Table of contents for February 2020 in The Simple Things

Clear space The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced plans to launch the first space mission to remove debris in 2025. Dubbed ClearSpace-1, it aims to collect a piece of space rubbish that was left in orbit in 2013 and could pave the way for space clean-ups on a larger scale. ESA director general Jan Wörner said the number of failed satellites floating in space was “dangerous”. “It cannot be allowed to continue,” he said. Good brew Ex-inmates of a women’s prison in York will be given the chance to turn their lives around by working at a new delicatessen following a crowdfunding campaign. The Larder Club aims to give former prisoners training and employment. The social entrepreneur behind the project, Laura Gallery, said the deli would be “equipping women…

From coffee and wine to fruits and spices, fair-trade products cover a huge range of the foods we eat every day. It’s all about making the best sustainable shopping choices, which in turn provides better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. Not all foods are covered by the fair-trade umbrella – for example, rice can be particularly hard to come by, especially on a standard supermarket shop. However, if you struggle to find an option with the Fairtrade Foundation logo on it, there are other ethical choices that have similar principles. A good place to start is ethicalconsumer.org which looks at the ethical and climate impact food producers have on the world. Also, look out for Fair…

1949 Born near Besançon in the Franche-Comté region of Eastern France. 1972 Arrives in England. His introduction to British cuisine is a plate of vinegar-drowned fish and on the . 1977 Opens French restaurant Les Quat’Saisons in a concrete shopping precinct on the wrong side of Oxford. 1984 Opens Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons at Great Milton, a haunted manor house (an exorcist is required to rid the master bedroom of a former inhabitant). It wins two Michelin stars in its year of opening and still has them. 2007 Stars in The Restaurant, an Apprentice-style BBC Two reality show for would-be restaurateurs. 2008 Made honorary OBE for services to the British food industry. a Achievement Award at the AA Hospitality Awards. 2010 Presents Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets on BBC Two. 2012…

WHEREVER, FOREVER 425sq ft 1982 Salish Coastal Sea Home tugboat, British Columbia, Canada Kyla Trethewey has finally put down roots after spending the past five years roaming the US interstate system in a tow-behind trailer with her best friend Jill Mann. However, she’s eschewed the normal route of buying a house by setting up home on a tugboat instead. When Kyla and Jill returned to British Columbia to take a breather from the constant travel, Jill found a sensible studio apartment, but a call from Kyla’s father telling her that a live-aboard boat was coming up for sale led Kyla down a different path. “One day I didn’t know what I was doing with my life, and the next day I was buying a tugboat,” she laughs. While only Kyla…

* 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 am Johannesburg born and raised, and have spent most of my life here apart from a two-year stint in London when I was 18. I am completely mad about Joburg (as the locals call it). I particularly love the historic inner city. Tell us…

I Wanna Be Yours I wanna be your vacuum cleanerBreathing in your dustI wanna be your Ford CortinaI will never rustIf you like your coffee hotLet me be your coffee potYou call the shotsI wanna be yoursI wanna be your raincoatFor those frequent rainy daysI wanna be your dreamboatWhen you want to sail awayLet me be your teddy bearTake me with you anywhereI don’t careI wanna be yoursI wanna be your electric meterI will not run outI wanna be the electric heaterYou’ll get cold withoutI wanna be your setting lotionHold your hair in deep devotionDeep as the deep Atlantic oceanThat’s how deep is my devotion About the author Punk performance poet John Cooper Clarke was born in Salford in 1949 and, inspired by an English teacher and Pam Ayres, he…

London is up there with world-famous weekend city destinations. But it can be easy to feel ripped off by endless personality-free hotels, and uninspired by walking past yet another tourist tat shop. Any Londoner will tell you that the way to stay sane in the city is to base yourself in a neighbourhood that you love. That theory applies just as much to visiting: stay somewhere where you can start feeling like a local, and that rewards time straying off the usual guidebook to-do lists. It’s said that London is a city of villages – a cliché, perhaps, but it’s undoubtably true that each postcode has its own charms. It turns out that when you find the one that fits your rhythm, you experience the best bits of the city: invigorating, often…

Parsnip dahl with roasted parsnips and pink pickled onions Serves 6 4 tbsp ghee or oil 5 large parsnips (around 900g) 1 tbsp maple syrup 2 large onions, thinly sliced 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1 thumb of ginger, finely grated 400g split red lentils, rinsed 2 handfuls of fresh coriander (leaves and stems separated), both finely chopped 3 tbsp tomato purée 1 x 400ml tin of full-fat coconut milk 200g leafy greens, such as chard (leaves and stems), finely chopped Yogurt, to serve (optional) FOR THE SPICE MIX: 11/2 tsp ground turmeric 2 tbsp ground cumin or 11/2 tbsp cumin seeds, roughly ground 2 tbsp ground coriander or 11/2 tbsp coriander seeds 2 tbsp black mustard seeds, roughly ground Pinch of chilli flakes FOR THE PINK PICKLED ONIONS: 2…

• Don’t rush! It’s a marathon not a sprint and I’m so glad that we took our time and made decisions that we’re happy with. • Bounce ideas off stylish friends. I’m so lucky to have a brilliant interior stylist among my friends. Nicky from Someday Studio helped me pull together rooms when my vision was wavering. • Go with your gut. If you love something don’t doubt it. I almost talked myself out of the kitchen floor tiles thinking they were too bold, but I’m so glad that I stuck with the original idea. • Try to future-proof kids’ room décor as much as you can. I tried not to commit too fully to any one colour fad.…

Darning socks may feel less like a pleasure and more of a chore, but adopting a make do and mend attitude to your clothes can be creative in itself. Embrace the mending process. Show off where you’ve stitched up the tear in that favourite old jumper or worn-through jeans by using colourful threads and patterns. Is that a hole? No, it’s a fashion statement! This is visible mending, more akin to embroidery and embellishment that will not only make your favourite clothing even more personal, but save it from landfill too. “As a designer, who for more than 25 years proposed new designs, I’ve come to question the contradictions of the fashion and design industries,” explains Japanese visible darning expert Hikaru Noguchi. What I found when I first came to…

• Study your route on the map before setting off. What should you expect to see, when? Pack a head torch and an extra layer. • If conditions deteriorate, use your map to plot the safest way to move. • If with companions, walk side by side to get an idea of how the land lies through your relative heights. Go slowly and carefully. • Try leapfrogging: take your compass bearing, then send a companion in that direction, within visibility. Use arm signals to get them into position. When they’re right, walk to catch up with them, and repeat. If alone, use a stick to mark your original position. • If you know you’re close to where you want to end up, walk due north until you can’t see anything…

Wholemeal maple syrup & banana pancakes Incredibly moist and fluffy, these syrupy pancakes stack up well at any time of day Makes 8 100g wholemeal flour 1 tbsp baking powder 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp fine sea salt 1 small ripe banana, mashed (save a few slices to garnish) 1 large egg 2 tbsp maple syrup (plus extra to pour on top) 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted 200ml milk 1 Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt to a large bowl and mix until blended. 2 In a separate bowl, whisk together the banana, egg, maple syrup, vanilla, butter and milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined. 3 Meanwhile, lightly grease a large frying pan with a…

Snack nap To quickly boost your alertness, a nap of between 20 and 30 minutes is adequate. It will improve your focus and make you feel refreshed, without leaving you groggy or interfering with your night-time sleep. This is the sleep world’s equivalent of snacking – something you can squeeze into a busy day and pull off in the park or on the train. Brain booster To improve cognitive memory processing, a 60-minute nap is more helpful, boosting your ability to remember facts, places and faces. The downside is that you can feel groggy after waking, so build in 10 minutes or so to emerge through the fog. Hot tea and a small snack help. The full cycle The mother of all naps, the full 90 minutes, is long enough…

MAISON 54 Pet Nat, £15 This style of wine has a gentle spritz and a fresh character. Dry, bright and fruity, this French wine has refreshing notes of zesty gooseberry and lime, meaning it pairs well with the avocado and prawn salad. LA TRAD’ NATURE, Domaine Joncy, £18 This ruby red wine is medium bodied with a very mineral nose. A natural Gamay from Beaujolais, it goes well with spicy dishes and red meat. Balance the spiciness of the chilli with this gorgeous wine, full of red fruits aromas. VINICEA Op2, £15 Made with hand-picked grapes, this aromatic white wine with a hint of honey balances well with the sweetness of the pudding. Fresh and dry with notes of sage and lemon oil, this Italian wine is great to round…

No one can deny the power of skinny jeans to rock an edgy look, but there are days when the need to slouch is irresistible. A pair of trousers that flap around the ankles rather than strangle them is needed; ones that allow air to flow about your calves and enable you to adopt a loose, rangy way of walking. Preferably a pair with deep pockets in which to plunge your hands and wear with pumps for maximum loafing potential. These are the days when only a pair of wide-leg trousers will do. Sailors were the first to recognise the ease of wear that such a pair can bring. From the 19th century until the 1970s, the lower ranks of the British navy sported ‘bell-bottoms’. These trousers with generous leg…

Trailers and boats require ingenious ways of putting every inch of space to work and many of these tricks can be transferred into our own homes. When it comes to shelving, you don’t have to just use the top – add hooks underneath or stick on jar lids so the jars can hang. Under-bed storage is essential, but don’t forget under the stairs, too – by adding drawers you can get more in without the fear of it falling out. Also, choose furniture that has more than one purpose, for example a coffee table that can also be used to squirrel stuff away in.…

Favourite shop IWASSHOT IN JOBURG Started as a community-based project ten years ago, it sells images of inner-city Joburg. iiilovelocal.com Favourite gallery GRAYSCALE STORE AND GALLERY Specialising in selling spray paint to the local street-art community, it also has a small gallery selling graffiti artists’ work. grayscalestore.co.za Favourite bar THE LIVING ROOM This rooftop bar in the hip Maboneng Precinct is great for a cocktail or their speciality gin and tonic on tap, all while catching a Joburg sunset. livingroomjozi.co.za Favourite restaurant URBANOLOGI An award-winning restaurant at a craft brewery called Mad Giant, Urbanologi serves ethical, locally sourced food. Try as many of the small sharing plates as you can. urbanologi.co.za Favourite market NEIGHBOURGOODS MARKET Held in Braamfontein every Saturday morning, it has everything from homemade lemonade and oysters to…

English aristocrat Vita Sackville-West is famed for her bestselling novels, her award-winning poems, and the incredible garden that she created at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, as well as her love affairs– notably her decade-long relationship with Virginia Woolf. Adding to that impressive list is the fact that she was also a dog lover. She surrounded herself with dogs: unsurprisingly, her letters are full of them. In one, written to Woolf in December 1926, Pippin – her cocker spaniel, and mother of Woolf’s Pinka – is described trying to burrow under her quilt as she reads Mrs Dalloway in bed; in another to her husband, diplomat Harold Nicholson, she notes: “Now I have had my dinner, or rather Pippin has had most of my dinner.” Pippin features in Orlando, too – along…

Winter whites As the first flowers of the year begin emerge from the frost with their hopeful white glow, bring them inside to put a much-needed spring in your step. As hyacynth bulbs burst forth in florists, pick a few narcissi and some branches of magnolia to create a wall of white flowers. Placed in front of a window, they’ll look even prettier at dusk when lit by warm candlelight as the sun sets.…

The Simple Things commissioning editor has written “a handbook for health and happiness,” which is packed full of easy-to-achieve ideas to help make the most of every day. Research has shown that mental and physical wellbeing can be dramatically improved by spending time outdoors, sharing experiences with family and friends and giving back to the community. Rebecca has simple suggestions on how to build these brilliant mood boosters into everyday life; from walking to the pub for lunch, baking something from scratch, getting a little lost, and buying a houseplant to add a touch of greenery. (National Trust)…

“Most people live in places where the glow of artificial light will trespass into their lives,” explains astronomer David Warrington to author Matt Gaw, who heads into the night in search of darkness. Under starlight and in moonlight, in the depths of the dark forest and on the streets of a city centre, Gaw goes on a nocturnal adventure to discover how light pollution disrupts and affects our own mental wellbeing, and the wellbeing of wildlife, too. En route he re-discovers the beauties of meteor showers and moonlight meanders, and encourages us to go on our own midnight adventures. Lyrical and lovely. (Elliott & Thompson)…

I want to have a beautiful garden but don’t have much time for gardening. What are the best low-maintenance plants? There are a few plant families that don’t generally need much care and attention, three of the most versatile being hydrangeas, hardy geraniums and euphorbias. However, plant lists alone do not make a garden, so a more effective approach might be to consider the scene you want to create. If you already have grass and would like a more romantic atmosphere, for example, think about the look of an old orchard. Crab apples don’t need pruning and provide blossom, colourful autumn leaves and luminous fruit (mainly for the birds), often well into winter. Trees in the apple family are amazingly good for insects, too. In this relaxed enclosure, spring primroses,…

Ellie saw the class advertised on her local café’s noticeboard. It was the illustration that caught her eye: an abundance of watercolour snake plants and potted succulents jostling for space among a few typed words. “Do your houseplants droop when you so much as look at them? Are you sick of killing your cacti?” For years Ellie had tried to cheer her basement apartment with greenery, but nothing ever lasted beyond a few weeks. Her bedroom was a graveyard of houseplants. “Sorry I’m late!” When she put the class in her diary she’d been determined to be on time. But then her boss had emailed asking if she “wouldn’t mind being a lifesaver” and doing some work over the weekend. Her neighbour June needed help with her food shopping and…

• The first ever pancake race was a women-only affair in Olney, Buckinghamshire in 1445. The annual race still takes place, with this year’s event on 25 February. • Made in Manchester in 1994, the largest ever pancake weighed a whopping 3,000kg and had to be flipped and edible to qualify. • The French have some quirky traditions when it comes to crepes. Our favourite is that you must hold a gold coin in your writing hand while flipping with the other. If you catch the crepe, superstition says you will become rich that year. For more pancake-making advice, visit thesimplethings.com/blog/pancakes…

CHOCOLATE BABY CAKES WITH PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA Serves 6 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature 65g granulated sugar ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped pinch of fine sea salt 4 large eggs 280g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), melted and cooled 45g plain flour 85g smooth peanut butter, at room temperature 60g of ripe bananas 1 Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan 180C/ Gas 6, then grease 6 x 120ml ramekins. 2 Beat the butter, sugar, vanilla seeds and salt until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each egg before adding the next one and continue beating the mixture until thick and creamy. Add the chocolate and mix until combined, then add the flour and do the same. 3 In a food processor or blender, purée the peanut…

Raymond Blanc OBE has put a lot of thought into apple crumble. The secret, he says, is to cook the topping separately, avoiding the problem of escaping steam creating a soggy layer of uncooked flour. “People may say that I’m cheating,” says the self-taught chef, restaurateur and author, whose latest book, The Lost Orchard (Headline Home), is in part a celebration of the great British apple. He’s cheerfully unapologetic about flouting convention if the end result is crunchy, toasty magnificence. When it comes to his pursuit of gastronomic excellence, there are no rules that can’t be broken, no barriers that can’t be breached. The chef-patron of the Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire, where he’s spent eight years planting a heritage apple orchard, has been following his own determined…

“The secret of having a personal life is not answering too many questions about it”Joan Collins YOUR KEY  to unlocking their advice: Thoughts pertaining to flings and other such things Recommendations concerning long-term relationships and heartbreak Musings regarding family and friends Love Oracles: Sex and Romance Inspiration from the Good, the Bad and the Beautiful by Anna Higgie, available from Laurence King…

• Don’t be afraid to negotiate. If it’s been off-road for a while it doesn’t hurt to haggle. • Make your first stop a mechanic to assess the costs to make it road- or sea-worthy. • Consider how handy you are and don’t forget to add the cost of tools you will need. • Research material costs for everything from mattresses to plumbing fixtures. • If your new home needs hauling, factor in the cost of paying for a towing vehicle. • Plan your journey – will you need heating or cooling devices where you are going? • Set aside some extra money – always add at least an extra 20% for contingencies. For more advice on converting a van into a home, visit parkedinparadise.com or gnomadhome.com.…

“In a pre-internet world, what better place than a shop window for consciousness-raising?” It’s easy now to overlook The Body Shop’s eco-ness and campaigns among the mass of brands doing similar things. But back in the 1980s, that decade of ‘loadsamoney’, hi-gloss and self-interest, the company Anita Roddick founded was innovative and standout. Anita pioneered fair dealings with developing countries, eschewing “boring” trade fairs for actual trade, going into villages in Mexico or Nepal. She once persuaded Bedouin women in Oman to reveal the formula for a heady perfume in exchange for showing them her pubic hair (they were curious as they shaved all their body hair). Born in 1942, Anita grew up in a community of Italian immigrants in Littlehampton on the Sussex coast where, after training as a…

For those of us who live in a bustling and thriving city, ignoring the cacophony of sound that engulfs us daily can feel like a matter of survival. Too much subjection to traffic noise, pneumatic drills and restaurants and bars where you have to shout to be heard can be exhausting and wearisome. Noise is a nuisance – something to be ignored or drowned out with a pair of headphones and a podcast. Or so I thought until I came across the work of ‘urban phonographer’ Ian Rawes. Rather than rail against the city clamour, he has made listening to the streets of London an art. A few plays of his recordings on the London Sound Survey website (soundsurvey.org.uk) and my ears were pricked. There I heard the clatter and…

Creating a home that works for modern living while still retaining all the character of a period property takes dedication, vision and sensitivity. Luckily, Hilary and Nick Chambers weren’t afraid to take on the challenge when they bought their dilapidated home in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, because they could see the potential under all the chaos and disrepair. “When we moved in, the house was in a bad state,” explains Hilary, who lives with husband Nick and their three children, Olive, ten, Iris, eight, and three-year-old Herbie. “Imagine ancient carpets, a leaky conservatory, a tiny kitchen, a mouse infestation and walls that came away with the wallpaper. A quarter of the dining-room ceiling was missing, the bathroom was aqua and the garden was a write-off.” When the time came to renovate the…

Deep in the heart of the Scottish countryside, Flora Shedden set up an artisanal bakery and café. Outside was breathtaking scenery, inside stunning bakes. Aran is a celebration of fresh bread, buttery croissants, doorstop sandwiches and mouth-watering cakes – including apricot and almond frangipane, and Eccles cakes enlivened with a daring dash of whisky. The book beautifully describes what the café makes from daybreak to sunset, including stories from customers and workers, alongside recipes for pink kites (rhubarb pistachio Danishes) and speedy, simple leek, new potato, wild garlic and cheddar frittata. (Hardie Grant)…

Emmeline Pankhurst Deeds not words took priority for this women’s suffrage campaigner – her actions resulted in multiple arrests. Josephine Baker This Jazz Age performer was not only a spy in occupied France, but post-war she refused to play segregated venues. Wangari Maathai Enabled the planting of 40 million trees, and resisted the Kenyan government over their destruction. Graça Machel Battled for Mozambique’s independence and now campaigns for women, children and refugees – anyone without a voice. Rosa Parks Refusing to move on the bus was only part of 60 years of activism by the “mother of the Civil Rights movement”. Malala Yousafzai Being attacked at 15 for speaking out against the Taliban only strengthened her resolve to campaign for education for all. Mary Wollstonecraft She knew something was missing…