The Simple Things is a beautiful, useful, quirky and fun magazine about taking time to live well. We cover mindfulness and microadventures, eating and growing, forgotten wisdom, home life and slow moments. It's for people who love their lives but want to take the pressure off and remember what’s really important. We like tea & cake, learning stuff, being outside and the satisfaction of a job well done. Do you?
A could-do list Balm
Editor
MARCH ALMANAC • Seasonal thoughts & things to help you enjoy the month
Veg box suppers • AS WINTER STAPLES ARE JOINED BY EARLY SPRING VEGETABLES, FIND INSPIRATION FOR NEW WAYS TO USE THE SEASONAL BOUNTY IN YOUR SUPPLIES
Magical creatures • ANAPPRECIATION OF THE S LOW WORM
Hope springs • FOR JESSICA FURSETH, PART OF THE BEAUTY OF BLOSSOM HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT LIFE COMING BACK. THIS YEAR THAT PROMISE OF RETURN FEELS MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN EVER
CAKE IN THE HOUSE • Indulgent brandy-infused karidopita tastes even better a day or two after it’s baked, if you can bear to leave it that long...
My day in cups of tea • We have a natter with Birmingham-based potter Katie Robbins and ask her to tell us all about how she spends her day in cuppas.
A simple thing...
GOOD FIGURES • Where statistics and optimism meet
SMALL CHANGE
Turning trash into treasure • WOMEN SALVAGING ELECTRONIC WASTE ARE SAVING THE PLANET, AND BUILDING A SAFE, SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR THEMSELVES, TOO
EXCELLENT WOMEN • Plumbing the gap with a new resource
HAPPY AS A LARK
RISE AND SHINE • AUSSIE BLOGGER NATURAL HARRY SHARES HER FAVOURITE CLEANING CONCOCTIONS THAT ARE AS KIND TO THE PLANET AS THEY ARE TO YOUR HOME
WEARING WELL • Stories of the clothes we love DR MARTENS
“To unite and speak up is the only choice we have now. If hate is rising, then love must rise higher” • If we want a better world, we need to fight for it – and poetry can help – says poet, performer and now novelist Salena Godden. As she tells Lydia Wilkins, we just need to arm ourselves with a bit of positive thinking
LUXEMBOURG • AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER MIKEL TRAKO GUIDES US AROUND THE CITY THAT STOLE HIS HEART AND WHICH HE NOW CALLS HOME
MIKEL’S PERSONAL TOUR
House party • ENJOY A ‘WEEKEND AWAY’ AT HOME BY EATING, DRINKING AND RELAXING THE WAY YOU DO ON HOLIDAY
WINES FOR THE WEEKEND
Oh yes I can! • HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SAID, I CAN’T… DRAW, DANCE, SING, DO MATHS? IT’S TIME TO LOSE THE NEGATIVE COMMENTS THAT ARE HOLDING YOU BACK, SAYS HAZEL DAVIS
HOW TO REFRAME NEGATIVES • The good news about our brain is that it can be trained to behave differently through repeated actions and active choices.
WEAVING THE FUTURE • MOTHER-AND-DAUGHTER MAKERS WILLOW WITH ROOTS ENTWINE TRADITIONAL SKILLS WITH MODERN THINKING
PROUDLY HOMEMADE
FLASHES OF BRILLIANCE • FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, LIGHTHOUSES HAVE BEEN LITERAL AND METAPHORICAL BEACONS, SYMBOLS OF STEADFASTNESS AND HOPE – AND WELL WORTH A VISIT, SAYS TOM NANCOLLAS
Armchair visits • Lighthouses have lit up the imaginations of many writers.
A simple thing...
Know a thing or two... Ethical Travel • TAKING A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD OF HOLIDAYS THAT DO GOOD
Glossary of ethical travel terms
UNETHICAL TRAVEL
Before you go…
POSITIVE PRACTICES
GOING WELL • As you plan your next holiday, dip into the trips, services and advice offered by these responsible travel specialists and organisations
The time of the sugars • It might not feel like it quite yet but, across the northern hemisphere, spring is on its way. Deep in the Canadian countryside, the sugar maple sap is rising and the yearly ritual of syrup making is well...