Table of contents for June 2021 in The Simple Things

Invest in some really good coffee and fill your cake tin to keep you refreshed while pottering Find something new to listen to; a podcast, a radio station or an audiobook Rearrange your furniture in one room, or just a corner, to give it a different look Give all your pots a really good clean out so they’re ready for potting on These are just a few ideas we like on how to purposefully potter. Note down some of your own and set aside some time to make them happen……

Now that summer has arrived and gatherings are allowed, we can chuck some coals gratefully on the barbecue (with an umbrella at the ready, of course – this is summer in Britain) and get grilling. Whether you prefer sausages, burgers or a good old veggie skewer*, when it comes to barbecuing food, we all know that, really, it’s all about the condiments. Pick a dull day the week before and enjoy spending time in your kitchen making ketchup, mustard, relishes and dips that will elevate a humble sausage into the hot dog of dreams (you could even bake the bread bun, too). The filling of jars for your larder and fridge is time well spent as – once the coals have cooled – you’ll be able to slip some pickles…

While gelato is all about classic cioccolato, pistacchio and stracciatella, the Great British Ice Cream likes to go off-piste. Have a lick of these: • Rose-infused with a fruits of the forest ripple: that’s King Richard III, a House of York-themed creation from the history buffs at Gelato Village in Leicester. • Orange and fruity, Luca’s I’rn Brew turns Scotland’s vivid national drink into a refreshing sorbet. Find it at the brand’s cafés in Musselburgh and Edinburgh. • It may be seasonal, but Hackney Gelato’s Hot Cross Bun flavour captures all the Easter goodness of its muse. Think sultanas, candied fruit and, of course, a generous helping of salted butter. • Bacon-infused milk, a custard-filled egg and plenty of dry ice go into the making of Heston Blumenthal’s signature bacon…

Midsummer. Also known as summer solstice, drawn from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still). In other words, after months of tracking north and before turning south, the day the sun stops. With the most worshipped, most feared body in the ancient universe, at rest; and the laws of nature and divinity suspended, the supernatural had just one day to weave its magic unhindered. Ghosts, it was said, could pass from the afterworld into ours on this day. Spirits and fairies could commune with us. Bonfires and all-night vigils provided light and watchfulness to keep back demons, the gatherings often sustained by dancing, feasting and debauchery. Conditions in which it’s easy to imagine the birth of such customs as jumping over said fires, the highest leap supposed to…

CARROT AND CLOVER CAKE Serves 8 150ml rapeseed oil 125g caster sugar 6 clover flowers*, washed and segmented 2 large eggs 250g self-raising flour 1 heaped tsp baking powder 200g carrots, finely grated For the icing: 150g icing sugar 50g unsalted butter, softened 3 clover flowers, washed and segmented 1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/ Gas 4 and line a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper. 2 Put the oil and sugar in a mixing bowl, add the prepared clover petals and beat in the eggs. 3 Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl and stir through the grated carrots. Fold the flour and carrot mixture into the oil, sugar and egg mixture. 4 Turn into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for…

Favourite shop COMPTOIR 102 A great concept store offering fashion, beauty, homeware and an organic café.comptoir102.com Favourite gallery XVA GALLERY Pioneering contemporary Middle Eastern art, the gallery is located in a traditional wind-tower building.xvagallery.com Favourite cafés KULTURE HOUSE STORE A bright and inviting store and café with a Marrakesh-style rooftop dining area. @shopkulturehouse THE GREY This has a bistro supper club feel, where coffee, culture, design and creativity mix.the-grey.co Favourite restaurant ALICI This place on Bluewaters Island brings a taste of the Amalfi coast to Dubai. The panoramic Marina view is another reason to love it.alici.com Favourite market Head to the Jumeirah Fish Market for an affordable and fresh catch of the day. Jumeirah-1, 186 4C Street Favourite hotel SONARA CAMP There are plenty of amazing hotels in Dubai, but…

Embrace your situation Maybe you’re working and studying or you have a young child who is a terrible sleeper. Accepting what is out of your control can help you create more time as you can’t simply blame it on something you can’t change. When we accept the things that drain our time, we can find work-arounds that take those things into account. Try using the writing prompt: ‘Before I create more time for myself, I need to accept…’ to get that process started. Pay yourself first There is never any ‘leftover’ time after all the jobs and demands of life are done so make sure you ‘pay yourself first.’ Choose times for yourself that you set aside in advance, the same as you would a medical appointment or important meeting.…

Chipotle mushroom and black bean burgers with peanuts and lime These meat-free burgers are great on the grill but also work a treat straight oven. Chipotle mushroom and black bean burgers with peanuts and lime Serves 4 50g smooth peanut butter 1 x 400g tin black beans, drained but not rinsed 2 garlic cloves 2 tsp chipotle chilli flakes 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tbsp olive oil 1 heaped tbsp rye flour Zest of 1 lime 1 tsp sea salt flakes 250g chestnut mushrooms To serve: Lime wedges A handful of chopped salted peanuts A handful of chopped fresh coriander 4 burger buns 1 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan180C/Gas 6. Put the peanut butter in a food processor with 60g of the black beans, the garlic, chilli flakes, cumin, olive…

• If you’re into tomatoes, I highly recommend seeking out heirloom varieties rather than the standard hybrids you find in most garden centres. The harvest may be a little smaller but the flavour is far superior and nothing will make you smile quite like a technicolour rainbow tomato salad. Try Indigo Rose (black), Jersey Devil (giant, long and red) and Ananas Noir (tie-dye green, red and yellow). • Nasturtiums are brilliant! The whole plant is edible. The bright trumpet-like flowers are a beautiful addition to salads, while the peppery leaves are a great rocket substitute – and they also make an amazing pesto. You can even eat the fresh seeds, pickled like capers. • Towards the end of June start thinking about what you’ll grow during winter. Chard is fabulous…

“The greenhouse was in place when we bought the cottage but it looked very sorry for itself. During the first lockdown I gave it a budget makeover and it’s been used non-stop ever since. During the spring, it s full of hundreds of cut flower seedlings and dahlias in pots. In winter, I bring in small citrus trees and other tender plants for protection. In between, I use it as an extra room. There’s a beautiful old wooden table in there which we regularly gather around with coffee and cake, and the scent of jasmine growing inside is incredible. I visit first thing in the morning to water and to check on new growth. It’s been particularly lovely during the past year to have the hope that comes from seeing…

There’s something about a line of washing, blowing in the breeze, A lively, dancing suspension bridge harnessing the natural power of the weather. I’m known among my friends for putting my washing line to use no matter what the weather and, though I’ve been caught out many a time, I put my trust in this narrow cord on which I peg a daily load. When my daughter was born, a friend introduced me to cloth nappies and the virtues of rewashing. She shared her satisfaction in seeing a row of uniform white terry squares hung out to dry. I was curious and, patting myself on the back for sparing the local landfill, I soon succumbed to the lure of a simple row of white orderliness amid the, otherwise, chaotic life…

45 DAYS ORGANIC PILSNER 4.7%, £3.70 Danish craft brewers To Øl appreciate it takes time to make a good pilsner. An unhurried, 45-day fermentation and maturation process produces crisp, delicate flavours that complement – rather than overpower – anything cooked over charcoal. TIDAL REVEALS PEACH & APRICOT IMPERIAL GOSE 7%, £5.50 This beer by Polly's Brew Co. balances sweet fruits with measured tartness, then wraps everything up with a sprinkle of sea salt. This IPA will bring out the beauty in sweet and salted sides. NEAL GETS THINGS DONE IPA 6.5%, £5.95 As the sun sinks you’ll want to sip something substantial. While you could turn to any of Verdant’s outstanding hop-range, Neal Gets Things Done is a top-notch drop. Thick and rich with layer after layer of pineapple and…

Robin’s Boat, Calgary Beach, Isle of Mull Just steps from the sea, this characterful shack shelters under an upturned boat. It’s not a parlour as such, but you can plonk yourself down on the Caribbean-worthy beach to savour a scoop of local Tobermory Whisky Marmalade. Marine Ices, north London It may face stiff competition from its plucky upstart neighbours, but this frescoed parlour is a Camden institution. It’s been around since 1931 – plenty of time to hone its smooth, moreish gelato. Joe’s Ice Cream Parlour, Swansea Joe Cascarini, an Italian immigrant, is the man behind Wales’s most beloved ice cream. Fans come for the fresh vanilla – a secret recipe brought from the Abruzzi Mountains and updated with Welsh ingredients – although you’d be remiss not to ask for…

Believing hasn’t always been easy in a fairy-sceptic world. No one wants to end up like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was humiliated by his very public championing of the Cottingley Fairies. In 1917, two young cousins photographed cardboard cut-outs in their garden, persuaded the likes of Sir Arthur that they were real fairies, only then to eventually reveal their fakery. Happily, 97 years later, came real proof, in the form of photographs taken by John Hyatt – a university lecturer, no less – in the Rossendale Valley, Lancashire. “They were just enjoying themselves and there was a little dance in the sunlight going on,” he told the Daily Mail.…

Morning! Where do you like to take your first cuppa? In bed, brought by my husband Karl. He pretty much starts the day saying, “Tea and biscuits,” meaning tea for me and breakfast for our rescue terrier, Graham. And how do you like your tea? I love a builder’s, no sugar, with oat milk in my favourite Pantone mugs. Tell us a bit about where you are Our home is an ex-bakery in Bristol. We run a zero-waste refill shop in the front. I also make hair products there and Karl (a sound designer) has built his own basement music studio. What’s first on the work list? We open the shop at 10am and work until 2pm, refilling customers’ bottles and serving zero-waste products. Shop hours over, what’s next? Lunch…

Found treasure Hailed as the most important discovery since Tutankhamen’s tomb, a 3,000-year-old lost city has been uncovered near Egypt’s famous Valley of the Kings. The city of Aten dates back to the ancient kingdom’s golden age, and is already turning up treasures like scarab pendants and jewellery. Turtle treatment Green sea turtles who have been affected by a 120-mile Mediterranean oil spill are being nursed back to health with a surprising treatment – mayonnaise. Employees at Israel’s National Sea Turtle Rescue Centre discovered that feeding the turtles the condiment helps flush the toxic tar coating their digestive tracts through their systems. Skull secrets The genome of a woman’s skull uncovered in the 1950s in the Czech Republic has been analysed, revealing it to be 45,000 years old; the oldest…

The fountain’s quick transparent harpis pulsing as I read. Each stringconnects to light and loops unsharpin splashy angles, slipped notes freedto scatter over asphalt sparkling. With shrieks and giggling, three kidsrace through its music maze. They playa sloppy circle with their hands –they reconfigure, twist the sprayto spout scattershot, go haywireacross the pavement. I seetheir pleasure is in breaking upthe lyre’s shape. They discomposeits fine design, they chop and cupeach jet, reroute and split what flowsinto a flashy wreck. Anarchists!They dash the sequenced protocol,obstruct the water’s symphysis,they flout control, force off coursewith arms and legs the fountain’sharmony.What rains here now is sheerglow. About the author: Nell Prince is a writer from Lincolnshire. She’s currently a research student at King’s College London and recent work has appeared in New Poetries VIII…

For Terri-Jane Dow, making penpals has given her an abundance of recipe ideas, reading suggestions and connections with like-minded people all over the world. But it’s also helped her create new habits and carve out some valuable head space. Last summer, when lives still felt on hold, I saw a tweet from The New Yorker journalist Rachel Syme about the vintage typewriter she’d just bought. To test it out, and to forge some sense of community in a very strange time, she offered to send typewritten letters to people in her wider network. A year later, Penpalooza.com has over 12,000 members all over the world, a monthly e-newsletter, a buzzy hashtag on Twitter and even merchandise available on Etsy. Using special software to match up aspiring penpals, Syme had to…

After training at Kew Gardens, Arthur went to work for Sarah Raven at her farm in East Sussex. He also created an acclaimed urban cut flower garden at the Emma Bridgewater factory in Stoke-on-Trent. Known as one of the UK’s young gardening stars, Arthur specialises in “creating islands of flamboyance” using only containers in his tiny but abundant plot – a five-metre pathway leading to the front door of his parents’ house (the back garden is his mum’s territory). His much-loved little flock of bantam hens live in his grandmother Min’s garden down the road. For more flamboyant flowers, follow him on Instagram: @arthurparkinson_.…

• Your outdoor space is as important as the inside, so find furniture that’ll fit your needs in the garden. You can’t have too many places to sit and enjoy the view. • Create a harmonious and relaxed look by mixing wood, such as oak and pine, with muted colours. • If an item jars because of its colour, it’s simple to repaint it and start again. • If you spot something in a second-hand shop or market that you love, buy it and store it until the time’s right – otherwise it’ll always be the one that got away!…

DESERT DUNES HOOP Get to grips with just one simple stitch and you can craft this creative cacti scene. You will need: Template, downloaded from thesimplethings.com/blog/embroidery-hoop-template Cream linen, 35cm x 35cm Heat-erasable fabric pen 15cm diameter embroidery hoop Stranded cotton skeins, 1 each in black, brown, gold, lavender, mauve, olive, pale pink, light pink, sage, tan, light terracotta and dark terracotta Needle Scissors Iron 1 Transfer the design from the template to the centre of the fabric with a heat-erasable fabric pen. Mount the fabric into your hoop with the design in the centre. 2 Stranded cotton is made up of six strands – in this design, you’ll be using all six strands in each colour. Cut a 50cm length of black and start by stitching the five Saguaro cacti…

We’ve all, no doubt, felt that desire to find somewhere to escape to, where we can pocket ourselves away from the ‘real world’ for a little bit. This family-run organic farm in rural East Sussex is just the spot for that kind of restful time away. Set in 140 acres and surrounded by ancient woodland, Hawthbush Farm invites you to immerse yourself in the tranquil setting, to switch off and enjoy the simple pleasure of picturesque walks straight from your cottage door. You can even pre-book a delivery of beer from the on-site microbrewery and products from the farm’s own botanical-based skincare brand, so if your idea of a great escape involves some, or all, of pottering, picnics, pints, and pampering, you’ll feel thoroughly cossetted here. Where we stayed With…

DOWN TO A TEA TOWEL Top topiary, and a garden to dream of, complete hopefully, with your own handy ‘gentleman gardener’. It’s got a good story, too; its charming design is based on a midcentury design by Daphne Padden. £11.95 from todryfor.com M ATCHBOXES PUZZLE “There are two seasons Scotland: June and winter.” Billy Connolly Introduced in 2019, this sign doesn't just notify drivers of the likelihood of hedgehogs, it also covers other mammals including badgers, otters and squirrels. The PRACTICAL, the PLAYFUL and the SILLY Stretch the use of elastic bands, three ways. PRACTICAL: stop a slamming door by hooking a band around handles on both sides. Cross over latch to keep it from locking. PLAYFUL: Revive a classic.…

Blue Skies Ella Fitzgerald Fly Me To The Moon Frank Sinatra I Walk the Line Johnny Cash Sweet Little Sixteen Chuck Berry Nutbush City Limits Ike & Tina Turner Orinoco Flow Enya Dancing Queen Abba Will You Love Me Tomorrow? Carole King The Killing Moon Echo & the Bunnymen Cry Me A River Julie London I Left My Heart in San Francisco Tony Bennett Desperado The Eagles Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding Elton John (Is This The Way To) Amarillo Tony Christie thesimplethings.com/blog/dadsplaylist stop look listen Our playlist was inspired by the dad of our regular contributor, Lottie. Richard Storey became an internet sensation when he selected tracks for a ‘desert island disco’ on Lauren Laverne’s 6Music show earlier this year. To mark Father’s Day, we asked…

I can lose a whole afternoon in the spare room. “Just going to do some sorting,” I call to His Nibs. He’s already away, having his postprandial 40-winks with David Suchet. Won’t get a peep till I bring him his Yorkshire Gold and a couple of Rich Tea fingers at 4. I clear a path through the bin bags of old clothes, coats and what have you. Lord knows where it comes from, all this stuff. Really must have a good clear out… Bath towels, hand towels, beach towels… you’d think we’re running a Guest House! Now then, what’s in here? Old Bluey. Well I never. Picnics at the coast, His Nibs, me and the kids all sitting on it, pretending it was a magic carpet. Faded, threadbare, but still…

The Modern Antiquarian by Julian Cope (Thorsons) The singer pairs academic rigour with personable accessibility to detail more than 300 prehistoric sites in the UK, visited during an eight-year odyssey to find the wellspring of our cultural identity. Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain by Russell Ash (Reader’s Digest) A doorstep tome exhaustively detailing superstitions, hauntings, festivals, mythical figures, etc, in highly readable fashion. So compelling, in fact, that Simon Costin, founder of the Museum of British Folklore, cites it as the source of his fascination with custom. “It’s riddled with inaccuracies, but it was so special,” he recalls. The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (Hodder) In which three children discover a sky-scraping magical tree, the departure point for four novels’ worth of adventure. Borrowing heavily from folklore, Enid Blyton…

Over the past year, our diaries have been wiped clean of the most familiar markers of everyday time: from work commutes and weekly coffee with friends to birthday parties, haircuts and holidays. As befits time’s curious, paradoxical nature, it’s been both the longest and shortest of time. Now, as workplaces and high streets rumble back to life, we are once again timekeepers of our old, busier lives. But what about the precious evenings we might have carved out to start a hobby, our daily amble around the local park plugged into our favourite podcast or that new project we’ve been planning? How can we work a slower rhythm into our soon-to-be-busier lives and learn to prioritise and practise the things that really make us tick whilst also leaving room for…

• Send a recipe for something that you love to cook – you could maybe send a parcel with a few ingredients, too. • A quick book review or recommendation bumps up someone else’s reading list and is a good way to connect. • Revive mixtapes. Spotify playlist URLs are easy to jot on a postcard and you can make them completely personal. • Set up an ‘art on a postcard’ theme each month and post the results to each other. • A subscription to a magazine that you both love (hint: visit thesimplethings.com/subscribe) means you can discuss it together, even if you can’t read it together. • Many floristry businesses, such as bloomandwild.com, offer ‘letterbox bouquets’ to brighten someone’s day.…

No curator has ever coveted more or discriminated less. Any article ever wrought or woven or worn by humankind, gravity has attempted to claim it. And whenever carelessness and soft ground have intersected, it has succeeded. Thus, an invisible museum lies beneath our feet, spanning the entirety of human history, each exhibit held for all eternity. Or such was the case until 1931, when Gerhard Fischer patented the handheld metal detector and cleared the path for treasure seekers such as Dawn Chipchase to go climbing through the briar and bramble to return unearthed artefacts to terra firma. “I’ve got quite a vivid imagination, and I always have a little story about how they got there,” she says. IN A WORLD THAT CAN FEEL INCREASINGLY UNIFORM , WE’RE CELEBRATING THOSE HAPPILY…

Maker of the Month Add charm and elegance to your front door Make coming home even better with furniture for your front door by Adams & Mack, founded just last year. Husband-and-wife-team, Mike and Jenny McClement, consider their door knockers to be sculptures – as beautiful as they are practical. The nature-inspired designs, which include birds, fish, a hare and a bee, start life as a simple pencil sketch before moulds are created and are sent to a family foundry in India, run by skilled artisans. When casting is complete, the door knockers are assembled back in Devon.adamsandmack.com Glow up Phosphorescence by Julia Baird There’s a beguiling sense of wonder in Baird’s beautiful book, Phosphorescence: On Awe, Wonder & Things that Sustain You When the World Goes Dark. Deeply awed…