Wellbeing | Ways to Enjoy November

Photography by Stocksy

Lots of people find November a bit of a difficult month, with long nights, and cold weather to get through, too far from summer and too long until Christmas. But if you look carefully, there are lots of small celebrations to be had and important moments to mark. 

Making the most of seasonal moments is just one way to embrace the colder, darker days, giving you reasons to look forward to the month rather than to fear it. Browse our bumper ‘could-do’ list of ways to enjoy November below. You could do them all, pick just a few, swap them or customise them as you wish. Here’s to learning to love November!

1st: Celebrate Mexico’s Day of the Dead with paper flower garlands and a feast

2nd: Bake Soul Cakes for All Souls Day

3rd: Toast marshmallows on a firepit (or indoors if it’s too wet)

4th: Make a Guy from newspaper and old clothes for Bonfire Night

5th: Watch some fireworks and say ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’ as warranted

6th: Make autumnal squash or pumpkin soup

7th: Spend some time with your Teddy Bear for Hug a Bear Day

8th: Get some early mince pies in and start writing Christmas cards

9th: Compile a November reading list of cosy books

10th: Light a candle in the evening

11th: Wear a new, non-plastic, poppy for Remembrance Day, or just remember a loved one in your own quiet way

12th: Spend a day slow cooking, savouring the time simply spent on the task

13th: Go for a walk somewhere new at lunchtime to make the most of the daylight

14th: Start a new craft project to see you through winter

15th: Make up jars of toppings for porridge to make your mornings cheerier

16th: Tell ghost stories with friends

17th: As if you needed an excuse, it’s Homemade Bread Day, so get kneading

18th: Re-read an ‘old favourite’ book

19th: Make your bedroom cosy and winter ready with blankets and throws

20th: Mark World Television Day by cosying up with a box set

21st: Celebrate ‘World Hello Day’ by greeting 10 strangers

22nd: Collect colourful leaves on a woodland walk

23rd: Invite friends over for a board games evening

24th: Buy an advent calendar (a proper one with beautiful pictures) ready for next week

25th: Mark Thanksgiving with a meal for family or friends or just a quiet moment of counting your blessings

26th: Make your Christmas pud on Sitr-up Sunday

27th: See if you can spot the full moon today. It’s called the Beaver Moon, or Frost Moon

28th: Hug a tree to mark the second day of National Tree Week

29th: Embrace the dark with a night hike

30th: Cook a Scottish dish such as kedgeree or haggis for St Andrew’s Day

For more inspiration on feeling better about this time of year, read ‘How I Learned to Love November’ in our November (of course!) issue.

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November | Things to Appreciate

A few things to see this month, and a thing to do, too

They say it’s not about where you go; it’s about the journey. A day out spent on a train is very much in that spirit. There’s something a bit romantic about a train journey, whether you do it alone or take a friend along for the ride. All you need is some good scenery, a travel board game (we favour Travel Scrabble) or a book and a train picnic. And we’re talking a Proper Picnic, here. Hamper, flask of tea, cake, sausage rolls, the lot. Perhaps leave the hard-boiled eggs at home for the sake of your fellow passengers, though.

A steam train journey brings instant atmosphere, with the sound of whistles, heavy carriage doors slamming and the smell of the coal. Almost wherever you are in the country there will be a steam railway near you, from the Bluebell Railway in West Sussex to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. But you don’t have to step back in time to enjoy a scenic rail route. Londonderry to Coleraine is arguably one of the prettiest train journeys in the UK, with fabulous sea views. An equally lovely coastal trip is the newly reopened Exeter to Dawlish line. Find a scenic rail route near you, but make sure you leave just enough time for tea and a scone in the station café at the other end before the whistle blows for the return leg. 

This idea for a day out was featured on our Almanac Pages, where each month we collate a few seasonal things to note and notice, plan and do. The nature table image above was taken by Alice Tatham of The Wildwood Moth who takes a photograph for our back cover each month, featuring things to appreciate in nature. She also runs workshops on seasonal photography and publishes seasonal journal stories from her home in Dorset.

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A could-do list for November

Our could-do lists are designed to bring a bit of seasonal sparkle to your month. You don’t have to do everything on it, but you might like to try one or two, make up a few of your own, or just read and smile at the ideas. This month’s list is on the theme ‘marvel’. We hope you have a marvellous November!

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Recipe | Cattern Cakes

Make these Cattern Cakes for St Catherine’s Day or to remember the Catherine Wheel on Bonfire Night

St Catherine’s Day falls on 25 November and celebrates St Catherine of Alexandria, who was condemned to death on a torture instrument known as a breaking wheel. Catherine wheel fireworks are named after her because of this association and foods celebrating her day – such as cattern cakes – are made in the shape of swirls. The day was once widely celebrated and known as Catterntide. In Medieval times it marked the beginning of Advent, which actually begins on 29 November this year.

St Catherine is the patron saint of spinners, weavers and lacemakers, and the latter used to take their annual holiday on this day. In her wonderful book Cattern Cakes and Lace (Dorling Kindersley), Julie Jones writes that lacemakers would set aside a small sum of money to provide tea and cakes on this day. This is based on her recipe for Cattern cakes, but slightly adapted.

Makes 8-10 cakes
275g self-raising flour
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
25g currants
50g ground almonds
2 tsp caraway seeds
200g caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
100g butter, melted
1 medium egg, beaten

1 Preheat the oven to 190C/Fan 170C/ Gas 5. Sift the flour and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl and add the currants, almonds, caraway seeds and sugar.
2 Add the melted butter and beaten egg and mix to form a soft dough.
3 Roll out onto a floured surface to about 2cm thick and cut out rounds using an 85mm biscuit cutter, then lay them onto a piece of baking parchment on a baking tray.
4 Take a knife with a sharp point and draw a swirl into the surface of the biscuit, then sprinkle on a little sugar.
5 Bake for around 10 mins or until they are browned and slightly risen. Cool on a wire rack.

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Make | Personalised Seed Packets

A thoughtful gift for a new gardener or anyone you want to share the joy of your garden with

Spend a happy weekend afternoon making gifts inspired by nature. In our November issue we have instructions for making goats’ milk and lavender soap, imprinted clay dishes and also these simple but beautiful personalised seed packets.

You will need:
Seeds
Pressed flowers (to make your own you will need to press them at least 2 weeks in advance of using)
Glue
Pencil
Pretty paper to make the envelopes
Plain paper for flower description
Scissors
An old empty seed packet or small money envelope
A bowl of water
Thin cardboard
Pen

To make:
1 Place the empty seed packet in a bowl of water until the glue eases apart. Be very careful when doing this, as the paper will have become fragile. Leave to dry before using to make a cardboard template, by drawing round the edge on the piece of card.
2 Use the template to trace around on the wrong side of your pretty paper to make the seed packet. Fold, and glue the sides together.
3 Fill the seed packet with seeds (around 10 per packet), before gluing shut. We suggest seeds they will be able to sow in springtime, or seeds for herbs that can be sown straight away.
4 Cut out a plain piece of paper, approximately 1 cm smaller all around than the seed packet. Carefully stick a pressed flower (ideally one of the same type as the seeds) to the front and label it with the flower name. Stick the label to your seed packet with a thin layer of glue.

Maker’s note: Planting advice you’d like to pass on? You could make another small label for the back and list it here, along with the date the seed packets were made.

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Playlist | Going Underground

“I think I’ll do like a mole and move underground”

DJ: Frances Ambler

Listen here

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Recipe | Kombucha

Tea’s good for so much more than a cuppa and a sit down. Try this simple and healthful kombucha

You will need:
2 organic green tea bags
2 organic black teabags
200g granulated sugar
1 medium scoby and starter water (you can make your own or buy them here happykombucha.co.uk/collections/kombucha-scobies)
2.5 – 3ltr glass jar
Tightly coven cloth (a tea towel will do)
Elastic band

How to make

1.  Add 1.8 litres of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil.

2.  Remove from the heat and add the sugar. Stir to dissolve then add the teabags and allow to cool.

3.  Once cooled, remove the teabags, without giving them a squeeze, and pour into your glass jar.

4.  Stir in the starter water then carefully add the scoby with clean hands. Leave a 5cm gap at the top then place the cloth over the top and secure with an elastic band.

5.  Ferment for 7-days at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, but not in a cupboard as it needs air. The scoby may float around and a new one will form at the top and the two may join together, this is just part of the fermentation process.

6.  After 7 days start tasting your kombucha daily by pouring a little into a cup. When the taste is the right mix between tart and sweet (this can take up to 10 days) the kombucha is ready. Remove the scoby and pour the kombucha into smaller bottles

Cook’s note:  To add flavours you can add fruit, herbs and spices for secondary fermentation. Simply add the fruit to your kombucha, leaving it for several days before drinking before decanting into bottles. This will keep in the fridge for up to three months.

You can find a recipe for Kombucha chutney, as well as lots more ‘Magical Pickles’ in our November issue. The recipes by Rachel de Thample, from her book Fermentation: River Cottage Handbook No.18 (Bloomsbury) include Sea Shanty Fennel, Honey-Fermented Carrot Jam, Fermented Ketchup and Smoky Beetroot Kimchi.

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November | a final thought

We’re saying goodbye to our November issue today. We hope our back cover illustration from Michelle Rial’s Am I Overthinking This? raises a smile with you.

Our very special Christmas issue will be in the shops soon.

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Fascinating things | paper towns

Or why maps are not always to be trusted

You think you know where you are with a map, don’t you? Hopefully in a very literal as well as a figurative sense. We’re going to mess with your mind here… <whispers> Not everything you see on maps is real!

We recently heard about ‘paper towns’, which are, as you might expect, towns, streets or areas that can be seen on a map but do not exist in reality. 

Also known as ‘fake towns’, ‘phantom settlements’ and ‘bunnies’ (no, we aren’t sure why either), paper towns are made up by map makers in order to catch out copycat cartographers (try saying that while you’re drawing a map). The idea being if you add a fake town to your map and then you look at a map drawn at a later date by someone else and it includes the town you made up, you’ll be able to prove they copied your work. Sneaky!

There is, we are told, a Moat Lane marked on the Tele Atlas Directory of London (the basis for Google) which is entirely made up. And it’s not the first time Google has unwittingly copied a fake entry from a map onto its own map of an area. 

Back in 2008, there was a flurry of interest in a town called Argleton in West Lancashire. A trawl of the internet turned up all kinds of businesses, land for sale and more, but there was a hitch… Argleton did not exist. If you went to the spot where it was marked on Google, there was nothing to see but a rather uninspiring field. When it was brought to Google’s attention they issued an apology for the ‘error’ and the town disappeared from its maps in 2010. But somewhere, someone was having the last laugh at his or her little joke (and the knowledge that Google had chosen their maps to use). 

Suggestions were made that Arlgeton was an anagram of ‘not large’ or even ‘not real’ with a ‘G’ added for ‘Google’. Who knows if that’s true, or just a delicious coincidence, but we’ll be studying our Ordnance Surveys more carefully in future for suspicious-sounding towns that ring no bells.

If you also love a map, don’t miss our November issue in which we meet cartographer Kevin Sheehan who creates traditional, hand drawn maps like the one pictured here. Each is a work of art in its own right. 

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How to do: zero waste shops

Ever fancied zero waste shopping but worried about how you’d get it all home? We asked an expert how to pack no-packaging grocery items. And we want to hear about your favourite zero waste stores, too…

Zero waste shops are suddenly everywhere, and we love using our local ones and having a poke round new ones we find on our travels. But for the newbie it can be a bit of a minefield, knowing what you should take and how you’re going to transport your goods home. Tote bags are all very well but you can’t fill them with milk now, can you? We talked to Tracey Harwood, owner of zero waste store Fetchem From The Cupboard, which has branches in Fetcham and Ashtead in Surrey, and asked her to share her best advice for shopping package free.

Tracey suggests you scope out your local zero waste store before you try and do a shop and see what products they stock, make a list of what you normally use and get containers ready to take with you. Here are her recommendations for transporting various products, from hand cream to quinoa...

Cheese 

Beeswax wraps are a good investment but putting that into an airtight container too will improve longevity of the product.

Dried goods

Tupperware is best and most of us have some in our cupboards somewhere. Any storage containers you normally use for your rice and cereals can just be brought in and refilled. If you don’t have a label write down the date you filled the container. Most produce bought packaging free is fresher than plastic wrapped and therefore lasts longer but you need to use most dried goods within three months. 

Oils and vinegars

Use an old bottle which used to contain oil or vinegar but it must be completely dry to avoid damaging the product. An old jam jar will do if not and is easy to fill. 

Fresh fruit and veg 

Loose produce can just be put straight into a reusable bag. If you want to invest in some lightweight produce bags to separate out your purchases, there are recycled plastic and cotton ones on the market which can be washed and reused. They’re good for things like Brussels sprouts and new potatoes, which can get lost in your basket or your trolley quite easily when loose. 

Baked goods 

Bring a tin or Tupperware again, most stores and even supermarkets will serve directly into your own containers now and they put their dispensed labels onto that instead. 

Frozen things

Tupperware or produce bags are good here - or reuse the bags which you previously bought the products in and replace them as and when necessary. If you only buy small amounts the cotton bags are good enough for the freezer as you will use the product before it spoils. 

Soap and cleaning products

Reuse the containers you have from your old products to fill up or invest in some prettier soap dispensers for ones that will be on display. Think about the fact you will need to refill them, so make sure the opening is not too small otherwise it may be tricky.

More things your zero-waste shopkeeper wants you to know

Tracey suggests you shop little and often if you can and take your time getting used to the self-fill containers. “See-through containers are ideal so you can track your progress when filling but they’re not essential. Ask a staff member of any shop which provides refills to help you until you have got the hang of refilling your containers - they’ll be only too pleased. Sadly, once a product has been decanted, a retailer is not allowed to put that product back, and if you leave it behind or worse, spill it, it has to be wasted, which obviously defeats the object.”

And working with the shop owners is key, she says. They want you to provide a good experience for you not just for the sake of their business but for the sake of the planet, so you’re all on the same side. “Give feedback when something doesn't meet your expectations but also give feedback when you are blown away by a product or service. Try to be patient and understanding - this is a learning curve for all of us and your zero waste shop owner is likely working very long hours, taking very little reward, yet turning up every day to make a difference - we all need your support to build sustainable businesses which can compete with the big boys. We need to work together on this.”

Tell us about your favourite zero waste stores

We loved poking our noses into Fetchem From The Cupboard but now it’s over to you. Do you also have an amazing zero-waste store near you? Somewhere that’s going above and beyond, offers products you don’t see elsewhere, has a brilliant cafe or simply staff that are making a real difference and make it a pleasure to shop there?

We’re hoping to put together a booklet of the best zero-waste stores around the UK, as voted for by readers of The Simple Things. Leave your votes in our comments section, or on Facebook or Instagram. 

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A tale of two woodpeckers

A short biography of two very different birds. Because why not?

Here at The Simple Things, we love a woodpecker, so much so we dedicated one of our Magical Creatures pages to it back in February. You can buy that issue here. 

And when we saw this wonderful illustration of one in this month’s ‘Cosy’ issue, it got us wondering why you don’t encounter many Woodpeckers in books or on the silver screen. They are sadly under-represented, we feel. To go some way towards righting that wrong, we’re celebrating two famous, but very different woodpeckers. 

Picus, Greek myth

Picus (Latin for woodpecker) was a man originally known as Stercutus and was the first king of Latium. He earned his nickname for the fact that he was enormously talented in augury and used woodpeckers for his divination (best not ask how). He was a handsome chap and women, nymphs and a myriad of assorted other females couldn’t help but throw themselves at him. What’s a King of Latium to do? But he came a cropper when the witch, Circe, tried to seduce him and he turned her down with little care for her feelings. Well. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and the witch turned him into a woodpecker as punishment. And for good measure, she turned his friends into a variety of other creatures and his wife into a nymph. The wife went mad and wandered the forest for six days before laying down on the banks of the river and dying. And all because a simple ‘I’d love to but I’m washing my hair’ would not suffice. Lesson learned, chaps.

Woody Woodpecker, Universal Pictures

The inspiration for Woody arrived on cartoonist Walter Lantz’s honeymoon when an acorn woodpecker disturbed Walt and his wife’s peace repeatedly by boring holes in the roof. Walt was going to shoot the bird but his wife suggested he instead make a cartoon of him, and a star was born. 

No one is quite sure what type of woodpecker Woody is, but his laugh has made many assume he is a pileated woodpecker. So now you know.

Woody, voiced by Mel Blanc (who also voiced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and more) first appeared in the cartoon short Knock Knock on November 25 1940, in which he tormented two unassuming pandas. 

Woody made the move to television in 1957 with The Woody Woodpecker Show, which was revived in the early 70s. And in 1999 he saw another renaissance when The New Woody Woodpecker Show ran for a few years on Fox Kids. A new series is available on YouTube now, where Woody continues to sweep back his quiff, bore holes in things he shouldn’t, irritate all creatures great and small and laugh his infamous laugh. And how is that laugh, written, we’d like to know? According to the lyrics to the Woody Woodpecker Song, it is notated, thus:

Ho-ho-ho ho ho! Ho-ho-ho ho ho!

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The beautiful illustration above is from I Like Birds: A Guide to Britain’s Avian Wildlife by Stuart Cox (Quadrille)

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Astounding facts | knitting

Tales of woolly wonder that will provide you with a good yarn

We’ve been celebrating all things wool-related in our ‘Cosy’ November issue. It’s got blankets for snuggling (including some with dogs on), a short story about knitting and a retrospective on how wool has shaped British history, from Viking socks to knitted bikinis. And we thought we’d share with you some of the wonderful woolly facts we discovered along the way. 

1. The record for the longest knitted scarf stands at 4,565.46 metres. That’s nearly three miles. It was knitted by Helge Johansen of Oslo, Norway, and took him 30 years. We’re concerned about how he kept warm for those three decades before the scarf was finished. 

2. The largest number of people to be knitting together in one room is 3,083 and the record was achieved by the Women’s Institute (naturally) in The Royal Albert Hall in 2012.

3. The fastest hand-knitted ‘sheep-to-jumper’ item was made in 4 hours 45 minutes and 53 seconds by a team in Swalmen, Netherlands in 2017. We don’t know how this was done and we don’t wish to, as we can’t bear to spoil the mental image of someone clicking their needles, taking wool directly off an ever-decreasing sheep. 

4. The world’s largest knitting needles were made by an art student in Wiltshire. They measured 4.42m long and had a diameter of 9.01cm. To claim the world record, the needles had to be capable of knitting ten stitches and ten rows of yarn.

5. Slow TV in Norway once broadcast a knitting marathon lasting 13 hours, which was watched by 1.3 million viewers.

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Make your own | rosehip tea

Fancy a cuppa? We’ll just pop to the end of the garden and brew up

In our November issue, Lia Leendertz showed us how to forage rose hips and threw in a few delicious recipes, too. If you had a glut though, you might like to dry some to keep for rosehip tea, a delicately flavoured beverage that will warm you through the colder months. 

Here’s how to make rosehip tea, from hedgerow to armchair. 

1. Pick your rosehips. After the first frost is best but if they get too frozen they’ll be no good. Lia recommends you pick them whenever you spot them, frost or no, and pop them in the freezer for a few hours to create a fake first frost. You can cut them off with scissors or a knife or just pick them off. Gloves are a good idea.

2. Rose hips can be used whole, or you can trim either end if you prefer. You can also cut them in half and scoop out the seeds if you like. Again, not a must but the seeds are covered in tiny hairs which might spoil your tea. It depends how ‘rough’ you like your hip tea really. Give them a good wash and dry them on newspaper in the sun if you can, or just leave them to dry off indoors.

3. To fully dry them, either put them in a food dehydrator (not many people have one but they are rather fun for all sorts of projects like this) or simply put them in the oven on its lowest heat for about three and a half hours.

4. Once the hips are dried, pop them into a food processor and give them a quick whizz. You want the pieces to be fairly chunky still.

5. Put the blitzed hips into a sieve and shake through any tiny bits. If you didn’t remove the hairs earlier this should get rid of them.

6. Ta da! You have rosehip tea! Just put your tea into an airtight jar.

7. To serve, put one teaspoon of the tea in a loose-leaf infuser (we like the one Teapigs sells), put it in a mug and pour boiling water on top. Allow to steep for five minutes before removing. Enjoy with a blanket and half an hour to yourself with the November ‘Cosy’ issue of The Simple Things, which is in shops now. 

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Playlist | Cosy

Goes down well with a mug of something hot.

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Murder mystery story | The ending

Here it is… the original ending to our murder mystery short story competition…

Back in August we printed (most of) a murder mystery story by crime writer Sophie Hannah and set readers the challenge of finishing it. You can read the winning entry (as well as the beginning of Sophie’s story) in our November issue. But here you can enjoy Sophie’s original, intended, ending. Did you guess who the murderer was?…

If you missed the original story, we’ll be printing it here in full later in the month, or buy the November issue, on sale now.

---

‘Tell me.’ I crouched down beside her.

She stared at the square of words. ‘Edward was right. It is a palindrome, if you lay the five words end to end — ROTASOPERATENETAREPOSATOR. Lily misunderstood. He wasn’t claiming that each word was a palindrome. What a clever magic square! And to be able to make the Paternoster cross, too! It’s really rather marvellous that they found it among the ruins of Pompei.’

‘What does this have to do with Stanley’s death?’

‘All this time, I’ve wondered, Philip: what terrible things might Julia and Lily have said that day that prompted you to threaten them? Odd, isn’t it, for us both to forget? And why would my sisters savage me? I had promised to share everything equally. Lily didn’t even want Father’s money. Why should she accuse you of having gone mad unless…unless you’d reacted to something that never happened?’

‘What do you mean?’ There was a limit to how much Alice could know. She was surely unaware (or she’d have mentioned it) that Stanley had consulted me about making a new will, to make things equal between his daughters. Julia, damn her, had persuaded him that was fairer. And then, if Alice had married me as I’d hoped she would, we’d have been unnecessarily poorer. Unless something were to happen to Stanley before the new will could be made…

‘You reacted with anger to nothing,’ said Alice. ‘I didn’t forget the dreadful things Lily and Julia said; neither did you. They said nothing offensive. You needed that conversation to end: the discussion about palindromes and words that were other words reversed. You were afraid I’d tumble to the truth: that you murdered Father. That, while dying, he managed to turn over that cup of tea — and in doing so, name his murderer. The word cup, upside down, gives us the letters p, u, c. Philip Unwin-Carruthers. As you say, Father wasn’t one for setting puzzles. Your words contained an assumption: that Father turned the cup upside down, not his murderer. How could you have known that unless you were there? Unless you killed him?’

What a fool I’d been, so secure and smug in the assumption that she’d never work it out.

Well, there was only one thing for it — though Alice hadn’t yet got that far in her deductions. She soon would. What choice did I have? I was hardly about to let her leave my room and go straight to the police.

It was a terrible pity. I sincerely loved her. We could have been so happy together.

THE END

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November: a final thought

Please enjoy our November back cover, along with a seasonal haiku

Some of the things we’ve enjoyed most about our November issue have been finding out about fabulous bookshops from around the world, creating nooks in which to read alone, perusing essays on autumn, and cooking comforting things perfect for a Sunday afternoon in with a rip-roaring novel.

Here’s our November haiku in homage to all that.

Reading a good book

Is so much more rewarding

With a good biscuit.

That’s all from our November The Simple Things, but our December issue should be in the shops any day now and we’re feeling rather festively excited about it.

We publish a back cover chalkboard most months and have turned some of them into postcards that you can buy here http://www.icebergpress.co.uk/shop/chalkboard-postcards-pre-order-

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Hanger: the struggle is real

Do thoughts of delicious food bring out the hulk in you when hungry?

If you know someone who suffers from ‘hanger’ (the condition of becoming particularly irritable when hungry), it might be time to cut them some slack. Or perhaps just cut them a slice of cake. It may sound like an excuse to either fly off the handle, or snack at will for the sake of peace, but scientists say ‘hanger’ is a genuine phenomenon.

Sophie Medlin, lecturer in nutrition and dietetics at King’s College, London, told Radio Four’s Woman’s Hour recently: “We’ve long recognised that hunger leads to irritability, but the wonderful world of social media has merged the two words and we now know it as ‘hanger’.”

And (here comes the science bit) “When our blood sugars drop, cortisol and adrenaline rise up in our bodies - our fight or flight hormones.” These then cause the release of neuropeptides, which affect the way the brain works. “The ones that trigger for hunger are the same ones that trigger for anger and rage. So that’s why you get that sort of same response,” she explains.

So now you know.

And if all that has made you hungry, well, we wouldn’t want you to leave in a bad mood. Please enjoy this recipe for Crunchy Indian Spiced Chickpeas (pictured above), which appears in our November issue and is taken from Sight, Smell, Touch, Taste, Sound: A New Way to Cook by Sybil Kapoor, (Pavilion) with photography by Keiko Oikawa.

Crunchy Indian Spiced Chickpeas

Makes 2 bowls

1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained  and rinsed

¼ tsp ground turmeric

¼ tsp chilli powder

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp amchoor powder (dried sour mango), optional

1 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste

1 tbsp cold-pressed sunflower oil

½ tsp lemon juice, or to taste

1. At least 30 mins before cooking, rinse, drain and pat dry the chickpeas on paper towels. Spread them out in a single layer on a plate.

2. Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6. Mix the spices and salt in a small bowl.

3. Place the chickpeas and oil in a separate bowl and mix well, before adding the spice mixture. Toss until completely coated, then tip onto  a non-stick baking sheet and spread the chickpeas into a single layer.

4. Bake for 35 mins, giving the tray the odd shake. If you prefer your chickpeas floury inside, remove after 35 mins. If you prefer them crunchy throughout, turn the oven off after 35 mins and leave inside for a further 15 mins.

5. Once done, leave the chickpeas in their roasting pan and season with the lemon juice. Leave until cold, then serve as needed.

These make a great snack for a chilly November evening. We recommend serving them with friends and your choice of drink, and our November Playlist, all about food, on in the background. Feeling calmer yet?... Good.

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More food to comfort and cheer…

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Our favourite fictional dogs

We all love a dog, so here we’ve rounded up some of favourites from fiction TV and film.

Dog Show: 1961-1978 by Shirley Baker. Cover photograph: Shirley Baker

To honour the publication of Dog Show, showcasing the work of photographer Shirley Baker, which is featured in November’s The Simple Things, we’ve made a list of our top five fictional dogs. Now, SIT! (And read and enjoy our best in show).

Snoopy (beagle*)

A real case of the side-act stealing the show, Snoopy was the pet of Charlie Brown, anti-hero of the Peanuts comic strip. But there’s no denying he was the real star. Known for sleeping on the uncomfy-looking roof of his kennel rather than the inside, having several alter-egos including college student, Joe Cool and a First World War Flying Ace, as well as his unlikely friendship with a yellow bird, Snoopy is world-famous and has appealed to generations of children (and beagle-loving adults). An icon in his own right, the first drawings of Snoopy were based on Charles M Schulz’s dog, Spike. *He’s always referred to as ‘a beagle’ but Schulz once said he wasn’t, he just thought ‘beagle’ was a funny-sounding word.

Snowy (wire fox terrier)

Tintin’s faithful friend Snowy is the only other character to appear in all the comic albums, he even occasionally addresses his internal monologue to the reader. Very postmodern. His original name in the French was Milou, the name of Herge’s first girlfriend, and short for Marie-Louise. He was called Snowy in the English translation for his white colour (and the fact that Snowy was short enough to fit easily into the speech balloons.

Lassie (rough collie)

Lassie first featured in a short story by Eric Knight, which later (in 1940) became a full novel, Lassie Come Home, and was made into a film by MGM in 1943, with a dog named ‘Pal’ acting in the title role. The story may well have been based on a fictional dog called Lassie depicted by Elizabeth Gaskell. Pal’s descendants continued to play Lassie in TV series over the next 20-odd years, scampering off to rescue many a child from a mine shaft or well. GOOD GIRL, Lassie.

Scooby-Doo (great dane)

Comrade and crime-busting partner of Shaggy Rogers, Scooby-Doo is the true hero of the Hanna-Barbera series that began in 1969. Famously named for a line in the Frank Sinatra song, Strangers in the Night, Scoobs has been foxing fairground thieves and eating multi-layered club sandwiches for years and continues to delight children to this day.

Argos from The Odyssey (breed unknown)

Hankies at the ready. Argos was Odysseus’s dog before he left home to fight in the Trojan war for ten years, and then spent a further decade returning home. When he finally returns, disguised as a beggar to fool his wife’s suitors, he sees Argos, his faithful, strong and speedy hound, sitting in pile of cow muck. As he walks by, Argos drops his ears and wags his tail but is physically unable to greet his master. Odysseus cries as he passes him, unable to go to his faithful friend. And Argos dies, having fulfilled his destiny of welcoming his master home to his own hall.

Jumble from The William stories (mongrel)

Jumble originally belonged to an artist and his daughter and the daughter gave Jumble to William in exchange for a kiss. Knowing William’s liquorice-water-encrusted chops as we do, we think William got the better end of the deal there and Jumble went on to be (almost) the fifth member of The Outlaws.

Toto from The Wizard of Oz (some sort of Terrier)

Toto belongs to Dorothy Gale of ‘there’s no place like home’ fame. He’s been variously thought to be either a Cairn, Yorkshire or Boston Terrier and he accompanies Dorothy on her trips to the Land of Oz. Toto does not let on in the early books - not until TikTok of Oz - that he can speak! Really, you might have mentioned this before. Toto!

Gnasher from The Beano (Abyssinian Wire-haired Tripe Hound)

Dennis the Menace’s faithful and (very) furry friend Gnasher first appeared in The Beano in 1968. He was based on the idea that dogs look like their owners and it was suggested to the illustrator that he simply drew Dennis’s hair and added arms, legs and eyes. And that is (more or less) how Gnasher remains to this day, with just a little more of his own character.

Gromit from Wallace and Gromit (Beagle)

The bright, sensitive, brainier half of Wallace and Gromit, this is a mutt with a hardcore fanbase. His birthday is 12th February (and it is marked every year in The Telegraph’s classified section), he’s known to be left-handed (a sign of his creativity and intelligence) and a NASA robot sent to probe Mars was named after him in 2005. He also loves cheese (who doesn’t?).

Pilot from Jane Eyre (Newfoundland)

Mistaken on first meeting, by Jane, as some sort of ghost-dog or dog-goblin (a doblin, perhaps?) Pilot foreshadows Mr Rochester’s entrances throughout the novel and is the first to call Jane to Mr Rochester’s aid as his horse slips on icy ground. Rewarded with so little as a cursory ‘DOWN, PILOT’ the dog is peeved as always, while Victorian women swooned, as one.

Our fictional dogs were inspired by a gallery in our November issue, taken from the book Dog Show: 1961-1978 by Shirley Baker, published this month by Hoxton Mini Press.

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More from November issue…

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