The light on the ice, the music, the hot chocolate – we love ice skating! here's our lowdown on how to get the most out of it and find your local venue...
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The Collector: Snow globes
Vintage cartographer Beth Lennon has a love for all things retro that’s reflected in her collection of snow globes - not that she’s obsessive, she says…
If you’re alone in a room with a snow globe, you have to pick it up. “Oh yeah, you’re not gonna let it sit there,” agrees Beth Lennon. “You have to engage.” When you are a woman with approximately 100 snow globes to your name, that’s quite the commitment.
Of all childhood toys, arguably there is nothing as magnetically compelling as a snow globe. What’s not to captivate? Generally accustomed to following orders every waking minute, there you stand, playing god. You have a) the whole world in your hands, and b) complete control over the weather. (Assuming, of course, you want to let it snow, but at this time of year, why wish for anything else?)
Turn to page 111 of December’s The Simple Things for the full interview with Beth. Buy, download or subscribe now.
Want to build up your own collection? Scour junk shops or flea markets for vintage finds, or try online at eBay or Etsy. Want a contemporary collection? Here’s our selection of the best miniature worlds of fun.
Clockwise from top left:
1. Hang this deer snow globe from your tree. £4, Paperchase.
2. Try your hand at a festive paper cut with a snow globe template. £5.50, Pretty Paper Petal.
3. All is calm... This wintry scene is the perfect table decoration. £15, John Lewis.
4. Happy snowmen adorn these gift tags. £2.59, Charonel Designs.
5. Make your own with this snow globe kit. £24.95, Not on the High Street.
6. Arctic owls take shelter in the forest in this tree decoration. £12, Anthropologie.
Escape: Go foraging PLUS natural festive decoration/gift ideas
Carols and hymns are wound through with references to holly and ivy, and the tradition of collecting these intensely green reminders that life does continue year round stretches way back to pre-Christian times. A foraging walk requires a sturdy bag and secateurs and will make decorating your home or creating a wreath an easy job.
Both holly and ivy are easy to find growing wild in Britain – ivy is an important autumn source of pollen for bees and other pollinators, while holly berries, although toxic to humans, are enjoyed by birds and other wildlife. You’ll need to track down a cluster of holly bushes, since only the female produces berries, but both sexes need to be nearby!
Mistletoe also has its parasitic roots in pre-Christian times, but these days gathering some for a cheeky doorway ornament doesn’t require the use of a golden sickle on the sixth day of the moon’s cycle, just good local air quality and a keen eye. Though as the orchards in which it is most often found are now rare and localised you are more likely to find it at a market.
Cone and fir garland
When you’re out on a woodland walk keep your eyes peeled for cones, berries, twigs and leaves to make into homemade decorations. You don’t have to spend a fortune on decorations, there are plenty of things to forage for free that add seasonal sparkle. No need to stick to a natural, Shaker-style Christmas either – use paint, glitter and colourful ribbon to help them work with your chosen colour scheme. It’s a good idea to keep a plastic bag in your pocket so you’re always ready to collect mother nature’s winter bounty.
Collect 20 cones and several fir tree twigs, needles still attached. Cut the twigs into 5cm lengths and strip needles from one end, exposing about 1cm of bare stem.
Cut a 1m length of garden string (or ribbon, or twine).
To make the garland, simply alternate between cones and fir sprigs, tying them onto the string at 2cm intervals. Leave enough string at either end to attach to the tree, mantelpiece or spot of your choice.
A foraged hamper
Been foraging all year to make delicious goodies? Use these to make a foraged hamper of treats - it's a thoughtful, handmade gift idea.
Follow the instructions over on Wolves in London blog where you'll find recipes, ideas and inspiration for homegrown, foraged and seasonal food, perfect for a foraged Christmas hamper.
Turn to page 66 of December's The Simple Things for more on the walks that make Christmas. Buy, download or subscribe now.
Recipe: Stollen with dark rum and lemon marzipan
Stollen is the German Christmas cake. Dip it in coffee or eat with a piece of Hafod cheese.
The original German Christmas cake was from Dresden. It was a moist heavy bread filled with fruit, and the first recorded mention of it was in 1474. This official stollen is produced by only 150 bakers in the city, is still sold at the local Christmas market and has a special seal. All very interesting, but we bet it doesn’t taste any better than this one.
Stollen with dark rum and lemon marzipan
50g dark rum
75g raisins
75g sour cherries or cranberries
Vanilla butter:
100g butter
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
Marzipan (or buy ready-made):
100g ground almonds
35g icing sugar
10ml lemon juice
15ml dark rum
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
1 large egg
Cake:
50g milk (room temperature)
250g strong white flour
5g quick yeast (7g fresh yeast)
25g caster sugar
5g fine sea salt
2 large eggs (room temperature)
Chopped zest of 2 oranges and
2 lemons
5g ground spice – 50/50 cardamom/ cinnamon
100g butter, diced
Icing sugar to finish
1. Warm the rum and mix it with the dried fruit, cover and leave at room temp for 24 hours. To make vanilla butter, melt 100g butter and sprinkle with vanilla pod seeds; leave to infuse.
2. The next day, make marzipan. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, cover tightly and place in the fridge.
3. Warm the milk, add 25g of the flour and all the yeast. Mix well with fingers and cover tightly. Leave for 45 mins.
4. Add the rest of the flour, sugar, salt and eggs and mix it with the foaming yeast. When all flour is incorporated, turn dough onto the table and knead for 4 mins, cover tightly and rest for 30 mins.
5. Uncover dough and press out into an oblong. Put zest and spice on top of the dough, along with the butter. With your fingers, massage it all together. It’s very loose at this stage – almost a batter. Massage until the dough becomes a consistent colour. Scrape together into a ball, cover well and leave to rest for 30 mins. Use a very small amount of flour on your hands and work surface while shaping if you need to.
6. Add soaked fruit and massage into dough to combine. Sprinkle some flour on the table, scrape up dough, place on the flour and top with another sprinkling of flour. Stretch dough to create four corners and fold them in on themselves. 7 Turn dough over, bottom side up, shape into a ball and put back in the bowl. Cover tightly and leave for 2.5 hours.
8. Scrape dough out onto a well floured surface. Halve dough and gently press down to create 2 oblongs, arranged with one of the longer sides towards you.
9. Divide marzipan into 2 and roll each half into a sausage shape. Place each in the middle of a dough oblong, leaving a 2cm gap at either end. Fold the side nearest you over the top of the marzipan and tuck in on the far side. Then fold the side farthest away over the top of the marzipan and gently press the seam in. Make sure the seam is totally sealed by pinching with your fingers if necessary.
10. Lift stollen carefully onto a baking tray covered with baking parchment. Bend it slightly so you’re left with a semi circular shape. Leave for 90 mins.
11. Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/400F. Bake stollen for 25–28 mins, then remove from oven and leave to cool on tray for 30 mins.
12. Melt vanilla butter and pour evenly over the stollen. This will help to lock the moisture in when it cools down. Leave the stollen on the tray for 1 hour.
13. Cover stollen all over with a thick layer of icing sugar. Ideally place the stollen in a tin and leave until the next day to eat so the flavour can develop.
The stollen should last two weeks kept in a tin.
Turn to page 24 of December's The Simple Things for our baker, Alex Gooch's other Christmas recipes, including potato and onion bread with pickled chilli and Hafod cheese, and toasted hazelnut, apple and prune loaf.
Write your cards (well)
Timely advice to improve your handwriting from lettering artist Cherrell Avery.
1. Find a good handwriting pen, a roller ball or fountain pen that grips the paper.
2. Sit right. Bad posture equals bad writing. Make sure your legs aren’t scrunched up, your back is straight and hold your pen with a loose, relaxed grip.
3. Keep your fingers flexible, not rigid. Try doodling to practise mobilising your digits.
4. Spend five minutes writing, being mindful of what you’re doing, of how your writing looks, the speed and the shapes (not what you’re writing).
5 . Inspect your writing. Is the scale and proportion of your letters consistent? Are you forming your letters correctly? Many people miss the backbone in the letters n, m and r. Misjoining letters is also common. When writing at speed, n, m and h deterioriate quickly. Get to know what your habits are and practise slowing down to correct them.
Cherrell teaches Transform your Handwriting courses at London’s Idler Academy, www.idler.co.uk.
Give someone The Simple Things this Christmas
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December cover reveal
Joy is in the detail... the spice in your eggnog, grass sparkling with frost. There is happiness in moments - of quiet by the tree, in a distant peal of bells. Acts of kindness capture it; family traditions preserve it. Savour it your own way, perhaps curled on the sofa, making decorations or stepping out in the wintry air. Christmas is complete when you celebrate The Simple Things.
December's The Simple Things is out today - buy, download or subscribe now.
Recipe: Chicken and quince tagine
Pumpkins are plump, orchard fruit is ripe. Lia Leendertz knows just what to do with quince and medlar.
‘I first came across the idea of using quince as the fruity element in a tagine in Mark Diacono’s River Cottage Handbook: Veg Patch, and it seemed just right. Quinces originate in the Middle East and sit happily in a tagine. I’ve used chicken, flavoured with saffron, ginger and cinnamon.’ Lia Leendertz
Serves 4
8 chicken thighs
3 tbsp olive oil
3 red onions, sliced lengthways
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 small winter squash (I used uchiki kuri)
2 red peppers
5 dried apricots, chopped
Small bunch coriander
Small bunch parsley
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp saffron, in warm water
1 cinnamon stick
4 tbsp black olives
2 tbsp honey
1 preserved lemon
2 quinces
Juice of 1 lemon
1. Brown the chicken thighs all over then set aside. Take a large, heavy dish with a well-fitting lid and add the oil, red onions and garlic. Place over a low heat. Chop and add the other vegetables and the apricots.
2. Finely chop the herbs and sprinkle over, reserving half of the coriander. Add spices, olives and honey. Remove and discard the pith from the preserved lemon, finely chop the rind and add to the pot.
3. Arrange the browned chicken on the top of the vegetables, add 175ml water and set over the heat. Bring up to a simmer, cover with the lid and turn down to the lowest possible heat. Simmer for 45 mins.
4. In the meantime peel and quarter the quinces; drop into a pan of boiling water, with the lemon juice, and simmer gently for 30 mins. Drain and, when slightly cool, remove the cores and slice each quarter in two. Add to the tagine for final 10 mins of cooking. Sprinkle over the reserved chopped coriander before serving.
Turn to page 44 of November's The Simple Things for the full menu, which includes Khobz (Moroccan bread), a quince & medlar cheeseboard, buttery baked medlars, spiced pickled quince, and quince brandy. Buy or download your copy now.
Competition: Win a week in the snow with Inntravel (closed)
WIN! A HOLIDAY WORTH £2,450
Our Christmas present to you? The chance to win a week of fun-packed, snow-filled activities in the Austrian Tyrol, courtesy of Inntravel.
Reposing on the shores Lake Achensee, where the bright waters never entirely freeze, the Tyrolean village of Pertisau offers scenic cross-country trails and downhill skiing, along with a host of other snow-based activities on the ‘quiet side of the mountain’.
We have teamed up with Inntravel to offer one lucky reader and their companion a week’s holiday at their most consistently and highly praised hotel. The Wiesenhof has belonged to the Entner family for generations and is a ‘4-star superior’ hotel. Inntravel customers rave about the warmth of the welcome (“a great balance between 'big hotel' facilities and 'small hotel' service”), the attention to detail and the excellent food – breakfast, a light lunch and dinner are included each day, as well as afternoon cakes.
Besides the skiing, there are miles of winter walking trails to be enjoyed here, plus ice skating, curling and tobogganing – or even a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the snow-covered valleys. But there is plenty of time to take it easy, too: admire Christmas card-worthy views from your spacious balcony, relax with a drink and a good book by the bar’s open fire, or loll around in the large, state-of-the-art spa.
Notes on olives
So much more than a martini accessory, this savoury fruit will pimp up salads, egg soldiers and more. It’s olive harvesting time. But do you know your amphissa from your arbequina? Our guide will make you a master of olives in no time.
Bella di cerignola
Stunning on a sharing plate, these ample Italian beauties are antipasti favourites. Their mild flavour and firm bite make them ideal for olive beginners.
Kalamata
The olive lover’s olive is rich with a bittersweet, chocolate aftertaste. They add greek sunshine to pot-roast chicken.
Amphissa
These greek all-rounders shine when soaked in extra virgin olive oil infused with lemon zest, garlic and herbs. Just add warm pittas for an instant lunch.
Extra virgin olive oil
A store-cupboard staple with 6,000 years of history behind it. Swirl it round a glass and sniff deeply to savour its fruity complexity.
Arbequina
These diminutive Spanish spheres are best picked blond – halfway through ripening from green to black. Prized for their earthy flavour and silky texture.
Tapenade
Use this mash-up of olives, anchovies and capers as a sultry dressing for new potatoes or on soldiers for a grown-up boiled egg brunch.
For more on olives, turn to page 34 of November's The Simple Things. Buy or download your copy now.
Renegade Craft Fair
The Renegade Craft Fair heads across the pond and returns to the Old Truman Brewery on November 22 + 23, 11am-6pm. Buy direct from over 100 of the best indie makers from the UK and beyond, selling outstanding handmade goods at the Fair – from holiday inspired stationery and gift wrap, unique and one-of-a-kind jewellery, children’s toys, apparel and shoes, to illustrated prints and posters, housewares and much more.
Come and enjoy the festive atmosphere while you shop among holiday tunes, decorations, garlands and an art installation wall; a perfect photo backdrop for shoppers wanting to commemorate their visit. Check out fun workshops such as Prickle Press‘ DIY letterpress postcards, and a pom pom bauble workshop with Pom Pom Quarterly.
The Simple Things Magazine is the Official Media Sponsor of the Renegade Craft Fair London, so make sure you come and say hello.
Image: Loupe Images/Emma Mitchell
Make: Bug hotel
Build a bug hotel for your garden. This multi-storey insect hotel will soon fill up with guests, from ladybirds to lacewings.
You will need:
24 old bricks
Some old curved roof tiles
10 short pieces of wood
Corrugated cardboard, bamboo canes, drinking straws, old pots, logs, egg boxes, pine cones, and dry leaves
A selection of hollow tubes, such as empty cardboard tubes, loo rolls, plastic pipes and bottles
1 Find a quiet, sheltered spot in the garden and make sure that the ground is flat. Lay two rows of bricks, two bricks long and two bricks high, so that they are the same width apart as the length of your pieces of wood.
2 Put a curved roof tile between the two rows as a shelter for toads and frogs.
3 Lay three pieces of wood, spaced evenly, across the lines of bricks. Add another one or two courses of bricks and some more wood to build up the storeys.
4 On the top layer, add an extra piece of wood at the back of the stack to make the tiles sit at an angle, so the rain runs off.
5 Roll up pieces of corrugated cardboard, slide them inside the cardboard tubes then put these inside the hotel. Fill the other tubes and plastic pipes with a selection of hollow stems like bamboo and drinking straws. These make perfect winter ‘rooms’ for small insects.
6 You could also drill holes in the ends of logs or add other materials such as egg boxes, pine cones, and dry leaves.
7 Place more tiles on top of the final layer to form the roof of the hotel.
8 Find a flat tile or piece of slate and write the name of your hotel on it with chalk.
Nest: Interiors tips from Lilli Toukolehto
Lilli Toukolehto jointly owns interior and lifestyle shop and café Moko Market & Café in Helsinki (www.moko.fi/en) with her sister. By layering fabric and being unafraid of colour, Lilli has given her Helsinki apartment real personality. Turn to page 90 of November’s The Simple Things for the full home tour, or read on for Lilli’s top style tips.
LILLI’S STYLE
1. Don’t be afraid of colour, I love to mix rich crimsons and pinks with yellows and purples – the combination always lifts my spirits.
2. You can never have enough cushions. I am always buying and making more so that I can change them from season to season to freshen up my interior scheme.
3. Keep an eye open for neglected furniture. If it was well made, it will have a good, solid frame and can be reupholstered.
4. Display mirrors and pictures in groups to create an area of interest.
5. Mix furniture and other pieces from different eras: the joy of vintage is that it works across the decades.
Recipe: Proper custard
Top your pie or crumble with this delicately f lavoured custard made with your own fair hands, from Vanilla by Janet Sawyer.
Serves 4–6
100g golden caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
250ml whole milk
125ml clotted or double cream
4 egg yolks, beaten
1⁄2–1 tsp vanilla paste (or seeds of 1⁄2–1 vanilla pod)
1. Mix the sugar and cornflour in a bowl. Whisk in the milk.
2. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the cream gently, adding the milk mixture a little at a time. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring constantly, and reduce heat when it starts to thicken.
3. Pour a little of the hot milk mixture onto the egg yolks, stirring well, then gradually stir this back into the remaining milk in the pan.
4. Gently bring the mixture back to the boil and stir in the vanilla paste or seeds. Serve the custard immediately, or cover with cling film to stop a skin forming, and reheat gently when needed.
Variations: To pimp your custard, add the finely grated zest of half an orange, a pinch of saffron or a tbsp of toasted flaked almonds.
The Simple Things on Instagram
After something of a hiatus, The Simple Things is back on Instagram!
Snapping the simple pleasures in life, Team Simple Things will be sharing snippets of our days - whether that's putting together the magazine or the places, people and sights we see outside work, we're capturing the snapshots of life that make us smile.
Follow @simplethingsmag and expect regular instalments of beautiful, bitesize pics.
Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider
Make two batches of our November cover recipe – one boozy, one kid- and driver-friendly – for a warming autumn treat.
Getting together with friends and family happens so easily in summer – good weather and that holiday feeling being the natural allies of socialising. Yet there’s plenty to celebrate come bonfire season: autumn’s fiery canopy, the crisp, cold air and fast-falling dusk lend themselves to gathering outdoors, wrapping up, wellies donned, and feasting around the fire. We’ll raise a glass of mulled cider to that.
Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider
Serves 6–8
500ml apple cider*
100ml apple juice
1 tbsp light brown sugar
Cinnamon sticks (one, plus some to use as stirrers)
Cloves
Star anise
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of ginger
Sliced fresh fruit (orange, apple)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
150ml bourbon
1. In a large pot add the cider, apple juice and sugar; heat until it starts to simmer.
2. Add all other ingredients except for the butter and bourbon.
3. Let the spiced cider simmer for 10 mins, then add the butter and bourbon, stirring gently until the butter has melted.
4. Remove from the heat, pour into glasses, add a cinnamon stick to each glass and serve. You can strain the mixture before pouring, if you don’t want ‘bits’.
* To make a children’s version, replace the bourbon and cider with apple juice (600ml in total).
Teasels and grasses
Don’t be defeated by the absence of flowers to bring in from the garden: embrace dried seed heads and grasses instead.
Their delicate filigree of stems and leaf skeletons look great in a rustic vase. Georgie Newbery ofCommon Farm Flowers used teasels*, dock, loosestrife, mallow, hogweed, willow, yarrow, marjoram and wild carrot in this airy arrangement, which will last all winter.
To keep it dust-free: “Hoover from a distance to avoid obliterating the arrangement itself.”
Tidy.
*Teasels are still used by some weavers to clean and raise the nap (tease the fibres) on wool. Their prickly nature makes them a natural comb and gentler to use than metal. (They’re handy for stroking a cat’s whiskers, too.)
Pottering in the potting shed: Leaf mould compost
In a new series, our garden editor Cinead McTernan, shares ideas for things to do in your plot. This month, make your own compost using leaf mould.
“As a child I loved autumn. As soon as the leaves started falling, friends and I would pile them up in our school playground to make jumps so that we could spend every lunchtime galloping around and around jumping over them as if we were horses. Oh happy days!
“As a grown up I’m just as excitable about the start of autumn and I still gather leaves in to piles. The only difference is that I now scoop them up and keep them in bin liners for a few years so they can slowly decompose and transform into the most wonderful, crumbly, nutrient-rich compost, called leaf mould. If you’ve got space to store a few bin liners (out of the way behind the potting shed is always good) then it’s well worth giving this a try. If you don’t have enough leaves in your own garden to fill a bin liner or two, nip out to the park or your local woods where you’ll have plenty of material to gather.
“Oak, beech and hornbeam are the ultimate leaves for this bit of garden alchemy – they break down easily and make a very good leaf mould. Sycamore, walnut, horse and sweet chestnut leaves are actually thicker, which means it’s a good idea to shred them before storing them (you can use a rotary lawn mower to do this – just scatter them on the lawn and go over them a few times). It’s best to avoid evergreens and confer needles, as they take much longer to break down and if you’re going to recycle your christmas tree in this way, keep the pine needles separate and use for plants that like an acidic compost, like blueberries, camellias and rhododendrons.
“If the leaves are very dry when you gather them up, sprinkle some water in the bin liner to help them start them to decompose. Tie the bag in a knot and pierce with a fork a few times to create some air holes. You will have to be patient, as the process takes a couple of years, but start now and do it each year and you’ll have a great supply of good quality leaf mould to use as a seed-sowing compost in the spring. If you can’t wait that long or have enough space to store several bags, you can use year-old leaf mould, that hasn’t rotted down so well, as a mulch and soil improver.”
Salted caramel toffee apples
Possibly the best Bonfire Night recipe ever. Salted caramel toffee apples. Sticky, sugary heaven for children – and a salt-laced caramel treat for grown-ups.
You can make them to eat there and then or they’ll keep in the fridge in cellophane for 2-3 days, ready for your weekend bonfire gathering.
Makes 10
10 apples (Granny Smiths work well)
Toffee apple sticks*
300g light brown sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
6 tbsp golden syrup
220g butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 heaped tsp flaked salt
Note: Unlike traditional toffee apples, getting a caramel sauce to stick to the apples is a little more tricky. You need a sugar thermometer and to work really quickly when dipping the apples. It may require a little more effort but the result is worth it!
- Wash apples, dry thoroughly, remove the stalks and replace with sticks. Place the apples in the fridge (washing and chilling helps the sauce to stick).
- Line a baking tray with parchment. Into a large pan, add the sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, butter and vanilla, and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved – around 15 mins.
- Add the thermometer, increase the heat, bringing the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring slowly but constantly until the temperature reaches 113 C/236 F (around 10 mins).
- Carefully pour the caramel into a glass bowl, stir in the salt. Add the thermometer and allow the caramel to cool to 99C/210F (this should take around 10–15 mins).
- Have your apples and baking tray ready and, working really quickly, submerge each apple into the caramel, twist, ensuring all but the top is covered and place on your baking tray.
- Continue til all the apples are done. You can then go back and tidy up the bottom of each apple: either press into shape or scrape off excess caramel if you so wish.
- If the temperature cools too much the caramel will slide straight off, so you may need to reheat and recool the remaining caramel to finish coating your fruit.
- Allow the coated apples to set (2–3 hours) before placing in cellophane bags; store in the fridge.
* Toffee apple sticks are a seasonal supermarket buy, or surf for confectionery or lolly sticks; skewers work, too.
If you want more bonfire party inspired recipes, we’ve got pumpkin soup, vegetable skewers, chicken & chorizo jambalaya and buttered bourbon apple cider in the November issue. On sale in newsagents now or you can buy a print copy here and download the digital version here.
The Collector: Girl group records
Music writer Jeanette Leech’s record player is always spinning – especially with girl groups of the sixties.
In this digital age, where a ‘record collection’ often exists solely as a list of titles on a phone or a playlist on Spotify, it is satisfying to get your hands on an actual, physical object, lift it up and declare that you love it. No one appreciates this more than music writer Jeanette Leech whose North London flat is lined with orderly collections of LPs and singles, particularly by girl groups from the 1960s and 70s. “You have to get up, find a record, put it on, put it away, look after it,” she explains, doing exactly that. “You can’t just key one up on iTunes. There’s something about the effort you go through with vinyl that reduces the distance between you and the music.” The difference between the sound quality of vinyl and other media, she says is, “the warmth – which doesn’t sound very technical and it’s not meant to be.” Listening to records is also sociable, she says as she slips ‘He Knows That I Love Him Too Much’ on to the turntable. “You want to share them. This single, sung by a British teenager, Glo Macari, was released in 1965 and wasn’t a hit at the time but it’s really good.”
Jeanette has been collecting 60s girl groups since she was a teen. Her interest was fired up when she discovered CD compilations ‘Dream Babes’ and ‘Here Come The Girls’. “They had a lot of the more obscure stuff on them,” she says, “and they opened up a whole new world to me. I bought the CDs, then I bought the original singles from record shops, fairs and off eBay.”
For more of Jeanette’s collection, turn to page 110 of November’s The Simple Things. Buy or download your copy now.
Want to hear the best of Jeanette’s sixties girl group collection? Have a listen to her Spotify playlist.