Table of contents for July 2017 - Issue 61 in The Simple Things

Have a snooze in the sunshine Feel wet grass between your toes Eat fish and chips out of newspaper Swim outdoors in cold water Stay up late around a fire pit Wake to the sound of the sea Write down your favourite sights, sounds and smells of summer To wander is to stray from the path well trodden. But it is also about discovering the unexpected, experiencing the new and noticing the little things, wherever you may be. Remember the moment; take and print out photographs, send and save postcards, learn from songs and sayings in foreign lands. For a more mindful adventure, let wandering be your travel guide this summer and go your own way.…

Bianca Road Red Rye IPA, 6%, £2.70 From a new brewery in Peckham, South London, this is lightly spicy and packed with hops, which lend a powerful bitterness and add bags of fruity notes on the nose. Great for cutting through the rich fattiness of the camembert burger. Burning Sky Arise Session Strength IPA, 4.4%, £2.90 Lovely, light and citrussy, this is a summery beer with nice minerality and hints of stone fruit complexity. It won’t overpower the green salad, but has enough going on to keep things interesting. It’s on the lighter side alcohol-wise, too. Hawkes Ginger Beer, 4%, £2.75 An alcoholic ginger beer made from a unique blend of ginger, mandarin and kiwi in East London. It’s smooth and fruity with ginger bite – enjoy with fruit-laden puddings…

No Particular Place To Go’ Chuck Berry ‘See the World’ Gomez * ‘Wand’rin’ Star’ Lee Marvin ‘Travelling Woman’ Bat For Lashes ‘Ramblin’ (Wo)man’ Cat Power * ‘New York Minute’ Don Henley ‘I’m a Drifter’ Johnny Cash ‘Strolling Down the Highway’ Bert Jansch ‘Going Up the Country’ Canned Heat * ‘Free Fallin’’ Tom Petty * ‘Travelling Without Moving’ Jamiroquai * ‘Hopeless Wanderer’ Mumford & Sons * ‘Feels Like We Only Go Backwards’ Tame Impala ‘Ramblin’ Man’ Allman Brothers * These tracks are chosen by Jo Whiley (see page 32 for her thoughts on combining DJing and family life). Listen at thesimplethings.com/blog/wanderplaylist stop look listen Songs to inspire meandering and wanderlust in equal measure.…

I SUPPOSE IT WAS unsurprising that I was the only woman out of 14 attendees on the Weber Barbecue Essentials course. This primal method of cooking has been claimed by men over the years, drawn by its irresistible mixture of fire, slabs of meat and gadgets. So I was keen to wrestle back control of the embers and solve the mystery of how to cook on flames without reducing everything to ash. Our tutor was butcher Kai Marsden, assisted by Morgan Thomas, below right, men who knew much about meat and how to cook it. During the four-hour session, we cooked (and ate) a menu including the expected (rib-eye steak, pork loin) and the surprising (mushroom risotto, pizza, grilled broccoli, chocolate fondue) as well as a Weber signature dish: beer-can…

*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 home, 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’ve lived in New Orleans all my life, which recently exceeded 40 years, and I’m super proud of it. Tell us what makes your city unique. It’s often considered to be the northernmost Caribbean city. The vibe is very European in nature but southern in spirit.…

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Back at my parents’ house, there’s still a drawer stuffed with Snappy Snaps envelopes, full of photos I took after inheriting an old Pentax camera in my late teens. Reassuringly heavy, it needed winding on manually with a satisfying ‘click’ that made me feel like a real photographer. The few good shots I took decorated bedroom walls, went in scrapbooks or were put in wallets, so all that remains in those dog-eared paper pouches are the flawed shots; the majority of each film that ended up being the backs of people’s heads, faces out of focus or fingers over the lens. And yet, I can’t bring myself to throw them away. There’s something poignant about documenting the imperfections of real life, about having a record more authentic than the posed…

Cornflowers There was a time when the electricblue blooms of cornflowers were a common sight in summer fields, glowing brightly among stalks of corn (hence their name). Their almost total disappearance, following an increase in the use of herbicides, has left the countryside a duller place. Fortunately, they are easy to grow, and gardeners have come to the rescue. Cornflowers’ startling, cobaltblue ruffles now appear in cut flower patches, sunny borders and meadows all summer long. They also last for ages as cut flowers, their flash of preternatural blue best singing out solo from a simple vase.…

PROUDLY HOMEMADE Deckchair revamp RE-COVERING A DECKCHAIR FRAME BRINGS NEW LIFE TO AN OLD SEAT YOU WILL NEED An old deckchair 1.5m of striped 45cm-wide fabric of your choice (ideally with vertical stripes) About 20 upholstery tacks Hammer Scissors 1 Remove the old cover and nails from the deckchair, and then clean it thoroughly and treat the wood a day or so before you want to begin. 2 Lay out the fabric carefully on a table and place your deckchair frame upside down on top of it, with the grooves used to prop up the chair facing downwards (step A, right). 3 Start working at the wider end of the chair (where all 3 verticals bars line up each side). Lift the inner and outer bars out of the way,…

MAKER OF THE MONTH Georgia Bosson’s textiles are inspired by everyday observations “I start any collection with an armful of sketchbooks where I record the world around me,” says printmaker and textile designer Georgia Bosson. “I am inspired by urban and rural landscapes: lichen can inspire an entire collection’s colour palette.” Georgia turns these ideas into lampshades, cushions and tea towels printed on organic fabric in small production runs, stationery and prints. She also runs workshops from her London studio, including napkin and lampshade making. georgiabosson.co.uk MIND HOW YOU GO A fresh look at meditation in Modern Mindfulness by Rohan Gunatillake Rohan Gunatillake is determined to convert all of us to meditation’s stress-relieving, life-enhancing, mindexpanding qualities. But first he needs to tackle what’s stopping us from embarking on living a…

That moment when the sun shines brightly enough to justify wearing a favourite pair of sunglasses is a moment to lift the heart. Snap open the case, slip them on and it’s like saying hello to an old friend. Of course they offer welcome protection from harmful UV rays but that’s just the start and, to be totally honest, comes quite a long way down the list of priorities when choosing a pair. The right pair of sunglasses provides an instant and easy way to lift your look from normal to almost glamorous. Take a cue from Jackie Kennedy Onassis (right), whose over-sized pair not only shielded her from public and paparazzi scrutiny but helped to endow her with iconic fashion status. Sunglasses also have great concealing powers: whether it’s…

LIA LEENDERTZ is a freelance garden and food writer and was recently shortlisted for Cookery Writer of the Year by the Guild of Food Writers. Her next book, The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2018, will be out in October. Lovage makes its presence felt wherever it is found: in the garden, it is a big and beautiful beast, a perennial that forms large clumps with sunny yellow umbels of flowers; in the kitchen, it is strong and pungently savoury, and the rest of the house knows all about it as soon as it is being chopped for the pot. For such a brute of a herb, lovage is strangely overlooked, but its spicy, celery-like flavour and fragrance make it wonderful in recipes. Lovage is far more widely used in…

POMEGRANATE CAKE 200g butter, softened 200g caster sugar 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract Grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon 240g self-raising flour mixed with 1 tsp baking powder, sifted 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses 50g fresh pomegranate seeds FOR THE SYRUP 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses Freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon 80g granulated sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract 150g fresh pomegranate seeds FOR THE FROSTING 250g full-fat cream cheese 50ml double cream 80g icing sugar 1 Preheat oven to 160C/Fan 140C/325F. Grease a 23cm round loose-bottomed cake tin and line with baking parchment. 2 Place the butter and sugar into the bowl of the food mixer and beat on a medium speed until fluffy. With the speed set on slow, add the eggs, one at a time,…

SCOTT EMILE SIMON is the founder of iHeartNola.com, a lifestyle blog that launched after Hurricane Katrina to highlight the cool happenings of New Orleans. Scott can be found mainlining coffee around town and on Instagram @iheartnola. Favourite shops FRIEND One of the most individual and coolest men’s boutiques in the city. friendneworleans.com THE STACKS My go-to shop for art books and magazines. Located inside one of the city’s best museums, The Contemporary Art Center. thestacks-books.org EUCLID RECORDS In one of my favourite parts of the city, the Bywater, Euclid Records is where I usually begin and end my rack dives for new/ rare/used records. euclidnola.com Favourite market CRESCENT CITY FARMER’S MARKET A true community effort of local passion and pride, it pops up in several locations over four days. I…

Charm to Tame Wild Bees Richard Osmond Throw a handful of earth over swarming bees and speak these words: Simmer down Valkyries. Go to ground Fly no more, wild into the woods but bees, be mindful of livelihood. You are my bag of yellow coins – my herd of yellow cows – honey is property. About the author Richard Osmond was born in 1987. He works as a forager, searching for plants, fruits and fungi among the forests and hedgerows of Hertfordshire. ‘A Charm To Tame Wild Bees’ was translated from the marginalia in Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica. Poem from Useful Verses by Richard Osmond (Picador).…

I only recently discovered I like travelling alone. I wasn’t an intrepid lone backpacker and love the company of others, but when I found myself travelling alone to a retreat (I’d tried to encourage friends to join me but nobody had time), I discovered that being on my own for a weekend was exactly what I needed. From the minute I stepped out of the door with a small bag and a ticket for one, I felt slightly anxious and a bit guilty, but above all it felt good to be doing something just for me. “There’s something intrinsically human about exploring alone, setting out on your own into the unknown,” says Lou Hamilton, life coach and author of Brave New Girl. “It might be a walk across the fells…

“WE PAINTED EVERYTHING WHITE TO CREATE A BLANK CANVAS FOR OUR COLOURFUL ARTWORK” Kingsbridge isn’t a place we would necessarily have chosen,” says Jane Foster of the town she moved to almost three years ago with her partner Jim. “We moved here for sensible reasons: we wanted a bigger garden to build a studio in, and we needed a good school for Polly, our daughter.” The 1960s house they found couldn’t have suited them better. While Jane’s bold and distinctive illustrative style with its strong outlines and cheerful colour and patterns is very much her own, it also echoes work of artists from that era like Dick Bruna (of Miffy fame) and Lucienne Day. “I love 1960s design,” she says, “so this house is perfect for us. We love how…

There is an anorak element to vegetable growing which some of us are not excited by: we just want to grow something that is easy, pretty, and tastes better than its supermarket equivalent. Thank goodness then for Joy Larkcom and the re-issue of her updated classic The Salad Garden, a succinct growing guide that is indeed joyous. Larkcom reminds us that expertise in edible leaves has not always been a niche hobby; a salad in the 17th century included dozens of different varieties, including the cultivated and the wild. Foraging has long been commonplace all over Europe, just as it used to be here in the UK, when everyone knew the difference between wild garlic and lily-of-the-valley (the latter is poisonous). As we gingerly re-acquaint ourselves with the skills that…

jane austen special* THIS MONTH 1 SMALL TALK FOR A BALL … 123 2 RULES OF QUADRILLE … 124 3 HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO BE AN ACCOMPLISHED LADY … 125 4 GEORGIAN WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR GARDEN … 125 5 IDENTIFIER: FICTIONAL AUSTEN HOMES … 127 CAPTION COMPETITION OVER TO YOU… Make us giggle with a caption for a wet-shirted Colin Firth as Darcy. We’ll send a lovely book to the writer of our favourite. Post your best efforts at facebook.com/ thesimplethingsmag HOW TO… MAKE SMALL TALK AT A BALL To misquote Darcy, it pays to talk by rule when dancing DO.. Arrange conversation to say as little as possible. As Lizzie tells Darcy, remark on the size of the room, or the number of couples. Do the basics.…

Ioffered to make tea; I knew how much Miss Clay appreciated a cup – a beaker, strictly speaking – between carers’ visits, especially in the afternoons. It was just a case of keeping her comfortable now, they said; there was nothing more to be done. I tried to concentrate on what she was saying, while my children’s voices, audio-describing their attempts to kill one another, jabbed through the party wall. Miss Clay had always been the perfect neighbour (ie, partially deaf). I looked for somewhere to place my cup. On the side table, a pile of Guardians was weighted down with a rolling pin, some desiccated pastry still adhering. A front page the colour of smoker’s teeth announced the death of John Smith. I balanced my cup on the wooden…

Kids go wild Bring some outdoor adventure to the summer holidays and pack the children off to camp in Cornwall If you want to give your kids a summer to remember, consider Camp Kernow. An off-grid summer holiday camp for 7–14s with an emphasis on learning through outdoor adventure, campers sleep in tipis, yurts and even an upturned boat hull and take part in activities and traditional crafts such as bat-detecting, stone-carving and technical treeclimbing. While playing, they learn about sustainability and the environment and all muck in for jobs like washing up. It’s not just for locals, the hosts will chaperone on the train from London. Just don’t expect them ever to want to come home. campkernow.org.uk PROUDLY HOMEMADE HALLOUMI FRIES Coated in sesame seeds and served with soured…

Evening arrives at the coast bringing a hint of regret for departing daytrippers. How much better would it be to be lighting the coals, unpacking impressive salads, stretching out on the now crowd-free, sun-warmed sands and serving aperitifs as the sun dips towards the sea. All soundtracked by lapping waves and ripples of laughter, brought on by a game of beach cricket or volleyball. Join in the merriment or pull up a deckchair (see page 114) and delight in the fact there’s no need to rush home. Ciabatta bun camembert burgers HOMEMADE PATTIES COOKED ON THE BEACH. HEAVENLY! Serves 6 450g beef mince 1 camembert (approx 250g) 6 ciabatta buns 6 tbsp readymade aïoli Handful of baby spinach Gherkins 1 Shape the minced meat into 6 round patties, each roughly…

20% OFF AT WHITE STUFF With summer comes the joy of weekends outdoors and sun-filled days off, be they at home or abroad. And let’s face it, there isn’t a wardrobe in the land that couldn’t do with being pepped up with a stylish new addition or two. Gorgeous sandals, perhaps a new dress, or a swimsuit to pack for your holidays. JUST ADD SUNSHINE Whatever you decide upon, you’ll want original designs, one-of-a-kind prints and those extra special touches – things that White Stuff know all about. Their summer collection takes inspiration from the rich, red earthy tones and geometric prints found south of the equator. Mix and match earthy prints with breezy lightweight fabrics and sun-bleached shades. And this month, they’re offering you an exclusive 20% off in…

As someone who grew up by the seaside but has lived in two landlocked cities over the past three decades, I need few excuses to head to the coast on a whim or having spotted a decent weather report. Like Ishmael in Moby Dick, I am occasionally gripped by an almost uncontrollable urge to ‘get to sea’. And my preferred means of reaching these longed-for shores is invariably a train. Although railway stations can be the stuff of humdrum commutes, disruptions and disputes, I treasure the possibilities they offer as means of escape to coastal adventure. The destination boards at Manchester Piccadilly, Leeds, Chester, London’s St Pancras and Fenchurch Street proffering the options, respectively, of visits to Blackpool or Morecambe, Scarborough, Llandudno, Broadstairs and Margate, Southend and Leigh-on-Sea. Here a…

The little frog ring that sits in pride of place in my jewellery box says a lot about my childhood. His tiny orange and black eyes are almost as bright as they were nearly 35 years ago when he was given to me by my brother, Paul. I remember exactly where in the shop the little frog ring sat – it was on the counter, near the till in one of those trays lined with a thin layer of sponge with little slits in it for things like frog rings. I had a lovely time growing up. My parents had four children in two sets so I was always closer to my younger brother, Paul. A ten-minute walk from home, around the corner from where we lived, was Mr Price’s…

Nearing Spurn Head Spit, there are still signs in cottage windows saying #keepspurnwild. Hearing about this campaign on the radio was what first alerted me to the existence of this place. Local residents campaigned hard against The Wildlife Trust’s plan to build a large visitor centre with a car park at the start of the spit. A plan which has now been approved and work begun. The general argument against it seems to be that the planned building will be vast and ugly, encouraging huge amounts of visitors that the village of Kilnsea would not be able to accommodate. Essentially it would disrupt and alter the delicate balance of life that exists in this narrow, endangered landscape. Nearby coastal villages and the spit itself are also under serious environmental threat.…

Barton Park “Equal hospitality and elegance”: Sir John brings the former, Lady Middleton the latter. It’s clear which Austen believes is the better half. Pemberley To paraphrase Mrs Merton: what first attracted you to millionaire Mr Darcy, Lizzie? “I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds.” Kellynch Hall Changing times. Persuasion’s spendthrift Elliots swap the grandeur of this family seat for “two walls, perhaps thirty feet asunder” in Bath. Donwell Abbey “It was just what it ought to be, and it looked what it was,” muses Emma. Handy, when surveying your future husband’s estate. Rosings Park What kills the charms of this “handsome, modern building”? Could it be Lady Catherine’s complete lack of them? Norland Park The Sussex estate, home to the Dashwood girls, until their less…