Eggshell tea lights

A smashing make to light up a long weekend - and you can use the eggs themselves for a leisurely breakfast

YOU WILL NEED: 
Empty eggshells
Candle wax (or leftover bits from old candles)
Old saucepan
Egg carton
Wicks (try hobbycraft.co.uk)

1 Clean the eggshells in soapy water and let dry.

2 Heat the wax in an old pan over a low heat until it melts. Take off the heat.

3 With the eggshells held in their carton, carefully pour the wax into the shells.

4 As soon as the wax starts to become solid, stick a piece of wick of about 10cm length into the centre of each eggshell, so that it reaches the bottom.

5 Leave to harden, occasionally wiggling the wick into the middle. The wax should take a couple of hours to harden completely.

This was originally published in the March 2018 issue of The Simple Things. Get hold of your copy of this month's issue - buy, download or subscribe

More eggspiration…

From the April issue…

Christmas | Why do we kiss under the mistletoe?

This is still a matter for Christmas debate – up there with what is the best/worst Quality Street.

Some link it to the Norse tale of the goddess of love, Frigge: mistletoe’s berries are said to be the tears she cried for her son; others say it’s a symbol of fertility, thanks to its seasonal rigour.

Either way, kissing under it seems to have started in the 18th century in Britain, reached mass popularity in the 19th and has provided fodder for sitcom and soap storylines for as long as there has been Christmas TV.

This blog was first published in the December 2017 issue of The Simple Things.

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View the sampler here

More from the December 2022 issue…

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How to | Give Living Gifts

Ideas for gifts that will keep on giving… and living!

PLANTS
Rehome house plants: the plantlets on spider plants are simple to snip off. Start them off in shallow water in a jar, before transferring to potting soil and a pretty pot. Works for Devil’s Ivy and Swiss Cheese Plant, too. Take seed: if you’ve had time to collect and dry seeds, pop them into decorated envelopes with instructions. Give a tree: £5 contributes one sapling to the National Trust’s Grow A Tree fund: nationaltrust.org.uk/features/plant-a-tree

PROBIOTICS
Have a SCOBY (aka a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast): a necessary part of home kombucha cultivation culture. To share, slice around 2cm off the top of the wobbly disc that forms on batches of kombucha, before popping into a fabric-covered jar. Likewise, kefir (an edible, yoghurtstyle probiotic drink) needs a SCOBY: to gift, put a small quantity into a jar of whole milk and seal. Spread the dough: prep your sourdough starter for passing on by feeding it up, before dividing and placing half into a jar. Treat the spinoff to a daily 1:1:1 mix of starter: water: flour (max. 100g each), until it’s ready for use.

PEOPLE
Give skills or time: pledge to take on a tedious job for someone or simply offer to babysit (or pet-sit), a gift to be redeemed at a point of their choosing.

This guide to Living Giving is from our December Miscellany pages, where you’ll find lots more seasonal fun, facts and puzzles to amuse you all month.

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How to | stay warm outside on cooler evenings

Keeping the chill away on late summer evenings that feel a bit brisk

Imagine that it’s been a pleasant September day, and you’re outdoors happily socialising. Then, the sun goes down, and you’re freezing. Without cutting the fun short, what can you do? Ideally, you’ll pop on some extra layers, fetch a wool rug or gather round a fire pit and carry on your fun.
In reality, you could try:
‘Borrowing’ clothes Bust out the Apprentice-style negotiations – friends don’t really need both arms of their cardie, do they?
Drinking something warm A hot cider will probably fit the bill.
Make sure you’re not sitting on a cold surface, as it’ll make you cooler.
Gentle exercise will warm you up, although avoid any sweating. Just five push-ups then?
Eating: purely to get your metabolism up, obviously.
Stuff your clothes with scrunched-up newspaper (more useful if you’re in trousers, rather than a skirt).
Or, erm, take the gathering indoors. Now that’s nice and toasty...

This advice is from our Miscellany pages in our September issue, which are full of more facts, fun and random silliness. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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Make | Rhubarb leaf stepping stones

Turn over a new leaf with this simple project for your garden

You will need:
One rhubarb leaf per stone
Chicken wire, cut to just under the size of each leaf
Plastic sheeting
Sunflower/olive oil spray
Ready-mix concrete Trowel

How to make
1 Put down your plastic sheeting and lay your leaves on top, with veins facing upwards. Spray on a layer of oil.
2 Prepare your concrete mix, and smooth on a layer of concrete, to around 3 cm. Tap carefully to get rid of air bubbles.
3 Lay a piece of chicken wire on top for strength, then cover with another concrete layer of about the same depth. Tap and smooth edges with your trowel.
4 Cover with plastic, and leave to dry out overnight.
5 Spray with water to remove the leaf. Over the next week, spray regularly until the concrete is hard enough to take a person’s weight.

You’ll find more ideas for intriguing things to make, do and just know in our regular Miscellany pages.
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Make | parsnip panpipes (yes, really)

Looking for a new project this weekend? Each month, we publish a ‘veg box music’ idea, ingenious ways to make those edibles audible

Got some spare parsnips? Then you’re all set to try Blowin in the Roots. Don’t forget to send us photos of your band practice!

You will need:

4 or 5 parsnips (as many as you can hold in your hand comfortably)

Knife

Apple corer / drill

How to make:

1. Slice the skinny ends of the parsnips off at the point at which they are still of a good thickness – 1 or 2cm in diameter, let’s say.

2. Bore wide, cylindrical holes down into the parsnips using an apple corer or a drill. Make the deepest one as deep as the parsnip will allow without breaking through the other end, then repeat on the other parsnips, ensuring that each hole is progressively shallower than the last.

3. Finish them off by slicing across the top of the holes at an angle and hold them upright in a row, from deepest to shallowest, with the highest part of the parsnip closest to the face.

4. Blow diagonally across the parsnips down the same plane as they have been cut – the angle makes it easier to get a note.

Taken from Musical Experiments for After Dinner by Angus Hyland, Tom Parkinson, and illustrated by Dave Hopkins, is published by Laurence King. Available at.laurenceking.com.

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Unboxings | Blue Peter time capsules

At the turn of the year, we often think about what’s behind and what’s ahead. Join us on a trip to the past and future, and tell us what we should put in our Simple Things time capsule!

Just the number 2020, sounds a bit futuristic doesn’t it? And it’s got us thinking about our connections to the future, what we’d want someone to know about life now in hundreds of years time. Of course, these days, our descendants will have endless records of what life was like for us in the form of the internet, but back when we were in short trousers and all this was fields, we knew the most reliable way to capture information about our present for future generations was through a Blue Peter time capsule. The whole of the internet is one thing, but it’s not half so exciting as digging up a capsule Peter Purves buried, is it?

So here’s the story of a few Blue Peter time capsules and what happened to them…

The 1971 capsule

Unearthed: 2000, with the aid of a map, defying the pervasive urban myth that the BBC had lost the plans that detailed the place of its burial. 

Buried by: Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves

The first ever Blue Peter Time Capsule was buried in 1971 in front of BBC TV Centre. The idea seemed to be that it would be opened at the start of the new millennium, giving children we all assumed would be wearing space suits and watching Blue Peter being streamed directly into their brains by Davros from Dr Who, an insight into a simpler time. But what did they choose to bury for posterity? 

What was inside? A set of decimal coins that were introduced that year (in retrospect, some of those haven’t changed so a set of pre-decimalisation coins might have been a better choice), a Blue Peter Annual from 1970 (which sadly got rather waterlogged), and photos of the three presenters (who were there when it was dug up again in 2000). 

What makes it special? This capsule has an air of mystery about it. The producers in 2000 made the decision not to broadcast the opening of the time capsule live just in case nothing had survived. Most of it had survived, albeit in rather dank state, but it became clear during filming that the items inside had been rewrapped at some point… This was likely when the capsule was moved to a new site in the Blue Peter garden during redevelopment work. We prefer to think it was the ghost of Shep, getting busy with the sticky-back plastic. (OK, we only said it had an air of mystery…) It also had a distinct air of cheese about it. The opening of the capsule can be watched on YouTube, with the presenters heard to be loudly commenting on the stench. No one wrinkles their nose like Valerie Singleton. 

The 1984 capsule

Unearthed: 2000

Buried by: Simon Groom, Janet Ellis and Peter Duncan

The second time capsule was buried along with the first (which had to be moved) in the Blue Peter Garden. 

What was inside? Some of Goldie the dog’s hair (??!) - we can only assume the hope was that by 2020 Goldie could be cloned using her own DNA and reborn. Also a record of the Blue Peter theme tune, arranged by Mike Oldfield, and video footage of the statue of Petra (the original Blue Peter dog) being moved (there wasn’t much newsworthy happening in 1984, clearly).

What makes it special? Dead dog hair is pretty unusual, we’ll give it that. We wonder how Mike Oldfield felt about it.

The millennium capsule (1998)

Yet to be opened but scheduled for 2050

Buried by: Katy Hill and Richard Bacon beneath the Millennium Dome, London, as it was being built. 

What is inside? As well as the usual Blue Peter ephemera, they also buried a set of Tellytubby dolls, an insulin pen and a France 98 football. 

What makes it special? It’s the most well-travelled Blue Peter time capsule. In 2017 the box was damaged when a builder at the dome had an accidental  ‘here’s one I buried earlier’ moment and dug it up unknowingly. The capsule was taken back to the BBC in Salford and restored, but it was decided that rather than rebury it the contents would go on tour to mark the show’s 60th birthday in 2018, meeting with ex-presenters at various spots around the country. After the Tellytubbies had enjoyed their airing the capsule went to the National Archives where it will be stored until it is opened in 2050. 

The 2000 capsule

Yet to be opened but scheduled for 2029

Buried by: Katy Hill, Konnie Huq, Simon Thomas and Matt Baker at BBC TV Centre. Later moved to Media City in Salford when the show decamped there.

This capsule was buried when the first two were unearthed… Well, when you’ve already got a dug hole, why would you not?

What is inside? The 29th Blue Peter book, details about the presenters, some video programme highlights, ,a gold medallion and set of badges to mark the 40th anniversary of the show in 1998 and - this is our favourite - instructions on how to make a George the Tortoise toy! The presenters also added items of their own: a CD from Konnie, an old mobile from Simon Thomas, a ring from Katy from her Mongolia trip and from Matt Baker, a Geordie phrasebook. 

What makes is special? Clearly, the George the Tortoise project! With only 19 years to wait, we’re counting down to this one. 

The Diamond capsule (2018)

Yet to be opened but scheduled for 2050

Buried by: Not buried at all, but kept in the National Archives. This capsule was stored by the winner of a Blue Peter competition as well as a raft of presenters past and present: Radzi Chinyanganya, Lindsey Russell, Valerie Singleton, Peter Purves, Janet Ellis and Katy Hill.

The Diamond Time Capsule was stored to mark 60 years of Blue Peter and is due to be opened in its 80th anniversary year. 

What’s inside? Viewers sent in suggestions in their thousands. The programme whittled that down to a list of 20 and then there was a viewers’ vote for the final ten, which is as follows:

2018 set of UK coins and notes
Souvenir from the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
World map with endangered animals in 2018 plus memory stick with a list of critically endangered animals as registered on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
World Cup 2018 sticker book
DVD of The Greatest Showman
Bestselling children’s book of 2018 – David Walliams’ The World’s Worst Children 3
Smartphone
British passport (previously belonging to Ewan Vinnicombe the current Blue Peter Editor!)
Fidget spinner
Chart music from 2018 – Now That’s What I Call Music 100 CD and tracks on memory stick

What’s special about it? It’s the only one of the time capsules never to be buried outdoors. Lessons were learned from the smell of damp Stilton emanating from the 1971 capsule, it seems. Where’s the fun in that though?

You can read more about time capsules in our January issue’s Miscellany. 

Now help us fill our Simple Things time capsule

We’d forgotten just how much we love a time capsule and we thought, just for fun, we might put together our own Simple Things time capsule full of things that are very TST in 2020. Tell us what you’re like us to put in it and we’ll get a capsule together* and bury it in a secret (or simply as yet undecided) location in the spring. Maybe one day we can open it and reminisce about how simple things were much more simple back in 2020…

*Disclaimer: this may well be a Family Circle biscuit tin. We’re not the BBC, you know.

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A tale of two woodpeckers

A short biography of two very different birds. Because why not?

Here at The Simple Things, we love a woodpecker, so much so we dedicated one of our Magical Creatures pages to it back in February. You can buy that issue here. 

And when we saw this wonderful illustration of one in this month’s ‘Cosy’ issue, it got us wondering why you don’t encounter many Woodpeckers in books or on the silver screen. They are sadly under-represented, we feel. To go some way towards righting that wrong, we’re celebrating two famous, but very different woodpeckers. 

Picus, Greek myth

Picus (Latin for woodpecker) was a man originally known as Stercutus and was the first king of Latium. He earned his nickname for the fact that he was enormously talented in augury and used woodpeckers for his divination (best not ask how). He was a handsome chap and women, nymphs and a myriad of assorted other females couldn’t help but throw themselves at him. What’s a King of Latium to do? But he came a cropper when the witch, Circe, tried to seduce him and he turned her down with little care for her feelings. Well. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and the witch turned him into a woodpecker as punishment. And for good measure, she turned his friends into a variety of other creatures and his wife into a nymph. The wife went mad and wandered the forest for six days before laying down on the banks of the river and dying. And all because a simple ‘I’d love to but I’m washing my hair’ would not suffice. Lesson learned, chaps.

Woody Woodpecker, Universal Pictures

The inspiration for Woody arrived on cartoonist Walter Lantz’s honeymoon when an acorn woodpecker disturbed Walt and his wife’s peace repeatedly by boring holes in the roof. Walt was going to shoot the bird but his wife suggested he instead make a cartoon of him, and a star was born. 

No one is quite sure what type of woodpecker Woody is, but his laugh has made many assume he is a pileated woodpecker. So now you know.

Woody, voiced by Mel Blanc (who also voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and more) first appeared in the cartoon short Knock Knock on November 25 1940, in which he tormented two unassuming pandas. 

Woody made the move to television in 1957 with The Woody Woodpecker Show, which was revived in the early 70s. And in 1999 he saw another renaissance when The New Woody Woodpecker Show ran for a few years on Fox Kids. A new series is available on YouTube now, where Woody continues to sweep back his quiff, bore holes in things he shouldn’t, irritate all creatures great and small and laugh his infamous laugh. And how is that laugh, written, we’d like to know? According to the lyrics to the Woody Woodpecker Song, it is notated, thus:

Ho-ho-ho ho ho! Ho-ho-ho ho ho!

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The beautiful illustration above is from I Like Birds: A Guide to Britain’s Avian Wildlife by Stuart Cox (Quadrille)

More miscellaneous fun…

More from our November issue…

How to | make an astronomy mirror

Go stargazing without straining your neck with this clever make

This make is fairly easy to put together and will provide you with hours of fun on a clear Autumn night. Head out with a Thermos and your guide to the night sky and see what you can spot.

You will need

A mirror, the bigger the better
Weather-proof sealant (optional)
Robust table or flat, stable surface large enough to hold the mirror
Binoculars
Planks of wood (one per viewer)
Clean pieces of cloth

1 Find a mirror and give it a clean so it’s as clear as possible. Treating the frame with weather-proof sealant can help it last longer.
2 Lay mirror onto your flat surface facing upwards. Secure in place.
3 Prop your plank against the mirror and wedge into place so it doesn’t move. Put your binoculars on top and angle so you can see the mirror.
4 Keep the mirror covered up until it’s dark, then use your binoculars to look at the reflection of the skies. Use a bit of cloth to wipe the mirror if it gets fogged up.
5 Make sure you take the mirror back inside or cover it up once you’re finished staring at the stars.

Find more makes, fun and facts on our Miscellany pages every issue.

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More from our October issue…

More from our miscellanies…

How to | build a dry stone wall

Yearning to impress with a traditional craft? Hold our tea. We’ve got just the thing.

Obviously there’s a tiny bit more to the ancient craft of dry stone walling, or we’d all be building them, but here’s a simple explanation of the basics. Maybe keep your first attempts low and slow. The Simple Things accepts no responsibility for broken toes caused by collapsing granite.

• Source stones from a quarry, or ask at a gravel or sand pit. You want a mix of sizes.
• Dig a trench. Put down your first layer, using the largest stones.
• Use more biggies to make your ‘wall head’ ends. You’re actually building two walls in a standing up ‘A’ shape, wider at the bottom than the top, linked by ‘through’ stones.
• Carefully build up layers on both sides of the base, going from largest stones to smallest upwards. Place stones lengthways, keeping the layer as even in height as possible. Each stone should overlap a gap in the layer below (like in a brick wall) Add smaller rocks to fill in.
• Roughly every metre, add long ‘through’ stones to link both sides of the wall.
• Finish up with large, flat stones placed upright as ‘copping’ or ‘capping’ stones.

If that has whetted your appetite and you’d like to learn more, visit The Dry Stone Walling Association’s website where you can sign up to residential courses in dry stone walling.

You’ll find more miscellaneous fun and facts in our Miscellany pages of the September issue, in shops now.

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More from our September issue…

When St Swithin met Billy Bragg

‘St Swithin’s Day if it doth rain for 40 days it will remain.

St Swithin’s Day if thou be fair, for 40 days it rain na mair’

You can read more about St Swithin, the Michael Fish of the ninth century, in our July issue. But put briefly, if it’s damp on the day, invest in a good umbrella; you’re going to need it.

If you didn’t know that 15 July is St Swithin’s Day, you might know it as ‘Dex and Em’s Day’, the protagonists of the novel One Day by David Nicholl. The novel begins on 15 July as Dex and Em graduate and revisits them each St Swithin’s Day for the next 20 years. 

But what was the significance of the day for the author? A mixture of very little and random interest, it turns out. Nicholl says that he had to pick a day that would work as a graduation date and British universities tend to hold these in mid July. He wanted a day that wasn’t a ‘big date’ such as Valentine’s Day or Christmas: “St Swithin’s Day felt suitably random,” he told the Oxonian Review. But he needed a date that would resonate with the characters and act as a plot hook, too. “I liked the mythology of St Swithin’s Day, which is about our desire and inability to predict the future. Thematically that seemed right. And there’s a song about lost love by Billy Bragg that is called 'St Swithin’s Day'. To me, that song was the unofficial soundtrack to the book.” What St Swithin would have made of Mr Bragg we’re not certain, but suitably random it certainly is. We’ll be picking up our copies of One Day again to mark the date.

Read more about St Swithin’s Day in our ‘Stories Behind Superstitions’ slot in the Miscellany pages of our July ‘Embrace’ issue.

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How to: build a woodland den

Find a likely looking spot with a few decent branches and an afternoon’s fun beckons

1 Find somewhere with plentiful natural debris (dead leaves, pine needles, ferns, bark, grasses). Avoid areas with water or where you can see animal tracks running through.

2 Build facing downwards, using a long branch as a ridge pole. Prop one end into the crook of a tree (or create a support from branches). Slope the pole downwards diagonally, propping the other end onto a stone.

3 Add ‘rib’ branches coming off your ridge pole. Use twigs to create a lattice. Don’t forget to leave a way in.

4 Layer inside with your debris (the driest and softest stuff) – leaving enough space to just be able to lay inside. If you twist handfuls of bracken before placing them they’ll have more staying power.

5 Cover outer framework with more layers of natural debris, until at least 60cm thick.

6 Once you’re inside, fill the doorway by pulling in more debris. Sleep well!

This how to was featured in this month’s March miscellany. The issue is on sale now if you’d like to read more.

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Etiquette: dressing gowns

Gown from onehundredredstars.co.uk

A look at what’s slovenly and what’s sophisticated in this wardrobe hinterland

For an item of clothing that is all about casual relaxation, the dressing gown hasn’t half come in for a lot of criticism over the last few years. From etiquette experts telling us that it’s terribly bad form to come down to breakfast in one when staying with friends to shoppers and school-gate mothers being ‘shamed’ for wearing them out of the house. But they are rather cosy and comfy aren’t they? And a bit glam too. So when is it acceptable to don a dressing gown?

The clue is in the name, really, it’s intended to be put on between getting out of bed and getting dressed (or indeed, getting undressed and getting into bed). But surely it’s possible to stretch that definition a little? If one returns from work on a blustery and difficult day and wants to get into pyjamas before dinner (as 14% of us do according to a 2017 survey by the department store, Liberty) surely a dressing gown over the top is advisable on a chilly winter’s evening?

In fact, far from being a sign of bad breeding, wearing the right sort of of dressing gown may be a sign that one knows what one is about. It’s all down to the right lounge wear at the right time. So here’s a brief rundown.

Dressing gowns

Beginning as ‘banyans’ in the early 18th century, and beloved of terribly posh men both at home and in the office. Banyans were intended to be a comfier, loose-fitting coat for when a formal jacket was too restrictive, and men would stride around the home or the office in silk or satin banyans looking slightly exotic. These days we’d advise you think twice about a banyan, particularly the short, silky kind (imagine the static). If you really must, gentlemen in particular should take care that they are (ahem) securely tied. And also that they aren’t open to the waist, revealing a chest rug. This sort of look should be left to Burt Reynolds, and only Burt Reynolds.

A nice cotton dressing gown in summer, or a deliciously fleecy thick one in winter, with either buttons or a tie fastening though, is a boon on Sunday mornings. And we don’t care what etiquette dictates, it’s the only thing to wear while enjoying toast and marmalade over The Archers omnibus. Do put some clothes on if you pop to the shops, though.

Bath robes

You can of course don a dressing gown after a bath but we think a bath robe, made of towelling, and therefore properly absorbent, is best for a bit of post ablution lounging. A nice fluffy white one gives you the feeling of being in a posh hotel, which is always lovely. If you are in a posh hotel, remember bath robes stay in your room, unless you are going to the spa or pool. They should never be worn to breakfast. And never stowed away in one’s luggage. Buy your own.

Housecoats

At one stage, the terms ‘house coat’ and ‘dressing gown’ were almost interchangeable. Both are lounge wear of a sort, but a housecoat is generally work-related and designed to protect the clothes under it while you’re doing chores. Wear it while polishing the family silver (or even unblocking the sink); this garment is all about practicality.

Lounge wear

From ‘house trousers’ to ‘lounge vests’, there’s a wide range of lounge wear (that is clothes designed specifically for relaxing around the house in) on the market now. The White Company is the purveyor of some of the finest in our opinion. What you want is muted colours, soft fabrics and plenty of elasticated waistbands. Lounge wear items should be beautiful enough to accept unexpected guests in but comfy enough that you could drift off for a nap on the sofa in them at any moment. Think of them as a sort of modern-day smoking jacket, but without the filthy habit.

We would like to make clear that onesies do not count as lounge wear. In fact, they don’t really count as ‘clothes’ at all unless you are under ten. Sorry.

In our February issue’s Miscellany, we’ve picked three of our favourite dressing gowns, including the one pictured above, the Europe Map Gown, £69.95, onehundredstars.co.uk.

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More from our February issue…

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How to make a pine cone bird feeder

Bring birds to your garden in time for the Big Garden Birdwatch

January marks 40 years of the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch. It all began in 1979 with a modest plan to provide something to occupy the society’s junior membership. But when Biddy Baxter gave it a mention on Blue Peter, the society was flooded with 34,000 requests to join in. And The Big Garden Birdwatch has been ruffling feathers ever since.

This year’s Big Garden Birdwatch takes place from 26-28 January. You can sign up for your free pack to join in here. Then all you need is a free morning, a view of your outside space, a large pot of tea and a bit of cake (we recommend seedcake if you’re really getting into the spirit of the thing) and an identifier for your garden birds. We’ve printed a nifty identifier for some of the most common garden birds in our January issue, which is on sale now (or buy a copy here). You can thank us later.

In the meantime, here’s a simple way to make a bird feeder to encourage more feathery fellas to your garden in preparation for the big day.

A pine cone makes a great natural base for a bird feeder, with an open structure that’s just the thing for stuffing full of nutritious and delicious titbits for our feathered friends during harsh, wintry weather

How to make your feeder

1 Collect medium to large pine cones. Don’t worry if they’re tightly closed – just bring them indoors for a few days or pop in the oven to encourage ‘blooming’.

2 Attach string to the tip of the pine cone, ready for hanging up.

3 Spread a layer of peanut butter, fat or suet over the cone, pressing in between the scales so it’s entirely covered. Place a mix of birdseed on a tray and roll the pine cone until well coated. Go for a general mix to encourage a variety of garden birds or choose something more specific to attract a particular species – niger seed, for example, is a favourite for goldfinches and greenfinches while peanuts are the snack of choice for blue tits, great tits and siskins.

4 Hang in a secluded part of the garden, near the shelter of a hedge or shrub to provide birds with a quick safe haven nearby if they need it.

5 Replenish once supply is depleted.

More from the January issue:

More How to posts:

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View the sampler here.

New Year’s Resolutions

No need to get out of bed just yet…

New year, new you, right? But just how long will your resolve last? Before you take the plunge, check out the ECT (Estimated Commitment Time) for these top five resolutions.

● ‘I will exercise three times a week.’
Jogging in January. What could be wrong with that plan? 
ECT: two weeks.

● ‘I will only drink alcohol at the weekends.’ 
January again. What other time in the year are you going to need a pint of Malbec more? 
ECT: one week.

● ‘No more chocolate!’ 
Yes, that means no hot chocolate, too. Or the kids’ leftover variety packs. Or mints. We don’t care if they’re only wafer thin! 
ECT: two to three weeks.

●‘I’m giving up swearing.’ 
Your car won’t start in the dark at half six on a freezing morning. What do you say? Exactly. 
ECT: one week.

● ‘I will meditate every morning.’
Yeah, or you could just have an extra ten minutes in bed. 
ECT: four days.

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From our January issue…

More new year inspiration…

Stories behind superstitions | The wrong side of the bed

Why do we talk about the wrong side of the bed? There are sinister reasons underfoot

Having a bad day? It’s not because of that massive delay on your way into work or forgetting that appointment. No, it’s obviously because you got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. These days, we don’t tend to have a specific side in mind, but in earlier times, the wrong side specifically meant the left. The Latin adjective sinister originally meant ‘left’ but later took on meanings of both evil and unlucky: inn-keepers were said to push beds against walls to prevent their guests being able to get out of anything but the ‘right’ side.

Thankfully modern surveys trump Roman superstition. Over the past decade we’ve not only found that those who get out on the left side each day are likely to have more friends and to enjoy their jobs, but they are also more likely to be in a better mood than those who instead choose the right-hand side.

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Home hacks | Make a terracotta heater

It’s an effective use of all those Ikea tealights, and creates enough heat to keep a room toasty (and energy bills down).

You will need:
4 tealights
Metal loaf tin
Matches or a lighter 2 bricks
Cooling rack
2 terracotta flower pots: one should fit inside the other, with about 2cm of space between the two
Small piece of foil

1 Pop the tealights in the loaf tin and light. Then add a brick on either side of the tin and place the rack on top.
2 Position the smaller of the two pots upside down on the rack, right over the candles.
3 Cover the hole in the bottom of the pot with foil.
4 Then put the larger pot over the first.
5 If and when the candles go out, just slide out the tin to relight or swap in a new tealight.

Note: It heats up quickly and will be too hot to touch after about half an hour, so keep kids and pets away.

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Stories behind superstitions | New shoes

Why is it bad luck to put new shoes on a table? Turns out this bold move may be a step too far

There are many reasons why it’s considered bad luck to put your shoes on the table – none of them pleasant. Let’s look at the death-related reasons first.

It may be because criminals were often hanged still wearing their shoes, or because it’s associated with a laid-out corpse. Back when shoes were more expensive and poorer folk had only one pair, it could also be a way of identifying a body. Which brings us to why new shoes are thought unlucky; when shoes were pricy, they’d be passed from the dead person onto another family member, as a “new” pair.

If not for deathly reasons, you don’t need to be a mastermind to understand why you might want to keep the soles of shoes away from anywhere involved with food. Back in less hygienic, less medicated times, it was quite possible the resulting illness could lead to another pair of shoes going spare...

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Garden hacks | Make a self-watering herb garden

Gotta lotta bottle(s)? Put them to good use with this windowsill wonder

YOU WILL NEED:
Used bottle (glass* or plastic)
Mesh
Thick string
Herbs for planting
1 Cut a bottle in two, with the base longer than the top bit.
2 Turn neck part upside down into base. Cut a length of string to reach through the neck to the bottle’s base. Add water to the bottom part. 3 Cut a piece of mesh, just big enough to rest securely over the top of the bottle’s neck.

4 Make a small hole in the centre of the mesh. Thread the string through the hole, securing with a knot, then bring string through neck of bottle, so the mesh sits in place.
5 Plant up herbs into the top part and put water in the bottom. With your string dangling in the liquid, it’ll bring the water up to the herbs.
* Buy glass-cutting kits at craft stores – there are tutorials online, or if you know people with the right tools and skills, they can help you.

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Stories behind superstitions | Broken mirrors

Why do we consider breaking a mirror bad luck? It’s a conundrum worth a little reflection

What do you see when you look in the mirror? In ancient Greece, they weren’t only a means of checking your lipstick, but also portals to the soul. So, you can imagine what an ill omen breaking one would be.

It was the Romans, however, who gave us the idea of it bringing seven years of bad luck – the time they believed it took to renew a life, and about the same amount of time that it seems to take to be rid of tiny shards of glass. (There’s also a superstition which claims that if it breaks into small shards, your bad luck will be smaller than if it breaks into large pieces.)

Ideas about broken mirrors can be found around the world – looking at your reflection in a broken mirror is considered bad luck in both Russia and India. Cunning ways of losing the bad luck include burying the shards under the light of the full moon, or waiting seven hours before you touch it.

Smashing.

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