Table of contents for 01-Jul-2015 in The Simple Things

The best thing about travelling is the unexpected pleasure. See me here, cycling through the gorse on a sunny summer weekend in north Norfolk. To my right, the salt marshes and beyond, the sea. In my panniers: treasure. We thought we were on a bike ride but it turned out to be a journey of discovery when we found a second-hand book sale at a village hall. We filled our bags with little gems, holed up in a sandy clearing and read away the afternoon. You’ve got to love an everyday adventure. #mysimplething…

Husband-and-wife team Itamar and Sarit’s heart-warming baking book opens the door on their tiny 10-table restaurant in London and reveals how their working day is “governed by the rhythms of the pastry – weighing, mixing, kneading, shaping, baking, chilling, glazing and serving.” It’s like a line of poetry, extolling the virtues of their cakes and jams and desserts colourful, full of fruit, spices and honey, all with a Middle Eastern slant. There are recipes for candied and crystallised fruit, as well as bleeding heart buns, savoury Shakshuka – fiery tomato sauce with poached eggs – and three kinds of yeast bread, all served up with a winning accompaniment of anecdote and memoir. (Saltyard, £17)…

Housed in a former chemist’s, Chloe Shearing and Harriet Maxwell’s shop in Lewes, East Sussex, has the original stained-glass windows and a tiny walled garden. Both of which add to the charm of the stock: a mix of vintage, new and handmade homeware, furniture and clothes. You’ll find enamelware, fine linens, decorative glassware and beautiful stoneware ceramics, alongside rails hung with dresses by The Seamstress of Bloomsbury, a label that specialises in 1940s-inspired clothes. This is a shop that looks like it’s always been there, a credit to the duo’s creative vision and sharp eye for well-made objects. A must-visit shop when you next find yourself in the vicinity. www.closetandbotts.com…

DO A LITERARY FESTIVAL Book-lovers – it’s time to spring into action and grab a ticket, if you haven’t already, for one of the fabulous festivals taking place this month. Port Eliot (30 July – 2 August, Cornwall, www.porteliot.co.uk), Telegraph Ways with Words Festival of Words and Ideas (3–13 July, Devon, www.wayswithwords.co.uk) and Curious Arts Festival (17–19 July, The New Forest, www.curiousartsfestival.com) all have big names in inspiring surroundings. TAKE SOME TRAVEL THERAPY Are you due a holiday? Don’t put off going away because you haven’t got the time or money right now. Think about what you need/crave whether that’s a nature fix, time with friends or family, or the chance to fit in some physical activity, and plan a break that matches your mood – even just a weekend.…

As anyone who visits festivals or markets will have noticed, street food in Britain has been transformed. No longer monopolised by vans selling dubious hot dogs, today’s street food traders offer a globetrotting array of consumables – pizza, burritos, burgers, mac ‘n’ cheese, dosas – often with an inventive, individual twist. Petra Barran, a former street trader who spent six years travelling with her “wagon of chocolate joy” – her van, Choc Star – is a driving force in Britain’s thriving street food scene. She co-founded eat.st, Britain’s first street food collective, then KERB, which champions a community of street food traders in London. She’s often cast as its spokesperson, a role she has taken on with brio. A natural communicator, Petra’s ashappy addressing an audience of political movers and…

Apunnet of freshly picked strawberries, red, ripe and bursting with sugary juices… it’s a taste memory from a bygone age. At least, that’s how it feels every time you bite into the bland, bullet-hard supermarket varieties. In fact, the British berries that encapsulate the taste of summer are ripening to perfection on a bush near you right now: strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and currants, plump, sweet and there for the plucking at a local pick-your-own (PYO) farm. West Craigie, a 260-acre arable holding six miles from Edinburgh, is one such venue. It’s the home of tenant farmer John Sinclair, who followed his father into soft-fruit growing in the late 1980s as a diversification from a no-longer-viable dairy-farming business. He grows more than 40,000 tonnes of fruit, including strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, tayberries,…

Yeo Valley’s farm in Blagdon, Somerset, has a six-and-a-half-acre organic garden, producing delicious herbs and vegetables; and the location at the foot of the Mendip Hills means the hedgerows make a natural larder. Here their chefs share a dish inspired by the milk from their British Friesian cows. Somerset style ricotta 2.25l whole milk 250ml double cream ½ tsp salt 4 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice Equipment Large sieve, fine muslin Makes approx 600g 1 Line a large sieve with a layer of damp fine muslin. 2 Put the milk in a pan with the cream and salt, place over a medium-low heat and heat slowly to 93C, occasionally stirring gently. 3 When it reaches the right temperature the milk will steam and the surface shimmers with some small bubbles.…

IF THE OTTOMAN TURKS hadn’t invented soft drinks, somebody else would have. In a hot climate it doesn’t take a massive stretch of the imagination to think of flavouring water with fruit, flower petals, herbs or spices and serving it over ice. But the idea of the world’s first fruit cordials, or sherbets (serbet in Turkish or sharbat in Persian), having been served in the palaces of Constantinople is a beguiling one: the image of rose-scented lemonade being sipped by a sultan from cut-glass elevates this simple iced drink into an exotic refreshment. “Give me a sun, I care not how hot, and sherbet, I care not how cool, and my Heaven is as easily made as your Persian’s.” So Lord Byron wrote in 1813, after sampling sherbets on a…

If there’s one thing the French excel at, it’s flea markets. They’re big, they’re cheap, they’re chic, and they’re packed full of treasures like wine crates and linen sheets that you just don’t come across at your average UK car boot sale. And right now, it’s flea market central on the continent, as brocantes(also known as braderies and rederies) take over villages, towns and cities between April and October, ranging from 15 stalls to 15,000. Bargain-hunting is a weekend obsession, and the pickings are rich. “The French tend to hang onto stuff for years. They don’t move as often as us, and they have more storage space, with cellars, attics and outbuildings,” explains braderie expert Jane Gratton, who spends five months of the year bargain-hunting in Burgundy, selling her finds…

While pirates are often portrayed as swashbuckling figures of adventure and daring deeds, the reality was actually more complex. Those we’d consider ‘pirates’ were a rum mixture of opportunistic seafarers, government-endorsed privateers and downright ne’er-dowells. And female pirates – although only a handful are known to have existed – are even more fascinating than their male counterparts. GRANUAILE: THE PIRATE QUEEN OF IRELAND Granuaile, the ‘Pirate Queen of Ireland’, is a figure of pirate folklore made flesh. Also known as Grace O’Malley, she was the daughter of a chieftain from Ireland’s west coast. The family living came from the sea, including a spot of plunder. For those who knew the coast, French, Spanish and English merchant ships made for rich pickings. While keeping up the family tradition, Granuaile raised her…

Shelley Bailey @shelleybailey_ • 28 Mar Saturday afternoon coffee and @simplethingsmag is a favourite treat #mysimplething Nicola Warner @Nic Warner • 16 April Relaxing reading @simplethingsmag with Daiquiri #Marrakech Viv @76sunflowers • 28 May Oooh colouring in for grown ups! :) #embracehappy #simplethings Good addition @simplethingsmag! :-) Lynsey Woods @woodslynsey • 21 Mar David is out and I’m having a crazy night in with Louie and @simplethingsmag #metime #simplethings Mandy James @mandyjames1979 • May 27 Tonight’s reading sorted. Love the free mindfulness colouring cards with this @simplethingsmag issue too! :-) Kirstie Rowson @And_SoWeBegin • 23 May It’s @simplethingsmag day! Wonderful to come home to :-) #simplethings Rachel Wood @borismurchie • 21 Mar @simplethingsmag the best day of the month when this bundle of joy arrives #simple…

This is the stuff of holiday dreams: a beach house tucked behind sand dunes a stroll from a long, sandy beach. Near enough to hear the pounding of the surf and the squawk of the gulls, and close enough to nip back to the house should extra snacks be needed. “Our favourite thing to do,” says its owner, Tamira van Woerden, “is to walk through the dunes at sunset for a night-time sea swim. Then we dry off and head back to the house with torches to light our way. If it’s chilly, we light the wood burner and sit and watch the flames. If it’s still warm, we sit on the deck and chat. It’s magical.” The house, in Noordwijk (not far from Amsterdam) in the Netherlands, was built…

MARK DIACONO is a green-fingered foodie who grows, cooks and eats produce on his Devon smallholding. His latest book The New Kitchen Garden (Saltyard Books, £22) is available on a ‘pay what you can afford’ basis from www.otterfarm.co.uk. OTHER THAN MOWING between avenues of vines, picking early Japanese plums, there’s not much to do outside. Everything is growing well, weeds have slowed from their spring rush and the pace of life has eased off; there’s time for enjoying the forest garden, the orchards, vineyard, perennial garden and veg patch. It’s a month for eating and cooking outside. At least one of the barbecue, pizza oven and firepit are fired up each day. Cooking and eating outside means herbs, spices and edible flowers are easily to hand. As well as grabbing…

BLUE PATTERN PAPERS Cambridge Imprint is a partnership of three sisters: a painter, a textile artist and a ceramicist. They design a range of paper, stationery, textiles and ceramics. Their fine matte pattern papers work for origami, bookbinding and all manner of other crafts, as well as wrapping. Ten sheets of Cambridge Imprint Blue Pattern Papers, £20 ULTIMATE BELL TENT This tent suits your every need, whether it’s a glamping trip or simply a garden party. The ‘Strawberries and Cream’ stripes stand out from the crowd. But it’s practical, too – the heavy duty canvas is rot and mould treated, the windows have mosquito nets and it has a zipped groundsheet. Glam Camping Company Limited Edition Bell Tent, £510 DREAMKEEPER Mosami’s Dreamkeeper is inspired by the beautiful Buddhist prayer wheels…

BASICS: 4-6 players; 52-card deck. Each player gets seven cards. Remaining cards are placed face down as stock with top card turned over as the starter. First player lays a card on the starter, which must match in either suit or rank, or draws a card from stock. The player continues laying cards in sequence until they can’t go or they lay an action card. ACTION CARDS: Two: next player picks up two cards, unless they can play a Two and make the next player pick up four. Eight: next player misses turn. Black Jack: next player picks up five cards. A second Black Jack makes the next player pick up ten. Red Jack cancels. Queen: follow with a card of any suit. King: reverses play order. The first person…

Planting vertically to make the most of bare walls is a clever way to maximise space. However, creating these living tapestries means choosing plants that can cope with dry conditions and getting irrigation sorted. While there are clever readymade systems available at garden centres, you can make your own out of an old pallet with equally good results. This planter is ideal for salads, herbs or drought-tolerant plants like grasses and succulents. 1 Take a pallet and, on one side, remove two alternate planks of wood with a hammer, leaving the first in place at the ‘bottom’ of the pallet. You’re looking to create three planting troughs with the planks of wood you’re left with: one at the bottom, one in the middle and one at the top. 2 Line…

BILLY BUNTER AT BUTLIN’S It’s hard to imagine a time when children’s books were filled with tales centred around ‘good grub and lots of it’, but over-eating is what fat chump Billy Bunter does best. In this over-stuffed adventure, the schoolboy and his chums head to Butlin’s holiday camp with a pocket full of ill-gotten cash. Japes and pranks ensue, mostly, in Bunter’s case, involving the search for and consumption of ice cream, doughnuts and jammy treats. To be read greedily. Found in Oxfam, Great Malvern, Worcestershire…

Butterfly Sips INGREDIENTS 100g unrefined granulated sugar 900g water METHOD 1 Boil the water in a saucepan. 2 Add the sugar. 3 Simmer until sugar is dissolved. 4 Allow to cool completely. TO SERVE You’ll need a brightly coloured plastic plate (butterflies especially love red, yellow, blue and purple), string, any shallow plastic pot with a lip (small yogurt pots are ideal), a brightly coloured nylon dish scrubber and some overripe fruit. 1 Cut a hole in the centre of the plastic plate to fit in the shallow plastic pot. The lip on the pot should prevent it sliding through. 2 Pierce the plastic plate in four evenly spaced points around its rim. Thread four 40cm pieces of string through these holes and tie knots on the underside to create…

MAKES 30 FOR THE FILLING 1 tbsp unsalted butter 150g fresh spinach ½ onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 tbsp olive oil 20g grated parmesan 160g ricotta, drained ½ egg, beaten ½ tsp grated nutmeg FOR THE PASTRY 125g plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled 225g plain flour, plus more for dusting 30ml cold water ¼ tsp salt ½ egg, beaten 1 Heat the butter in a small pan with the spinach and a splash of water. Cover and steam for a few mins, then drain and finely chop. Transfer to a large bowl. 2 In the same pan, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add to the spinach. Cool, then add the cheeses and beaten egg. Season with salt and nutmeg. 3 Cut the…

JENNY LINFORD Jenny, a food writer, profiles street food queen Petra Barran on page 32. She is the author of Food Lovers’ London, The Creamery Kitchen and The Tomato Basket. What journey are you looking forward to this summer? Going to North Cornwall for body-boarding and cliff top walks. RUTH TIERNEY Ruth runs Etsy art shop LittleBirdLewis (www.etsy.com/uk/shop and regularly visits French flea markets. She writes about her adventures at brocantes on page 73. What journey are you looking forward to this summer? A week in Stockholm, Sweden, where I’m hoping to find some vintage treasures while island hopping. EMMA FARRARONS French illustrator Emma is the author of the bestselling The Mindfulness Colouring Book and she designed the colouring cards for our June issue. See how other designers have interpreted…

Ahoy! Amber Jane Butchart’s bright and breezy book charts the history of our love affair with maritime fashion – from the blue-and-white striped Breton sweater via the cheeky, worn-at-a-slant sailor caps to the more outré couture creations inspired by mermaids and buccaneers. It’s divided into five sections: Officer, Sailor, Fisherman, Sportsman and Pirate*, and is beautifully illustrated with photographs and fashion sketches, and includes inspiring quotes from designers and artists on the allure of “high fashion on the high seas”. Eye patches, epaulettes, peacoats and beach pyjamas are all given their due, as are sailor’s tattoos; there’s a brilliant picture of Princess Waldemar of Denmark with an anchor on her royal forearm. (Thames & Hudson, £24.95)…

Serves 2 1 large ripe avocado (150g) 1 large tomato, deseeded and finely chopped (80g) 1 small red onion, finely chopped (80g) 1 red or green chilli (optional) 1 tbsp chopped coriander 1tsp finely chopped parsley (optional) 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper juice of 1 lime, or to taste 1 Mash the avocado with a fork and mix in the tomato, red onion and chilli, if using. 2 Mix in the coriander and parsley (if using) and season with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and plenty of lime juice. One to try: Place a flour tortilla in a dry frying pan, spread over the guacamole with a sprinkling of grated cheese and fold over to form a semi-circle. Fry on both…

Who would have thought it? Dungarees, for so long abandoned in the fashion wilderness, are having a moment. Once ridiculed for their associations with children’s TV presenters, Dexy’s Midnight Runners and the Waltons, they are now championed by Alexa Chung and her cronies, which might account for sales increasing by 160% at ASOS last year. We have been here before, of course. During the 1970s and early 1980s, many a woman (and, tragically, man) rocked around in a pair, often in primary colours. Julie Christie was one of the few who managed to look lovely in them, even with a head scarf. (Though she had the advantage of being whippet-thin: dungarees are really not best suited to the more curvaceous among us.) They proved complicated, too, when a trip to…

SUMMER SPELT ALMOND CAKE Makes one 23cm cake (8–10 slices) FOR THE SPONGE 175g butter, softened, plus more for greasing the tin 175g light brown sugar 2 eggs ¼ vanilla pod, seeds scraped out 125g ground almonds 175g wholemeal spelt flour 2 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp salt 200g halved cherries, or whole raspberries or blueberries 200g peaches or nectarines, sliced 2 tbsp caster sugar, for sprinkling rose petals, for scattering (optional) FOR THE ICING (OPTIONAL) 200g icing sugar 1-2 tbsp rose water 1 Preheat the oven to 160/Fan 140/320F. Butter a 23cm cake tin and line with parchment paper. 2 In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Add…

OKAY, WE DIDN’T QUITE crawl out of bed in time for the 5am grand opening (blame the local wine for that!) but when we did emerge from our hotel in nearby Abbeville at 7am, stallholders on the outer edges were still setting up so we didn’t miss all of the bargains. I had my eyes peeled for vintage fabrics. My husband Chris collects records, so made a beeline for boxes of vinyl. We’d come prepared with roomy bags, euros and plenty of water. The joy of driving to these flea markets (Amiens is just over an hour from Calais) is that you can load your car with finds, without having to worry about luggage restrictions on planes and trains. The sheer scale of the market is daunting and exciting. Some…

As the ever-successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise proves, we all still love a pirate. Fashion historian Amber Jane Butchart researched their sartorial influence for her book Nautical Chic* and discovered the pirate has been mythologised for centuries. “From Captain Hook to Captain Jack Sparrow, the pirate is now seen to embody romance and adventure on the high seas,” she says. It goes back to Bryon’s The Corsair, which portrayed the pirate as a romantic rebel. But they didn’t all resemble Jack Sparrow. A description of a real-life pirate she unearthed from 1699 said: “Large jointed, Lean, much disfigured with the small pox, broad Speech, thick Lipped, a blemish or Cast in his left eye.” Where’s Johnny Depp when you need him?…

1 Find an open area, as high up as you can, to get your signal seen. 2 The average barbecue or campfire won’t cut it for signalling needs. Build a fire with grass and greenery for a dense, white smoke. 3 Thoroughly soak a blanket with water before stretching it over the fire. With someone’s help, hold it low enough to contain the smoke, but high enough not to burn. If alone in the wilderness, tie it to a tree instead. 4 Pull back one side of the blanket quickly, before rapidly re-covering the fire: you want a puff of smoke, not a stream. 5 The meaning of the number of smoke signals varied between Native American tribes. Three is a standard alarm sign today. 6 No blanket? Three large,…

An Asian citrus fruit that looks like a lemon/ mandarin hybrid. It has a tart flavour and sweet aroma. Although packed with vitamin C, it’s rarely eaten (and hard to get hold of) as a fruit; instead, its zest and juice are used in similar ways to a lemon, for both sweet and savoury dishes. Yuzu tastes pretty good in a cocktail, too. TRY IT: London’s Flesh & Buns makes a tasty yuzu tart. BUY IT: Sous Chef sells pure Yuzu juice, www.souschef.co.uk. SEE IT: On our Tasty Trend Pinterest board.…

LOUISE GORROD The Simple Things’ wishlist editor Louise is a Hove-based writer, baker, photographer and author of blog Buttercup Days www.buttercupdaysuk.blogspot.co.uk. See more of her things to want and wish for at www.pinterest.com/simplethings Enamelware | from £14.95 Robust and retro kitchenalia for kitchens and campers. www.minimoderns.com Maui deckchair | £50 A restful blue canvas to encourage contented slumbering in the sun.www.habitat.co.uk Glacier ice bucket| £49.95 To keep drinks stylishly chilled. Very cool. www.amazon.co.uk Hello Sunshine cushion | £8 A blast of primrose-coloured cheerfulness to brighten any cloudy morning.www.tesco.com/direct Salt-water sandals | £55 Retro-style sandals which, as the name suggests, are quite happy being paddled in the sea. www.toa.st/uk Traditional Chippy plate | £25 This beats eating your haddock, chips and mushy peas off a polystyrene tray by a mile.www.homeslicedesign.com Summer…

In 2010 poet Simon Armitage headed home along the Pennine Way. This time he’s reprising his role as a modern day troubadour and paying his way by reading poetry as he walks from Minehead in Somerset to Land’s End in Cornwall, strolling “through holiday destinations and tourist traps” and up steep hills armed with a holly stick and an expensive outdoor hat. His route takes him along crumbling coastal paths, through enchanted forests and eerie saltwater marshes, where spectral herons and tree trunks bleached to a silvery white give the landscape an otherworldy quality. (Faber, £16.99)…

Fair play You don’t have to be a child to love a fairground. We can’t resist a traditional, old-fashioned funfair with a helter skelter, coconut shy and air thick with the smell of candyfloss and doughnuts. All sticky fingers and queasy tummies. So we were very excited to hear that Dreamland Margate has just reopened, restored and redesigned under the creative arm of Wayne and Gerardine Hemingway. The park houses a collection of vintage rides including the UK’s oldest rollercoaster, the restored 1920s Grade-II listed Scenic Railway, along with other iconic rides. Expect upcycled kitsch seaside artefacts too. If that’s too far to travel, Carters Steam Fair is touring again this summer with July dates in noth London and Hemel Hempstead. Expect steam-powered rides for all ages and stalls from…

Fresh air films The Luna Cinema has showings around the south-east this month in fun locations from castles to lidos. There are films to suit all tastes from Breakfast at Tiffany’s to Birdman. www.lunacinema.com Catch a movie at a castle At Pentillie Castle in Cornwall, Chapterhouse Theatre will be performing The Jungle Book in the castle gardens. Wood-fired pizza oven and bar available (no picnics). 21 July, 6pm, www.pentillie.co.uk The play’s the thing The National Trust has outdoor theatres at several of its properties around the country over the coming weeks, staging Shakespeare and family favourites such as George’s Marvellous Medicine and Alice in Wonderland. www.nationaltrust.org.uk Screaming screenings One for the grown-ups, Picnic Cinema is screening cult and horror movies in quirky locations around the north of England –overnight camping,…

While we often worry about the creepy crawlies in our crops, bigger pests have larger appetites, causing more devastation. Pigeons in particular have a strong liking for brassica plants and can demolish cabbages, broccoli or kale overnight. The often-cited solutions of scarecrows, CDs or pointy sticks have been scientifically proven to be ineffective. Once a pigeon spots your plants, the only deterrent is to cover them with netting. There is no need for expensive structures – the blue water pipe available in most hardware stores will work. Simply cut to the right length, bend into hoops, then cover with netting. It is worth investing in some good quality fine netting – it will last for many years and keep most intruders away. Garden Organic is the national charity for organic…

FAVOURITE SHOP 12 Tónar Skólavörðustíg 15, Reykjavík Iceland has so many great bands, and quite a few good record shops. 12 Tónar is my favourite, as you’re welcome to listen to new releases while enjoying a free cup of coffee. www.12tonar.is GALLERIES Spark Design Space Klapparstígur 33 The only Reykjavík gallery dedicated to product design and a lovely spot to check out cool local design wares. www.sparkdesignspace.com FAVOURITE CAFÉ OR BAR Café Babalu Skólavörðustígur 22A With a bright orange exterior and kitschy inside, this is a great place to stop for a coffee, cake or even fresh crêpes. www.babalu.is FAVOURITE RESTAURANT Taco Barinn Hverfisgata 20 Relatively new on the restaurant scene, Tacobarinn serves up delicious tacos using fresh local ingredients, including salmon and lamb. www.facebook.com/Tacobarinn FAVOURITE HOTEL Hótel Frón Laugavegur…

There is plenty to love about sweet peas. The way they scramble riotously up cane wigwams, harnessing their butterfly-wing flowers with tendrils. And the colours of the blooms*, washed-out and gradated, like a watercolour left out in the rain. But their greatest appeal is surely their scent. Heady and sweet, it is often replicated by the perfume industry but never matched. Cut the flowers regularly to keep them coming and bring indoors to fill the house with the fragrance of summer. * The multi-coloured varieties of ornamental Sweet peas as we know them were created in the late 1800s by Scottish nurseryman Henry Eckford.…

Last summer I had a lavender epiphany. I wanted to put in a hedge at the front of a raised bed and I’d all but decided on the classic English variety, Lavandula angustifolia, when I remembered Downderry Nursery’s spectacular display at last year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. With one click of the mouse, a world of opportunity opened up to me. Not that there’s anything wrong with common lavender, of course. It looks gorgeous, is easy to grow and is available everywhere, from garden centres and nurseries to DIY stores and even supermarkets. But taking the time to look further afield provided me with an incredible range of colours, cultivars and sizes from which to choose. I was able to pick the best type to create a low hedge that…

Every once in a while, Blair Thomson attends a gathering of the brethren. “The other guys are more or less old men. They’ve probably been doing it for ever,” he says, admitting that other stamp collectors are “often quite baffled” by him. This should come as no surprise. It has been the lot of every revolutionary throughout history to “look a little bit out of place”. Because, reader, you should be in no doubt: Blair Thomson is not like other stamp collectors. He sounds fairly bemused as he recounts stories of more orthodox philatelists attending exhibitions alongside him “armed with a long list of high-value stamps, spending hundreds of pounds on things they simply have to have, inspecting everything under a glass.” He is not scornful though, nor is he…

FULL OF things to want and wish for things to make life a bit nicer things for inside the home and out Pay us a visit shop.thesimplethings.com Our shopkeeper’s picks for July... Summer means eating alfresco. I love packing up a simple picnic to share. Individual scalloped edged brown paper bags from The Original Pop Up Shop are perfect for mini feasts. For gatherings at home I’m looking for some beautiful table linen. Classic washed linen tablecloths, placemats and napkins from The Linen Works are ideal for a relaxed setting. And handmade porcelain Dimple Cups by Linda Bloomfield are just the ticket for serving tea made with mint fresh from the garden. Louise Gorrod, Shopkeeper…

PARADISE FIELDS PLATE What’s a British picnic without an abundance of pretty flowers? BEST FOR: Those who like their picnicware (and bag and brolly) to match nicely. £6, Cath Kidston www.cathkidston.com EXPLORE SIDE PLATE The great outdoors gets a makeover in graphic lime green. BEST FOR: Intrepid adventurers who like their home comforts. £3, House by John Lewis www.johnlewis.com FISH DINNER PLATE There’s something charmingly coastal about this design. BEST FOR: Seasiders who don’t like getting sand in their sandwiches. £3, Linea at House of Fraser www.houseoffraser.co.uk…

Despite its familiarity on our pizzas, the origins of mozzarella are a mystery. A speciality of the area around Naples in Italy, its first cookbook appearance was in the 16th century, but it didn’t receive its name until the 20th. It’s “mozza” or “cut” because the curd is cut for shaping into its distinctive balls. TASTING NOTES : Fresh cheese with a rubbery texture, a mild flavour and salty tang. Try in a Caprese salad with fresh tomatoes and basil.…

PASSION FLOWER WHAT IS IT? A climbing vine with showy flowers that are followed by purple edible fruit. This exotic beauty does grow in our cooler climate with some sun and preferably a sheltered wall to help it get going. Happiest in well-drained soil, it copes in a container with a few handfuls of grit added. WHY WOULD YOU? It’s fast-growing and evergreen: useful for disguising unsightly walls or fences. Passiflora caerulea is a trouble-free climber with striking purple-fringed white flowers or, for something a bit more demure, go for the elegant pure-white blooms of ‘Constance Elliott’. WHY WOULDN’T YOU? In colder areas, it needs a little protection in winter and ideally bringing in out of harsh weather. Or try mulching the base and wrapping in horticultural fleece. WHAT TO…

Common Tortoiseshell Limpet Don’t be fooled by the funny cone ‘hat’ – limpets aren’t just clingy, their teeth are the strongest natural material known to human kind. Queen Scallop A fragile beauty, with regal appearance in shades of red, pink, brown, orange and purple. This monarch is frequently abolished for the purpose of eating. Common Periwinkle Takes on, and probably beats, Michael Fish in storm prediction stakes: find them high on the beach and it’s a sign of bad weather to come. Pelican’s Foot Once the ugly duckling, 18th-century conchologists cruelly called it ‘blobber-lipped’ – it’s now a supermodel in the shell world. The Knobbed Triton The Loch Ness monster of shells: big, beautiful and rarely sighted. Like Nessie, it would be slightly difficult to ignore – at 22cm, it’s…

LONGSHORE DRIFT What’s the fun of a visit to the seaside without reliving your Geography GCSE fieldwork? Longshore drift (also known as littoral drift, longshore current or longshore transport) describes the movement along the coastline of the material transported by waves. Waves approach the beach at an angle dependent on the prevailing wind. The swash of the wave carries material up the beach at that same angle. However, gravity pulls the backwash – and the material it’s carrying – back down the beach at a right angle. You’re hopefully now recalling the diagram showing this zigzag swash and backwash. The beach is eroded when more material is carried away than supplied and groynes are often erected to help with this. By preventing the action of longshore drift, groynes stop material…