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Taking time to live well
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Taking Time to Live Well

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DJ: Frances Ambler

Playlist | Whatever the weather

David Parker March 20, 2024

Never let rain stop play. Our latest playlist celebrates all kinds of weather, whether sunshine or showers.

Take a listen on Spotify here.

In playlist Tags issue 142, fair, april showers, april, weather, playlist
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Photography by Stocksy

Rain | The real Dr Foster

Iona Bower April 18, 2022

Who was that mysterious man in the puddle?

April is known for its showers of rain, but it doesn’t stop us occasionally forgetting and getting caught out with no umbrella. One man who got very much caught out by the April weather was Dr Foster, of nursery rhyme fame, who went to Gloucester in a shower of rain, stepped in a puddle right up to his middle and never went there again. 

But did you know the tale of Dr Foster was not just a nursery rhyme but an actual historical event? Well, ‘event’ might be a bit strong. Perhaps a historical anecdote. 

Dr Foster was likely to have actually been the Plantagenat king , Edward I. He was apparently on his way to Wales, passing through Gloucester, when he fell into a a large, muddy puddle (or got stuck on his horse in a stream and had to be hauled out). Either way, it was a humiliating moment and as a result he never set foot in the town again. It must have been quite a puddle to have come up to his middle, too, because Edward was fondly known as ‘Longshanks’ and stood 6 foot 2 inches tall, quite a height for that period.

So if you must go to Gloucester this April, take a brolly and some wellies and don’t go puddle-jumping.

If you’d like to know more about April showers, read Right as Rain in our April issue, which is all about the words for rain we use in various parts of the UK. Learn to tell your ‘dinge’ from your ‘henting’ from page 22.

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our April issue…

Featured
Stocksy Words for Rain.jpg
Apr 18, 2022
Rain | The real Dr Foster
Apr 18, 2022
Apr 18, 2022
Tree surgeon - wisdom.jpeg
Apr 16, 2022
How to | Get a Head for Heights
Apr 16, 2022
Apr 16, 2022
SIM119playlist.4ib.jpg
Apr 13, 2022
Playlist | Sing aloud songs
Apr 13, 2022
Apr 13, 2022

More thougts for rainy days…

Featured
Rain new.jpg
Apr 2, 2024
Think | Local Words for Rain
Apr 2, 2024
Apr 2, 2024
Stocksy Words for Rain.jpg
Apr 18, 2022
Rain | The real Dr Foster
Apr 18, 2022
Apr 18, 2022
Apr 24, 2017
Escape: Rainy day adventures
Apr 24, 2017
Apr 24, 2017
In Think Tags issue 118, april, april showers, rain
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Escape: Rainy day adventures

Lottie Storey April 24, 2017

A rainy walk with friends or family feels somehow enlivening, as if you’re defying the weather, having fun and making memories... even when water gets in your wellies

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing”
Lake District fellwalking legend Alfred Wainwright (originally from a Norwegian adage)

Feel the rain on your skin, see it drip through a hazel leaf funnel onto the forest floor. Touch the bark of a gnarled, rough oak or a smooth, grey beech trunk made dark by running water. Run your fingers over a velvety bracket fungus. As the sun comes out from behind a cloud, find a clearing and hold your face to the sky. A free dose of Vitamin D, courtesy of spring.

Hear the squelch and suck of wellies in gloopy mud, splash through a puddle, or linger on a bridge over a babbling brook. Hush up a little and you’ll notice birdsong all around, maybe a woodpecker at work. If the wind picks up, the branches creak and groan in an arboreal conversation that makes you believe in magical creatures. Big kid or little kid, climb a tree and feel the breeze whistle through the branches around you.

Turn to page 24 of April's The Simple Things for more of our April Showers ideas.

 

More from the April issue:

Featured
Apr 2, 2021
Recipe: Hot Cross Bun Cakes
Apr 2, 2021
Apr 2, 2021
Apr 6, 2019
Recipe: Wild garlic soup
Apr 6, 2019
Apr 6, 2019
Apr 24, 2017
Escape: Rainy day adventures
Apr 24, 2017
Apr 24, 2017

More adventures:

Featured
Guernsey The Grandmother, a neolithic statue at St Martins church, is often bedecked with floral tributes..jpeg
May 6, 2025
Folklore | Guernsey Superstitions
May 6, 2025
May 6, 2025
Brocante.jpeg
May 3, 2025
How to | Brocante Successfully
May 3, 2025
May 3, 2025
Night Alamy.jpg
Oct 19, 2024
Mini Adventures | The Night Sky
Oct 19, 2024
Oct 19, 2024
  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Get hold of your copy of this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

View the sampler here

 

In Escape Tags issue 58, april, escape, april showers, rain, walks, school holiday ideas
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Featured
  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

Buy, download or subscribe

See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

Listen to our podcast - Small Ways to Live Well

Feb 27, 2025
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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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