Innehållsförteckning för December 2019 från The Simple Things

Based in an old factory, a pebble’s throw from Brighton, ceramicist Jo Davda and her team produce a range of simple handmade tableware, including plates, bowls and mugs, as well as generous serving bowls and platters. It’s all handmade with English clay from Stoke-on-Trent. A calm and serene colour palette ranges from olive, pumice and slate through to heather, turquoise and milk white. Each of the colourways makes a stylish backdrop for any food. brickettdavda.com…

The Simple Things contributor, Mark Diacono, has always savoured sour – his favourite childhood sweets were sherbet lemons and acid drops. Celebrating the rise of fermented food, he explains how to make a sourdough starter, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, yoghurt and buttermilk and the ways in which these unusual flavours bring “contrast, balance, variety, zing – pleasure.” There are recipes for Gooseberry and Sage Focaccia, Quick Pickled Red Onions, Seville Orange Curd (“fabulously silky”), Winter Tabbouleh, dressed with tart, bright pomegranate seeds and Persian Fish Stew, with a bite of black lime and green chilli. (Quadrille)…

For some, wartime work in the top-secret Special Operations Executive – sending coded messages to operatives working behind enemy lines – might be their headline achievement. But, for Helen Taylor Thompson, it’s a fascinating footnote in a life defined by a longstanding commitment to helping others. Now 95, post-war, Helen worked for the then newly-created NHS. On the board of a small hospital, Mildmay, in the East End of London, not only did Helen tirelessly campaign against its closure in 1982, but she also raised the necessary thousands to save it. She felt it was particularly important, she’s said, because it was somewhere that had always “worked with the most vulnerable people.” Her commitment to serving society’s most vulnerable is especially inspiring. When stigma about AIDS was at its height,…

CARDAMOM CAKE WITH MULLED WINE JAM Serves 8 FOR THE CAKE: 120ml milk 10 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed 2 tsp vanilla bean paste 275g plain flour 1 tbsp baking powder 225g unsalted butter 225g caster sugar 3 eggs FOR THE JAM: 240ml red wine 400g plums, pitted and quartered 200g black seedless grapes, plus extra to decorate 2 cinnamon sticks 1 star anise pod ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg 450g granulated sugar 30ml lemon juice Half an orange, thickly sliced FOR THE TOPPING: 250g mascarpone 150g icing sugar 80ml double cream 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160/Gas 4. Grease two round 20cm cake tins and line the bottoms with baking parchment. 2 To make the cake, gently heat the milk in a saucepan with…

Turkey aside, party hats and bad jokes are what Christmas dinner is all about, meaning crackers are a must for festive family gatherings. If you’re fed up of useless plastic toys, making your own means you can personalise the contents and even use leftover wrapping paper to make your crackers as eco-friendly as possible. And they’re not just for Christmas either. You could create your own for a wedding, birthday or even a dinner party at any time of the year. Christmas crackers CREATE YOUR OWN UNIQUE, COLOURFUL CARDBOARD CRACKERS YOU WILL NEED Craft knife Cracker template (download from thesimplethings.com) Cutting board Pencil 6 sheets of A4 card Ruler 6 cracker snaps Double-sided tape Tissue paper Ribbon 1 Cut out the template and draw around it on a piece of…

* There’s no better way to get to the heart of a city than through the people who live there. Every month we ask someone, clearly in love with their city, to take us on a personal tour and tell us what makes it so special. You may feel inspired to visit one day or to rediscover the charms of a city closer to you, but for now just sit back, relax and enjoy some armchair travel. How long have you lived in the city? I was born and raised in Moscow. I moved to St Pete* 13 years ago and I love it, despite the climate. There’s a common saying here that goes: “It’s cold and sad around? That’s the way we like it.” Tell us what makes your…

• The custom of singing and making merry in midwinter began long before Christianity brought us Christmas – the Romans’ winter solstice tradition Saturnalia was a festival to brighten this otherwise challenging time of year. • Plygain, meaning ‘when the cock crows’, is the Welsh tradition of a service on Christmas morning beginning around 3am. Despite the severely early start, it’s seen a revival in recent years. • Nine Lessons and Carols, the annual concert held in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, which is broadcast on Radio 4 every Christmas Eve, began as a celebration of the end of the First World War. It now attracts millions of listeners around the world.…

December days can race away from us. However, the joys of an advent calender shouldn’t be forgotten and can add a moment of kindness, reflection and calm into a hectic time. By making your own, you can create memories rather than piles of chocolate or plastic toys. This advent calendar is quick to put together and it can start on any day in December, if you make a shorter version. It works for all ages, too – rather than gifts, you place a promise in each envelope that the recipient can trade in whenever they like. Whether it’s a trip to the cinema, the first pick from the Christmas chocolates or just a nice hug, it’s both thoughtful and money-saving! Natural advent calendar USE SEASONAL FOLIAGE OR DRIED LEAVES AND…

• Be a collector, fill your home with finds that make you happy. They don’t need to fit a theme – your passion is the theme. • Rag rugs break up bare wooden floorboards and also give a space added texture and warmth. • Give old furniture a new lease of life by repurposing them in different rooms. For example, the cupboards in the bedroom are old kitchen cabinets and the display cabinet in the lounge was originally from a dentist’s office. • Use retro suitcases as alternative storage. They can either sit proudly piled at the end of your bed or can slide underneath when you need more space.…

It’s hard to beat a biscuit exchange: bake (the more homemade the better), meet with friends, swap biscuits and make your tin look pretty, then go home with your very own selection box of Christmas biscuits. And not a Family Circle tin in sight » Cinnamon roll biscuits Nothing says Christmas like the taste and smell of cinnamon. This biscuit version of Swedish cinnamon rolls have the same gooey goodness, but with added crunch. Makes 30 150g golden caster sugar 170g unsalted butter (softened) 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract 300g plain flour ½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt FOR THE FILLING 40g light muscovado sugar 1 tbsp unsalted butter (melted) 1 tbsp ground cinnamon 1 Beat together the sugar and butter until smooth and creamy. Add the egg…

Paper decorations | £8 These Indian paper decorations come in a variety of warm tones. We’re told ‘blush’ is the new red and gold this year.roseandgrey.co.uk SKOG mini candle & hand cream gift set | £35 You may struggle to gift this set inspired by the scents of Scandanavian forests.skandinavisk.com Silk velvet dress | £245 This soft, mid-length velvet dress is as Christmassy as Bing Crosby bearing mince pies. toa.st/uk Tapestry tote | £98 Hand woven with British wool, this limited edition tote is as sturdy as it is beautiful.thewelshgirl.com Christmas special wall chart XL | £59 Swap your traditional tree for this canvas print. No fairylight stress necessary.folkinteriors.co.uk Baubles | from £8; Newstead Candelabra | £25 Sit down to Christmas lunch in style with this slightly Scandi, pared-back dinner…

East Sussex-based Reste specialises in artisanal and handcrafted household products and accessories. Disillusioned with modern consumerism and our emerging throwaway society, owner Jacqui Martin is drawn to functional, well designed homewares, made using traditional methods and materials. Handcrafted ceramics, vintage stoneware marmalade pots for storing pens, handmade utility brushes from Sweden and super-soft throws can be founds amongst the shelves. reste.co.uk…

KATHRYN’S PAPER DECORATIONS 1 Cut out a template shape from a piece of card. For the tree, we used a 16cm tall and 14cm wide triangle. Using a scalpel or craft knife, carefully score a line down the centre and fold neatly in half. 2 Repeat eight times to end up with eight folded shapes. 3 Line up two shapes so they are side by side, and neatly glue together. 4 Repeat with the rest of the folded shapes, following round in the same direction until they all join up to form a 3D shape. You could try making different sizes and shapes, or use a mixture of colours and textures. If you want to thread your decorations onto string, don’t glue the last two sides together just yet, so…

LISTEN: THE RAMONES Eithne Farry, Books Editor The first record of the season is The Ramones’ Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight), which is the theme tune for wrestling the overlarge fir tree into my sister’s house. I spend Christmas in the North West of Ireland and the tree will have been cut and brought back on a tractor earlier in the day by my brother-in-law, but a tree that looks little in the forest looms large in the house. This is when we put the Ramones on – on repeat. A just over two-minute thrash of guitars, drums and Joey Ramone crooning and shouting “Where is Santa at his sleigh? Tell me why is it always this way?” as we hustle the tree into place, arguing about…

Where does this dark December day start? My partner, Josh, will bring me a coffee in bed. I’m not myself until I’ve had a hot drink. Big breakfast or a munch on the go? More like brunch. I tend to go all out on a late breakfast, normally involving eggs and avocados. If I’m feeling organised, I’ll prepare some overnight oats with banana, cocoa and coconut. What’s your work day like? I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule. I take each day as it comes as I think that’s the beauty of working for yourself. Some days I work from home and other days, I’ll saunter down to my favourite Margate coffee shop, Cliffs. Does your routine change over Christmas? I try to have Christmas off but, sometimes,…

THE SOCIETY’S EXHIBITION LIMARÍ CHARDONNAY 2018, £10.50 Limarí’s cool climate and soils high in limestone produce this taut, firm style of chardonnay. It’s the creamy texture that works well with partridge, complimenting the flavoursome array of complexity on your plate. HOCHAR 2016, £13.50 This is a smooth, spicy red from Lebanese producer Chateau Musar. It works well with the exotic flavours of dates, parsnips, orange and pomegranate, yet stands up to the strong character of partridge, bacon, cabbage and, yes, even the sprouts! SAMOS ANTHEMIS 2012, £9.50 This fortified Greek wine from the island of Samos is lusciously sweet and has a marmalade edge. The coffee, raisin, fig and date flavours will meld with the chocolate, too. However, this is a glassful of dessert in its own right! For more…

Favourite coffee spot TCHK COFFEE SHOP Tiny spot on the Petrogradskaya side of the city. Cherry pie and fresh batch brew coffee are a must. Say hello to Sugar the cat! Kamennoostrovskiy Pr, 18/11@coffee.tchk.spb Favourite shop GARAGE BOOK SHOP Great choice of books and art albums in the round ‘Bottle’ building – originally built as a naval prison in 1830. Naberezhnaya Admiralteyskogo Kanala 2A @garagebookshop Best for art installations METRO STATIONS The St Petersburg Metro is a great way to move through the city without traffic problems, while keeping warm and admiring the stations’ decor. Best nature fix THE GREENHOUSE A tropical corner in Tauride Garden where you can walk in winter and pretend that it’s not. Shpalernaya Ulitsa, 43 @orangeryspb Best pop-up market ANNENKIRCHE Previously a night club and…

Most fabled party entrance: Bianca Jagger entering Studio 54 on a white horse on her 30th birthday. However, apparently, she actually walked into the famous 70s New York nightclub, then got on the horse. “It is one thing to, on the spur of the moment, get on a horse in a night club, but it’s quite another to ride in on one,” she said. Most raucous: More than 7,000 people attended the Chelsea Arts Ball, a costume bash held at the Royal Albert Hall each year. With a reputation for high spirits and high drama, from fights to nudity, and many attendees’ proud expression of their homosexuality – at a time when it was still illegal – it was eventually banned in 1958. Unlikely getting in the spirit: Architects can…

Feeling low? Hold a pencil sideways in your mouth so that it rests between your second and third molars, lightly stretching the corners of your mouth. Take five relaxed deep breaths in and out through your nose. People often find they’re smiling after this exercise – by coercing your face into a smile you’ve created a positive emotional state. Can’t get to sleep? Lie in bed, feeling your body supported, and take 10 long, slow breaths. Count to 10 as you inhale and to 10 as you exhale. Do this until you fall asleep. On a commute Travelling is a good time to try a breathing app. Try iBreathe, Breethe, Breathe+, or Calm. Feeling stressed or anxious? If you’re feeling very stressed, slow down your breathing rate gradually. After a…

Brussels sprouts Christmas tree The Christmas staple is given a cheesy twist in this sprout-packed quirky savoury. For the cut-out-and-keep recipe, see over the page. » Brussels sprouts Christmas tree Serves 4 500g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved 2 x 320g sheets of ready-rolled, all-butter puff pastry 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard 200g cheddar cheese, grated 1 egg, beaten 1 tbsp olive oil Sea salt 1 Preheat your oven to 200C /Fan 180C/Gas 6. 2 Bring a saucepan of water to a rolling boil and add salt. Add the sprouts and blanch for 2 mins, then drain and immediately plunge into ice-cold water – this will help the sprouts to retain their colour. 3 Take a large baking sheet and unroll the first sheet of puff pastry onto it, then cut…

Like many great ideas (communism, bendy buses, Google Glass, loo seat warmers), Secret Santas sound brilliant in theory but in practice their flaws become glaringly obvious. What starts as a brilliant way to save waste, reduce time pressure on Christmas shopping and bring groups of families, friends or colleagues together in a shared sense of fun can too easily end with Sue from accounts receiving something ill-judged and inappropriate or your brother-in-law feeling sidelined by a chilli plant kit. Unlike the aforementioned great ideas, though, if everyone throws enough enthusiasm at it, a Secret Santa can be the icing on your Christmas cake, an opportunity to forge bonds between colleagues, cheer a friend who feels overlooked in a group and allow extended families to give without having to sell a…

Going on a break just before Christmas gives you a chance to step away from the preparations and appreciate yuletide without the distractions of a domestic to-do list. It turns out that rural Lincolnshire ticks all the boxes at this time of year, with its big-sky scenery and winter wildlife. Brackenborough Hall is a moated manor house with apartments in the grounds, just a couple of miles from the thriving market town of Louth, where you can shop for gifts at a more leisurely pace and stock up on locally produced goodies for your festive feasting. And then there’s the highlight: seeing newborn seal pups on a windswept beach. Where we stayed At the end of a long driveway, a handsome Georgian frontage faces south into the low winter suns.…

He had three days to de-hoard the house. Anna was picking him up on Friday, and there wouldn’t be time once he got back in the New Year. The contract of sale sat on the hall table, waiting to be signed. He’d do it, but not today. He stared at the living room from the safety of the doorway. Columns of stacked newspapers. ‘Don’t get rid of that, I haven’t finished reading it…’ Mountains of books lined the edges of the room. He noticed a tatty brochure for Stone Walling in Yorkshire (an enjoyable phase of early retirement). He tried to shift a pile of magazines but they collapsed in glossy sighs, then toppled the neighbouring towers of paper. He retreated. Maybe it was time for another cup of tea.…

Nature writer Stephen Moss has taken a whimsical approach to the traditional carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. Weaving history, culture, bird behavior and folklore, he celebrates the swans, turtle doves and geese which are already in the song, and suggests avian alternatives for the others. The rings become yellowhammers, whose folk name was yoldring, the lords are black grouse, whose mating ritual involves a feathery jump into the air, and the drummers are woodpeckers who let loose “a rapid burst of sound rather like someone drumming their fingers on a hollow piece of wood.” (Square Peg)…

“Surrounding yourself with books you love tells the story of your life, your interests, your passions,” says Nina Freudenberger in her introduction that celebrates all things biblio. Writers, artists, illustrators and readers share pictures of their libraries, with tables groaning under the weight of literature, shelves bright with covers in golden, rose or teal. Some are “a beautiful mess,” others ordered and elegant; some are like mazes made of paper, a labyrinth of books stacked floor to ceiling in winding corridors and others still are calm and uncluttered, with purpose-built bookshelves, a comfy chair, good lighting – all the better to “absorb ideas.” (Clarkson Potter)…

Buy your advent calendar from Advent of Change and you’ll be donating to 24 charities - open each door to find out which cause you helped that day. adventof change.com CLUB CLASSICS For a rousing Christmas night out, book tickets for the December leg of Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics tour and dance away to club favourites played by the Heritage Orchestra. 4–14 December.ibizaclassics.com GREENER EVERGREENS Buying your tree this weekend? If it’s a real tree, make sure it’s UK grown and check for FSC-approved trees or Forestry Commission-approved retailers where your money goes back into the forest. forestryengland.uk (See more about chosing a tree on p114) GOT A COLD? Grate some root ginger into a mug of hot water with a squeeze of lemon juice and Manuka honey for a…

1962 Born in a pub in Corbridge, Northumberland, because of the snow 1980s Moved to London and began working as an artist 1984 Charlie holds the first show of his work, in a pub 2002 Works as the on-set artist of Love Actually 2013 Charlie joins Instagram 2016 Hosts the Unity Series exhibition at Belgravia Gallery with Nelson Mandela’s eldest daughter, Dr. Makaziwe ‘Maki’ Mandela, and her daughter, Tukwini Mandela 2017 Rejoins the Love Actually cast to create drawings for Comic Relief as part of Red Nose Day 2019 Publishes The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse…

At the Solstice Sean O’Brien We say Next time we’ll go away.But then the winter happens, like a secret We’ve to keep yet never understand,As daylight turns to cinema once more: A lustrous darkness deep in ice-age cold,And the print in need of restoration Starting to consume itselfWith snowfall where no snow is falling now. Or could it be a cloud of sparrows, dancingIn the bare hedge that this gale of light Is seeking to uproot? Let it be sparrows, then,Still dancing in the blazing hedge, Their tender fury and their fall,Because it snows, because it burns. About the author: Sean O’Brien was born in Hull, and now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. The Beautiful Librarians (Picador) is his 12th…

Are you there, Moriarty? (Victorian) A game for two players (but it’s really all for the audience). Both players are blindfolded and then either kneel in front of each other or lie on their fronts with their heads close together, each holding a rolled-up newspaper. The first player asks, “Are you there, Moriarty?” The second player has to reply “Yes,” whereupon the first player must listen and attempt to hit their opponent over the head with the rolled-up newspaper. A rolled-up copy of the Christmas Radio Times gives a satisfying ‘thunnnck’. Snapdragon (Edwardian, and possibly much earlier) Also known as Flapdragon and usually played on Christmas Eve. Looking for a party game with a little frisson? Snapdragon will do it. Take a large bowl and put a big pile of…

Sticky buffalo cauliflower Sweet and salty with a sticky glaze - they won’t last long Serves 5–7 1 whole cauliflower, broken into florets 175g plain flour, sifted 200ml plant-based milk, such as soya or oat 1 garlic clove, grated ½ tsp cayenne pepper ½ tsp salt ½ tsp ground black pepper 125g panko breadcrumbs Fresh coriander, to garnish Chilli, thinly sliced, to garnish FOR THE GLAZE 100ml agave syrup 4 tbsp tamari 2 tsp ground ginger 2 tbsp unhulled sesame seeds, plus extra to garnish 1 Preheat the oven to 220C/Fan 200C/ Gas 7 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment (you may need two sheets), then prepare your cauliflower. 2 Whisk together the flour, milk, garlic, cayenne, salt and pepper make a batter. Put the panko breadcrumbs in…

Bright coloured baubles, glimmering candles and the smell of homemade biscuits fill the home of ceramicist Susan Liebe as she decorates her Copenhagen apartment for the festive season. Christmas doesn’t take over Susan’s home in the Danish capital – a city that truly embraces hygge and the festive season – instead it adds an extra twinkle and a touch of sparkle to her stylish apartment, full of vintage finds. In the living room, the lights of the Christmas tree shine in welcome. On the branches a chain of Danish flags hangs side by side with Susan’s fine porcelain stars and vintage glass balls, picked up on one of her flea market missions. “My best tip to create a cosy Christmas style is to go all in,” says Susan, 47. “Do…

• Always ask if your tree is locally sourced; it will show your supplier that you care. • Consider your type of tree. Firs are known for holding onto their needles, and their stronger smell (we sell Nordmann firs – perhaps the most popular Christmas tree in the UK). Generally, spruces require a little bit more attention in that they need more water. The blue spruce is a delightful exception to this rule and is known for keeping its needles. It gets its name from its beautiful blue-grey hue (an effect created by the wax on its needles). • Ask for the tree to be removed from its net to check it’s well balanced. • Try to find a bare-rooted tree (one taken from the ground while still growing, roots…