Birdwatch | Treecreepers

Treecreepers live in the UK all year round, but they’re hard to spot so many people mistakenly consider them to be rare.

Look for: A brown, speckled back and a white undercarriage, as well as a distinctive long, curved beak for winkling insects out of the bark of trees.

Spot them: Distinctively climbing upwards on the trunks of trees, in woodland all over the UK. You’ll need to look carefully, though, as they’re well camouflaged.

Listen for: A trilling, high-pitched ‘see-see-see-see’ sound

Look out for Birdwatch every month on our Almanac pages, which are full of seasonal things to see, do, note and notice.

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Simple Things Tour | Oxford in Books

Follow in the steps of Lyra, Alice and Morse with a bookish outing around the dreaming spires of Oxford 

You could happily wander without aim around Oxford for an entire weekend, but if you would prefer a stroll with purpose, there are lots of places with literary connections to stop and stare at. We’ve put together a Simple Things literary outing to Oxford for you,  with suggestions for bookish sights to see and fictional food and literary lunches to fuel you along the way. 

1. Christchurch College, Cathedral Garden
   Our tour begins in the south east corner of the city centre with an entry to the wonders of Oxford. On the wall between the gardens and the deanery is a very special gate, said to have inspired Alice’s door into Wonderland from the bottom of the rabbit hole. It’s said the ‘real’ Alice (Liddell) who lived at the deanery when her father was the Dean of the college, used to watch her father rush through the gate on his way to Cathedral services - always late, just like the White Rabbit. Only the Dean could cross the garden so Alice was only ever able to catch glimpses of it through the gate… 

2. Christ Church Dining Room
   While you’re at Christ Church, do join a tour so you can poke your head round the door of the dining room and see the dining hall which is said to have inspired The Great Hall of Hogwarts in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series. 

3. The Botanic Gardens
   Just beyond the cathedral, are the peaceful Botanic Gardens. Take a bottle of Cointreau (or perhaps a coffee if it’s a little early still) and channel your inner Sebastian Flyte from Brideshead Revisited. Then make your way to the lower garden where you will find in one corner, the bench where Will and Lyra from Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy agree to meet each year. It’s charmingly covered in ‘Will and Lyra’ graffiti now and a beautiful spot to rest a while. 

4. Merton College gardens
   Just around the corner at Merton College is an old hexagonal stone table where JRR Tolkien is said to have mapped out many of his story ideas. Take a good look round for hobbits, before you leave and walk up Logic Lane. 

5. New College Lane
   At the top of Logic Lane, cross the high street and then walk up Queen’s Lane to New College Lane, where Dorothy L Sayers’ novel Gaudy Night ends. Here, Sayer’s crime writer character, Harriet Vane finally accepted Lord Peter Wimsey’s marriage proposal.

6. The Ashmolean Museum
   Make your way past the Bodleian Library to the Ashmolean Museum where you can see the Oxford Dodo, stepped right out of Wonderland. The Ashmolean is also home to the gold posy rings that served as the inspiration for Tolkien’s One Ring in The Lord of the Rings. 

7. The Morse Bar
   If all that museum wandering has left you with a thirst, fear not. It’s time for a real ale or two. Just around the corner is the wooden panelled Morse Bar at the Randolph Hotel, where Morse’s creator, Colin Dexter, is said to have written several of the books about everyone’s favourite Oxford detective. 

8. The Covered Market
   After that ale, you should have worked up an appetite, so head south again past St Peter’s College to The Covered Market, where you might well spot Lyra, in an alternative Oxford, darting among the stalls and shops. We think if she were here today, Lyra would enjoy a Mediterranean lunch in the bohemian Georgina’s, perhaps washed down with a colourful milkshake at Moo Moo’s. 

9. Exeter College
   Close by Lyra’s covered market is Exeter College, which Pullman based Lyra’s home, Jordan College, on. Pop your head into the courtyard and see if you can spot Lyra’s attic window she climbs out of onto the rooves.

10. Lincoln College
    Leave Exeter and walk past Jesus college, which was once home to the author William Boyd, and make your way south to Lincoln College, where John Le Carre studied. Some of his later novels, such as Our Kind of Traitor, were based on his time at Oxford as an undergraduate. 

11. St Mary’s Passage
    Head down Brasenose Lane and turn right in front of the Radcliffe Camera library. Down here, you’ll find St Mary’s Passage, and opposite the entrance to the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, you will find the Narnia Door, heavily etched and with a lion’s face in its centre. It’s apparently the inspiration behind CS Lewis’s wardrobe door into Narnia. 

We’ll leave you here. Don’t go accepting any Turkish Delight from ornately dressed, strange women, now…

Our tour of Oxford was inspired by our Weekend Away feature in our March issue, in which Lindsey Harrad stayed at Keble College. You can read all about it from page 114.

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Competition | Win a Boating Break worth £1,000

Slow down the pace a knot or two with a luxury boating break that takes in the UK sights from a
new vantage point

How much do you know about Britain’s canals? Boating holidays bring a whole new perspective to the UK countryside, giving you access to waterside towns and villages, a quieter way to travel and a whole lot of wildlife along the way. A real departure from everyday life, it can feel like a big deal, but with ABC Boat Hire you can dip your toe in with a short boating break.

DISCOVER THE UK’S WATERWAYS

Giving you the opportunity to explore the UK’s best inland waterways and adopt a slower pace of life, a boating holiday is an idea worth getting on board with. All ABC boats come with comfortable berths and modern amenities – including on-board WiFi. With almost 200 boats, 15 start points and over 1,500 miles of waterways to explore, it’s time to start planning your best holiday yet.

WIN A BOATING BREAK

One lucky reader of The Simple Things can win a short break with ABC Boat Hire. You can pick your route from selected start bases throughout England or Wales, and bring up to seven guests on your eight-berth boat. Choose from either a three-night weekend break or a four-night midweek escape. It’s a great prize worth up to £1,000, and all you need to do is start planning your next adventure… For more info, visit abcboathire.com or follow on Instagram: @abcboathire

HOW TO ENTER

For your chance to win a short boating break worth up to £1,000, enter by clicking the button below and answering the question by the closing date of 4 May 2022. The winner must be available to travel before 1 November 2022, subject to availability. Win a boating break, worth £1,000

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: The competition closes at 11.59pm on 4 May 2022. One winner will be selected at random from all correct entries received and notified soon after. The prize is a self-drive, self-catering canal boat holiday with ABC Boat Hire for up to eight people. It’s subject to availability from selected start points and must be taken before 1 November 2022. The winner cannot transfer the prize or swap it for cash. Details of our full terms and conditions are on p125 and online at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

Competition | Win £100 to spend at Lazy Susan

Get your garden ready for guests with stylish, long-lasting furniture and elegant accessories from the
Lazy Susan range

Now is the time to get out in the garden. The rays of spring sunshine are pushing through the clouds and, as human nature dictates, we’ll be gathering outside as often as we can to catch them.

When spring arrives, we begin to make plans with hearts full of optimism, taking advantage of the warmer weather to invite friends and family over for food, drinks and laughter. New memories will be made while we stretch out in the sun – or even as we huddle under a parasol when spring showers attempt to ruin the fun.

The Simple Things has teamed up with garden furniture specialists Lazy Susan to help you kit out your garden for the sunnier days, with five lucky readers in with a chance of winning £100 each. Each hand-crafted piece of timeless, sand-cast aluminium furniture is powder-coated to produce a lasting finish. Rustproof and rot-proof, Lazy Susan products are also maintenance-free and designed to live outside all year round. That means no unlucky soul has to haul the garden chairs back into the shed or underneath a cover once you’ve taken the fun inside.

With such a wide range of beautifully crafted designs and sizes, you’ll be enjoying the great outdoors every chance you get. Shop around to find the perfect set for your garden, patio or even your balcony. Finishing touches such as cushions, parasols and accessories are also crafted with durability in mind, so you can find everything you need to create lasting memories in the heart of your garden.

HOW TO ENTER For your chance to win one of five £100 vouchers, click the button below and answer the question by the closing date of 4 May, 2022. Terms and conditions below.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: The competition closes at 11.59pm on 4 May 2022. Five winners will be selected at random from all correct entries received, and notified soon after. The winners cannot transfer the prize or swap it for cash. Details of our full terms and conditions are on p125 and online at icebergpress.co.uk/comprules.

Make | A Macrame Bottle Holder

Knot your way to a knotty, natty carrier for your water bottle, leaving you hands free… perhaps to do some more macrame?

All you need to make this cross-body bottle carrier is to master a few simple knots, and you’re away. Everything you need to know, including the knot techniques are in our instructions and all the equipment you need is the rope, some tape and a little patience. Put aside an afternoon on a long weekend to create your bottle holder, or maybe make it your project for April and do a little every day.

If you’re not too TIED UP (sorry) this month, you might also like to make the macrame bag that’s featured in our April issue. Turn to page 106 to find the instructions.

Download the instructions for the macrame water bottle here.

More weekend projects…

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Playlist | What's in a name?

What’s in a name? April, May or June… just a few of the women who have inspired songs.

Take a listen on Spotify here
Or search ‘Simplethingsmag’ on Spotify to find all our playlists

Etymology | Tilting at Windmills

Etymology from the land of giants and jousting

The phrase ‘tilting at windmills’ is often said to ‘come from’ Cervantes’ Don Quixote. In fact, the phrase never appears there, but it does refer to the title character’s strange belief that windmills are giants… "with their long arms. Some of them have arms well nigh two leagues in length” that he must fight. 

Tilting, for those who are wondering, means ‘jousting with lances’, and the phrase has come to simply meaning ‘fighting an imaginary enemy’. 

It was first used in reference to Don Quixote 40 years after the novel was published, in The Character of a London Diurnall in 1644, where John Cleveland wrote "The Quixotes of this Age fight with the Wind-mills of their owne Heads." But the phrase as we know it today is first used in April 1870 in the New York Times, which reported that the Western Republicans “have not thus far had sufficient of an organization behind them to make their opposition to the Committee’s bill anything more than tilting at windmills.”

If you’d like to tilt at a windmill, or perhaps just enjoy a spring walk to a windmill, do read our Outing feature from page 60 of the March issue.

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Make | Garlic & Thyme Oil

The trick with making infused oil (be it chilli, lemon, orange or a herb oil like this) is to use dried produce. Fresh ingredients can dilute the preserving qualities of oil, which could lead to the growth of botulism. Dried oil infusions, however, are safe. This oil uses leftover woody stalks from fresh thyme and the papery skins from garlic – both of which don’t contain significant moisture yet offer a surprising amount of flavour.

MAKES 250ml
12-15 stripped thyme sprigs (just the woody stems, no fresh leaves)
The papery skins from 7 garlic cloves
250ml olive or rapeseed oil

Tuck the stripped thyme sprigs and garlic skins into a sterilised bottle or jar. Pour in the oil, ensuring the ingredients are fully covered. Seal the bottle or jar with a lid or cork and leave to infuse for 2–6 weeks at room temperature then strain or decant into a fresh (sterilised) bottle. Best used within 1 year.

Cook’s note: Always use a good quality extra virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil (which has a relatively mild flavour so it can take on the thyme and garlic). Store in a dark glass bottle (to prevent oxidation) in a cool, dark place, well away from the oven or any other heat sources.

This make is from our Early Spring Home Economics feature by Rachel de Thample, with recipes for now, for this week, for your freezer and larder, with clever ways to make more of a meal and use leftovers well. It includes recipes for Thyme & 40 Garlic Clove Roast Chicken, Sweet Potato Wedges, Lemon Kale with Marcona Almonds, Cheat’s Aioli, Anchovy Butter, Kale Caesar with Chicken Crackling, Chicken Bone Broth, Sweet Potato Soup, and even a Kale Stalk Powder for those serious about using every inch of their veg!

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Code Breaking | Beatrix Potter

How the author and illustrator’s codes  were finally cracked with a little help from history              

You might not necessarily associate the unassuming author of Peter Rabbit with ciphers and code-breakers, but if we learned anything from our Looking Back feature on Beatrix Potter in our March issue, it’s that she is the last person you should assume anything about at all.

After her death, a series of notebooks full of tightly curled, tiny cipher were discovered by a family member. The coded books were written by Potter between the ages of 15 and 30, and utterly defeated the relative who uncovered it, so they enlisted the help of Potter Superfan Leslie Linder. 

Even so, it took Linder years of scrutinising the tiny, indecipherable handwriting to find a breakthrough, which turned out to be the year 1793 and the Roman numerals XIV (16). He worked out that it must refer to the execution of Louis XIV in 1793, and from there he was away… Well. We say ‘away’... 

Though it transpired the ‘code’ that had eluded everyone for years was a simple alphabetical cipher of the type Scouts might use, Potter’s handwriting was so small, it was years until the code was fully broken and Potter’s teenaged thoughts about artists, museum, exhibits and more, were finally uncovered. 

The code is a simple switch of letters for other letters, some numbers and a few symbols, too. You can find a full list here if you wish. And Atlas Obscura has still more information on the code

Now, what’s the Potter Code for ‘Mr MacGregor’s juiciest radishes: this way’? Asking for a (furry) friend. 

You can read more about Beatrix Potter in our March issue’s Looking Back pages. The exhibition Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature is on at the V&A until 8 January 2023.

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More from our Looking Back pages…

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Recipe | Street corn (Elotes)

Classic Mexican street food that's traditionally charred on the grill then covered in a creamy sauce

Serves 4- 6

6 medium ears of corn, husks removed
120g sour cream
150g mayonnaise
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 garlic clove, crushed
¼ tsp ground chipotle powder (substitute with smoked paprika for a lower heat)
2 tsp lime zest
2 tbsp lime juice
40g Cotija (or feta cheese), crumbled
Lime wedges, to serve (optional)
Jalapeños, to serve (optional)

1 Preheat the grill to medium/high and place the corn on a baking tray underneath. Grill for 2-3 mins on each side, turning as the kernels become golden and charred. Remove and place on your serving plate .

2 While the corn cooks, make the sauce by whisking together the sour cream, mayonnaise, coriander, garlic, chipotle, lime zest and juice. Taste and season if needed .

3 Using a brush or spoon, coat each ear of corn with the sauce and sprinkle with the cheese. Serve with lime wedges and jalapeños.

Elotes are great on their own and with crusty bread to mop up but if you want to make an occasion of it, you can find all the recipes for our Mexican Gathering in the March issue, starting from page 40, and including crab and mole tostadas, spiced cauliflower and black beans,. pulled pork carnitas and prawn and pineapple rice salad, alongside much more.

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A fancy pancake recipe for Shrove Tuesday

Empty the larder with an inventive twist on the French classic Crêpe Suzette for a Shrove Tuesday pudding (or a pancake pick-me-up any time of year). They’re quite fancy but if you’re up to making them for breakfast, who are we to stop you?

Ingredients
For the crêpes

• 110g plain flour, sifted

• pinch of salt

• 2 eggs

• 200ml milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water

• 50g salted butter

• 1 medium Seville orange, grated zest only - Available in some supermarkets

• 1 tbsp caster sugar

For the sauce

• 150ml orange juice (from 3-4 medium oranges)

•  1 medium orange, grated zest only

• 1 small lemon, grated rind and juice

• 1 tbsp caster sugar

• 3 tbsp Chase Marmalade Vodka

•  50g unsalted butter

• a little extra Marmalade Vodka, for flaming

Method

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high above the bowl so the flour gets an airing. Now make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs - any sort of whisk or even a fork will do - incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.

2. Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking (don’t worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk). When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any elusive bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake. Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the batter.

3. Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you’re using the correct amount of batter. These little crêpes should be thinner than the basic pancakes, so when you’re making them, use 1⁄2 tbsp of batter at a time in a 18cm pan. It’s also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it’s tinged gold as it should be.

4. Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will need a few seconds only - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate. If the pancakes look a little bit ragged in the pan, no matter because they are going to be folded anyway. You should end up with 15-16 crêpes.

5. Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.

6. For the sauce, mix all the ingredients - with the exception of the butter - in a bowl. At the same time warm the plates on which the crêpes are going to be served. Now melt the butter in the frying pan, pour in the sauce and allow it to heat very gently. Then place the first crêpes in the pan and give it time to warm through before folding it in half and then in half again to make a triangular shape. Slide this onto the very edge of the pan, tilt the pan slightly so the sauce runs back into the centre, then add the next crêpe. Continue like this until they’re all re-heated, folded and well soaked with the sauce.

7. You can flame them at this point if you like. Heat a ladle by holding it over a gas flame or by resting it on the edge of a hotplate, then, away from the heat, pour a little Marmalade Vodka into it, return it to the heat to warm the spirit, then set light to it. Carry the flaming ladle to the table over the pan and pour the flames over the crêpes before serving on the warmed plates.

This receipe was originally created for our February 2013 issue by the Chase Distillery and London's Crémerie Crêperie. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

How to | Plan a Good Walk

As with so many things in life, the key to a good walk is all in the planning and anticipation… and the pub

Spontaneity definitely has its place, but sometimes you just need a solid plan, and a spring walk is one of those times. Heading off into the great outdoors, breathing the cold air and the world opening up before you can fill us with a confidence like nothing else. But a fair idea of how far away the nearest fish pie and a pint and a clean toilet is can really improve the mood on a long walk. Here are a few steps to planning a good walk and putting the pedestrian fates in your favour. 

Start with a good map. 

An Ordnance Survey Explorer map is best, as it gives you the best scale for walking and enough detail to be able to see where you can cross private land, find a phone box and might need wellies to cross a stream. If you don’t have a paper map you can always plan online at https://explore.osmaps.com/en?l. 

Devise a circular walk or at least make sure there’s a bus back

Many planned walks you’ll find in books or online can leave you five miles from your start point with no hope of getting home, so plan your own but do your research. Circular walks (where the end is back at the start) are ideal, dropping you back home or to your car. But if you want to go out and not back, plan your walk to some public transport (and don’t forget to check timetables and make sure the buses run on Sundays and don’t stop at 4pm). 

Get the boring but important bits out of the way first

Are you walking at the coast? You might need to check tide times. How about crossing railway tracks or busy roads?  It might be an idea to check busiest times and ensure you’ll be able to cross safely. It’s also important to check the weather; not only will you need to be properly dressed and kitted out but the weather might also affect your route if high winds are predicted, for example, and you need to avoid areas that are high up or close to trees that might shed branches, perhaps. 

Plan the pub

Now for the fun part. Locate the pubs (look for a PH) on the map and then do some research. There’s nothing so disheartening as arriving at the pub in the rain, ready for a roaring fire and a large glass of red only to discover it’s closed for refurbishments. Call and check they’ll be open on the day and check out the menu as well so you know what you’re looking forward to. 

Plan in your snacks

While we’re on the subject of sustenance, pack plenty of water and check that there will be shops or pubs where you can refill along the way. And plan to pack up a few snacks, too, if it’s a long walk. Some cake or flapjack, wrapped in foil and a flask of tea or coffee will see you right when lunch feels a long way off.

Ditto your walking companions

Think carefully about whether your walk pals will be up to the route you’ve planned, will get on with each other and will appreciate the walk as a whole. If you choose to go alone, perhaps plan in a podcast to listen to along the way. 

Seek out an adventure

Find a ‘main event’ to plan your walk around. It might be a fabulous view, an ancient church to look round or a geographical feature you want to stop off at and explore. Try to plan the walk so that the ‘event’ is about a third of the way through. You don’t want to peak too soon but you also don’t want the walk to feel like the first third of The Lord of the Rings. 

Keep them guessing

Plan in a surprise, too. Your companions will thank you for something that lifts their spirits in the last part of the walk, and post pub. It could be something as silly as a great photo opportunity, or a good ice cream shop, or as impressive as a fine piece of architecture or a point of historical interest. If you’re struggling, a good tip is always an ice box with ice creams inside, stashed in the boot of your car when you get back to the start. 

In our March issue, we have a feature all about ways to walk, adapted from 52 Ways to Walk: The Surprising Science of Walking for Wellness and Joy, One Week at a Time by Annabel Streets (Bloomsbury). Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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Recipe | Emergency Brownies

Grab a mug and set destination to the microwave. This will deliver an intense chocolatey hit in two minutes flat, using only store-cupboard ingredients.

“Like their key ingredient – chocolate – brownies have a near-miraculous ability to make us feel good,” says Leah Hyslop, author of The Brownie Diaries. “A single bite sends sugar and serotonin racing through the body, ready to patch up confidence or piece together a shattered heart.”

And there’s a brownie for every occasion, as Leah explains: “A brownie can say a lot of things, very easily and very unfussily. It can say I love you; I’m sorry; I’m thinking of you; let’s be friends; are we still friends? There are people who, when looking back over their lives, can identify occasions and events by the clothes they wore, or the music they listened to. I can chart my life in brownies; from the crumbly squares I scoffed in the school canteen, to the everything-but- the-kitchen-sink blondies I inhaled with friends after a break-up. Whatever else is going on in the world, a brownie always makes things better.”

Hear, hear, we say. And with that, our gift to you, straight from The Brownie Diaries and our March issue, is Leah’s recipe for Emergency Brownies. We think one should always have the ingredients in for these, because you just never know when a brownie emergency might occur…

You will need:

3 tbsp self-raising flour
2½ tbsp caster sugar
1½ tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp melted butter or vegetable oil
4 tbsp milk (ideally whole milk)
Handful of milk chocolate chips

To make:

1 Put all the ingredients in a large mug, except for the chocolate chips. Stir together until you have something resembling a batter, making sure to scrape down the sides of the mug. Stir in the chocolate chips.

2 Microwave until set on top – this usually takes between 1 min and 1 min 30 secs (microwaves vary in power, so it’s best to cook this for 1 min, check, then blast again in 30-second increments if needed).

3 Enjoy in pyjamas, on the sofa, perhaps with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Cook’s note: Make sure to use a microwave mug without any metallic decorations, such as a gold or silver trim, as this will spark an emergency of a different variety.

This recipe is featured alongside two others from The Brownie Diaries: Utlimate Fudgy Brownies and First Day on the Job Brownies, beginning on page 82 of the March issue of The Simple Things. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

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Primer | Street Artists

Do you know your Banksy from your Ben Eine? Get a quick street artist 101 here and feel a little more informed and a lot more ‘street’. Just don’t do any ‘yoof’ hand gestures, ok?

With Banksys selling for thousands and colourful murals cheering our town and city walls more than ever, there’s never been a better time to start becoming a bit more aware of what you’re looking at on your local walls and pavements. Street artists all over the country are using the great outdoors to bring joy, make statements and just make us stop and stare. Next time you’re thinking ‘that’s clever, I wonder who did that…’ you might find the answer here.

Banksy

The daddy of street art currently. Banksy’s art tends not to be fabulously beautiful but more political with a dose of humour. 

Look for: His trademark black and white stencil style with spots of colour. 

Find it in: Very public places (he doesn’t do railways sidings or out-of-the-way spots). He also always asks permission so if you want to know if it’s a Banksy, knock on the door of the building and ask!

Do say: “I think you’ll find latest belief is that Banksy is not in fact Robert del Naja of the band Massive Attack, but a whole art collective.” 

Don’t say: “I can’t believe he shredded that lovely picture. What a waste!”

Cornbread

Lesser known as Darryl McCray, this Philadelphia artist is considered to be the first modern graffiti writer. In that sense he’s really a tagger rather than an artist. 

Look for: His famous ‘Cornbread’ tag. It’s very simple and he’s all about the tag rather than visuals. 

Find it in: Philadelphia, naturally. Often on road signs. 

Do say: “Did you know Cornbread got his nickname in juvenile detention centre?”

Don’t say: “But it’s just his NAME! Where’s the art?”

Keith Haring

You’ll know Keith Haring even if you think you don’t; he’s the pop artist with the colourful faceless figures. Once part of the NYC subculture, now his art is all over galleries and calendars for us all to enjoy. 

Look for: His famous ‘continuous line’ - he was able to paint a whole picture without using several ‘strokes’ like most graffiti artists. If the piece is signed by him (and they often aren’t) the signature will be subtle and hard to spot. 

Find it in: New York City where there are still five murals. Or in galleries around the world. There was an exhibition at Tate Liverpool in 2019 so keep your eyes peeled for more. 

Do say: “You can really see Haring’s fascination with semiotics coming through in the text-like shape of his art, can’t you?”

Don’t say: “Did he forget to draw the faces on those guys?”

Annatomix

Birmingham street artist Annatomix is known for her geometric murals of birds and wildlife - as well as some humans, including a mural of David Bowie. 

Look for: Colourful, geometric animals - often mistaken for being origami. “ I can understand why people may see a relation to origami in my work, but my influence actually comes from geometry, low poly modelling, crystalline structures and architecture,” she says. 

Find it in: Birmingham and other places. Don’t miss the amazing birds mural in Wandsworth, south London. 

Do say: “It’s fascinating the way her style clearly nods to our future with nature - more robotic and less organic in many ways…”

Don’t say: “Ooh! Can you do a swan out of a napkin?”

Ben Eine

Londoner, Ben Eine is known for his colourful, often circus style, typographic art. One of his most famous pieces to date is his mural on the side of Shoreditch’s Village Underground, a tribute to the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster that reads: “You saw it in the tears of those who survived.”

Look for: Huge, brightly coloured letters. 

Find it in: London - all over but particularly East London, though he’s now so famous he has his own shop where you can purchase your own Ben Eine in the form of a face mask if you wish.

Do say: “The words represent so much more than the mere letters they are made up of…”

Don’t say: “Well that’s confusing. It clearly says ‘Social Club’ here in large letters but in fact it’s just a garage. Am I in the wrong place?”

If you’re inspired to see more beautiful things on the streets near you, don’t miss our feature Art in the Wild, starting on page 64 of our February issue. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our February issue…

More outings to enjoy…

Sponsored post | Contain your Delight

Create blooming lovely floral displays with inspiration and a 20% discount from Sarah Raven

Spring has finally sprung and the welcome sight of blue skies and sunshine are now becoming more frequent, so, for many, it’s time to start planning and get planting, ready for the year ahead.

One of the easiest ways to spruce up your garden or outdoor space is with pots – a low maintenance transformation that will add colour and interest. And now is the time to plant up as we’ve teamed up with Sarah Raven to offer The Simple Things readers 20% off their top container collections.

Sarah Raven herself shares her rules of thumb when it comes to putting together the ideal display pot. “When putting together our container collections, I follow two overlapping recipes,” she says. “Firstly, I always think about colour – I’ll either harmonise and plant several plants of the same hue, or I’ll opt for contrast and will usually select two plants from the same colour palette and a third in as strong a contrasting shade as possible.”

Another key consideration is form and Sarah sticks to her failsafe ‘thriller, filler and spiller’ set up. “I’ll choose a crowdpleaser (the thriller), a quieter sidekick (the filler), and a trailer (the spiller) to soften the overall look.” With this easy-to-remember plan, you’ll be producing colourful containers to be proud of in no time. However, for more inspiration, go online or visit Sarah Raven’s Perch Hill base in East Sussex, on one of the pre-bookable open days, for tried and tested combinations.

For more information and inspiration, visit sarahraven.com or follow on Instagram: @sarahravensgarden.

ENJOY 20% OFF The Simple Things readers can enjoy 20% off online orders by using the code TST22MARX at checkout. Valid until 30 April 2022.

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Offer valid until 30 April 2022. Subject to availability. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or discount. Valid across the entire Sarah Raven website with the following exceptions: previous purchases, gift vouchers, gift wrap, courses, open days and sale items. Standard P&P charges apply. See sarahraven.com for dispatch times. For full terms and conditions, visit sarahraven.com/terms

Sponsored post | Visit Wales

After a long winter of what feels like hibernation, is there any greater feeling than pulling on your walking boots and getting out and about in the fresh air? We all know that exhilaration when we feel the wind in our hair and the sun on our face – a feeling backed up by Ramblers UK research which shows that 89% of people find that walking amongst nature helps them unwind and relax, leading to a boost in health, wellbeing and feelings of positivity.

This year, the iconic Wales Coast Path celebrates its 10th anniversary and, with an impressive 870 miles of glorious coastal paths, there are hundreds of unique walking experiences mapped out to make the most of stunning views and all the wellbeing benefits that walking can deliver.

Whether you’re after a light amble or a more dedicated ramble, there’s something for everyone with breath-taking views to make even the most inclement British weather worth getting outdoors for. For nature lovers, the short Mwnt circular walk provides an ideal opportunity to spot local wildlife such as seals, choughs and dolphins, with views over Cardigan Bay and, on clear days, the epic vista of Snowdonia. The St Davids Loop takes in the UK’s smallest city, including its 12th century cathedral, while anyone with an interest in the country’s heritage will enjoy the Conwy Quay to Llanfairfechan stretch which meanders past the Druids circle and ancient standing stones near Penmaenmawr that have stood sentry for more than five thousand years.

With its abundance of nature, secluded beaches and charming villages, the beautiful Welsh coast and countryside is just the tonic needed to get walking

For further information and inspiration on where to go, visit visitwales.com (@visitwales) or walescoastpath.gov.uk (@walescoastpath) for walking routes.

Best routes for…

Stunning rock formations – New Quay to Aberporth

Bird watching – Holy Island, Anglesey

A beach picnic – Morfa Nefyn to Porthdinllaen

Watching the sun set – Deer Park to Marloes, Pembrokeshire

Playlist | Let's drink to that

Our drink-themed playlist may be just the tonic – cheers!

Take a listen on Spotify here
Or search ‘simplethingsmag’ on Spotify to find all our playlists.

How to | Make a Thread Journal

Keeping a record of your days doesn’t have to mean picking up a pen and paper; you can be as
creative as you like

If we say so ourselves, we loved the weather scarf in our February issue (pictured above by Josie George). It seems like an ingenious way both to keep a small record of each day as well as to keep up a hobby. But if you aren’t a natural knitter, you might like to try a different sort of thread journaling.

Look up ‘thread journaling’ on Pinterest and you’ll see hundreds of examples from people who’ve kept an embroidery record of their year. Here’s how it’s done. 

What you’ll need
An embroidery hoop
Some cloth (a large napkin is good)
A good collection of differently coloured embroidery threads
Needles, thimbles, embroidery pen and other notions

How to do it
* Think about how you want to record your days. You can do a year (you don’t have to start with January, of course) or just a month or a specific period in your life.

* Sketch out a few ideas on paper for how you’d like your design to work. You could set it out like a calendar grid, present it as a wheel or just go completely higgeldy piggeldy and stitch each day or week’s motif wherever you please.

* Pop your cloth in your hoop and get started. You might like to stitch a motif to represent each day or each week. What you stitch is up to you. You could do a castle or a hill to represent a relevant day out, a cake to represent a party you went to, a pair of curtains for a theatre trip, a flower or vegetable for something you’ve grown in the garden. If you prefer, and have the chops, you could get quite specific - perhaps embroidering something to represent every book you read in a year, or everything you grow in your veg patch this summer.

If you’d like to read more about Josie’s Weather Scarf you can find out all about it on page 108 of our February issue. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our February issue…

More journaling inspiration…

Knowhow | Thermos Hacks

Dig out your vacuum flask for a good long walk and you’ll never have to be home in time for tea… you can take it with you!

A Thermos full of tea on a spring walk (tartan blanket not essential) is always pleasing, but are you using your Thermos flask to its full potential? Obviously you can fill it with soup or a chilli too but thinking further outside the box is always fun. We’ve put together a few ideas for ways to use a Thermos you might not have considered to help you make more of your outdoor adventures. 

1. A sausage supper. Cook sausages at home. Fill your Thermos with boiling water, empty it, and pack it with the cooked sausages and fasten the lid on quickly. Throw some bread rolls and ketchup in a bag with it and voila! Instant hot dogs at the end of your walk. 

2. Have breakfast outdoors. Fill your flask with porridge, top with honey and a few dried fruits and nuts if you like, and go and watch the sunrise over a hot breakfast. 

3. Go for grains for lunch. Things like quinoa and couscous are a great Thermos meal if you want a hot lunch on a hillside or on the beach. Warm your Thermos by filling with boiling water and emptying it, then throw in your chosen grain plus enough boiling water to cover it. Ignore it for a few hours. Pack a few cold toppings - maybe some cold chopped meat or cheese and some chopped herbs, nuts and salad veg - and when you open your Thermos, throw them on top of your fluffed grains for an instant warm grains salad. 

4. Make a party of it. You can keep things like sausage rolls, quesadillas and mini pies both warm and crispy by lining the bottom of your Thermos with a few folded pieces of kitchen towel and piling the hot food on top. No more soggy sarnies. 

5. Keep cold things cold as well as hot things hot. Did you know you can use a Thermos to take ice cream out with you? Be everyone’s best friend on the beach by filling the bottom part of your Thermos with crushed ice and then either slide your tub of ice cream in if it will fit, or decant it onto the ice. Seal the lid quickly and prepare to sing a tinkly version of Greensleeves as you unscrew it later and offer round the cones. 

Read more about why we all love a Thermos in our feature by Tim Hayward in our February issue. Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our February issue…

More ideas for outdoor eating…

Food | Fictional Feasts

Remembering a few of our favourite books in which fabulous feasts were served

Tables groaning with dishes, foodstuffs from days gone by or perhaps even foods that exist only in our imaginations… the feasts from some of our favourite books stay with us forever. Here are a few that still make us hungry to think about them…

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas 

A fishy feast sets the scene for the meal over which the Count plots to bankrupt the evil Danglars.

"They began to pass around the dusky, piquant, Arlesian sausages, and lobsters in their dazzling red cuirasses, prawns of large size and brilliant colour, the echinus with its prickly outside and dainty morsel within, the clovis, esteemed by the epicures of the South as more than rivalling the exquisite flavour of the oyster, North. All the delicacies, in fact, that are cast up by the wash of waters on the sandy beach, and styled by the grateful fishermen “fruits of the sea.”

 Five Get Into Trouble by Enid Blyton

Famous Five Feasts must be among the most memorable in fiction but it wasn’t <all> lashings of ginger beer… 

“Once again they bought food for their lunch – new bread, farm-house butter, cream cheese, crisp lettuce, fat red radishes and a bunch of spring onions. Richard bought a magnificent chocolate cake he saw in a first-class cake-shop… ‘Woof,’ said Timmy longingly.”

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Dickens is synonymous with food, both for his depictions of the hungry and food-poor, best depicted in novels such as Oliver Twist, but also for his descriptions of food and its deeper meanings. Here’s one such meal from A Christmas Carol, a celebration of enough being as good as a feast…

"There never was such a goose. Bob said he didn’t believe there ever was such a goose cooked. Its tenderness and flavour, size and cheapness, were the themes of universal admiration. Eked out by apple-sauce and mashed potatoes, it was a sufficient dinner for the whole family; indeed, as Mrs. Cratchit said with great delight (surveying one small atom of a bone upon the dish), they hadn’t ate it all at last! Yet every one had had enough, and the youngest Cratchits in particular, were steeped in sage and onion to the eyebrows!"

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling

Like Dickens, JK Rowling plays regularly on the differences between the haves and have-nots where food is concerned. Having seen Harry’s terrible life and meagre rations at his home with the Dursleys, as readers, we gasp along with him in Hogwarts Great Hall as he sees dish after dish of delicious food magically appear on a table. 

“Harry’s mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs.”

The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald

Gatsby’s ridiculous parties on Long Island must get a mention in any rundown of fabulous fictional feasts…

"At least once a fortnight a corps of caterers came down with several hundred feet of canvas and enough coloured lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby’s enormous garden. On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors-d’oeuvres, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold. In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail was set up, and stocked with gins and liquors and with cordials so long forgotten that most of his female guests were too young to know one from another."

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien

There’s nothing quite so irritating as unexpected guests is there? But even an enforced fictional feast has an air of jollity about it…

"Already it had almost become a throng. Some called for ale, and some for porter, and one for coffee, and all of them for cakes; so the hobbit was kept very busy for a while. A big jug of coffee bad just been set in the hearth, the seed-cakes were gone, and the dwarves were starting on a round of buttered scones, when there came-a loud knock. ‘I hope there is something left for the late-comers to eat and drink!’

‘What's that? Tea! No thank you! A little red wine, I think, for me.’

‘And for me,’ said Thorin. 

‘And raspberry jam and apple-tart,’ said Bifur. 

‘And mince-pies and cheese,’ said Bofur. 

‘And pork-pie and salad,’ said Bombur. 

‘And more cakes-and ale-and coffee, if you don't mind,’ called the other dwarves through the door. ‘Put on a few eggs, there's a good fellow!’ Gandalf called after him, as the hobbit stumped off to the pantries. ‘And just bring out the cold chicken and pickles!’”

We were inspired to recall these fictional feasts, having enjoyed our Gathering feature in our February issue: Book Club Supper. It includes recipes by Louise Gorrod for a Fig Dark and Stormy cocktail, vegetarian mezze platter, stuffed giant pasta shells and a chocolate ginger cake. The issue is on sale now or you can buy it in our online store.

Buy this month's The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe

More from our February issue…

More blogs for book lovers…