Recipe | Maypole Cake

Whether you end up dancing or not, the Maypole encapsulates the month’s playful spirit – we think it’s the, er… icing on the cake

Makes 1 cake
350g rhubarb, cut into 1cm chunks
50g caster sugar
Zest and juice of 1 orange
300ml double cream, whipped
Icing sugar, for dusting

For the cake:
200g butter, softened
200g caster sugar
4 eggs
Zest and juice of 1 orange
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/ Gas 4. Put the rhubarb in a roasting tin, sprinkle over the sugar, orange zest and juice. Cover and cook for 15 mins, or until the rhubarb is soft, but not falling apart. Leave to cool.

2 To make the cake, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add one egg at a time with a spoonful of flour to stop the mixture curdling.

3 Add the orange zest and juice. Fold in the flour and baking powder and pour into two greased and lined 20cm sandwich tins. Bake for around 20 mins, checking they’re cooked by piercing the middle with a skewer until it comes out clean. Leave in the tins for 15 mins before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

4 To serve, fold the rhubarb into the whipped cream and generously cover the base of one sponge with the mix. Sandwich the second cake on top and dust lightly with some icing sugar. To make a tabletop Maypole Use a knitting needle and 6mm-wide ribbons. Tie the ribbons to the top of the needle and pierce the cake, leaving the ribbons to stream around or tuck them underneath the base of the sponge.

This Maypole Cake recipe is just one of the recipes from our May ‘gathering’ feature which we’ve called ‘Come What May’. It’s a menu for a Whitsun Get-Together, hopefully in the sunshine (British weather allowing) and also incudes recipes for Quick Elderflower & Rosemary Cordial, Pickled Radish on Rye, Whitsun Warldorf Salad, Asparagus & Pea Quiche and Herby Broadbean Couscous. The recipes are by Lucy Brazier and the photographs by Jonathan Cherry.

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Sponsored Post | Charnwood

British brand Charnwood combines the latest technological advances with the classic charms of wood-burning stoves

Feeling tempted by the primal pleasure that only an authentic wood stove can provide? Let Charnwood, the revered British brand, indulge your burning passion. In a world where technology continues to enhance our everyday lives, it was only a matter of time before it transformed the way we experience the timeless joy of a crackling wood fire. Charnwood, a much-loved family business with over 50 years of expertise in crafting wood-burning stoves, has unveiled its latest innovation – the Skye E700. This electronically controlled stove is set to revolutionise the wood-burning experience, making it effortlessly simple for users to enjoy the warmth and ambiance of a fire.

Not all just hot air

At the heart of the Skye E700 is Charnwood’s cutting-edge I-Blu combustion intelligence. This intelligent microprocessor continuously monitors the state of the fire, adjusting parameters in real-time to optimise efficiency and minimise emissions. With this technology, the stove introduces air in precisely measured amounts, at the right places, and at the perfect moments, ensuring a clean, highly efficient burn. The result is not only a positive impact on air quality and the environment but also substantial fuel savings for users.

Burning ambitions

What sets the Skye E700 apart is its seamless integration with modern living through the Charnwood app. Loading the fire and closing the door are the only manual tasks required. The rest is taken care of through the app, offering a level of control and comfort previously unseen in traditional wood-burning stoves.

Charnwood, a name synonymous with quality and innovation, manufactures the Skye E700 in Britain. Based on the Isle of Wight, the family-run business has been a trailblazer in stove design and cleaner burn innovation since 1972. The Skye E700 stands as a testament to its commitment to excellence and sustainability, bringing together decades of expertise with cutting-edge technology.

Available later this year, the Sky E700 is set to redefine the wood-burning experience for users who seek a blend of tradition and modernity. Load, light, and relax – let the Skye E700 simplify the art of wood burning for a cleaner, more efficient, and environmentally conscious heating solution.

For more information and inspiration, visit charnwood.com or follow on Instagram: @charnwoodstoves.

Sponsored Post | Take a Pause... with Mind

Enjoy a monthly subscription packed with fun activities to boost wellbeing while supporting the mental health
charity Mind

How wonderful would it be if you could pause everything, take a deep breath, and give yourself a moment of calm every month? Well now you can – with Pause, a monthly subscription box that provides you with a moment of mindfulness, creativity and calm, delivered straight to your door. Designed to boost your wellbeing, it helps to support Mind, the mental health charity, too.

Proud sponsors of our Small Ways To Live Well podcast, each Pause box provides fun and calming activities, many of which you may not have tried before. Whether they’re familiar or something completely new, every activity enables you to focus, reflect, relax and get creative.

An ideal opportunity to set aside some time every month to acknowledge how you’re feeling and to check in with yourself, each Pause box can encourage you to try new activities – something that has a positive impact on self-esteem and wellbeing. Better still, a subscription can help you to talk and connect with friends and family, as you can share a Pause box or teach your newfound skills to others. You can also gift a subscription and help a loved one to also enjoy a monthly moment of calm. From just £7.50 a month, over the course of a year, each box includes a free gift message and free delivery – a truly thoughtful gift.

“Pause was like a little box of sunshine each month,” says Ella from London. “It brightened my day, gave me tips, crafts or reminded me to focus on my wellbeing.”

This month sees Mental Health Awareness week (13-19 May), and with one in four of us experiencing mental health problems every year and over a million people currently waiting to receive help, there’s never been a better time to subscribe. All of your donation will go to Mind, meaning you’ll be helping those who need it, as well as giving yourself or a loved one a wellbeing boost. Mind could help someone access life-saving information through booklets, its website and help lines. Or help to support someone through Side by Side, its 24/7 online community. It could also help campaign for better mental health services. All donations help Mind continue its vital work. So pause, take a moment, and treat yourself or a loved one to a more mindful future – and help make sure that no one has to face a mental health problem alone. Start a Pause subscription today.

For more information on Pause, visit pauseformind.org.uk/simple.

Nature | Waterways Wildlife

Spring is the time for messing about in boats (or definitely for enjoying and amble or a cycle along the water’s edge). Whether you’re on a canal boat or are land-lubbing, there’s so much wildlife to see along Britain’s canals and towpaths.

In the water

Stop and look down into the water at a quiet spot and you’ll see all manner of waterlife. Look out for smooth newts, which are browny-green with spotted throats and are present in virtually all of Britain’s waterways. Frogs become aquatic in spring, too. Outside breeding season, they mostly live on land, but you might spot one doing breaststroke at this time of year. 

If you’re really lucky you can spot the occasional otter in Britain’s canal network. They tend to live near lakes and rivers, or on the coast but you can sometimes spot them while hunting for food in quieter areas of the canals. 

On the water

Look closely at the still surface of the canal and you might see waterboatmen, skating across the top of the water, particularly when the water close to them is disturbed. 

Mallards, geese and swans are also common sights on our waterway network, sailing gracefully by as their feet paddle furiously and invisibly beneath. 

In the air

Don’t forget to look up and around you while you’re on the canal or wandering along the towpath. Damsel flies and dragonflies love the reeds for breeding and can be seen darting across the water and the towpath, looking for food. 

At dusk, keep an eye out for bats, also on the hunt for insects to eat. They often make their homes in old bridges, tunnels and aqueducts near canals and are particularly in evidence in the spring as they wake from hibernation. 

And - you’ll need to be eagle eyed - but look out for flashes of petrol blue, streaking past your ears to dart into the water for fish. They live in areas of dense cover close to fresh water, and you shouldn’t approach their nests if you do see one, but they’re a sight to behold, flashing through the air. 

On the banks

Ever feel like you’re being watched? Herons stand proudly at the edge of the canals, staring at their fellow water dwellers. They don’t like deep water so tend to perch on the banks or paddle in the shallow waters right at the edge.

There’s plenty of animal life on the riverbanks, too. Water voles make their homes in the steep banks of canals, with tunnels and nesting chambers forming a labyrinth in the banks themselves. Look out for ‘grazed’ areas of grass near the entrances to their tunnels. 

In sandy canal banks, badgers find easy areas to dig and will often establish their setts there. Badger setts are actually a bit of a nuisance for canals as they can cause leaks, which are difficult and expensive to mend, so they will sometimes be ‘moved on’ by the canal trusts.

On the towpath

Watch out for grasshoppers, leaping across your path into the long grass (the clue is in the name, after all). Speaking of which, grass snakes also have dwellings in river banks but are more easily spotted out on the towpaths, basking in the sunshine. If they realise they’ve been spotted, grass snakes will sometimes play dead, a performance which can be fairly Oscar-worthy.

If you’d like to read more about why we all love a canal (and a towpath, too!), don’t miss our feature ‘Steady as you Go’ in our April issue.

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Playlist | Folk

DJ: Frances Ambler
Image: Shutterstock

Our May issue celebrates the goodness of FOLK in all its forms… including folk music. Have a listen to our latest playlist here.
Or have a browse of all our playlists here. We publish one in each monthly issue.
Happy listening!

Competition | Win a Food Bundle from Properoni

We have 25 food bundles from Properoni to give away this month

With a month of bank-holiday weekends to look forward to and, no doubt, a packed diary of get-togethers, it’s time to think about tasty treats to get the party started. Luckily, the folk at PROPERONI® – that’s pepperoni made properly – have the answer. Created by experts with over 50 years’ experience supplying Britain’s best-loved pizza restaurants, they’re working hard to rid the world of mediocre pepperoni, and are instead bringing restaurant-quality ingredients to your kitchen thanks to their sliced pepperoni and chorizo.

Free from preservatives, nitrites, and additives, PROPERONI® products get their distinctive, award-winning flavour as a result of slow smoking over beechwood, curing and air drying – with absolutely no additives or starter cultures used to accelerate the ripening. There are no cutting corners, the PROPERONI® team stick to a 150-year-old recipe and use techniques that date back to Roman times. Meaning that, regardless of whether you’re creating fancy ‘from scratch’ pizzas, pepping up pastas and salads or simply nibbling straight from the pack, your dishes will be elevated to gourmet status.

If this has got your taste buds tingling, then enter our competition to be in with a chance of winning one of 25 PROPERONI® bundles, worth over £12 each, and soon you can be adding some PROPERONI® magic to your dishes, too.

Available at selected Tesco stores. Find out more at properoni.co.uk or follow on Instagram: properoni_uk.

How to enter

For a chance to win a PROPERONI® bundle, worth £12, enter by clicking the button below and answering the following question by the closing date of 12 June 2024. 

Q: Properoni products are slowly smoked over which type of wood?

Terms & Conditions:
The competition closes at 11.59pm on 12 June 2024. Twenty-five winners will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. Subject to availability. The winners cannot transfer their prize or swap it for cash. Details of our full terms and conditions are on p125 and online at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

Craft | Heart on Your Sleeve Template

Stitch this simple badge to help you wear your heart on your sleeve.

If you want to get started on the heart-on-you-sleeve-badge project from our May issue, you’ll need some templates before you start stitching. You can click to download and print them here. Then just pick up a copy of the May ‘Folk’ issue to find the rest of the instructions. The magazine is sold in all good shops and supermarkets and you can also order it from our online store at thesimplethings.com.

Competition | Win a Seasalt Cornwall gift card

We have Seasalt Cornwall gift cards up for grabs to put towards some new summer staples (or, knowing the UK weather, a really good rain coat)

Summer is nearly here and if you want to welcome it properly, you have to dress the part, which is a wonderful excuse for a wardrobe refresh. Strolling around the enticing shops is one of the real pleasures of a day in Falmouth, and we can never resist a browse in Seasalt Cornwall. Although the much-loved fashion brand can now be found all over the country, its heart remains in its maritime home.

Creating clothes since 1981, Seasalt started out selling workwear to local farmers, fishermen and artists. The brand still focuses on quality natural and durable fabrics; however, you’re just as likely to find a party-ready jumpsuit as utility-inspired denim in today’s shops.

This year’s summer collection pays homage to folk arts and country crafts, embracing new embroidered styles and a sun-baked palette – just the thing for those halcyon summer days. Look out for soft organic cottons and breathable linen for a cool and effortless summer feel, along with classic pieces you’ll love, year after year.

If you’re feeling inspired to add a few new items to your summer wardrobe, then The Simple Things has teamed up with Seasalt Cornwall to make your summer even brighter. We’re giving you the chance to win one of three gift cards, worth either £500, £150 or £50 to spend online or in your nearest Seasalt shop. (Of course, we don’t have favourites, but we definitely have a soft spot for that inviting Falmouth store…)

For more information and inspiration, visit seasaltcornwall.com or follow on Instagram at seasaltcornwall

How to enter

For your chance to win one of three Seasalt Cornwall gift cards, worth either £500, £150 or £50, click the button below and answer the following question by 12 June 2024:

Q: Where is Seasalt’s current HQ based?

Terms and conditions: The competition closes at 11.59pm on 12 June 2024 and is open to UK residents only. Three winners will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. Subject to availability. The winners cannot transfer their prizes or swap for cash. Details of our full terms and conditions are on p125 and online at: icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

For Seasalt Cornwall’s T&Cs, visit: seasaltcornwall.com/need-help/terms.

Recipe | Spicy Roast Chickpeas

Chickpeas are no modern invention. In fact, Apicius, ancient Rome’s famous culinary writer, wrote a recipe for roasted chickpeas baked in olive oil and served with white wine, anchovy paste and pepper. Do feel free to try his version as well, but here’s our crunchy version. They’re great snacks to have with drinks, or add a few to your lunchbox.

Makes 1 jar

2 x 400g cans of chickpeas
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp za’atar
1 tsp sumac

1 Drain the chickpeas and make sure they’re absolutely dry (a clean tea towel works well for this and it’s essential if you want the chickpeas to be really crispy). If you have time, leave them in a sieve for 30 mins to release any excess moisture.

2 Preheat the oven to 200C/ Fan 180C/Gas 6. Toss the dried chickpeas in the olive oil and sea salt and tip onto a baking tray in a single layer. Place in the centre of the oven for 20-30 mins, shaking every 10 mins, until they’re brown and crispy.

3 Once roasted, sprinkle with the spices to fully coat, turn the oven off, then put the tray of chickpeas back in the oven to cool. This dehydrates them and results in a super crispy chickpea. When they’re completely cold, store in a sealed jar and eat within 3 days.

Cook’s Note: You can play around with other spice combinations. For a sweet and spicy version, combine ¼ tsp each of garlic salt, chilli powder, cumin, salt and black pepper, plus 1 tbsp brown sugar.

The recipe and photography above are from our feature Magic Beans by Kirstie Young, which is all about the not-so-humble chickpea. You can find the rest of the recipes in our April issue. They include Farinata with Fennel, Chicory & Walnuts, Falafel Burgers with Quick Pickles, Chana Masala with Nigella & Herby Rice, and Aquafaba Meringues with Hibiscus Pears.

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More snacks to make…

More from our April issue…

How to | Be More Curious-Minded

Having a mind that’s more open to new ideas and differing opinions to your own can have a positive effect on your wellbeing. Here are a few ways to open your mind a little more

Whether it’s our political leanings, religious beliefs, views on animal rights or vaccinations, most of us have strong opinions on what we consider right or wrong, important or not. And while it’s good to have your own views and live a life that’s true to your values, what are your feelings towards those who don’t have the same opinion? Would you listen and respect their viewpoint or be more inclined to disregard them because they’re not like you?

• To really understand someone else’s views, try repeating them as if they were your own and see what it feels like.

• Reflect on your own opinions and views – where did they originate? When you peel back the layers, what’s at the root?

• Practise looking at the world through the eyes of others. Try to imagine yourself physically in the other person’s position, looking at you. Or imagine someone looking at both of you. This makes it easier to step out of your own mental world and consider a different stance.

• Model kind, empathetic behaviour and you will encourage others to do so, too.

• Try not to group people. We all carry prejudices, often without realising – when you notice yourself doing it, pause and question your assumptions.

The extract above is from our feature ‘To Be Fair…’ by Rebecca Frank in our April issue. You can read more about how being curious-minded can improve your wellbeing from page 54.

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More ways to improve your wellbeing…

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Competition | Win a Hamper from Suma

The Simple Things has teamed up with Suma Wholefoods to give away three hampers

Suma’s not your average company. They’re a wholefoods co-operative owned and run by their workers and a 100% veggie business. Based in the heart of West Yorkshire, they’ve been championing the healthy wholefoods lifestyle since 1977 – that’s nearly half a century of goodness!

Suma isn't just jumping on the plant-based, organic, wholefoods bandwagon, they're driving it. With more than 800 top-notch products carefully curated and sourced, they've got everything from your kitchen staples like herbs and spices, to exciting treats like Kombucha and vegan Mac 'n Cheeze. Let's not forget about their amazing ALTER/NATIVE range for hair and body – all cruelty-free and made from natural ingredients. And then there’s their Ecoleaf range of products, which is all about harnessing the power of plants for a cleaner, greener home. Suma's commitment to sustainability and ethics shines through in everything they do. They're approved by the Leaping Bunny programme, the Soil Association and The Vegan Society, too.

 Win a Suma Hamper

We have three hampers from Suma, pictured above, for The Simple Things readers to win. There’s a small hamper, large hamper and an Italian hamper up for grabs. All you need to do is click the button and answer the question below by 22 May 2024.

Q: What year did Suma Wholefoods start trading?

You can find Suma online, at your local wholefoods or zero waste shop, or get together with family, friends and neighbours and ask about setting up a Food Buying Group. Plus, if you sign up for Suma's newsletter, you'll get the inside scoop on all their latest stories, products, and special offers!

 Terms and conditions

The competition closes at 11.59pm on 22nd May 2024. Three winners will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. The prize consists of 1 x small hamper worth £45, a hamper Italy worth £80 and a large hamper worth £125. The winners cannot transfer the prize or swap it for cash. Details of our full terms and conditions are on p125 and online at at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

Wild Recipe | Nettle Rarebit

Much foraged greenery comes under the bracket of ‘edible, in that it won’t kill you, but not really worth the bother.’ So many are just a bit bland, but not nettles, which have irony, peppery brightness to their flavour making them unique and great fun to cook with. Not fun to pick though. Wear gloves, avoid patches at dog-wee height, and wash them thoroughly, using only the young leaves at the growing tips.

Makes 4 slices

400ml whole milk
2 bay leaves
6 black peppercorns
30g butter
30g plain flour
200g cheddar cheese, grated, plus extra for topping
100g nettle leaves, washed
4 thick slices of crusty farmhouse bread or sourdough

1 Warm the milk in a large pan with the bay and peppercorns. Pour into a jug and set aside to infuse.

2 Melt the butter in the empty milk pan over a low heat, then add the flour and cook for 2 mins, stirring all the while. Pour in the infused milk (having removed the bay and peppercorns), a little at a time, whisking it into the flour mixture before adding the next glug. Keep whisking so it doesn’t go lumpy. When the sauce is the consistency of thick double cream, stop adding the milk and leave to bubble for 2 mins, stirring regularly so it thickens further. You can now remove the thick, smooth sauce from the heat. Fold in the cheddar and season generously with salt and pepper.

3 In another saucepan set over a low heat, wilt the nettle leaves in a tablespoon of boiling water for 2-3 mins. Tip them into a colander and squeeze out the excess water, then roughly chop and stir into the cheese sauce.

4 Set your grill to medium. Arrange the slices of bread on a baking tray and toast on one side. Turn the slices over and spread the cheesy nettle sauce on the untoasted side. Top with a little more cheddar, then return to the grill for 5-8 mins, or until bubbling. Serve immediately.

This recipe is taken from our April issue’s Veg Patch Pantry pages by Kathy Slack, with photography by Kirstie Young. The pages also contain recipes for Shichimi Togarashi Radish Spring Rolls, Purple Sprouting Broccoli with Anchovies, Almonds and Chilli and Wild Garlic Pesto Pasta.

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More wild recipes…

More from our April issue…

Competition | Win Tickets to the ALSO Festival

ALSO is the award-winning festival where ideas run wild. Hailed by Condé Nast Traveller as one of the best festivals in the world, Grazia as one of the hottest in the UK and ES as one of the coolest, picked by the Guardian, Times, Sunday Times and Telegraph for their ‘best of the fests’ lists, ALSO returns resplendent for its eleventh edition with the theme Heavenly Bodies on 12-14th July and promises to be nothing short of celestial.

Set in a Capability Brown landscape in Warwickshire, the UK’s most inspirational summer festival combines ideas, music and comedy alongside adventures in food, nature and wellness.

ALSO24 features transformative ideas from Sunday Times bestselling psychotherapist Philippa Perry (her only UK festival appearance this summer), rock-star classicist Natalie Haynes, bringing nuance to Greek Myth and banker–turned–journalist Nels Abbey showing how hip-hop rewrote the rules of business.

There are genre-busting live performances from experimental musician Jessica Winter (‘The new face of outsider pop’ - Line of Best Fit), indie-folk sonic adventurers Stornoway and Latin brass collective The Fontanas, bringing the party to Saturday night. 

ALSO24 headlines comedy performances from BAFTA-winning, best-selling writer and comedian Adam Kay, acclaimed comedian and best-selling writer Sara Pascoe (QI, Taskmaster, Live at the Apollo) and gallic misanthrope (and TikTok sensation) Marcel Lucont presenting his cult hit Cabaret Fantastique.

What to expect? Eccentric, playful, thought-provoking programming across 15 venues designed to get ideas into your head. From life-enhancing talks and big bands to long table dinners, tastings and demos. Creative masterclasses and inspirational workshops by day, comedy and eclectic electronica by night. Enjoy a rum and a dance at the Rum Shack, or take to the water for a sunset swim and lakeside sauna. Curate your own adventure.

Two lucky readers can win either a family weekend ticket or a pair of adult weekend tickets
each worth £300.

How to enter

For your chance to win a family weekend ticket or a pair of adult weekend tickets to ALSO24, click below and answer the following question before 8 May 2024.

Q. How many venues are at ALSO?

Terms and Conditions
By entering the competition, you agree for the organisers to contact you about the event and competition results. You may unsubscribe from these emails at any time by following the link in the email footer. The competition closes at 11.59pm on 8 May 2024. The winners will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. Subject to availability. The winners cannot transfer their prizes or swap for cash. Details of our full terms and conditions are on p125 and online at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

The Best | Bookshops for Every Genre

Independent bookshops are always a joy but here we’ve rounded up some real specialists in their field. Whether your love is crime or cookery, there’s a bookshop somewhere dedicated to the genre…

Crime fiction

Murder & Mayhem, 5, Lion Street, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford

This bijou store in Britain’s bookshop capital specialises in the Golden Age of crime fiction as well as ghost stories, Sherlock Holmes and ‘cosy crime’. Don’t miss the chalk outline of a corpse on a floor or the amazingly detailed miniature reproduction of the shop itself in the window. 

Children’s books

Octavia’s, 24, Black Jack Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Whether you’re shopping with children or simply ‘for’ children, a trip to Octavia’s is always a treat. Colourful interiors and comfy seats make it an oasis on this bustling high street, and staff are excellent at giving targeted recommendations. 

Travel Fiction

Daunt Books, Marylebone High Street, London

Inside this magical Edwardian building sit rows of books on polished oak galleried shelves. Its outstanding collection of travel books is arranged by country, which makes for a really pleasant afternoon’s browsing and the choice is unbeatable. Daunt now has several stores and even its own publishing arm but the MHS store is the first and the best. 

Gay and LGBT interest

Gay’s The Word, 66, Marchmont Street, London

Established in 1979, Gay’s the Word has always been much more than ‘just’ a gay bookshop; it’s a community and social hub where everyone is welcome with a thriving events programme as well as a beautifully curated selection of books. 

Natural History

Pemberley Books, 18, Bathurst Walk, Iver, Buckinghamshire

Books on every topic of natural history from agriculture to zoology, passing through everything from entomology to lepidoptera. Good antiquarian stock, also. 

Geography

Stanfords Books, London and Bristol

Stocking huge arrays of maps, atlases and globes since 1853. If you can find your way to one of the two branches of Stanfords you’ll be able to find your way to anywhere in the world. 

Poetry

The Poetry Bookshop, The Pavement, Lion Street, Hay-on-Wye

If poetry is what you’re after,

This airy shop is packed to the rafters

With shelves and shelves of poetry

‘Pon which they’re quite an authority. 

Cookery

Books for Cooks, 4, Blenheim Crescent, London

Cookery and food books from all over the world jostle for space in this amazing book store in Notting Hill, given over entirely to the art of cookery. Feel like you can almost smell the delicious dishes wafting off the page? That’ll be the test kitchen at the back where they try out the recipes they want to champion most. 

Science Fiction

Durdles Books, 51, Cole Bank Road, Birmingham

Specialising in Sci Fi and Fantasy - for both adults and children and incorporating both fiction and non-fiction, Durdles is a geek’s Aladdin’s cave of treasures. 

This bookshops round-up was inspired by our new series called My Living. The first feature in the series looks at people who run their own bookshops and it’s in the April issue, which is out now.

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More things to love about bookshops…

More from our April issue…

Tipple | Cornish Wrecker Cocktail

Gather some gorse while out on a walk to create a zesty cocktail that tastes of the coast

These royally good cocktails were served to the Queen on a visit to the Eden Project in 2021 – this is Cornwall in a glass. Makes 1 glass

For the syrup:
200g caster sugar
2 handfuls of gorse flowers
2 drops of natural coconut flavouring

For the cocktail:
50ml Wrecking Coast Clotted Cream gin (or your favourite gin)
12.5ml coconut rum
1½ tbsp lemon juice
1½ tbsp gorse flower syrup
Ice cubes
Soda water
1 lemon twist (or slice)
Edible flowers (we used borage), to garnish

1 First, make the gorse flower syrup. In a saucepan, heat the sugar, gorse flowers, coconut flavouring and 100ml of water over a very low heat for about 30 mins, or until the sugar’s dissolved, the flowers have wilted and the syrup has turned a gentle yellow colour.

2 Remove from the heat and leave to infuse and cool for at least 6 hrs, or ideally overnight. Strain then decant into a sterilised jar.

3 To make the cocktail, shake all the ingredients, except for the soda water and garnish, together in an ice-filled cocktail shaker until super cold.

4 Strain over ice and top up with soda water. Garnish with a lemon twist and a borage flower to serve.

Bartender’s note: When picking gorse flowers, always wear gloves and check thoroughly for bugs. Only pick open buds.

Taken from Time & Tide by Emily Scott (Hardie Grant). Photography: Kristin Perers

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Competition | Win a Janome Sewing Machine worth £439

JANOME sewing machines are synonymous with innovation, quality, and ease of use. This Spring JANOME have a great all-round sewing machine for one lucky reader to win.

Whether you are sewing for thrift, sustainability or simply pleasure, the Janome 230DC computerised sewing machine (pictured below) is the perfect companion. With a few easy steps you will be up and sewing in no time.

The model 230DC has lots of easy-to-use features which make sewing a pleasure, it is ideal the machine to grow with your skills and is suitable both for beginners and more experienced sewing fans. It’s fully computerised with stitches and settings at the touch of a button, has no-fuss threading with the auto-needle threader (pictured below), top loading bobbin and a hard cover for storage.

The Prize: a JANOME 230DC computerised model

There are 30 stitch choices and a variety of buttonhole styles, making this machine ideal for beginners and more advanced stitchers alike. The new JANOME Spring 2024 ‘Sewing with Style’ brochure can be downloaded from janome.co.uk/special-offers Visit your local Janome retailer to see the JANOME range.

How to enter

The competition closes at 11.59pm on 31 May 2024. One winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. The winner cannot transfer the prize or swap it for cash. Details of our full terms and conditions are on p125 of the magazine and online at at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

To enter, simply click on the button below and answer the following question:
Q: How many stitch choices does the Janome 230DC computerised model have?

Think | Local Words for Rain

As a nation that ‘enjoys’ its fair share of the rain, at least we’ve embraced April showers with various terms for the many and varying types of rain, and some rather specific regional words, too. Here are just a few of our favourites from across the country.

Bange (East Anglia) - dampness in the air

Damping (Midlands) - generally pretty wet

Bouncing off the ground (Lancashire) - raining so hard it’s bouncing back

Degging (Northumberland) - sprinkling or moistening

Dibble (Shropshire) - slow rain drops

Dringey (Norfolk) - light rainfall

Hadder (Cumbria) - from ‘heather’, a feathery, light rain

Harle (Lincolnshire) - drizzle from the sea

Hi’n brwr hen wraegedd affyn (Wales) - meaning ‘it’s raining old women and sticks’

Letty (Somerset) - enough rain to make outdoor work hard. From the old English let, meaning to disallow

Mizzle (Devon and Cornwall) - might sound like a portmanteau of misty and drizzle and it does mean ‘a misty drizzle’ but likely derives from the Dutch miezelen

Picking (Wales) - from pigan meaning ‘starting to rain’

Pleasure and pain (Cockney) - rhyming slang

Plodging through the clart (Northumberland) - so wet you’re wading through mud

Raining forks tiyunsdown’ards (Lincolnshire) - very hard, painful rain, raining like pitchforks

Smirr (Scotland) - a drifting, fine rain

Smithering (Suffolk) - drizzling

Wet rain (Northern Ireland) - that soft, sheeting rain that gets into everything

Our dialect words for rain were inspired by our feature, All Weather Friend from our April issue, which is an extract from In All Weathers: A Journey Through Rain, Fog, Wind, Ice And Everything In Between by Matt Gaw (Elliott & Thompson).

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Recipe | No Bake Cheesecake

Photography by Emma Croman

Pretty as you please cheesecake, with fresh fruit and flowers doing decorative duty

You will need

170g digestive biscuits
100g unsalted butter, melted
300ml double cream
100g icing sugar
250g cream cheese
1½ lemons, zested and juiced
A handful of fresh berries (we used raspberries and blueberries), a sprig of thyme and edible flowers

To make

1 Line the base of an 18cm springform cake tin with baking paper. Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until they resemble breadcrumbs. Combine with the melted butter then press evenly into the base of the tin with the back of a spoon. Cover and put in the fridge while you prepare the filling.

2 Whip the double cream in a fresh bowl until it forms soft peaks. Sift in the icing sugar and add the cream cheese, lemon juice and zest. Fold the mixture until thoroughly combined.

3 Remove the cheesecake base from the fridge and spoon on the cream mixture, smoothing the top with the back of the spoon. Cover and return to the fridge for 2 hrs 30 mins, or until fully set. When ready, gently remove the cheesecake from the tin and decorate with fresh berries, thyme sprigs and edible flowers.

This is just one of the recipes from our Gathering feature in our April issue, which we’ve called ‘Dinner For Good’. The menu is for a charity supper club and also includes ideas for Smoked Salmon Rostis, Herb Focaccia, Courgette, Mint and Ricotta Polpette and more. Recipes are by Louise Gorrod and photography by Emma Croman.

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Traditions | Osterbaums

This Easter decoration is simple to make and is an easy way to bring a little spring indoors

Osterbaums have a long history in Germany. Sometimes trees outside are decorated for Easter, but more often, branches are brought into the home. Blossoming boughs – perhaps cherry or blackthorn – are particularly pretty, or those with catkins such as pussy willow or hazel. It’s traditional to adorn them with painted or dyed eggs, though you could also use feathers or ribbons – anything colourful that captures that feeling of spring.

Photography by Sussie Bell. Styling by Selina Lake/Living4Media

This idea is from the March issue of The Simple Things, which you can still buy from our online store and includes lots of ideas for celebrating the season.

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Learn | Basic Origami Folds

The Japanese art of folding paper into shapes and figures is a rather pleasant and mindful way to spend an afternoon. Here’s how to get started.

Before you begin, it’s a good idea to learn a few of the basic folds. Once you have these under your belt there’s actually quite a lot you can do, so it’s satisfyingly quick to get to the stage where you can make small paper shapes. Buy yourself a cheap pack of origami paper (it just needs to be square, basically) and start with some folds. Engaging in such activities not only sparks creativity but also opens up opportunities for craft work at home, allowing you to turn a simple hobby into a productive and enjoyable way to spend your time

Mountain folds

Nearly all origami folds are either mountain folds or valley folds (see below). A mountain fold is any fold where the crease is pointing up and the paper is bending downwards - like a mountain. Take a square or paper, fold it in half any way you like and then place the paper, mountain style, with the two edges on the table and the pointy bit at the top.

Valley folds

These are simply the opposite of a mountain fold. The edges of the paper are pointing upwards and the crease is at the bottom on the table, resembling a valley. It’s the same as a mountain fold, just upside down. You can see some examples of valley folds in the top line of the folds diagram above. 

Squash folds

This gives 3D shape to a piece of origami. You slightly prise open a fold, crease it in the opposite direction, and then flatten it again. 

Reverse folds

You can have inside reverse folds or outside reverse folds; they just go different ways. They’re most famously used to make origami cranes* but are also regularly used to make heads and tails for lots of animals. In an inside reverse fold, a small fold is made on an already folded piece of paper and then unfolded before being pushed inside out into the main fold. With an outside reverse fold, the small fold sticks outwards of the paper rather than inside. You can see an inside reverse fold in the bottom row of the diagrams above.

* Cranes are a classic origami make. Japanese folklore says that if you fold a thousand cranes, the Gods will bring you good fortune.

To see diagrams and step-by-step instructions for all these folds, visit http://www.origami-instructions.com/, which also has instructions for lots of other folds and basic origami patterns. In our March issue we learned to fold origami blossom from the book Blossom Origami by Clover Robin (Nosy Crow). Find the instructions on page 42. 

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