Click to listen to our Spotify playlist here
A playlist for January. Songs to help you relax and slow down.
DJ: Frances Ambler
Image: Shutterstock
Sponsored post | Earthborn: "It's the Little Things That Go That Extra Step"
We catch up with Cathryn Sanders, Earthborn’s Marketing Manager, to find out why their paints not only look good but are also an environmentally-friendly option
You’re known for your eco-credentials, but how did Earthborn come about?
We were established 20 years ago by our founder John Dison. After a career as a Town Planner specialising in historic buildings, and with a background in the family business of supplying the decorating trade, John wanted to pursue his passion for design and sustainability. At the time, there was little awareness about the health dangers of conventional paints and their environmental impact, so Earthborn has always been one step ahead of the game.
And is the rest of the industry now listening?
Thankfully, yes. People in general are much more clued up, thanks in part to climate change campaigners such as David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg. In terms of the industry, things like the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which are harmful to our health and the environment, are now regulated, but there’s still plenty more that can be done.
Really? What sort of thing should we be looking out for?
Well, we take great care to use eco-friendly ingredients that are free from harmful emissions, and we’re incredibly proud to have been awarded the first UK licence of the EU Ecolabel for Indoor Paints and Varnishes. But it’s the little things that go that extra step – we’ve put a lot of thought into our packaging, too. For example, our colour cards are all painted with real paint and are made from eco-friendly materials and biodegradable glue, while our tins are made from 70% recycled materials and are 100% recyclable. Even our foam chip packaging is biodegradable and dissolves in water. Saying that, we know there’s so much more that can be done and we’re constantly looking at ways to improve our environmental practices.
Impressive! Your Claypaint really stands out, tell us more
It’s our hero product, if you like. As its name suggests, it has a high clay content, making it breathable with a unique matt finish and no smell. There’s a huge colour range, which all have a mellowness and a visual softness that work well with each other. Free from oils and acrylics, it has minimal preservatives and some have no titanium dioxide. While some colours have no added pigments, meaning they’re naturally occurring clay colours. They’re also vegan friendly, independently tested and certified as child and baby safe – so ideal for a nursery or playroom.
What else is important when choosing a paint?
One word: breathability. It’s so important for buildings to breathe, especially older ones. It’s a common mistake to use waterproof paints and materials designed to block moisture, however, these can exacerbate the problem, creating damp issues. Instead, look out for paints with a high level of breathability. Our products allow air and water vapour to easily flow through the surface so, if coupled with breathable building materials, moisture doesn’t become trapped, which can cause the paintwork to bubble, peel and eventually blow.
And now the question everyone wants to ask… what trends do you think will be popular this year?
We think that Edwardian décor will be a strong influence in 2022, in particular mixing the old with the new. Earthborn predicts that we’ll see a rise in beautiful pastel colour schemes, specifically lilac. That’s why Lily Lily Rose is officially Earthborn’s colour of the year. It’s a subtle shade of lilac, pink and grey and was created as homage to John Singer Sargent’s famous work Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose. A highly versatile shade with surprising depth, we’re sure that it’ll create a space that is both tranquil and on trend.
For more information, visit earthbornpaints.co.uk or follow on Instagram: @earthbornpaints for colour inspiration.
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Photography: Catherine Frawley
Festive food | Cheeseboard Champions
Learn a thing or two about twinning cheeses with complimentary chutneys (and other sticky things)
Cheese is a key part of Christmas as far as we’re concerned. However, an excellent cheeseboard - the cheeseboard to end all cheeseboards - is as much about all the extras… the nuts, the grapes, the sticks of celery, the biscuits, and definitely the jewel-coloured pots of pickles and chutneys. And one chutney is absolutely not enough. You need to make sure that every cheese on your board has its own sticky partner to pair with.
Cheese: Strong hard cheeses (eg mature cheddar or Lincolnshire poacher)
Pair with: A Caramelised red onion chutney
Cheese: Milder hard cheeses (eg double Gloucester or red Leicester)
Pair with: A tomato-based chutney
Cheese: Drier hard cheeses (eg Parmesan or gouda)
Pair with: Mostarda (an Italian condiment made from candied fruit and a mustardy syrup)
Cheese: Goat’s cheese
Pair with: Something with a kick of chill like a tomato and chilli chutney, or a red onion marmalade
Cheese: Blue cheeses (eg gorgonzola or Danish blue)
Pair with: Rosemary and gin jelly
Cheese: Strong blues (eg tsilton)
Pair with: Fig chutney
Cheese: White rind soft cheeses (eg cambazola or brie)
Pair with: A Plum and Apple chutney, Orange - brie loves anything fruity
Cheese: Sheep’s cheeses (eg manchego and pecorino)
Pair with: Membrillo (quince paste)
If you’re putting together your own Cheeseboard To End All Cheeseboards, you will enjoy our feature Brie Merry and Bright, by Catherine Frawley, starting on page 16 of our December issue. It has lots of recipes to add interest to your cheeseboard, from breadsticks and chestnut hummus to pickled shallots and fennel oatcakes. And, of course, a wonderful festive chutney.
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Christmas | What Does Your Nativity Role Say About You?
Photograpy: Getty
:Did you play Mary? Do you work in retail now? No? Hang on… our Nativity Career Predictor is on the blink again…
Forget psychometric testing, your career prospects are apparently all mapped out according to the part you played in your school nativity play. This is according to a study by (rather appropriately) Virgin Money back in 2019, which looked at the earnings of 2,000 people against which parts they had in their nativities as children. Marys were most likely to work in Retail, Angel Gabriels in Healthcare… But a happy work life isn’t all about salary is it? We’ve analysed the information from the Virgin survey and have put it through our Simple Things Nativity Part Career Predictor.
Have a go yourself and see if we got you right, or maybe you’ll find inspiration for a whole new career path ahead! Find the part you played in your nativity play below and see what your career holds! NB If you’re already a shepherd or own an inn, you can probably skip this. .
Mary
Meek and mild, and usually draped in blue robes, Mary may be the most sought-after nativity role, but rarely has many lines. Like we say, meek and mild were her watchwords. Having given her husband-to-be the shocking news that they’re expecting a baby, her main part in proceedings is to sit on a donkey and then look benign, having delivered a Tiny Tears doll. But Mary has an inner strength, and a quiet reverence that would be an asset in many a career.
The survey said: Marys are most likely to work in retail and earn on average £39,000 per annum.
Our Nativity Part Career Predictor said: Marys might have a career in midwifery. We never see much obstetric help happening on stage, so we can only assume stoic Mary gets on with it alone. But children playing Mary also tend to be confident in the limelight as well as well-behaved. No nursery teacher would hand that kind of responsibility to any child likely to pick their nose on stage or use their 15 minutes of fame for nefarious purposes. If you were a Mary we can see you as perhaps heading up a green or ethical organisation; somewhere where you can use your stage presence to do good.
Angel Gabriel
The Angel is another popular part, even though his time on stage is actually fairly short. You get some of the classic lines though: “Be not afraid!” etc. And you probably got a fancy pair of wings and a lovely foil halo too.
The survey said: Angels are most likely to work in marketing and communications and earn on average £40,000 per annum.
Our Nativity Part Career Predictor said: If you played the Angel Gabriel you probably were indeed a great communicator, with a LOUD voice and a love of shiny things. They don’t get shrinking violets to play the Angel of the Lord, after all. We think you might have made a career for yourself in the theatre, or perhaps as an auctioneer. We hope you’re still bringing glad tidings of great joy one way or another.
Inn Keeper
A small but vital part in the proceedings. For without the Inn Keeper there would have been no stable. Nativity Inn Keepers tend to have a bit of a twinkle in their eye. Which of us has not held our breath as the Inn Keeper is asked if there is room at the inn, and half hoped they might go off at a tangent and offer a honeymoon suite, after all?
The survey said: Inn Keepers are most likely to be manual labourers and earn on average £37,000 a year.
Our Nativity Part Career Predictor said: Hospitality is definitely a career path for Inn Keepers, but also in a wider sense; Inn Keepers like to be helpful and kind, and find solutions to problems. Perhaps a troubleshooter or project manager of some sort would suit you? Otherwise work within a charity or organisation such as Citizens’ Advice, where you’re able to use your knowledge and problem-solving skills to help others find their best paths.
Shepherd
If you managed to navigate a crook and an oversized dressing gown on a rickety stage, you’re probably a fairly robust sort of person (when you’re not being sore afraid).
The survey said: Shepherds are most likely to work in IT and earn on average £29,000 a year.
Our Nativity Part Career Predictor said: Careers in animal husbandry aside, those who play shepherds, patiently watching over their flocks and following the star to the stable, uncomplainingly carrying lambs, have lots of transferable skills; they might make good educationalists or be happy working in social care.
Narrator
If you were chosen to be the narrator, you were truly the golden child at your school. Narrators carry a huge weight of responsibility, and must be clearly spoken, charming, well-presented and confident, as well as having a good memory for lines.
The survey said: Narrators are most likely to work in education and earn on average £24,000 a year.
Our Nativity Part Career Predictor said: Narrators are the true star of the show and if that was your Nativity role, you’re probably confident, charismatic and a born leader. You might make a great CEO or find a role in entertainment. Whatever you do, you’ll find a niche for yourself, front and centre, possibly people-facing, and with plenty for you to say and do.
If you;d like to reminisce further over Nativity plays and other Christmas rites of passage, you might enjoy our feature Moments of Magic starting on page 54, which looks at first bikes, carol concerts, taking over the Christmas dinner and getting the train home for Christmas. We’re feeling festive already.
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Photograph: Stocksy
Rituals | The Christmas Decs Box
It comes out each year, like an old friend. Here are a few ways to mark the return of the Christmas Decorations Box
Getting the box of decorations down from the attic is the moment Christmas truly arrives, isn’t it? Lifting back cardboard and pulling away bubble wrap to find familiar jewel coloured baubles nestled beneath feels a bit like coming home. And the moment when all the decorations go back in the box for another years often feels a bit poignant too, as the celebrations come to an end and life returns to normal once more.
We think our Christmas Decs Boxes deserve a bit of reverence. So we’ve put together a few ideas for small rituals that will help make the putting up and the bringing down of the decs a bit more special, and a bit less of a chore.
Putting up the decs rituals
1. Pick a festive tipple to be the drink you always have as you dress the tree and deck the halls. It can be as simple as a sherry if you want but you might like to pick something a bit unusual that’s particular to your household - have a look at The Simple Things blog and search ‘tipple’ for more ideas on festive cocktails you can make. It doesn’t have to be alcoholic though; try a non-alcoholic eggnog perhaps? Or a clementine mockjito maybe? (Clementine juice muddled with sugar and lemon wedges, poured over ice and topped up with sparkling water.) Having a special ‘get the decs up’ tipple really makes it feel like the festivities are beginning. You can keep the recipe for your tipple in your decs box in case you need reminding.
2. Keep a Decs Box guest book. Pop a little notebook in your box and each year, make a note of the date you put the decorations up, who was there to help and what you did. You could pop a photo in too if you like. As it grows each year, it will become a lovely little piece of family history.
3. Make a playlist. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of Carols from Kings as you detangle the fairy lights, but if you make your own playlist on Spotify you can add to it whenever you come across a track you like. Doesn’t even have to be Christmassy; anything that gets you in the mood for throwing holly sprigs on top of picture frames.
Taking down the decs rituals
1. Have an online Decs Down party. Get your wider family, or just a good friend you’re long overdue a natter with, on a video call, make a cuppa (or something stronger if you like) and catch up while you wind lights around cereal packets and carefully nestle baubles back in egg boxes. This idea is great if taking the decorations down always makes you feel maudlin. Once you’ve got everything packed up and had a lovely chat, get someone else to run the Hoover round and before you know it, everything is clean and sparkling and you’re already looking forward to a new year and new plans.
2. Pop a copy of this year’s Radio Times, or a newspaper if you like, into the decs box as you close it. There’s something oddly fascinating about looking back and seeing what you watched on telly at Christmas 2008 somehow - like your own Blue Peter time capsule.
3. Write to your future Christmas self. You can tell yourself anything - what you did this Christmas, any highlights and lowlights, what you’re hoping for in the coming year, and maybe even what your dreams are for this time next year. It makes interesting reading when you get the box down from the attic again next December.
The picture above is one of our ‘simple things’ from our December issue. If you’re feeling inspired by the Christmas Decs Box rituals, you might also like to read our feature The Calm Before Christmas, starting on page 82, which has lots of ideas for an alternative advent full of kind and quiet rituals and habits.
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Illustration: Kavel Rafferty
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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Photography and Recipe: Anja Dunk
Recipe | Lucky Meringue Mushrooms (Gluckspilze)
Sweet, advent treats to make to get you in the mood. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Mushrooms are seen as a symbol of good luck in Germany. As well as glass ornaments for the Christmas tree, they are also made into edible marzipan confections and these light and crunchy meringues. With a chewy centre, these are delectable on their own, but also make great ‘lucky’ decorations.
Makes about 20
2 egg whites
140g caster sugar
80g dark chocolate
¼ tsp coconut oil
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Preheat the oven to 100C/Fan 80C/ Gas ¼ and line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
2 Put the egg whites into a bowl and, using an electric mixer, whisk for a couple of minutes on a high speed until stiff peaks form. Reduce the speed and add the sugar one tablespoon at a time, whisking all the while, until incorporated and glossy.
3 To make the caps of the mushrooms, spoon 20 tsp of the meringue mixture, spaced 2cm apart, onto one of the baking sheets. Flatten the mounds with the back of a spoon until they’re between 2–3cm in diameter, then round off the tops.
4 To make the stalks, spoon heaped teaspoons of the mixture 2cm apart onto the second sheet. This time try to lift the spoon up as you do so to create taller (around 3–4cm high) peaks. Bake for 45 mins and don’t be tempted to open the oven door. Once the time is up, turn the oven off and let the meringues cool completely inside the oven.
5 Once the meringues are cooled, put the chocolate and coconut oil into a bain-marie with a 1cm of water in the bottom. Heat on low then, once the chocolate starts melting, stir until glossy. Spoon chocolate onto the underside of each mushroom cap. The chocolate will act as the glue to hold the stalk in place. While holding a cap in one hand, gently push a stalk into the centre of the chocolatecoated side – you will hear a cracking sound as it breaks through the base of the meringue cap; don’t worry, it’s a good thing as it means they will stick together well. Place cap-side down on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining caps and stalks.
6 Once the chocolate has set (which will take an hour or so), turn them over onto their stalks and, using a sieve, dust the tops of the caps with cocoa powder.
Cook’s note: Stored in an airtight container, these will keep well for about 2 weeks.
Taken from Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas by Anja Dunk (Quadrille). Photography: Anja Dunk. You can find more of Anja’s recipes for Advent bakes and makes starting from page 75.
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Featured
Make | Winter Herb Salt
This easy recipe can be made with whatever fresh herbs you have to hand; you just need roughly the same volume of sea salt as you do chopped herbs
The flavoursome salt is a versatile seasoning for so many winter recipes and is particularly good crumbled over freshly roasted chestnuts. Potted up in little glass jars and tied with a ribbon, it also makes a lovely gift for others to enjoy.
Makes 1 jar
You will need
A mixed bunch of fresh winter herbs of your choice (rosemary, sage, and a few bay leaves is our go-to combination for this)
Coarse sea salt
To make
Remove any tough stems from the herbs and finely chop them. Roughly measure out an equal volume of sea salt to the chopped herbs. Mix the Winter herbs and sea salt together until well combined. Spread the herb salt out in a shallow layer in a dish or bowl, cover with a tea towel, and leave somewhere warm and dry for a few days, or until the salt and herbs are dry to the touch. Scoop into a jar and use as needed.
The Winter Herb Salt was just one of the beautiful makes from our feature Gifts from the Smallholding in our December issue, by Kathy Bishop and with photography by Tom Crowford from The Seasonal Table. We’ve loved following Kathy and Tom’s adventures on their smallholding this year. You can find the Winter Herb Salt as well as lots more wintry recipes and ideas, including squash and kale lasagne, mash with onions and breadcrumbs, ginger crumble with apple compote and redcurrant, apple and rosemary fizz starting on page 46 of our December issue, which you can preorder now.
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Illustration: Georgina Luck
Stir-up Sunday
Get stuck in on Stir-up Sunday. The tradition your tastebuds have been waiting for…
LIKE MANY OCCASIONS THAT end up being about cake, Stir-up Sunday was never supposed to be about cake. The name comes from an Anglican prayer delivered on the last Sunday before Advent (this year, 21st November) and intended to “stir up the wills” of the congregation to go off and perform good deeds. No one mentioned cake. However, at some point, the congregation’s womenfolk found these words served as a timely reminder to start “stirring up” their Christmas cake, mincemeat and puds so they could exchange flavours for five weeks. So pile the table high with dried fruits, nuts, bottles of rum and brandy, lemon halves, plain flour, cinnamon, eggs, butter, muscovado sugar, candied peel and whatever else your chosen recipe suggests, dust off your biggest mixing bowl and a wooden spoon and get stuck in.
This blog was originally published in November 2013. If you need a recipe for a fruit cake, there’s a really rather good one on page 25 of our November 2021 issue which you can still buy in our online store and have delivered to your door mat. Our December issue, with lots more ideas for preparing for Christmas is in all good shops and supermarkets now.
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A Could-Do List for December
Background image: istock
Our could-do lists are designed to bring a bit of seasonal fun to your month. You could do all the things on the list, pick one or two, make up some of your own, or just read and enjoy. We’re definitely doing the pyjama day - and maybe the mince pie competition if we feel energetic enough.
A very merry December to you all.
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Illustration: Lara Paulussen
How To | Shear a Sheep
Because you never know when you may be called upon to perform a skilled piece of animal husbandry
Just in case you ever find yourself, clippers in hand, being asked to give a sheep a short back and sides, here’s how to do it step by step. The Simple Things takes no responsibility for any mis-sheared sheep or injuries that befall you while shearing a sheep while following our instructions. Sorry.
1. First, catch your sheep
Approach the animal slowly and calmly but with a determined look in your eye that lets the sheep know who’s boss. We’ll assume you have chosen a dry day (you can’t shear wet wool) and that the sheep has fasted for a day, too; those things aren’t your concern. Herd the sheep to your shearing site with your arms and legs, then gently tip the sheep onto her back, holding her right leg in your right hand and the woolly top of the brisket with your left hand. She should have all four feet in the air, belly exposed, head turned to one side and be leaning back into your body with your legs supporting her shoulders. We never said this was a dignified process.
2. Start shearing
Begin with the belly piece as this is dirtiest and worth the least money. You’re aiming to get the whole fleece off in one piece with the belly piece wrapped in the middle but it’s a bit like peeling an orange in one go - it takes practice - so just do your best. If you’re right handed, hold the shears in your right hand and use your left to pull the skin taut to avoid nicks. Start each blow (that’s the technical term for each ‘go’ with the shears) at the brisket (neck) end, and shear down to the flank (back legs). Take a blow down the left side, then the right side, then do the middle - like you do with painting your nails.
3. Do the delicate bits
Shear around the crotch and down the inside of each hind leg by leaning right over the sheep, with her head still resting on your leg. Be very careful of her teats - cover them with your hand as you shear as it is possible to cut them right off and that won’t be a relaxing experience for you or the sheep.
4. Mind the hind
Turn the sheep onto its right side and shear the outside of the left hind leg. Four blows should take you from the foot up to near the back bone.
5. Tails you win
If the sheep has a tail, do it at this stage, shearing from tip to top and finishing with a short blow up the back at the base of the tail.
6. More familiar ground: chest, neck and chin
Turn her side on to you, your right foot in between her hind legs and the left behind her back supporting her bottom. We hope you wore some old shoes for this… Hold her head under the chin with her head facing up at you. Try not to let her sad look make you feel awkward. Take the clippers from the brisket to just below the chin, ‘unzipping’ the fleece, and then up the face in short strokes, ending at the bottom of the ear and eye.
7. Show a bit of leg
Again, shift her slightly onto her right side and lean over her to shear up her left leg and onto the left shoulder. Do inside the left foreleg while you’re here.
8. The big mow
You’re on the home strait now and are about to shear the back. Lie her on her right side across your shin with your right foot placed between her back legs and your left foot under her shoulder. Starting at the tail, take long, steady blows up the back down her left side, beginning at the outside edge and working across to just past the spine.
9. Home and hosed
Shift the sheep onto her left side and shear the rest of the neck and shoulders, then the right foreleg, from the shoulder, downwards. Finally, shear the wool down her left back and side, from the neck towards her rear end, finishing with the right hind leg. Ta da! You’re done!
10. You should now skirt (clean) and roll the fleece ready for sale, but we think you’ve done enough. Give your hands a thorough wash, sit down for a well-deserved cuppa and reflect upon the fact that a pro shearer can do all that in under two minutes. We’re more at home with a knit one, purl one sort of endeavour if we’re honest.
We were inspired to find out more about sheep-shearing after we read the Know A Thing or Two feature on wool in our November issue.
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Photography: Kirstie Young
Make | Bay and Lemon Sea Salt Body Scrub
Bay and lemon are a happy pairing, both in the kitchen and in the bathroom. This scrub combines astringent lemon zest and juice with the exfoliating power of salt, while the dried bay leaves are anti-fungal.
Makes around 2x 500ml jars
1kg sea salt
750ml olive oil
5 lemons, zest and juice
10 bay leaves
100g thickener such as tapioca flour or arrowroot
1 Pour the salt into a large mixing bowl, then add the olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice.
2 Stir well, then crumble in the bay leaves. Break them up using your hands and scrunch into the mix (but keep pieces fairly large to avoid clogging up the plughole!).
3 Add the thickener, then stir until the mixture is well combined and it holds together.
4 Transfer to jars with seals. To use, grab handfuls of the scrub, avoiding the bay leaves if you can, and massage onto arms, legs, bums and tums. Rinse off using warm water.
Maker’s note: The scrub will keep for up to 12 months in a sealed jar.
This project, perfect for a weekend afternoon, is from our feature Heart, Body and Soul, which this month focuses on bay leaves. The feature also includes a project to make a bay and chilli ‘swag’, a panna cotta, a salad and a tea.
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Sponsored post | A little pinch of Christmas magic
Bring out the festive flavour with Maldon Salt’s famous pyramid-shaped flakes
With this most sociable of seasons almost upon us, thoughts turn to the inevitable get-togethers with friends and family and the gastronomic delights that will be served up.
At this time of year, there are plenty of foodie fads that can be taken with a pinch of salt, however, there’s one thing that’s never in doubt – the power of good seasoning. So this Christmas, seize the seasoning and add a pinch of Maldon Salt to your dishes to bring out the flavour.
A family-run business for four generations, the Osborne family consider themselves custodians of this ancient culinary tradition and continue to hand harvest the famous pyramidshaped flakes in the coastal town of Maldon, Essex. It’s these simple, timehonoured techniques that produce the salt that has come to be loved by chefs and home cooks the world over.
The brand – which celebrates its 140th anniversary next year – recently launched its striking new packaging that’s designed to look as good in your kitchen as it tastes in your food. Ideal to keep next to the cooker or on your table for fantastic flavour at your fingertips.
For more information and recipe inspiration, visit maldonsalt.com or follow on Instagram: @maldonsalt
Competition | Win a break in a Blackdown Shepherd's Hut
Win a shepherd hut break worth £300 to recharge body and soul
As winter wraps us in its chilly embrace, many of us dream of hunkering down and snuggling up away from the cold. However, with Christmas soon upon us, there’s always a myriad of lists, plans and chores to work through in preparation for the holidays.
Blackdown Shepherd Huts understands that the frenetic pace of the festive season can often take its toll, so with this in mind, it’s offering one lucky reader of The Simple Things an overnight stay for two in Dimpsey Glamping’s Yonder Hut, which started out life as a Blackdown Shepherd Hut Brace Hut.
Based in the Somerset countryside, and just ten minutes from Blackdown’s Ilminster-based workshop and display garden, Dimpsey Glamping offers a luxury, year-round escape with all the comforts of a 5-star hotel room.
The Dimpsey Yonder Hut features some of Blackdown’s finest craftsmanship, such as its signature star-gazing roof light, ideally positioned above the opulent bespoke double bed, which brings new meaning to sleeping under the stars. Meanwhile, outside, the wood-fired hot tub provides another vantage point to sit and watch the visiting wildlife that’s on your doorstep, including deer and a stunning array of birds. However, if the weather scuppers your plans for an al fresco dip, retreat inside for a luxurious soak in the elegant William Holland copper bath.
Catering is also covered with the hut’s cleverly crafted kitchen – or, for those who simply don’t want to miss a minute of the views, the outdoor kitchen, with pizza oven by Fire Pits UK. Ideal for making the most of the pizza kit included as part of the prize. A night in the Dimpsey Yonder Hut is summed up beautifully by one guest, who said: “The Dimpsey shepherd hut is wonderful on so many levels. Our welcome by Emma and her family was outstanding and, as for the hut, it’s a work of art by those who built it – made comfortable, intriguing and exciting by Emma’s terrific sense of British style.” So however busy your 2021 may have been, a break in a beautifully crafted shepherd hut is the ideal opportunity, in Dimpsey Glamping’s own words, to relax your body, recharge your soul and rediscover each other, all in preparation for a new year full of adventures.
FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN Blackdown Shepherd Huts has a onenight stay for two in a Dimpsey Yonder Hut at Dimpsey Glamping up for grabs, worth £300.
Click the entry button to answer the following question by the closing date of 5 January 2022.:
Q. Where is Blackdowns’s workshop?
TERMS & CONDITIONS One winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. The winner cannot transfer their prize or swap for cash. Subject to availability and prize must be taken before 30 June 2022, excluding school holidays and Valentine’s Day. Transport to and from Dimpsey Glamping is the responsibility of the winner. You’ll find our full terms and conditions on p127 and online at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.
Visit blackdownshepherdhuts.co.uk or follow on Insta: @blackdownshepherdhuts; or see dimpsey.co.uk; @dimpsey_glamping
Playlist | A Simple Christmas
DJ: Frances Ambler
Illustration: Anneliese Klos
We want to hear your own lovingly compiled Christmas soundtracks – send a link to your Spotify playlist to thesimplethings@icebergpress.co.uk and we’ll pick one of DJ: our favourites for next year’s December issue.
More of our playlists…
More from our blog…
Sponsored Post | Simple Christmas Gifting
In need of some gift ideas this Christmas? Inspiration is hopefully at hand. Whether it’s a gift for friends or loved ones, or something you’d like for yourself, we ‘ve compiled a list of unique and exciting gifts from brands that we love and that are doing ‘simple’ well.
Millican Bags
These Bags are Rubbish! Well… they are made from 100% recycled waste, keeping single use plastic out of landfill and making a lifelong companion on your back. Millican believes you only need one bag for life, so you own less and use forever, and they back that with free repairs for life! Responsible backpacks made for everything!
For more information please visit: homeofmillican.com/collections/the-core-collection
Adventurous Ink
Adventurous Ink is the ideal gift for every outdoor lover, especially those who are hard to buy for! Delivering a surprise travel, adventure or nature book each month, carefully curated to maximise meaning and connection, it's the essential companion to a good life lived in the great outdoors. To look into subscribing and to find out more, please visit adventurousink.co.uk/gifts
Westmorland Sheepskins
They really love wool at Westmorland, not to mention sheepskin and other natural materials. Westmorland like using by-products, re-using materials and trying to minimise the use of plastic in their products and packaging. They have a super selection of sheepskin slippers for the whole family for Christmas, as a thank you, new home gift, or simply just to keep you cosy and save on heating.
Lifestyle, interiors, footwear and gifts from a British brand celebrating 40 years of family business in 2021.
Please visit westmorlandsheepskins.co.uk to have a browse and remember to enter ‘simplethings10’ at checkout to enjoy 10% off.
International Elf Service
Deliver the most unforgettable gift of Christmas Magic to your children (and you!) from the very 1st of December with a fabulous (and chocolate-free!) Advent Calendar Christmas Story, as told by the fantastical (and cheeky!) North Pole Elves. Discover – hidden around your home – daily instalments of their exciting and hilarious adventures, new every year, in a set of beautifully hand-illustrated, personalised and eco-friendly letters from the multi-award-winning International Elf Service. The perfect gift for the festive season, bringing all of the family together to make precious memories for the future. Magical Letters. Inspired by children. Delivered by grown-ups.
For more information please visit International Elf Service and you can enter the code SIMPLYMAGICAL15 at checkout to gain 15% off.
Picture courtesy of Saraora Knots
How to | Talk to Your Plants
“You’re a lovely little houseplant, aren’t you? YES you are. Such a GOOD little houseplant!”
Banish all thoughts of Prince Charles chatting to his geraniums, if you want healthy blooms, you need to find plenty of conversation
It’s official: plants grow better when you talk to them. At one point it was thought that the CO2 we breathe out as we speak was good for plants’ health and that’s what made them grow, but more recently, experiments have shown that actually it’s all about what we say and how we say it. Here are a few tips and conversation starters for your greenhouse or kitchen windowsill.
Big them up
An experiment by the TV show Mythbusters back in 2004 found that plants who were spoken to in a positive way about nice things grew faster than plants who were talked to about negative topics. Well, we all like to hear a few compliments now and then.
If you can’t say anything nice, DON’T say nothing at all
The same Mythbusters experiment found that the plants that were told negative things and spoken to in a nasty way still did better than the plants that were kept in silence. So don’t worry if you can’t think of anything nice to say - even a few insults are better than nothing.
Read to them
If you find keeping up one half of a conversation tricky (spider plants aren’t known for their verbosity), just read out loud to them. We recommend Day of the Triffids or something else with a central character they can relate to.
Play them music
Research projects from Smithsonian and NASA seem to suggest that it’s the vibrations that make plants grow so if you can’t be bothered to chat to your plants, just pop a playlist on. Go for something with plenty of bass; plants in the Mythbusters experiment grew better when they were ‘listening’ to heavy metal than classical music. Try some Guns ‘n’ Roses, with the emphasis on the Roses.
If you’re inspired to treat your plants even more and like the look of the macrame plant pot holders in the picture above, you can buy them at saroraknots.co.uk. The owner of Sarora Knots, Sara Al Bander, tells us about her day in cups of tea in our November issue, which is on sale now.
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More houseplants that like a chat…
More from our November issue…
Photography and recipe: Louise Gorrod
Recipe | Homemade Jammie Dodgers
Sticky, sweet, melt-in-the-mouth treats, for a present or as a gift to yourself
Makes 16
115g unsalted butter
115g caster sugar
1 large egg, beaten
½ tsp vanilla extract
250g plain flour
4 tbsp of raspberry jam
Icing sugar for dusting
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/ Fan 160C/Gas 4. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets.
2 Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until pale and creamy. Gradually beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Sift over the flour and mix to a crumbly dough. Gather the dough together and knead on a lightly-floured surface until smooth. If it’s sticky, add a little more flour. Shape into a flat disc, wrap in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 40 mins.
3 Take half of the chilled dough and roll it out on a lightly-floured surface to a 3mm thickness. Use a 6cm round cutter to stamp out 16 circles, re-rolling as necessary, and place on one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the rest of the dough but use a 3cm round cutter to stamp out the centres from each circle. Chill for 30 mins.
4 Bake the biscuits for approx 12 mins, or until crisp and pale golden. Leave on the baking sheets for 5 mins then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5 To finish, spread a little jam on each whole biscuit and dust the cut out biscuits with icing sugar, then sandwich them together
This make is from our feature Boxes of Delight, which includes recipes, ideas and projects to make one of three self-care boxes for a friend: one to bring joy, one to cosy up a new home and one to inspire travel. Find them all in our November issue, on sale now.
Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe
More from our November issue…
More biscuits to make for yourself or a friend…
Photograph: Alamy
Visit | Giant Statues
In our November issue, we explore some of the most awe-inspiring places around the UK (our own Seven Wonders of the World). One was the Kelpies, which you can read about below. And, if you’re inspired to visit more giant sculptures, we’ve put together a list of a few that are on our bucket list.
On the unremarkable stretch of the M9 between Edinburgh and Glasgow, just close to junction 6 for Falkirk, there’s a sight to lift even the most dreich day. Two giant horse heads: The Kelpies. They’re named after Scottish mythology’s shapeshifting water beasts, but each sinew and twitch is based on two real Clydesdale horses, Duke and Baron. 30-metre tall gatekeepers to a Forth and Clyde Canal extension, they honour the hard-worked horses once used to pull barges. To really appreciate their magnificence, approach on foot, through Helix Park and crane your neck to acknowledge the wonder of their construction, all 27,000 steel pieces of it. Seven years after their completion, they’re firmly rooted in their landscape, a point of local pride. Guardians, as their sculptor Andy Scott describes them – hopefully for many years to come.
If you fancy seeing some awe-inspiringly big art, you might also like to visit one of the following...
The Angel of the North
We must kick of the list with the most famous large sculpture in Britain, Anthony Gormley’s Angel, which spreads its wings across a hill at Low Eighton, overlooking the A1 and A167 at 20 metres tall. The body is based on a cast of Gormley’s own body.
Messenger
Located outside the Theatre Royal in Plymouth, Joseph Hillier’s 7m tall statue is based on a pose by one cast member, Nicola Kavanagh, about to run on stage during a production of Othello in 2014. It’s the largest sculpture made in the UK using the ‘lost wax’ method.
Verity, Ilfracombe
Damien Hirst’s Verity stands (more than 20 metres tall) looking out over the Bristol Channel, at the entrance to Ilfracombe harbour. Verity is a pregnant woman, holding a sword and the scales of justice, standing on a pile of law books. It’s on loan to the town for 20 years.
Horse of the South
Nic Fiddian-Green’s Horse of the South is a giant horse’s head that stands just by the A3 near the Esher bypass turn off, as a protest against urban sprawl in the area. He hopes one day to install a giant horse in the South Downs to rival Gormley’s Angel of the North.
The Giant Spoon
You wouldn’t think a giant spoon would be hard to find, but this sculpture on the edge of a field in Cramlington, Northumberland, takes a bit of hunting down. The dessert spoon is 4.5m tall and was installed as part of the Eat for England campaign to encourage people to get out into the countryside.
Irwell Valley Sculpture Trail
Winding from Bacup to Salford Quays, this is the largest sculpture trail in England, which includes 28 sculptures of all shapes and sizes, including a huge giant picture frame so you can be a work of art yourself.
Terris Novalis
Created by Tony Cragg on what was once the site of the Stanhope and Tyne Railway Line at Consett, are a 19th-century theodolite and an engineer’s level, 20 times life size and created from stainless steel. They’re a nod to the area’s industrial history.
Dream
This 20m tall head on the site of the old Sutton Manor Colliery in St Helen’s, Merseyside, is coated in white Spanish dolomite, intended as a contrast to the coal that was once mined here. The woman has her eyes closed in peaceful meditation.
Newton, After Blake
Fittingly perched outside the British Library, Edoardo Paolozzi’s bronze scultpure stands 3.7m high and is mounted on a high plinth, all the better to look out at all the readers and scholars coming and going from the library.
Silvas Capitalis
A giant head made from larch is not what you’d <expect> to find in a forest, but this one, located alongside the Lakeside Way in Kielder, sort of looks at home. You can clamber inside it and up the stairs to the first floor to look out through its eyes and listen to the sounds of the forest through its ears.
Read about the rest of our Seven Marvels of Britain in the November issue. And we’d love to hear about any of your own Marvels of Britain. Leave us a note in the comments below.
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More from our blog…
More days out to inspire you…
Photograph: Stocksy
How to | Get to Sleep More Easily
You are feeling very sleepy… With the clocks going back at the end of each month, we have a chance for an extra hour in bed, and an extra hour’s sleep is never wasted as far as we’re concerned. Make the most of it with rituals that will help you fall asleep quicker and sleep more restfully.
Avoid bedtime procrastination
Do you keep finding things to do rather than going to bed? Whether it’s faffing around doing jobs or watching another episode on Netflix, bedtime procrastination is a common barrier to good sleep according to the Sleep Foundation. And because our self control is at its weakest at night-time, if you don’t make a concerted effort to combat it, it can cost you valuable sleep time. They advise keeping a regular bedtime, switching off devices for at least half an hour – ideally longer – before bed, and having a set routine that becomes automatic to reduce the impulse to stay up later.
Read a story
Reading in the evening can help you wind down but if it’s close to bedtime it’s best to choose fiction over non fiction as it doesn’t require as much brainpower and tends to be more relaxing. It’s also better to read from a paper book than a device because of the blue light exposure. If you prefer electronic however, go for a Kindle as they emit less blue light than a phone or tablet, or get a blue light filter.
Listen carefully
Play some music, download an app for a guided meditation (try Ten Percent Happier), listen to a bedtime story (Audible has night-time stories), or some soothing podcasts, sound baths or ASMR (ASMR – Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response – refers to the tingling feeling you might experience when listening to certain sounds like folding towels or nails tapping, pouring water and whispering. It’s very subjective – some people find it really relaxing while others find it irritating or feel nothing at all). The right music can also help you wind down – try to choose something with a slower tempo (experts say around 60-80 BPM is ideal for relaxation and sleep as it corresponds with your resting heart rate) and go for low volume on speakers rather than earbuds or headphones. Spotify and YouTube both have playlists with tracks of 60-80 BPM.
Have a cuddle
Human contact will trigger the release of oxytocin (the hormone that makes you feel connected) and reduce levels of cortisol so that you’ll feel instantly less stressed. Sex has also been shown to boost oestrogen levels in women, which improves sleep quality. If you’re not in the mood, it’s worth bearing in mind that the better you sleep, the higher your sex drive will be, so it’s a win-win situation!
Sign off the day
Before you close your eyes, imagine forgiving yourself completely. The goals you didn’t reach. The mistakes you made. Instead of locking those flaws inside to define and repeat yourself, imagine letting your past float through your present and away like air through a window, freshening a room.
Advice from Matt Haig, author of The Comfort Book (Cannongate Books). This advice is part of our feature The Remains of the Day, from our November issue, in which we look at bedtime rituals. You can read it from page 76.
