July | a final thought

This post is our last for the July ‘embrace’ issue. Hopefully you’re fully embracing summer now, relishing every moment and looking forward to some slow time just for you over the next few weeks.

Above is the illustration from our back cover. We hope it made you smile. And here’s a haiku we penned as an ode to June. As always, we would love to hear yours. Write your own in the comments below or leave it for us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Five, seven, five, remember. We’ll send a lovely book to the author of our favourite.

New books to be read, 

Sands to tread, tastes to try.

Holidays are here.

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Science | why lavender calms

We all know that our lavenders blue (dilly dilly) make us feel a bit sleepy, but why?

The scent of lavender has long been used to make us feel relaxed or sleepy. And apparently, it’s not only the association with vast fields in Provence, swaying in a purple haze. Nope. Lavender’s benefits have proper scientific roots. 

It’s all to do with linalool, a fragrant alcohol found in lavender extract. Researchers at Kagoshima University in 2018 found that mice exposed to the smell showed fewer signs of anxiety. 

Linalool interacts with the neurotransmitter (or chemical messenger), GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid), to quieten the brain and nervous system, which makes the whole body feel more relaxed. 

However, while the effects of lavender on the brain were accepted, until recently, it was not known what the ‘sites of action’ (where it got in) were of linalool.

The Kagoshima experiment found that mice who had no sense of smell did not experience the same anti-anxiety effects when sniffing lavender as mice that could smell, thus proving that the effect of linalool is on the olfactory neurons in the nose, rather than on the bloodstream via the lungs, as previously thought. 

So, once the smell hits the olfactory neurons, messages are sent via long ‘wires’ to neurons in a part at the front of the brain called the ‘olfactory bulb’, which also stores memories and emotion. From here, GABA gets involved and when GABA attaches to a protein in your brain known as a GABA receptor, it produces a calming effect. Messages are sent to various parts of the nervous system, relaxing the entire body. 

If you’ve not found all that information terribly relaxing, you might want to just pop a few drops of lavender essential oil on your pillow. Or why not pick up a copy of our July ‘Embrace’ issue, which has a feature by Lia Leendertz on recipes that use foraged lavender. We particularly like the lavender and blueberry buns. One of them is enough to relax us right into a nice nap of an afternoon.

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Reader offer | The Simple Things Holiday

Make your own way on a food-themed walking tour from The Simple Things and Inntravel

You’ll follow scenic self-guided walks, meet award-winning producers on guided visits by local food experts and eat dinner at some of the area’s best restaurants. This short break from ‘slow holiday’ company Inntravel is rather special, featuring a mixture of leisurely discovery, beautiful scenery, welcoming accommodation and regional cuisine. It savours all that is great about the North York Moors and Howardian Hills – the corner of the county that Inntravel is proud to call home. A group holiday this is not – the four-night itinerary is self-guided, meaning you can book, tailor and enjoy this short break with the companions and dates you choose. Your bags are transported for you, leaving you free to enjoy the delights unencumbered.

WHAT’S THE PLAN?

DAY ONE Rievaulx to Harome: 13km (8 miles), 3.5hrs From The Pheasant Hotel in Harome, visit the village of Rievaulx and its magnificent ruined abbey, then strike out along part of the Cleveland Way to Helmsley. This market town, with a ruined medieval castle and pretty, walled garden, also boasts some excellent indie shops, tearooms and pubs. From Helmsley, a riverside path and short uphill section lead you back to your comfortable hotel in Harome.

DAY TWO Harome to Hovingham: 11km (7 miles), 2.5hrs Sue and Aidan of Yorkshire Food Finder collect you for a scenic drive through the North York Moors National Park, before a behind-thescenes tour of Botton Village Creamery. You’ll be back in Harome before lunch, ready for a walk, picnic included, to your next hotel. Nunnington Hall and Gardens (a National Trust property) is en route, along with spectacular scenery along the way, to picturesque Hovingham, home to the Worsley Arms Hotel in the centre of the village.

DAY THREE Hovingham to Malton, via the Yorkshire Wolds Today you meet up once again with your guides from Yorkshire Food Finder for a day of gastronomic visits and exclusive tours at Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil and Ryedale Vineyards. A transfer to your hotel takes you past the beautiful ruins of Kirkham Priory, and through the Castle Howard estate, to The Talbot in Malton – the self-styled Food Capital of North Yorkshire.

HOW TO BOOK

From £835 per person including four nights’ b&b, all tours, transfers and most meals. To find out more and to book, visit inntravel.co.uk and search for ‘A Yorkshire Gastronomic Celebration’. You can also book by phone during office hours by calling 01653 617001. Either way, use code TST-01 to receive a goody bag of The Simple Things treats, including postcards, our bumper anthology, The Best of The Simple Things, sew-on happiness patches and more.

Terms & conditions This offer, only available with completed bookings of ‘A Yorkshire Gastronomic Celebration’ through Inntravel, is valid for bookings made before the closing date of 31 October 2019. The Simple Things goody bags cannot be exchanged for cash and, like the holiday itself, are subject to availability. Inntravel booking conditions also apply and can be found on their website.

More from our July issue…

More slow inspiration…

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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Hive mind | reviving a bee

Spotted a bee that’s more bushed than busy? Here’s how to give him a boost

We’ve all heard the advice about reviving bees that are grounded in hot weather but there’s so much conflicting advice buzzing around, sometimes it’s hard to remember what the best thing to do is. Here’s The Simple Things’ truly simple guide to reviving a bee.

If you find a bee on the ground (not on a flower - those ones are just having a well-earned sit down), here’s what to do:

1. Mix two tablespoons of caster sugar (not demerera*) with one tablespoon of water. 

2. Place the solution close to the bee so it can have a drink. A spoon will do but most bees find it easier to get the sugar solution off a flower head, such as a chive or dandelion flower, or from a flat surface, so if it’s on hard ground just put a blob of the sugar solution on the ground next to it. 

3. Back away and give the bee some space but hover nearby to see off predators.

4. Eventually watch it fly away and feel the glow of having done a kindness for a small beast.

*And definitely never use honey. Honey can kill wild bees as you could be introducing a virus to the bee.

Other bees in a tight spot.

Damp bees

If you find a bee soaked after a heavy downpour and unable to get off the ground you can bring it inside overnight to dry off. A box with plenty of ventilation holes is a good spot for it. Don’t be tempted to keep it for any longer than necessary. Bees are not pets.

Damaged bees

Sometimes a bee that is old or has been attacked can look pretty scruffy. It’s worth trying the sugar solution trick. However, try not to get too attached. If the bee is missing wings, limbs or other bits of its body it’s probably not a good prognosis and it’s best to just let nature take its course. 

Dead bees

Are you sure? People often assume a bee is dead when it’s simply exhausted. Give the sugar solution a go and see if you can breathe new life into it before writing it off.

If you’d like to learn even more about bees, buy our July ‘Embrace’ issue, on sale now, which includes a comprehensive primer on all things bee. 

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Tutorial | herding sheep

Come-bye, and we’ll tell you a little more...

We loved chatting to Amanda Owen (aka The Yorkshire Shepherdess) for our Wisdom piece in our July issue. (You can find it in the shops or buy it online using the link below if you’d like to know more). By the end, we were all imagining ourselves giving it all up and heading off to  enjoy the peace and quiet of a hillside somewhere green and silent. (We’re sure it’s definitely all as simple as that sounds.)

So in case you fancy a career change, too, we’ve collated a short guide to sheep dog commands to get you started.

Come-bye Go to the left around the flock (clockwise)

Away (or away to me) Go to the right around the flock (anticlockwise). Remember A is for ‘away’ and ‘anticlockwise’ and C is for ‘come-bye’ and ‘clockwise’

Lie down Lie on the ground

Steady Slow down a bit

Walk on Approach the sheep (often used at the start of herding)

On your feet Stand up and be ready but don’t move yet

Look back Check your workings! Used if they’ve lost a sheep or if the dog is working part of the flock and he needs to go back for the other part

That’ll do It’s clocking off time

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How to | work a canal lock

Learn a niche skill that looks ever so impressive

It’s always a joy to be able to step up at moments of group panic and confidently and smugly say ‘I’ll take care of that’. Should you find yourself navigating a narrow boat unexpectedly (it could happen) you’ll need to be able to work the canal’s locks in order to pilot the boat up or down the water. While all about you spill their Pimms and flap their hands in despair at the paddles, here’s how to calmly and collectedly navigate a lock. Ahoy!

1. Put down your beer, like a hero.

2. For the purposes of these instructions we’re going to assume you are travelling upstream. You need one person at the tiller (the steering pole) and one person operating the lock (that’s you). Check the lock. It should be clear with no boat approaching the other way. The water in the lock has to be at the same level as you are before you can open the gates and enter it. As we’re assuming you’re travelling up the canal, if the lock is not empty when you arrive, empty it by opening the paddles on the bottom gate. Once the water is at the same level as you, you can open the gates. 

3. Open the gate nearest the boat and ask the person at the tiller to take the boat (carefully) into the lock. It is traditional to shout ‘left a bit, left a bit, NO! YOU PUSH IT RIGHT TO GO TO THE LEFT!. That’s right… No TOO FAR NOW. Lawks! You nearly had the front off it then!’ as they steadily pilot the boat into the lock. Close the bottom gate behind the boat.

4. Open the paddles in the top gate and let the water into the lock. The paddles are the big Victorian iron cog shenanigans either side of the lock. Take your special key (called a windlass), place the hole in your windlass over the sticky-outy bit on the paddle and turn it to open. Stand to the side and keep your knees out of the way. If you accidentally let go of a windlass while the paddle is raised it can drop fast and the windlass can fly off and the paddles drop suddenly, causing horrible damage to the lock or you. It is permissible to swear colourfully if this happens. As the paddles open, the boat will rise slowly in the lock like well-proved loaf.

5. When the lock is full and the levels inside the lock and in front of you are level you will be able to open the top gate. Do so by putting your back against it and slowly leaning back to push it open, rather than bending over and pushing with your hands. This ‘pushing with your back’ manoeuvre prevents injury but more importantly will help mark you out as a canal know-it-all and impress any passers-by. 

6. Let your tiller person know to bring the boat out of the gate. If you want to sound smug and irritate the person at the tiller, shout casual and unhelpful commands like ‘take it to starboard a little’. No-one mortal can remember which way starboard is when under stress and in charge of a 60ft boat. Call them over to the bank with a louche wave of the hand, then step casually back on board and resume your position at your beer.

7. Graciously bask in the admiration of your crew and never tell them that it’s actually much easier to work a lock than it is to pilot the boat through one. Ahem.

In our July ‘Embrace’ issue, which is out now, we tried out a canal boating weekend courtesy of ABC Boat Hire. They are currently offering discounts for 202 and have a few last minute deals on breaks this year, too. Pick up a copy of the July issue in shops now for more details.

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Recipe | Watermelon lollies

A simple idea for a pretty and cooling treat

Serves 6

½ small watermelon

6 wooden lolly sticks (recycled from ice lollies)

1 Cut the watermelon in half and cut into slices. Cut out 6 triangle shapes with the watermelon skin at the bottom.

2 Make a small inch-long incision into the middle of the skin and insert the wooden lolly stick.

3 Lay the lollies on a pretty plate and put in the fridge to keep cool. Serve as a refreshing bite any time of day or as a casual palate cleanser between a main course and dessert for a supper in the garden.

This idea is just one of the recipes in our July issue for a celebratory gathering for a special day. The menu includes chilled cucumber soup in tea cups, beetroot and horseradish bites, spanakopita, a delicious fig salad and a showstopper of a sponge cake decorated with berries and edible flowers. It’s a lovely menu for a birthday party, get-together of old friends or simply to celebrate summer having properly arrived this weekend. You can find all the recipes starting on p30 and you’ll find the July issue in any shop worth its salt now or online (see links below).

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More ice lollies to make…

Cake facts | Upside-down cake

A look at the history of this wrong-way-up cake, which is a classic… whichever way you look at it

The history of cake is dotted liberally with fine examples of retro ideas that have wholly endured. In fact, why we think of them as retro is a mystery, since they never really went away. The upside-down cake is an excellent example, and none more than the classic - the Pineapple Upside-down Cake, which has been eliciting excited ‘oohs’ from children and overgrown children alike for over a century.

Upside-down cakes have, in truth, existed for hundreds of years. When cakes would have been cooked over a fire, a clever way to get a nice decorative top with caramelised fruit adorning it, was to put the fruit and sugar in the bottom of a skillet over the fire, so that when the skillet is turned out, the unattractive top becomes the bottom of the cake and the fruity goodness that was on the bottom becomes the top.

But it wasn’t until the advent of the Pineapple Upside-down cake that topsy-turvy patisserie really ‘had a moment’. And for that we have to thank one James Dole. That’s right. Him of the tinned pineapple.

In 1901 Dole invented a machine that could cut pineapples into perfectly sized rings, that he could put into tins. Quickly, one of the most popular uses for pineapple rings became to put their flavour and attractive shape into an upside-down cake. As an aside, we’d also like to award a retro medal to whomever was the first amateur baker to pop a few maraschino cherries in the holes of the pineapple rings. Genius!

In our July issue, we have a less retro but no less welcome topsy turvy cake from Annie Bell’s Baking Bible (Kyle Books). Photography by Con Poulos. Find it on page 7.

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In praise of potting sheds

Because it’s about more than the soil and seedlings

There’s no denying it, a potting shed is endlessly useful. As well as being a spot for bringing on seedlings, it’s a place to work on your own soil, keep all your tools neat and tidy and have your seed packets and catalogues stacked away….

But that’s not really why any of us have a potting shed, as any fool knows. For the uninitiated, and those not yet fully throwing themselves into potting shed life, here’s what they’re really for:

1. Having a grown-up wendy house. No one truly gets too old to appreciate the joy of a tiny little house of one’s own to pass the time in, play in and arrange ‘just so’. A place no one else will try to invade (because it’s too darn small).

2. Keeping your most delicious comestibles. If you’ve any kind of sense you’ll kit out your potting shed with a few essentials. Nothing too fancy. You don’t want to arouse interest. Just an old Thermos you can take out full of boiling water, a nice enamel mug, a small box of a few interesting herbal teas, and most importantly, a thoroughly uninteresting looking old biscuit tin in which to secrete cakes, biscuits and other treats. A cup of tea and a slice of fruitcake never taste so good as when they’re secret.

3. Hiding from your nearest and dearest. Yes, we’re sure they’re lovely but sometimes we all just need to disappear for an hour. The potting shed offers that ideal combination of being outside the four walls of the house (thus putting off potential ‘company’ happening upon you) but not actually off the premises (so you don’t strictly speaking have to tell anyone you’ve gone there. If you slip up the garden like a ninja it could be a good half hour before anyone notices you’ve gone.)

4. Communing with spiders. Because somehow they count as welcome company rather than unwanted intruders. You might look askance at your other half trying to muscle their way into your potting shed but Gerald?! Well, he came with the bricks. And he’s always there to lend a hand (or eight) when needed. Gerald’s welcome to stay.

5. Enjoying without distraction. Do you find you only ever really do the whole crossword, get stuck into a book or sit and listen to the afternoon play on Radio 4 when you’re not in your own house? That’s likely because there’s always a job you ‘should’ be doing to take the place of what you want to be doing. Get a potting shed and suddenly all that laundry that needs folding, the drain that needs unblocking and the spuds that need peeling for dinner disappear! Out of sight out of mind, see? Who knows? Perhaps by the time you skulk back indoors someone else will have done the chores for you! We live in hope.

6. Doing some Proper Pottering. After all where can you truly potter if not in a potting shed, sniffing the unmistakable smell of compost, sweeping up, scrubbing the odd pot and arranging seed packets. There’s no place where it’s easier to be gently useful and relaxedly occupied.

If you’re already yearning for a potting shed of one’s own, pick up our July issue, which has instructions on how to make your own potting shed in a day (like the one pictured above). It’s small but very easy to put together and there’s enough room for you, a newspaper, a comfy stool… and Gerald, too.  

The project is adapted from Upcycling Outdoors by Max McMurdo (Jacqui Small). Photography: Brent Darby.

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Win | a sundae kit worth £100

Sunny days call for sundaes and you can win a sundae kit for summer here

What’s your favourite ice-cream sundae? Knickerbocker glory, chocolate fudge brownie, banana split, or perhaps peach melba? It’s a list of names to transport you back to childhood, when pushing a long-handled spoon through layers of ripe fruit, gloopy sauce and oozing ice-cream was the height of summery indulgence. It’s a tradition worth bringing back…

Mackie’s of Scotland knows all about good traditions. At their farm, making delicious ice-cream is a sky-to-scoop production – tending the grass-fed cows that produce Mackie’s thick and creamy milk and using renewable energy to magic it into frozen tubs of goodness in a range of flavours from raspberry ripple to salted caramel.

As well as offering fantastic flavours, Mackie’s has no shortage of inspiration on how to enjoy your ice-cream. Set out ice-creams, fresh fruit, sauces, nuts and sprinkles and let friends and family build their own sundaes. You can melt Mackie’s chocolate for an instant sauce, or dip wafers into it to make the best kind of glue for sugar sprinkles. You could even top a glass of prosecco with strawberry ice-cream for a grown-up take on an old-fashioned float. Mackie’s is giving away Summer Sundae Kits to get you started – for your chance to win, enter our competition (see below). Find out more at mackies.co.uk.

There are five Mackie’s Summer Sundae Kits up for grabs. Each includes:

12 Mackie’s vouchers for a 1 litre-tub of ice-cream

12 bars of Mackie’s chocolate

A selection of toppings

2 sundae glasses

A professional ice-cream scoop and 4 long spoons

A Mackie’s recipe book, tea towel and apron.

How to enter

For your chance to win, press the button below and tell us how many sundae glasses are included in the prize.

Terms & conditions: Competition closes at 11.59pm on 7 August 2019. Winners will be selected at random from all correct entries after this date, and notified soon after. You can’t swap your Sundae Kit for cash, and the prize is non-transferable. Vouchers can be redeemed at any Mackie’s stockist – find your nearest via mackies.co.uk. You’ll find our full terms and conditions on page 127 and online at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

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More from our July issue…

Win | a UK holiday worth £500

Feeling inspired to book your next holiday? Classic Cottages is giving away a £500 voucher

Picture an idyllic British summer getaway and a holiday cottage probably features somewhere in your imaginings. Classic Cottages has been curating property treasures in the UK since 1977. Its high-quality collection features homes across the south and west, from Cornwall to the Isle of Wight. You can browse them all at classic.co.uk. And now the company is giving away a £500 voucher to one The Simple Things reader with this brilliant competition.

To be in with a chance of winning simply enter below and answer the question.

Terms & conditions: Competition closes at 11.59pm on 7 August 2019. A winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. The voucher is valid for 12 months, until 7 August 2020. You can use it on any Classic Cottages property, subject to availability, and you can’t swap it for cash or transfer it. You’ll find our full terms and conditions on page 127 of the magazine and online at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

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Playlist | Songs about dogs

Listen at thesimplethings.com/blog/dogplaylist

DJs: Clare Gogerty, with the help of readers Wendy Browning, Louise Collyer, Carole Hirst and Michelle Monteleagre.

More of our playlists…

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Win | a foodie hamper

A summer foodie bundle to make picnics even lovelier could be yours

Summer starts in earnest, it’s said, when elder trees burst into flower, and it ends in late August when elderberries are ripe. Delicate elderflowers explode in hedgerows across the Quicke’s estate and beyond. Only the best ingredients are good enough for Quicke’s clothbound cheese, from grass-fed cows’ milk made by the Quicke’s herd, to Cornish Sea Salt to mix into the curds. So, when it came to developing the Elderflower Clothbound Cheese – a creamy hard cheese with a flicker of real elderflower – only the best hand-picked wild elderflower would do.

To celebrate the latest batch of Quicke’s Elderflower Clothbound Cheese (above), they’re giving away a summer foodie bundle from a few of our favourite South West businesses who are also making the most of this wonderful summer blossom. The prize includes:

• Nancarrow Farm Feast tickets for two, worth £40 each, valid for summer feast nights down on the farm in Truro, Cornwall. • Easygoing English aperitif, Sharpham Sparkling Elderflower. • Lyme Bay Gin, bursting with traditional botanic flavours and citrus and elderflower notes. • Luscombe Wild Elderflower Bubbly, a soft drink infused with blossom foraged in the June sunshine. • And of course – Quicke’s Elderflower Clothbound Cheese.

For your chance to win, enter below.

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More ideas for summer picnic hampers…

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