Project | Build a Garden Swimming Pond

If you want to attract wildlife to your garden and have somewhere to take a cold water dip, then nothing beats installing a swim pond. It is, however, worth thinking about the following:

• A swimming depth of at least two metres will stop your pond overheating during the summer.

• Hand-digging your pond is a lot of work! Use an excavator if you can fit one in your garden – you can hire ones that are less than 700mm wide.

• Nutrients produce algae, yet nutrient levels can take few years to settle in your pond. Avoid fish, which eat algae-eating organisms and produce a lot of poo, too. Also, remove dead leaves from the surface regularly, and plant directly into the pebbles (don’t use soil).

• Barley straw in net bags is an effective way of reducing algae, but this can make a mess when the bags decompose. You could use plastic net bags, but would you want microplastics in your pond?

A garden swim pond is quite an undertaking but the above advice will help you get started. The picture above is of Fiona McWilliam’s swim pond in her garden in Sussex. You can read the whole story of its design and conception in our September issue.

More inspiring plots…

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How to | Speak Like a Glaswegian

In our September issue, we visited Glasgow in our My City pages. If you were inspired to a visit yourself, here’s a little primer on how to speak like a true Weegie while you’re there. 

Awa' an bile yer heid
Meaning: ‘Go away and boil your head.’ Or get lost, take a hike, etc etc. 

Baltic

Meaning: Cold (etymology fairly obvious, and Glaswegians know a thing or two about the cold, so if THEY say it’s Baltic out there, we believe them.)

Bampot

Meaning: Idiot, probably derived from the English word ‘barmpot’, a pot for storing yeast.

Coupon

Meaning: Face, likely from the French ‘couper’, meaning ‘to cut. It’s thought French soldiers in battle referred to decapitated heads of the enemy as ‘coupons’, and that somehow filtered through to the streets of Glasgow, 

Hee-haw

Meaning: Nothing. The sound a donkey would make, or a loud laugh. As in “how much is in your wallet?” “Absolute hee haw!”

Wean

Meaning: child, as in a baby who would be weaned off the breast. 

Scunnered

Meaning: Disgusted. From the old Scots ‘skunnyr’ meaning to flinch or shrink back from. 

Piece
Meaning: a sandwich or slice of bread. As in a ‘jeely piece’ (jam sandwich). A piece referred to a piece of bread but it came to mean a sandwich, too. Not that a true ‘piece’ is not a tidily cut-up sarnie but a couple of slices of bread, stuffed with filling that probably falls on your top as you eat it. 

Haud yer wheest

Meaning: shut up. Wheesht once existed in English as ‘whisht’ and both simply mean ‘shush’. 

Greet

Meaning: To cry, coming from the Old English ‘gret’. A ‘greetin’ face’ is a cry baby.

You can read all about Anna Pande’s Glasgow in our armchair travel pages, My City, in our September issue.

More from My City…

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Wellbeing | UK Spa Towns

Thinking of taking the waters? There are around 50 towns associated with springs in the UK, some remaining active, some very much gone to ground. However, these are still well worth a visit.

BATH Take a tour around the Roman Baths, bathe in the geothermal waters at the Thermae Spa and taste the waters in the Pump Room in this World Heritage city.

BUXTON Restore yourself at the luxuriously restored Buxton Crescent Hotel. You can also explore Poole’s Cavern, and sip the water straight from St Ann’s Well in England’s highest market town on the edge of the Peak District.

CHELTENHAM Enjoy the Austen-like atmosphere of this Cotswolds-edge town, renowned for its Regency architecture. Unfortunately, you can’t bathe in or drink the waters these days, however, the Pittville Pump Room, overlooking picturesque Pittville Park, still remains and Cheltenham itself is awash with culture.

DROITWICH SPA Priding itself on being the only saltwater spa town in the UK, its waters come directly from brine springs and contain 30% natural salts – making them ten times more concentrated than sea water. Visit during the summer and you can bob around in the saltwater lido.

HARROGATE Crescent Gardens holds the main attractions, including The Royal Pump Room (housing Europe’s strongest sulphur well, alongside a museum). Nowadays it’s not advised to drink the water.

MALVERN Most of Malvern’s many historic hydrotherapy hotels were converted into schools when the spa industry collapsed. However you can still drink the water: pick up a map from the tourist office and sip from the many spouts and fountains.

The above spa town suggestions are taken from our feature Healing Waters in our September issue. You can read the whole feature from page 52.

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Recipe | Green Tomato Salsa

This simple side dish adds some gentle heat and vivid colour to any meal, from barbecued fish and meats to an omelette or cheese on toast. Best eaten in the garden.

Serves 1, or 2 as a garnish

125g green tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Combine everything in a bowl and leave for 10 mins so the flavours can mingle before serving.

This recipe is from our Veg Patch Pantry feature in our September issue. The recipes, which use seasonal vegetables, include a Traybake of White Fish with Courgettes, Tomatoes and Peppers, Hedgerow Blondies and Thyme Buttered Plums with No-Churn Plum and Clotted Cream Ice Cream. The recipes are by Kathy Slack and the photography by Kirstie Young.

More ideas for a glut of tomatoes…

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A Brief History | Dolls' Houses

Tiny things hold a special sort of charm. It’s no wonder dolls’ houses have been popular for centuries. Join us on a journey through dolls’ houses across the years. 

In the beginning

No one is quite sure when the first dolls’ house was created but it may be as early as the 16th century and the earliest were likely made in Germany. Probably originally known as ‘dockenhaus’ or ‘miniature houses’, these were not toys, but statements of wealth. In Holland they were known as ‘cabinet houses’ and they were essentially posh storage for all your expensive treasures. They had glass fronts on hinges, and inside, a rabbit warren of ‘rooms’ in which to display your precious and tiny things. 

Dolls’ houses in education

Their next incarnation was as an educational tool for young ladies. Dolls’ houses were an ideal way to show them how to run a household, deal with servants and generally become au fait with being the lady of the house - all in miniature. They would have contained all the usual furniture as well as brooms, cooking pots and other practical pieces. Like Upstairs Downstairs but REALLY small. 

Baby steps

By the 18th century, the next step in the development of the dolls’ house was the ‘Baby House’, an exact replica of the owner’s home, down to the furniture in every room. Like the original cabinet houses, they were created in order to show off the owner’s fabulous wealth (but without having to let your friends nose about your actual house). 

Play houses

It was not until the 19th century that dolls’ houses became objects for children to play with. And it took an industrial revolution for them to become mass-produced enough for anyone but the incredibly rich to own one. In the aftermath of World War II, manufacturers got up and running again, plastic was suddenly becoming available and many toy producers began their own dolls’ house lines, which began to sport ‘working’ parts, such as washing machines that span, doors that opened and shut and taps that turned on and off. 

Life in Plastic

The 1960s to the 1990s was a bit of a boom time for dolls’ houses. With Playmobil, Barbie and other toy brands producing their own houses in increasingly different themes and styles, suddenly there was a dolls’ house for everyone. Leaving the traditional Victorian town house look behind, now you could have houses for dollies that dwelt in Miami apartments, bungalows, tree houses and more. 

Dolls’ house reboot

Was it Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist that did it? Or were dolls’ houses in all their tiny glory just always waiting in the (miniature) wings, ready to return to popularity? Dolls’ house enthusiasts, and miniature model-makers are big news on Instagram and you could lose yourself for hours in the impossibly tiny worlds of accounts such as @daily mini, @theclaykitchen and @nunushouse. 

If you’re inspired to see more tiny things, The National Trust website has a list of their properties that feature dolls’ houses for you to visit. You might also like to read our Modern Eccentrics feature ‘The Miniaturist’ in our September issue, which features Elizabeth Joseph, Resident Miniaturist at London’s Museum of the Home.  

More historical fun…

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Life Advice | From Roald Dahl

In our September issue, you can take our quiz to find out which Roald Dahl character you are most like. While we were doing the quiz ourselves, it occurred to us just how much sense many of Dahl’s characters speak, and how much of that wisdom chimes with all the things we try to fill The Simple Things’ pages with each month. Here are ten life lessons from Dahl Land that we think will help you live a simpler and better life. 

Be curious

‘There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours you haven’t started wondering about yet.’ 

James and the Giant Peach

Enjoy armchair travel

‘The books transported her into new worlds and introduced her to amazing people who lived exciting lives. She went on olden-day sailing ships with Joseph Conrad. She went to Africa with Ernest Hemingway and to India with Rudyard Kipling. She travelled all over the world while sitting in her little room in an English village.’

Matilda

Believe in magic

‘Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.’

Billy and the Minpins

Think good thoughts

‘A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.’

The Twits

Read more books

‘So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install a lovely bookshelf on the wall. Then fill the shelves with lots of books.’
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Cherish silliness

‘A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.’

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

Throw yourself into what you love

‘I began to realise how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it, and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.’

My Uncle Oswald

Suspend your disbelief

‘The matter with human beans,’ the BFG went on, ‘is that they is absolutely refusing to believe anything unless they is actually seeing it right in front of their own schnozzles.’

The BFG

Retain a sense of childish wonder

‘Never grow up,’ she said, ‘always down.‘

George’s Marvellous Medicine

Travel widely, especially within your own imagination

‘That’s why they alway put two blank pages at the back of the atlas. They’re for new countries. You’re meant to fill them in yourself.’ 

The BFG

You can take the Which Roald Dahl Character Are You quiz in our September issue from page 37, and if you feel like dressing up as your Dahl character, Roald Dahl day is on 13 September. 

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September | Things to Appreciate

A few things to see outdoors this month and a thing to do, too…

As well as being a bountiful time for your nature table. September seems like a good month to appreciate the coast now it’s quieter and to make some memories to see you through winter, too. Here’s an idea for a simple make that does both those things - Scented Seashell Candles.

You’ll need: a bain-marie; a selection of seashells*; beeswax and tealight wicks (both available from craft suppliers); essential oil of your choice – we like sweet orange and ylang ylang.

1 Clean and dry your shells, then place them in a plastic container of sand to help them stay still.

2 Set up your bain-marie with a small metal bowl inside a larger pan of boiling water.

3 Add the beeswax to the smaller bowl and wait for it to melt. Once it’s liquid, add in a few drops of your essential oil and stir.

4 Pour some of the beeswax into the empty shells and then add a tealight wick to each one. Wait for them to set before lighting, and enjoying the relaxing scent and a reminder of happy days by the sea.

*Only take empty shells from the beach and only a few at a time. Have a look round your house and garden, too – you may well find a few seashells from beach days gone by.

This kitchen table project was featured on our Almanac Pages, where each month we collate a few seasonal things to note and notice, plan and do. The nature table image above was taken by Alice Tatham of The Wildwood Moth who takes a photograph for our back cover each month, featuring things to appreciate in nature. She also runs workshops on seasonal photography and publishes seasonal journal stories from her home in Dorset.

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Playlist | A September ramble

Join us on a ramble this month with our latest playlist. Take a listen on Spotify here
Or have a browse of all our playlists here.

Recipe | Tandoor Lemon Chicken with Mango & Coriander Salad

In our September issue you’ll find a Weekend Project to help you make your very own Flowerpot Tandoor. Moist and full of flavour, this a great recipe to test out on your tandoor. You’ll find the instructions for the Tandoor on page 96 of the September issue.

Serves 4

8 chicken thighs, slashed through the skin to the bone a few times

For the marinade:

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 small shallot (or ½ small red onion), roughly chopped

2 lemongrass stalks, roughly chopped

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tbsp light brown sugar

3 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)

1 tsp Chinese five-spice

For the salad:

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp light brown sugar

3 tbsp cold water

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 unripe mango, cut into thin matchsticks

1 small shallot (or ½ small red onion), thinly sliced

A small bunch of coriander, finely chopped

1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 In a blender, whizz all the marinade ingredients together to form a coarse paste, then toss the chicken in the marinade until thoroughly coated. Refrigerate for at least 1 hr, preferably overnight if possible.

2 When ready to cook, preheat the tandoor to a medium heat. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator about 20 mins before you plan to cook it, to bring it up to room temperature.

3 Thread the chicken onto metal skewers (long enough for the top of the skewer to be easy to grab out of the tandoor) and cook for about 15–20 mins, or until the skin is crisp and richly browned. Remove and brush with the remaining marinade, then cook for a further 15 mins, or until the meat is cooked through. Take out of the tandoor and set aside to rest for 5 mins.

4 Meanwhile, place all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. Serve alongside the chicken.

Cook’s note: Cooking times can vary with the tandoor, so check your chicken is thoroughly cooked before serving.

Taken from The DIY BBQ Cook Book: How To Build Your Own BBQ And Cook Up A Feast by James Whetlor (Quadrille). Photography: Sam Folan

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