Table of contents for March 2022 in The Simple Things

Start a habit of morning stretches before you do anything else Watch a film you know well that makes you laugh out loud Climb something tall – a castle’s steps, a hill or maybe a mountain - and take in the view Swap one of your daily teas or coffees for fresh ginger, mint, or even turmeric in hot water Above are just some of our suggestions. Do some, all, or none of them, as you wish, or write your own ideas in the space below.…

MAIN EVENT Thyme & 40 clove roast chicken with sweet potato wedges; cheat’s aioli; lemon kale with Marcona almonds NEXT DAY Kale caesar with chicken crackling FREEZER Spanish sweet potato soup; easy chicken bone broth; anchovy butter PANTRY Garlic & thyme oil; kale stalk powder Home economics needn’t mean stretching the monthly budget while being tied to the stove – but it can mean a new approach to the way we plan our meals. Reviving age-old wisdom about household management means deeply valuing all our resources: our time, ingredients and the money we invest in them. And it makes us feel good, too.…

At the start of spring, it still pays to have something cosy within arm’s reach. These sofa snugglers are made from the softest lambswool, knitted and woven in Scotland, and finished by hand in London. Forager cushion > £70; Cottage cushion > £74.50; Hue cushion > £84; Forager throw > £269, all donnawilson.com…

THINGS TO NOTE AND NOTICE Birdwatch Treecreepers live in the UK all year round, but they’re hard to spot so many people mistakenly consider them to be rare. Look for: A brown, speckled back and a white undercarriage, as well as a distinctive long, curved beak for winkling insects out of the bark of trees. Spot them: Distinctively climbing upwards on the trunks of trees, in woodland all over the UK. You’ll need to look carefully, though, as they’re well camouflaged. Listen for: A trilling, high-pitched ‘see-see-see-see’ sound. Nature Project Grow a garden house Sunflowers and beans both shoot up quick enough to grow your own ‘room’ for summer. Once the last frosts are out of the way, mark out a floorplan in a flat spot in full sun. It…

How long have you lived in the city? I’ve lived in the great Seattle area for more than 30 years, but I was born and raised in Leavenworth – a tiny Alpine-esque town near the Cascade mountains. Tell us what makes your city unique Seattle is a water-loving, creativity-feeding, food-enthusiast’s dream. It’s surrounded by the waters of Puget Sound (an inlet of the Pacific Ocean) to the west and the 22-mile-long Lake Washington to the east. It’s a hilly city with views of the water, and of the two mountain ranges that bookend the area: the Olympic mountains to the west and the Cascades to the east. What’s it like in March? March is on the cusp of spring in the Pacific Northwest. The city’s at sea-level, and with that…

• Lengthen your neck and swing your arms freely from the shoulders with loose hands, not bunched fists. • Greet fellow walkers with a smile – it will create a cascade effect as they feel more encouraged to smile at others. • Short of time? Studies show just 12 minutes of brisk walking alters 522 metabolites in our blood, dramatically impacting our health. • Want to walk faster? Fixing your gaze on something immediately ahead (such as a tree) causes us to accelerate by 23% and with greater ease than if we look around. • Take a flask of water or tea out with you, even if it’s cold outdoors – we often get dehydrated in cold weather. • Sweep your eyes horizontally along the skyline to induce feelings of…

With so many now demolished, dilapidated or converted, let’s remember to celebrate those windmills still standing, both as a testament to our agricultural past and mechanical ingenuity, and as things of beauty. • Last in class Heage Mill in Derbyshire is the only working six-sailed stone tower mill left in the UK. Built in the 1790s, she was originally a four-sail design, but after the cap and sails were blown off and smashed to smithereens in a violent storm in 1894, six sails were added during the restoration to provide greater power. A gale in 1919 finished off her commercial life, and she was abandoned. After several decades of painstaking restoration, Heage was opened to the public in 2002. Today you can pick up a bag of the mill’s stoneground…

• COSMOS Founded in 2010 by the Soil Association, the logo can be found on natural and organic cosmetics that meet exacting criteria. cosmos-standard.org • NATRUE An international non-profit association centred around sustainability and ethics.natrue.org • B Corp Works to measure a company’s entire social and environmental impact with the aim of supporting an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative global economy. bcorporation.net • Fairtrade Commonly found in the food aisle, the logo denotes the fair price paid to farmers and investment in community projects. fairtrade.org.uk • Leaping Bunny A trustworthy cruelty-free certification which guarantees that no animal testing has taken place. • Positive Luxury’s ‘Butterfly Mark’ On luxury products that meet sustainability criteria. • The Vegan Society Found on products that contain no animal product, by-product or derivative, and are 100%…

STACY OWINO was a high school student in Kenya in 2018 when she entered the global Technovation challenge, a program in which teams of girls apply their technological skills to solve real-world problems. Alongside friends Cynthia Otieno, Purity Achieng, Macrine Atieno and Ivy Akinyi, she came up with an app to tackle an issue facing millions of girls and young women in African communities – female genital mutilation (FGM). Dubbing themselves, ‘The Restorers’, they developed the iCut app; which identifies nearby rescue centres, police stations and health facilities for survivors of FGM. It also has a distress button feature which allows users to speak to someone directly, or send a message highlighting plans for FGM ceremonies, so that local authorities can take preventative action. Over three years on, Stacy Owino…

BATHTUB WATER FEATURE Even the smallest garden or balcony can attract wildlife with a micro pond. This tiny body of water will attract birds to drink, plus dragonflies may visit if you’re near a larger body of water. To help bees, leave a bit of moss on the edge so they have somewhere to land and drink, or add some stones to make a very shallow area and see who turns up. You will need: An old, galvanized steel bathtub or bucket (or any watertight container) Oxygenating plants, such as hornwort Marginal plants, such as water-crowfoot and slender club-rush Gravel or small stones 1 Choose a galvanized steel vessel that doesn’t have any holes in it. Ideally, it should be at least 40cm deep, since most aquatic plants need about…

‘Little rabbits cannot afford to spend 6 shillings on one book’ ‘Idon’t know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits, whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter.’ That was the first time Beatrix Potter made Peter Rabbit bounce onto the page, but it wasn’t as a book. Instead, it was in a funny tale written by Beatrix to amuse her friend’s son, five-year-old Noel Moore, who was laid up in bed with scarlet fever. That 1893 letter sparked something in Beatrix. Long after Noel was better, she still wrote him stories, littered with illustrations of Peter Rabbit, Mr Jeremy Fisher and an ‘excessively impertinent’ fellow called Squirrel Nutkin. In fact, it wasn’t until 1902 that Peter Rabbit found his way…

“WE’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT HISTORICAL HERITAGE – THERE HAS TO BE A SOUL IN THE HOUSE” Picture waking up every morning and looking out over a vast nature reserve with its calming river valley. The only major traffic is the constant stream of cyclists on the old railway line – now a bicycle highway that links the Belgian cities of Tienen and Diest. It almost seems too good to be true. So much so, the new residents of the former Oplinter station, architect couple Pieter-Jan Peeters and Stefanie Weckx, along with baby daughter Loes, still regularly pinch themselves at their luck at landing such a unique place to live. “Where else in Flanders can you live so close to nature? And in such a beautiful little station, too,” enthuses Pieter-Jan. “I…

• March is the time for lots of sowing! Brassicas, peas, celeriac, fennel, potatoes, lettuce, herbs and tomatoes among others – I’ve created a free sowing plan for my followers to download via my mailing list. Also, keep harvesting overwintering greens. • Buy some good horticultural fleece – 30g thickness minimum – to protect your seedlings and get them off to a good start. Cold winds are worse than frosts, but both can set the growth back. • Think about treating your plot with slug controlling nematodes. This is a biological control that’s harmless to humans and insects, but contains a natural enemy to slugs and snails. • And don’t stress if you feel behind on your sowing. In spring, the increasing light levels mean that later sowings often catch…

DOWN TO A TEA TOWEL A refreshing design from Joanne de Pace – also available on aprons, notebooks and more. And, if this really is the tonic for you, Joanne has another tea towel design featuring a G'n'T recipe. £10, joannedepace.com MATCHBOXES PUZZLE “March is the month of expectation”Emily Dickinson The ‘at’ symbol has a longer tale than you might think. Though its origins are disputed, a 16th-century letter by a Florentine wine merchant shows it indicating a unit of measure, as was common before its launch into computer messaging in the 1970s. The PRACTICAL, the PLAYFUL and the SILLY Vaseline: ready this jelly… PRACTICAL Got chewing gum stuck in/on something? Rubbing vaseline around the offender usually gets rid of…

THE STORY OF SONGS ‘WHISKEY IN THE JAR’ BY THIN LIZZY Though Thin Lizzy’s treatment of it took it up a rock level, the story of Whiskey in the Jar was well worn. Not just that, The Dubliners charted with it only a few years prior – rather that it existed as a popular Irish folk ballad at least as far back as the 18th century. The folk ballad was possibly inspired by a real life 17th-century highwayman, Patrick Fleming, but what’s probably more key to its popularity is how infinitely adaptable the storyline is – the highwayman that runs up against authority, takes his bounty back to his sweetheart, only for her to betray him – especially in places where British ruling forces weren’t proving to be so popular,…

Green mac ’n’ cheese Serves 4-5 350g macaroni 100g sourdough, torn into pieces 30g blanched almonds 50g butter 1 small brown onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 30g plain flour 700ml milk 100g mature cheddar, grated ½ tbsp dijon mustard 1 tsp thyme leaves 65g vegetarian grating cheese, grated 150g frozen peas, defrosted 30g baby spinach 6g flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked 6g basil leaves Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 Preheat the oven to 200C/180CFan/Gas 6. Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water for 2 mins less than the instructions on the packet, then drain under cold water to stop the pasta cooking further. 2 Meanwhile, whizz the sourdough and almonds in a food processor until a smallish crumb forms, then set aside. 3 Heat the butter…

Kirsty trudged through the wood. It was a cold spring morning and the frost still silvered the uppermost branches of the trees. She’d had a hectic few months, with her dad being ill, and her boss being difficult about the time she’d had to take off work. Having come for a walk to clear her head, she only felt more fed up with every step. Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the dog until the last moment. “Oh!” she gulped. It was a young Golden Retriever, long-legged and bouncy, charging up with a tennis ball in its mouth. “Hello,” Kirsty said, glancing around. “Where did you come from?” There was nobody in sight, just the sound of the wind in the trees. The dog dropped the ball at her feet,…

Bookshop browse A WOMAN’S WORK The Suffragette Cookbook Introduced by Kate Williams ➛First published in America in 1915, The Suffragette Cookbook offers a fascinating glimpse into a world where women were fighting for the right to vote. It’s brimful of recipes, but alongside the crisp, careful instructions for Cornbread, Crab Gumbo and Strawberry Shortcake, is a more ironic set of steps for making ‘A Pie for a Suffragette’s Doubting Husband’ designed to encourage solidarity from the men at home. The cookbook’s main aim was to raise funds for the movement, but it was also a subtle way of demonstrating that gaining the right to vote didn’t mean the rack and ruin of family life; dinner could still be made alongside history. (Hodder Studio) Shopkeeper of the month Seaside treasures Minimal…

Favourite shops EIGHTH GENERATION Operated by the Snoqualmie tribe. Native-designed art, blankets and one-of-a-kind items make for some of the city’s most unique shopping.eighthgeneration.com ELLIOTT BAY BOOKS The area’s go-to independent bookseller – it’s easy for a quick stop to turn into an afternoon spent relaxing and reading.elliottbaybook.com Favourite gallery PATRICIA ROVZAR GALLERY One of my favourites because of the broad scope of artists represented and the area’s largest collection of Z Z Wei’s Pacific Northwest depictions.rovzargallery.com Favourite bar PIONEER SQUARE D&E Tucked in the shadow of the historic Smith Tower, this bar serves craft cocktails and a simple Pacific Northwest-inspired menu.pioneersquarede.com Favourite restaurants BEN PARIS This place has nailed adventurous comfort food. Can’t decide? Ask about the ‘Tour the Menu’ option.benparis.com CAFÉ CAMPAGNE Chef Daisley Gordon brings approachable French…

Cats sleep anywhere,Any table, any chair,Top of piano,Window-ledge,In the middle,On the edge,Open drawer,Empty shoe,Anybody’s lap will do,Fitted in a cardboard box,In the cupboardWith your frocks –Anywhere.They don’t care!Cats sleep anywhere. About the author: Eleanor Farjeon, poet, composer, children’s author and keen rambler grew up in a family of writers, actors and musicians and was surrounded by books – there were 8,000 volumes in their home library! She published her first collection of poetry when she was 28, and her wryly observant work made her a best seller in her heyday. Taken from The Book of Cat Poems, edited by Ana Sampson (Laurence King Publishing).…

Nettle purifying facial steam This ever-abundant plant, often found growing in poor-soil areas, is a brilliant beauty ingredient. In spring, pick the fresh bright green tips of the plants (best to wear gloves). Pop a generous handful into a bowl of hot water and let them infuse to create a steam. Place a towel over your head (you’ll want clean, make-up-free skin) and steam for five minutes. Finish with a splash of cold water, followed by your usual skincare. Dandelion tea for clear skin Much like nettle, this helpful flower supports inner cleansing. Fresh dandelion tea can help with skincare – pick fresh young flowers and leaves, leave to one side for any bugs to escape, then rinse well. Once clean, pop into a teapot of boiling water and let…

Taking flight Once the stuff of science fiction, flying cars are now a reality. The world’s first flying car, the AirCar, received its airworthiness certificate from the Slovakian air authority after proving its safety across 70 flight hours. The car has retractable wings and can reach over 100mph, and 8,000 feet of altitude. Justice served Pakistan’s top judicial commission has nominated a female judge to the supreme court for the first time in the country’s history. Justice Ayesha Malik’s appointment will mark a defining moment in gender rights, paving the way for other women working in law. Big comeback Once considered an extremely rare sight in UK waters, humpback whales have been increasingly spotted in the past few years, a sign their populations are bouncing back after the ban on…

Like many women, my mum is pretty specific about what makes a good handbag. Top of the list, soft leather, a decent shoulder strap and a zippy inside pocket to hold her brown envelope of housekeeping money. Fall short of these and expect to be asked if you’ve kept the receipt. To me, her bags have always felt like some kind of portal. As a child, mum’s stash of handbags was a door into my very own personal land of make believe. Accessorised by her navy bobble carpet bag I became a doctor curing my teddy of exotic aliments. Unsteady and in a pair of clicky-clacky heels, with the gold chain of her black patent clutch draped over my shoulder, I transformed into an organised teacher of toys, chalking up…

If Beatrix had been born today it’s likely she would have been a botanist, specialising in fungi. However, when in 1896 she presented 250 detailed scientific illustrations of fungi to the leading botanists and director of Kew, she felt that her work was overlooked because of her sex and age, furiously writing of Kew’s director in her journal; ‘I fancy he may be something of a misogynist.’ A year later she was more successful when her academic paper on fungi was presented to The Linnean Society. This time, her work was discussed and well received (despite women being barred from the Linnean research library and her being unable to present her work in person due to her sex), although it was never put forward for publication.…

• Don’t rush a renovation – get to know the house. Are there features typical to its style? Keep and enhance them. Something you don’t initially like may grow on you. • Buy furniture you adore, not because it’s on trend, and invest in sustainable items, which will go on for generations to come. • Where possible, your furniture should tell a story – perhaps you fell head-over-heels in love with a bargain at the thrift store or the table is inherited from your grandparents.…

“Our approach to plants is more about the practical than the design. They’re up high to keep them away from curious cats (and a toddler) and are moved around until I find a space that they thrive in. Monsteras, for example, can grow a bit wild but I like that – it’s a reminder that not everything in life needs to be controlled. The plants are a good indication of how I’m doing as a person, so when I have time to take care of them, that’s usually also when I’m making time and looking after myself, too. The real joy of plants is being able to take a cutting and grow another one! I feel a sense of achievement when I see a cutting growing, especially when those new…

Java Jive The Ink Spots One Mint Julep The Clovers Tequila The Champs Milkshake Kelis Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Please Splodgenessabounds Gin Soaked Boy The Divine Comedy Orange Crush R.E.M. Have a Cuppa Tea The Kinks Whiskey in the Jar Thin Lizzy One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer Amos Milburn Rum and Coca-Cola Lord Invader Red Red Wine UB40 Escape (The Pina Colada Song) Rupert Holmes Coffee Beabadoobee Champagne Supernova Oasis thesimplethings.com/blog/drinksplaylist stop look listen  “I love coffee, I love tea I love the java jive and it loves me”…

A brush with colour Natural brushes made by hand in Wales ➛ Rosa Harradine’s techniques for making her brushes are unique: first the thread is wound around a rolling pin, held in place by (slippered) feet. The fibres are then bound with the thread before it is locked into place. Finally, any trimmings are added to Rosa’s compost heap. “My products are completely plastic free and compostable at end of life,” she explains. Rosa, who offers custom brush colours, only launched her online shop last year but her designs were an instant hit and she has big plans. “I own a small patch of land in the Carmarthenshire countryside and hope my woodland will provide one-of-a-kind sticks for the full-size broom handles. I strive to leave a small impact on…

For several centuries, windmills have dotted the landscape in the UK, and by 1840 there were more than 10,000 mills here. Today it’s believed only 140 remain, with just 40 of these still in working order. Some have been lovingly restored as visitor attractions, while others continue the ancient tradition of stone-grinding grain to produce flour. With so few left to see, whether in working order or not, it’s always a treat to spot one on your travels, or to plan an outing around a visit – especially those that promise a beautiful view from the top. Like a land-locked sailboat, a windmill is always known by the feminine pronoun, and as with ships at sea, extreme weather is her greatest foe. The tallest structures for miles around, windmills were…

A spritz of your favourite perfume, a dab of your trusty face cream or a swipe of your failsafe lippy – our beauty choices play a big part in our lives. For a lot of us, these moments offer precious time out from the busyness of daily life – whether stood at the sink to wash the day away, or feeling our shoulders drop as we slip into a steamy tub: beauty can make us feel better. But when it comes to the beauty industry, it isn’t always a pretty picture. The global cosmetics industry is worth around an eye-watering £350 billion, and with that comes a big impact – socially, environmentally and economically. Yep, it’s more than a little bit ironic that an industry built on beautifying is one…

Free reads The Planet Positive Beauty Guide is a free guide created by the British Beauty Council which looks at factors to consider when purchasing beauty products. It’s available to download at: britishbeautycouncil.com. Meanwhile, Pebble magazine (pebblemag.com), a resource for ethical consumers, also has a really helpful free Sustainable Beauty e-book, and website ethicalunicorn.com is packed with unaffiliated, objective advice and reviews. Other sites that are worth bookmarking include eco-age.com, EWG.org and ethicalconsumer.org. Simply swap Swap disposable cleansing wipes and cotton pads for reusable bamboo wash cloths and fabric rounds. Look for organic cotton and bamboo, which you can wash and reuse ad infinitum. Try the selection at Tabitha Eve.tabithaeve.co.uk Buy with confidence Need an easy ethical buy? Head to destinations who’ve done the legwork for you, such as contentbeautywellbeing.com.…

14: farms bequeathed by Beatrix to the National Trust, as well as more than 4,000 acres. 15: years after her death, before the secret code* used in some of her private journals was cracked. 28: books written by Beatrix. 119:number of years ‘Little Peter Rabbit’ has been an officially licensed character – making him the oldest of his kind in the world. 250: initial print run of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, when it was first self-published. 28,000:number of copies sold of The Tale of Peter Rabbit in its first year. 13975 Beatrixpotter: the 1992 asteroid named in her honour. *This code, devised when Beatrix was 14, was kept up for more than 15 years and allowed her to keep a journal away from any prying eyes. ‘No one will…

Have you ever dreamed of living the Oxbridge life, striding through the hallowed college corridors, dining in Hall and going for a punt and a pint? If so, then a B&B break at an Oxford college (out of term times) is a fun and less academically arduous way to live out the fantasy – or just enjoy an excellent-value getaway in a beautiful city. Whether you’d like to follow in the footsteps of Morse, drink in pubs favoured by scholars and lecturers alike, or go off in search of legendary film locations, Oxford has history, art and culture around every corner. Where we stayed With its striking Victorian Gothic architecture, beautifully landscaped grounds and just slightly off-the-beaten-track setting, Keble is one of the newer Oxford colleges, having opened in 1870.…