are other open garden events held around the country – you can check what’s planned for near you at opengardens.co.uk. • You might think your garden isn’t up to scratch, but if you’re passionate about it, then people will appreciate your effort. Plus, everyone’s taste is different. • Work out what needs doing in your garden well in advance. You could draw yourself a map of your plot and note bare spaces that need filling with plants,…

Bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and optimistic to the point of irritating, I was a happy child – foisting exuberant plays and art installations on family and classmates, even the inhabitants of the local old people’s home who, chairbound, had no choice but to endure. Then, when I hit ten, my father died. Overnight my rose-tinted glasses turned dark, very dark. Suddenly everything seemed beyond bleak. I didn’t have any friends and was rubbish at school. The cat always sat on other people’s laps. My world view had swung to pessimistic: my glass wasn’t just half empty, it was bone dry. I’d fallen into the classic trap of catastrophising my life. No, I wasn’t Miss Congeniality but I still had a friend or two. Sure, I was truly clueless at physics but otherwise…

Easy win Check if a battery is on its way out simply by dropping it – if it’s more than halfway gone, it’ll bounce. CAPTION COMPETITION OVER TO YOU… Make us giggle with a caption for this bedecked pooch. Each month we pick our favourite and send a lovely book to the winner. Post your best efforts at facebook.com/thesimplethingsmag COLLECTIVE NOUNS A sum of adders VEG BOX MUSIC Ingenious ways to make those edibles audible You will need: 1 lemon, tumbler/cup, toothpicks, solid table. 1. Find a cup that will grip a lemon (as fat and as perfectly round as you can find) tightly while still leaving around two-thirds of the fruit above the rim. 2. Place four or five toothpicks vertically around the lemon so that they’re gripped between…

Gorse flower panna cotta Panna cotta may seem like something fancy you’d order in a restaurant, but you can whip up this classic Italian milk pudding with a wild, foraged twist at home. Serves 4 250ml double cream 300g gorse flower petals 250ml milk 25g granulated sugar 1 tbsp poppy seeds 3g Vege-Gel (or similar setting agent) 1 Leave the petals to soak in the cream in the fridge overnight. The next day, add the milk, sugar and poppy seeds and bring to the boil in a saucepan. 2 Remove from the heat and add the Vege-Gel, stirring until dissolved. Strain the liquid through a sieve and leave to cool. 3 Pour into ramekins and set in the fridge for 2-3 hrs. When ready to serve, sit the ramekins in…

Perhaps the most magical childhood memories of nature are those that still manage to stop us in our tracks: waking up to freshly fallen snow, picking ripe blackberries, or being able to pick out the colours of a rainbow after a storm. However grey the skies, that transient show still captivates both children and adults alike, the magic of being in the right place at the right time to witness this otherworldly phenomenon. We know that humans all over the world have been similarly enchanted for centuries, recording its wonder in art and music; myths and legends. Interpretations of the rainbow are as varied as its spectrum of colours, though some are more widely known than others. In Judeo-Christian tradition, the appearance of a rainbow in Genesis is a sign…

BAKEWELL SLICES Serves 12 FOR THE SWEET PASTRY BASE: 200g plain flour 50g ground almonds 75g caster sugar 160g salted butter (at room temperature), cubed 1 egg yolk FOR THE FILLING: 150g raspberry jam 130g salted butter, softened 160g caster sugar 4 eggs 260g ground almonds 40g flaked almonds, to decorate 1. To make the base, put the flour, ground almonds and caster sugar in a bowl and combine. Add the butter and use your fingertips to rub it into the mixture until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk, then mix and knead the dough to create a tight, smooth ball. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 mins. Before use, allow to stand at room temperature for 10-15 mins. 2. Preheat the oven to 170C/Fan 150C/ Gas 3.…

“Cheap versions are merely tights with the feet cut off” Once worn exclusively for exercise, it is now perfectly OK to wear leggings the entire time. Excellent news for this the most comfortable item of clothing known to woman. Technical fabrics and all manner of clever body-fitting styling mean leggings are even more comfortable than pyjamas, and, unlike pyjamas, you can wear them outdoors without looking like a slacker. It also means that if you suddenly fancy a bit of yoga in the living room, or throwing shapes in the kitchen, then you are ready to go. All leggings, however, are not the same. Cheap versions are pretty much tights with the feet cut off: thin, with a tendency to sag and no reassuring snugness. Stump up for a pricier…

"GROUPS THAT SWEAR TOGETHER ARE STRONGER” Think of the words that you’ve used the most over the last couple of months. Chances are there might be one or two expletives in there. We’re not judging though – often discouraged, swear words are amazingly powerful, proven not only to help us withstand pain, they also help us create connections and even make us stronger. So, perhaps, a good swearing session is precisely what’s needed right now. Let’s be clear: we’re not celebrating the kind of swearing aggressively directed at someone, that’s intended to attack – rather, it’s the kind that helps us cope, whether that’s with physical pain, or a stressful situation, or simply by making us giggle. And that is actually the most common sort of swearing. According to Dr…

Favourite shops ‘SFACHL Here, local manufacturers rent shelf compartments to sell their products. It also has a great espresso bar. fachl.at SPORER This is a local institution – the liqueurs and punch have been produced according to traditional family recipes. They can be tasted and bought at this shop on Getreidegasse. sporer.at Favourite bar JIGGER BAR Mixologist Mike Steinbacher has won several awards with his fantastic creations. Located in the hip Schallmoos district. thejigger.bar Favourite café COFFEESMITH This new wave coffee house with art nouveau decoration serves an excellent flat white. Krotachgasse 3, 5020 Salzburg Favourite restaurants PARADOXON Fine dining in a casual atmosphere. Chef Martin Kilga uses simple ingredients in unusual combinations, and his menu is constantly changing.Restaurant-paradoxon.com Favourite market SCHRANNENMARKT The Schranne is the mother of all markets.…

1975 Leaves school at 16 1982 Marries her first husband, army engineer Dick Strawbridge 2005 The Strawbridges and their children relocate to Cornwall to live a sustainable life. 2006 Their adventures are aired on the BBC’s It’s Not Easy Being Green 2006 Brigit’s marriage breaks up and she returns to the Malvern Hills, where she founds a charity, The Big Green Idea. 2008 Brigit winds up the charity to focus on bee conservation. 2017 Marries her second husband, gardener Rob Howard. 2019 Her first book Dancing With Bees: A Journey Back to Nature (Chelsea Green) is published.…

While most of us shun plastic bags and are taking reusables to farm shops, markets and zero-waste shops, until recently, few gave as much thought to what was going into our baskets. Yet food waste causes as much damage to our planet as plastic and, according to the charity WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), typically almost a quarter of the food we buy in the UK ends up in the bin. However, despite initial panic buying, in lockdown we managed our food better and cooked more creatively, leading to a 34% less waste of potatoes, bread, chicken and milk. WRAP is urging us to make this the ‘new normal’. Food generates greenhouse gases long before it ends up on our plates – through growing, packaging and transporting methods and…

LOUISE DA-COCODIA MBE Jamican-born Louise came to Britain to work as a nurse in 1955. Her career spanned 31 years, during which time she worked as an anti-racism campaigner, highlighting the racism faced by nurses and later set up her own education trust. DAME CICELY SAUNDERS A pioneer in end-of-life care, in 1967, Cicely established St Christopher’s Hospice, the world’s first purpose-built hospice. She later founded her own charity, working to improve treatment for patients with progressive illnesses. MARY SEACOLE Recently voted the greatest black Briton of all time, Mary Seacole (above) was rejected from serving as a nurse in the Crimean War, partly due to the colour of her skin. But she refused to give up, instead spending her own money to create a base on the front lines.…

These showy blooms work well by themselves in a simple jug, but also go brilliantly with almost anything growing in your garden. Adding a foxglove (although be careful, as they are poisonous), some nigella seed heads, a clematis flower, and a couple of heuchera leaves, turn a few fragrant and fluffy peonies into a bursting seasonal bouquet that will smell as good as it looks.…

“For me, my bedroom is a little haven where I can switch off after a stressful day. I try to limit using my phone in here and instead always have a book at hand on the bedside table. I particularly love the colours in our bedroom – blues, pinks and greens have always been my favourites and we’ve gone for pastel shades on the furniture and walls, which adds to the feeling of calm, while the panelling adds texture and interest to the wall behind the bed. I also love the little shelf at the top for mixing up styling and pictures. For me, candles and lamps are a must to create a calm mood ready for a good night’s sleep, and I try to have something living in every…

• Become aware of your pessimism patter. Every time you come across any kind of ‘adversity’ – a frown from a friend, a baby that won’t stop crying, a large bill – listen to what your inner pessimist is saying: “She hates me,” “I’m a lousy mother,” “I’m hopeless with money.” Become aware of how you tend to catastrophise, jumping to the worst possible conclusion, often, without any solid evidence. • Wear a rubber band around your wrist and give it a gentle snap when you catch yourself ruminating negatively. It will make you become more aware of how often negative thoughts take hold and help curb the impulse. • Write any troublesome thoughts down the moment that they occur. Schedule a specific time later to think them over. Allocating…

NUMBER 41 Jess misses her old home. She misses her friends, especially Caroline, who’d lived next door. They’d been in and out of each other’s houses constantly, swapping gossip, sharing advice and babysitting each other’s children. Jess’s new next-door neighbour, Mrs Manning, couldn’t be more different. For a start, she must be at least sixty-five. She lives alone, but she often has visitors because Jess can hear her voice through the wall, droning on and on and on. Yesterday, Jess had been leaving the house, late as always. Thanks to the baby, she’d had no more than an hour’s sleep, and Archie had refused to leave until he could change into his Spiderman costume. The only way she’d been able to defuse the tantrum was to give him her iPhone…

• Only eat if you’re certain. Most plants in the city are safe to pick but there are a number of poisonous doppelgängers • Always wash plants thoroughly and check for bugs. • If it’s wilting, browning or blackening, it’s not going to taste good. Try and cook the same day as it's foraged for the best flavour. • Don’t trespass and be gentle with the plants. Take only what you need and leave the rest for the birds. • It’s advised that women should not eat wild food while pregnant in case of any unexpected harmful effects.…

Next time you see the sun shining while it’s still raining, stand with your back to the sun for your best chance of spotting a rainbow. If you can’t wait until then, try these DIY rainbows: Using a prism: Place a piece of white paper on the ground under the sunlight. Put a prism on or above the paper, and move around until you see rainbow colors appear. Using a mirror in a glass: Fill a glass with water then put a small pocket mirror into the water at an angle. Position so that sunlight shines directly at the mirror and look for a reflection (it’s easier to spot if the room is quite dark). Using a torch: Fill a glass with water. Cut a narrow rectangle in the middle…

ZACK MCLAUGHLIN “I used to illustrate children’s books and was working on my own concept in which a little boy creates a paper bird lantern. I tried and tried, but I couldn’t get it to look right in my drawings, so I decided to make a large scale robin lantern out of pages of an old book and willow sticks as a prop to draw from. It was quite a challenge, but as I snipped paper into feather shapes it sparked something in me. My love for detail and nature led me to play more and more, creating ever more realistic birds. For inspiration, I go for long walks, always on the look out for birds and other animals. It’s magical if I see a small bird going about its…

Seasalt’s clothes may be designed to travel far and wide, however, the Cornish spirit is very much at the heart and soul of every collection. With its design studio located overlooking beautiful Falmouth Bay, Seasalt’s talented team of artists and designers take inspiration from all aspects of Cornish life for their original prints – whether it’s the brightly coloured topsail tips of the Falmouth working boats, the sun-faded hues of weathered fishing cottages or the abundant wildlife found across the county’s rugged seascape and landscape. “We look to where we live for inspiration, which is completely endless,” says Kathryn Fowler, Senior Print Designer. “Flowers, the landscape, seaweed, rock formations. A floral print can make you feel joyful when you wear it.” The team embark on extensive field trips across the…

In 1785, Captain Francis Grose compiled A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue – an impressive compilation of the choice vocabulary he heard in the less genteel areas of London. It’s still in print (a pocket version was published by Chronicle Books earlier this year) and is testament to the values of its time – and the evolving wonders of the English language. A few choice definitions follow: A BLOWSE or BLOWSABELLA: A woman whose hair is dishevelled, and hanging around her face; a slattern BUMFIDDLE: The backside, the breech. CATCH FART: A footboy: so called from such servants commonly following close behind their master or mistress. CRINKUM CRANKUM: A woman’s commodity FLASH LINGO: The canting or slang language GOTCH-GUTTED: Pot-bellied: a gotch in Norfolk signifying a pitcher, or a…

There was a moment yesterday When it struck me that I was happy And I realised in the same shining flash That happiness is like a waiting hawk And it’s only when it pounces That you know it’s got you. About the author Wendy Jago was a lecturer and therapist and is now a writer and coach, living in a Sussex village with her husband and cat. She started writing poetry when she was small, and says that her poems mostly “write themselves on the kitchen chopping block while she is doing something else, or in the car, which necessitates frequent lay-by stops.” Wendy says that while her conscious mind often starts a poem, it’s her unconscious that then takes charge, so it takes re-reading afterwards to ‘own’ it as…

• A lot of food that would have previously been wasted from supermarkets and catering is being redistributed. There has been an increase of 180% redistribution via charities in recent years, even more crucial during the Covid-19 emergency since donations to food banks have fallen. • Odd Box is a veg box delivery that rescues surplus fruit and veg from farmers around the UK that would go to waste due to falling short of supermarkets’ cosmetic standards. • Restaurants are changing: Douglas McMaster of zero-waste restaurant Silo (silolondon.com) famously doesn’t have a single bin on site and Skye Gyngell, uses ingredients that would otherwise have been wasted in her pre-theatre menu at restaurant, Spring. (springrestaurant.co.uk).…

BEESWAX WRAPS Make three different sized wraps to preserve all kinds of foods YOU WILL NEED: 100% cotton fabric Iron Scissors or pinking shears Measuring tape ¼ cup powdered pine resin ¼ cup beeswax, grated 4 tsp jojoba oil Paintbrush Baking sheet Compostable parchment paper Kitchen tongs Used newspaper Pegs and drying rack 1 Wash, dry, and iron the fabric. Cut out 3 squares: 20×20cm, 28×28cm and 35×35cm. For a neat edge, and to prevent fraying, you can use pinking shears, although it’s not essential. 2 Preheat the oven to 110C/Fan 90C/ Gas ¼. In a bowl, combine the pine resin, beeswax, and jojoba oil. 3 Line a baking sheet with compostable baking parchment and place one fabric square on it. Sprinkle about one-third of the wax mixture evenly all…

Call The Midwife’s Nurse Jenny Lee Based on real life nurse Jennifer Worth, Nurse Jenny Lee captured hearts in the first few series of the BBC’s Sunday-night staple. Midwife courses saw a deluge of applications after the show aired. Casualty’s Charlie Fairhead Arguably the most famous male nurse on TV, Charlie is Casualty’s longest serving character. The lynchpin of Holby City’s emergency department, viewers have watched him struggle with the everyday highs and lows of nursing, as well as more near death experiences than you can squeeze into the average Saturday evening. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest’s Nurse Ratched Not the finest example of her profession, Nurse Ratched is inhumane and tyrannical and has firmly been diagnosed as one of literature’s most vile…

James Monnington started freediving ten years ago after suffering the bends while scuba diving. Freediving – taking a breath of air at the surface and spending prolonged periods underwater – carries a lower risk of getting the bends. “It was an ideal alternative to explore the underwater world,” he says. “Unencumbered by bulky scuba equipment, I was struck by the feeling of freedom.” Compelled to document his experiences, James picked up an old-fashioned 35mm underwater camera. “There are typically low levels of light and visibility underwater, not to mention the perpetual movement and highly unpredictable wildlife,” he says. “Doing everything on a single breath makes things even more challenging.” Shooting in black and white was also a combination of necessity and choice. “The only film sensitive enough to work in…

Maker of the month Decorative tiles handmade in Hampshire Ceramic artist Caroline Egleston creates handmade tile blocks for contemporary interior spaces. Each tile block is carefully curated from her stock of handcrafted tiles, mounting them onto chunky painted woodblock, to form decorative ‘Tile Scapes’ for walls, splashbacks and table platters. Each arrangement brings together colour, texture and pattern that play off one another, creating one complete cohesive piece. Caroline also sells her tiles individually and welcomes commissions.piccolpasso.com Jolly green littlies Green: Simple Ideas for Small Outdoor Spaces by Ula Maria To gardener Ula Maria, a small outdoor space is “a treasure”. Whether it’s a front garden, a minuscule courtyard or a petite roof terrace, she’s sure that it can be transformed into a gorgeous outdoor room with statement plants, tall…

INTERFULGENT when you’re feeling bleak or you lack hope In this fraught and fractious 21st century, personal troubles or misfortunes can be compounded by the broader problems we see affecting the world around us. The smaller our world has become, the more amplified and immediate these global problems can appear. Before long, concerns about the environment, politics and all of the other world troubles can feel just as pressing as the problems we have in our day-to-day lives. Feeling powerless, it can be difficult to have much hope for the future. We need a word for remaining positive. In a dark world, we need a word that brings in the light. In short, we need something interfulgent. The adjective interfulgent describes anything that shines through or between something else –…