Competition | Win a day on a River Cottage cookery course with Quicke’s

Courtesy of clothbound cheesemakers Quicke’s, one lucky winner will be going on a culinary adventure at River Cottage HQ in Devon – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s award-winning cookery school and organic smallholding in the beautiful countryside near the Jurassic coast. The prize involves joining Gill for a day of seasonal cooking, creating a seasonal starter, main course and pudding after gathering a few of the essential ingredients from the River Cottage farm. When the cooking is done, you’ll get to sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labour.

ENTER NOW

Terms & conditions:
The competition closes at 11.59pm on 8 August 2018. A winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries after this time and notified shortly after. Full terms and conditions are at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

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Bookshare campaign | Bookplates

On page 24 of July’s The Simple Things, we introduce our Bookshare campaign

How it works:

1 Choose a book to pass on.

2 Find a place you’d like to leave it.

3 Stick one of our book plates in the first page.

4 Write in your name, date and where you’re leaving it.

5 Leave it for someone else to enjoy.

6 Share socially: say where you left it and tag @simplethingsmag on Instagram.

DOWNLOAD OUR BOOKPLATES

You’ll be able to print them at home, A4 size, to cut and paste into your books.

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Listen | Songs of faraway places

Yearning for some foreign travel? Let the music transport you

Listen to our faraway places playlists now.

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The Comfort of Things | A guide to vases

Which kind of container will best suit your bunch? Try these for size

BUD VASE

Small and dumpy and suitable for small posies of delicate flowers: lily of the valley or forget-me-nots, say. A pretty addition to a bedside table, especially when making guests welcome in the spare room.

CERAMIC PITCHER

A large jug with a wide opening – either vintage or new (John Lewis’s Croft collection has a plain white Luna jug, £25) – is lovely filled with branches of blossom or twigs festooned with catkins. The country cottage/ farmhouse table vibe, right there.

GLASS COLUMN VASE

These come in a variety of widths but are always tall – 28–40cm usually – and elegant. Suits long-stemmed blooms with height like dahlias or gladioli. Flowerheads just about popping over the rim look foolish.

SINGLE STEM VASE

Use to show off an attractive specimen: a peony head perhaps, or a chrysanthemum mop. A single tulip looks equally good, though, especially as it twists and lengthens.

JAM JAR

Just the thing for handfuls of wildflowers – buttercups, daisies, grasses – arranged casually for maximum naturalness. A twist of raffia or string at the rim adds to the effect

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Stories behind superstitions | He loves me, he loves me not

Why do we play “he loves me, he loves me not” with daisies? Daisy, daisy, give us your answer do

Pity the poor daisy, pulled apart by lovelorn types for many centuries. The answer why is hard to come by and even the where is disputed – there are a couple of countries vying to be the oldest daisy destroyers.

Among several 15th-century references in German books, nun and scribe Clara Hätzerlin included ‘The Daisy Oracle’ in her 1471 Liederhandschrift (or songbook). It also was dramatised in Goethe’s 1808 Faust. The French have the tradition of ‘effeuiller la marguerite’, literally ‘to pluck the daisy’. But, in a typically Gallic way, that game is more about how much they are loved, a little, a lot, passionately, to madness or pas du tout – not at all.

However, it’s another European nation that swoops in for the final bit of daisy lore. The world record largest number of people playing “He Loves Me He Loves Me Not” (331) took place on a TV show in 2009... in Italy.

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Recipe | Baked paneer cheesecake

New York usually steals the thunder when it comes to baked cheesecakes. This reworking, however, owes its distinctive flavour to India – made with paneer and spiced with cardamom, it’s a revelation. 

Serves 12
300g digestive biscuits
Ground seeds from 4 cardamom pods
2 drops of vanilla extract
100g unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE CHEESECAKE TOPPING
400g full-fat cream cheese
175g soured cream
225g paneer, finely grated
175g caster sugar
Ground seeds from 8 cardamom pods
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 medium eggs

TO SERVE (OPTIONAL)
Crushed pistachio nuts
Mango or cherry fruit compote

1 Line a 23cm springform tin with greaseproof paper, allowing enough to hang over the edges of the tin. Blitz the biscuits, cardamom and vanilla in a food processor until finely crushed. Add the butter and blitz until the crumbs stick together when pressed.
2 Transfer to the lined tin, using the back of a spoon to spread and press it firmly over the base. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.
3 Meanwhile, preheat oven to 160C/Fan 140C/Gas 3. In the cleaned bowl of the food processor, blitz all the topping ingredients, except the eggs, until smooth. Whisk in the eggs, adding one at a time, until well combined.
4 Pour the cream cheese mixture over the chilled base and spread it evenly. Bake for 1 hour or until set completely. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside until it has cooled completely before removing.
5 Chill for 4–5 hours in the fridge before removing from the tin and serving.

Recipe from Gunpowder by Devina Seth, Harneet Baweja & Nirmal Save (Kyle Books, out mid June).

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250 years of the circus | Five famous clowns

To mark 250 years of the circus, we wonder at its feats, honk its red nose and cheer at its colourful past - turn to page 90 of June's The Simple Things

Five of the most famous clowns

Joseph Grimaldi 1778–1837
Not strictly a circus clown (he performed mainly in panto), but deserving of a mention as he was the first to sport ‘whiteface’ and a red smile, and is known as ‘the father of modern clowning’.

Grock 1880–1959
A Swiss acrobat, Charles Wettach started as a clown in 1903. He left the circus to perform in music halls instead, subverting the form, as someone who ran away from the circus rather than to it.

Emmett Kelly 1898–1979
American, Kelly, clowned as ‘Weary Willie’, a character based on the ‘hobos’ of the depression era. His son, Emmett Kelly Junior later continued the act.

Charlie Cairoli 1910–1980
French clown of Italian descent, Charlie began clowning at the age of seven as ‘Carletto’ and later worked at Blackpool Tower’s circus for 40 years.

Lou Jacobs 1903–1992
The first ‘Auguste’ clown (the ‘red’ clown types with big shoes, lairy trousers and orange wigs), Lou Jacobs is credited with popularising the ‘clown car’ and also being the first to sport a red rubber ball as a nose.

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My Plot | Daily life at Freedom Cove

As innovative gardens go, this water-borne home and veg patch takes some beating. In western Canada, Freedom Cove is a world filled with greenhouses, produce and art

Catherine King and Wayne Adams met in 1987 and immediately felt a connection through a shared love of nature and art. When they came across a pile of storm-strewn lumber in Cypress Bay, on Vancouver Island, they saw an opportunity to turn it into a home. Today, Freedom Cove has a lighthouse, four greenhouses, a dance platform, smokehouse and a candle-making workshop.

Daily life at Freedom Cove

We both get up around 7–8 am. In spring and summer, the first thing I do is check my plants to make sure they have enough water, open my greenhouses, and water any plants in propagators in the house while Wayne gets the fire going.

We eat breakfast together, then I do household chores and Wayne tends to the generator or solar system. Once I have done my bodywork – pilates, tai chi, or yoga – I head out to the garden to pot up plants, sow seeds, weed, prune, and do general maintenance.

We have lunch together and then focus on our art. We both carve, and I write, paint, dance, play musical instruments and sing. I am also a healer, so people come out to Freedom Cove to see me or we speak over Skype.

Wayne is constantly repairing water lines, painting, rebuilding damaged areas, repairing greenhouses, doing boat- and chainsaw-maintenance and getting firewood. He is also a fisherman, so spends a lot of time out on his boat. I am a vegetarian.

From June until September, tours come out to visit and we both show people around. We also make moulds of our carvings and turn them into beeswax candles, which we give to anyone who visits. In the evenings, after dinner, we’ll either work on a creative project, Skype with family and friends, or watch a movie.

Turn to page 110 for more from Freedom Cove.

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Recipe | Summer strawberry tart

A light dessert that’s really easy to make, really lovely to eat

Serves 4–6
2 tbsp melted butter
1 sheet of puff pastry
400g strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
Sprigs of mint, to garnish
Icing sugar, to dust
300ml double cream

1 Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/ Gas 6. Grease a rectangular baking tray with half of the butter and place the pastry on the tray.
2 In a large bowl, add the strawberries, vanilla extract and caster sugar. Stir gently to evenly coat the fruit.
3 Arrange the berries in rows, leaving a 2.5cm border of pastry all the way round. Brush this edge with the remaining butter and then place in the oven for 15–20 mins or until golden.
4 Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and top with a dusting of icing sugar and sprigs of mint.
5 Whisk the cream until soft peaks form; transfer to a bowl to serve.

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How to stay up late (without the aid of matchsticks)

Getting less than seven to eight hours’ sleep a night isn’t great for our bodies. But, if you want to stay up for midsummer revelry, these will lessen the damage

Get prepped
Increase sleep leading up to the big night. On the day, have a nap in the afternoon.

On the night
Drink lots of water
Use caffeine carefully – in smaller, regular doses rather than huge cups.
Practise deep breathing (see The Simple Things January 2018 for a guide).
Eye drops are your friend versus tiring, dry eyes. Resting with eyes closed for 10 minutes also helps.
Keep moving - Extra points for mingling or dancing.
Step into the light - Bright light fools the body that it’s not yet bedtime.
Snack on foods that provide long-lasting energy, such as peanut butter, Greek yogurt or apples.

Next day
Don’t drive or operate machinery when drowsy.
Have lots of water and fresh fruit and vegetables... and an early night!

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Summer horoscopes | Gemini

The start of a new season is a natural time of transition, where we pause to reflect and plan for the next phase of the year. Astrologer Donna Taylor looks at the coming season in your star sign and offers her guidance on how to find balance and contentment in the months ahead.

Gemini

21 May – 21 June

“Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?” asks Canadian author Danielle LaPorte.

We all need to recharge sometimes and the Sun’s journey through your sign in June is your chance to replenish your spirit by honouring your needs and engaging in pastimes that plug you into the universal battery. August builds on this theme of time out as Mercury goes retrograde, so whether you schedule a regular massage, daily meditation or creative hobby, know that this isn’t so much a time for pushing out into the world, but a time to reflect and heal, physically and emotionally.

Turn to page 126 of the June issue for the other twelve star signs.

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Recipe | Marigold shortbreads

Flecked with petals and dusted with marigold sugar, this is a floral twist on shortbread to fall in love with

MARIGOLD SHORTBREADS

Makes 16
175g plain or spelt flour
40g caster sugar
6 tbsp (14g) marigold (calendula) petals* 
110g cold butter

FOR THE MARIGOLD SUGAR
Marigold petals
50g caster sugar

1 Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/Gas 4.
2 Put the flour, sugar and marigold petals into a bowl, then rub in the butter as for shortcrust pastry. Gather the mixture together and knead gently on a lightly floured surface.
3 Roll out the pastry to 7mm thick, then cut into rounds with a 6cm cutter or into heart shapes. Bake for 15–18 mins until pale brown, depending on the thickness of the biscuits. Remove and cool on a wire rack.
4 While they cool, make the marigold sugar. Blitz the marigold petals in a blender with the sugar for a minute or two until just broken up. 
5 Serve the biscuits with fruit fools, or compote and ice-cream, and sprinkle marigold sugar over the top.

Cook’s note: Watch these biscuits really carefully while they are baking, they burn easily. They should be a pale golden – any darker and they will be bitter.

Taken from Grow, Cook, Nourish by Darina Allen (Kyle Books).

* The petals of the pot marigold (calendula) are edible. Be sure to use this variety in your
cooking as many varieties of the French or African marigold plants (from the tagetes family) aren’t.

Cake in the House is our monthly recipe feature - get a cake recipe every month in The Simple Things!

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Make your own pennant or flag

On Sunday 10 June, marches to celebrate 100 years of votes for women will take place across the UK - read more here and on page 33 of June's The Simple Things.

Want to take part? You'll need to make a pennant or flag - here's how. Pennants and flags can have a word, name, image or quotation on them. Make them from one layer of cloth in the lightest of materials, to let them float in the wind.

YOU WILL NEED

18mm diameter pole*
Square or rectangle of fabric of a size of your choice (the bigger it is the harder it will be to carry)
Pencil and paper
Computer printer
Sewing machine
Bondaweb (buy from jaycotts.co.uk)
Iron
Embroidery threads and needle (optional)

1 To make a pennant, cut out a triangle from your fabric of whatever size you like.
2 Create a side channel on the straight edge, 71⁄2cm wide, by folding the edge over. Sew down the edge. Then sew across its top, leaving the bottom edge of the side channel open for the pole to slide into.
3 What do you want to say? Think of a word, message or image to go on your pennant or flag – it should be something to help people to understand your message quickly. Using a computer, draw them up to a scale that fits your cloth.
4 Print off your lettering in the size you need. The lettering should be as big as your cloth allows. Trace your lettering and image(s) onto Bondaweb.
5 Iron the Bondaweb to the back of your chosen fabrics, cut out, peel off the backing paper, iron the lettering and images onto your cloth.
6 If you want, you can embroider on details; ribbon the sides of your cloth to frame it in a contrasting colour; add fringing or tassels to give it movement, and sequins or beads to make it gleam. Or just keep it as a simple cloth with a clear message of what matters to you. The pennant should be secure, but you can glue the material to where it meets the pole if you think it needs further support or to stop it slipping down the pole.

FOR AN EYE-CATCHING BANNER...

Clare’s suggestions to help your creation stand out

• Your banner will only be seen for a moment as it passes by so keep it simple and bold.

• Don’t crowd your letters. They need space to be read at distance, so use the largest font you can.

• You can make it personal with your own handwriting or family photographs.

• Make it glitter in the sun with gold fabric or sequins.

• Don’t worry about exquisite stitching; no one will notice. What they will remember is the feel of it, what it says of you.

Project by Clare Hunter, sewingmatters.co.uk

*Your pole can be long enough to enable you to carry a pennant like a flag on a parade, or, if you use one the same width as your triangle, it can be hung on a wall with hooks.

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A could-do list for June

Things you might want to do this month (no pressure!)

• Take a siesta in the sunshine Have a car-free weekend
• Look at things from above (climb a tree, ride a zip wire)
• Lend your favourite book to a friend
• Walk barefoot through a meadow
• Tell somebody what a great job they’re doing
• Who do you most admire? Write down the qualities you respect in them

What would you add? Come over and tell us on Facebook or Twitter. 

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Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time

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Seaside snacks for a stroll along the prom

With the sea beside you, an ice-cream in hand and attractions all around, proms offer a fun coastal walk without the hike

Six snacks for promenaders

Cockles
Skewer a few of these vinegary delicacies from a cardboard tub with a cocktail stick for maximum seaside snack authenticity.

Ice-cream
Wherever you find a prom, you will find an ice-cream parlour. It would be a crime not to indulge, whether you go for a simple cornet or a sundae.

Doughnuts
Sharing a bag of freshly-fried, sugar-coated doughnuts is an ideal accompaniment to a seaside stroll. Let an increase in appetite caused by the sea air be your excuse.

Fish and chips
A piece of sustainably sourced haddock in a light batter with a tray of fat chips and mushy peas? Yes, please.

Milkshake
This frothy glass of flavoured milk has bounded into the modern age with new flavours like Oreo Cookies and Cream, and Peanut Butter Fudge. Yum.

Rock
Teeth-splintering it may be, yet a sucking a piece of this usually-mint-flavoured pulled sugar is an essential seaside experience.

Turn to page 66 of June's The Simple Things for more of our seaside prom feature.

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Dream | June cover reveal

Dare to dream and who knows where it could lead you. Midsummer garden nights are alive with magical possibilities. Lights twinkling in trees, maybe a glass of something, old friends for sure, and a golden hour at hand. But, though we can create a space for for magic, only you can make it happen. And it comes in many forms; helping nature to return after a long absence, breathing life into an old cinema; weaving words to tell the shortest of stories. It’s there in your imagination, just waiting to be set free.

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The Titanic | A liner to remember

The sinking of the Titanic in 1912 is one of the world’s most famous tragedies, with the loss of around 1,500 lives. “As the first major international disaster in peacetime, it generated a huge interest,” says Eric Kentley, co-curator of ‘Titanic Stories’ at National Maritime Museum, Cornwall. “Not just in America, Britain and Ireland, but also in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries. No area seemed to be untouched.” But it continues to fascinate.

As Kentley points out, “Few people have heard about the Doña Paz or the Wilhelm Gustloff, which are far worse tragedies.” The reason, he thinks, is “partly because it is so rich in stories.” He explains: “In the two hours 40 minutes it took for the ship to sink, you can see every type of human behaviour – self-sacrifice, self-preservation, bravery, cowardice, duty, incompetence... It’s very easy to imagine ourselves on the deck of that ship and wonder how we would behave.”

Some positives did emerge from the disaster, however, such as a re-examination of safety measures at sea. And, for the QE2, a perhaps surprising surge in bookings following the release of the James Cameron film.

‘Ocean Liners: Speed and Style’, sponsored by Viking Cruises, is at the V&A until 17 June, and opens at the Dundee V&A on 15 September. ‘Titanic Stories' is at National Maritime Museum, Cornwall until 7 January 2019.

Turn to page 86 of May's The Simple Things for more on our look back at ocean liners.
 

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Elderflower toner

The scented cream blooms of elderflowers have been used by women since time immemorial – in infusions to soften the skin and even out tone. The addition of glycerine gives a moisturising effect, leaving the skin silky smooth.

Makes around 200ml
1 head of fresh elderflowers (or 2 tsp dried)
200ml boiling water
5ml glycerine (optional)

1 Remove the stalks from the elderflowers (if using fresh) and put the tiny flowers in a mug or heatproof bowl.
2 Pour over boiling water, then cover with a plate and leave to infuse until cool.
3 Strain out the elderflowers, then add the glycerine (if using) to the liquid and mix well.
4 To use, soak cotton pads or a muslin cloth in the liquid and use as a toner or simple cleanser, once make-up has been removed. Use twice a day. The liquid will keep in the fridge for up to three days.

Turn to page 34 of May's The Simple Things for more on spring hedgerow foraging. 

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The bizarre art of vegetable carving

Some people insist that a contest fashioning vegetables into weird and wonderful shapes is child’s play. Others, for shame, feel it is a “novelty”. Tell that to the competitor at last year’s Lambeth Country Show who fashioned her veg into a wan woman carrying a basket of greens while clad in shapeless red robe and big white bonnet, and called the entry ‘The Handmaid’s Kale’. She was no uniquely skilled chard chiseller, but a solitary example of a nationwide craft. Walk past the vegetable-carving tent of your local village show and you’re likely missing some of the most inspired work on site.

Turn to page 68 of May's The Simple Things for more of our country show feature.

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