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Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things — Home & Garden
Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things

Small Ways to Live Well is a podcast from The Simple Things, a monthly magazine about slowing down, remembering what’s important and making the most of where you live.

Hosted by the Editor, Lisa Sykes, in this season, May days & summer afternoons, she’ll be sampling honesty boxes, seeking our magical creatures, taking sensory walks and generally revelling in the promise of summer, alongside co-hosts wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank and regular contributor and slow traveller Jo Tinsley.

To subscribe or order a copy of The Simple Things visit thesimplethings.com

A definite contender for ‘favourite time of the year’ these light-filled days of late spring and early summer are easy to love. The novelty of sustained sunshine and warmer days gladden the hearts. The countryside is at its best and cities start to go all Mediterranean, living life outside. Even the most humdrum garden looks pretty in May.

And we’re as busy as the birds feeding chicks and bees gathering nectar – planting flowers, tending our veg patch and exploring our neighbourhood. It’s the end of the hungry gap with the first harvests so we enjoy eating outdoors and go on our first picnic of the year. We’re learning more about folklore and festivals, listening to birdsong and making the most of long weekends. Join us to dabble in something new and take a spontaneous day trip. Our motto for the season: ‘Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time’.

There are six episodes in Season 9, released weekly from May Day and supported by Titanic Belfast

Copyright: © 2024 Iceberg Press Ltd

Latest Episodes:

Magical Midsummer - Epsiode 4 CAREFREE Jun 08, 2025

Show notes

You’ve arrived at Episode 4 in our Magical Midsummer season of the Small Ways to Live Well podcast from The Simple Things magazine. Join Lisa Sykes, editor of the magazine and Jo Tinsley, a regular contributor and author of The Slow Traveller. The loose theme for this episode is carefree because if you can’t feel a little bit frivolous and ditch a few chores and responsibilities around midsummer, then when can you?

So think of us as your suggestion box this week, an audible prompt to try things you haven’t done for years, wear something out of the ordinary or take a trip. We’ll also be celebrating festivals and tiny campsites, appreciating a magical creature as we have every episode this season and sharing a few moments of magic that will hopefully inspire you to capture your own.

If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett

On the blog;

Camping Truths: Camping is full of highs and lows but somehow it’s always worth it. Here, some of the Simple Things team share some of their most memorable camping moments.

To read:

The Slow Traveller : An intentional path to mindful adventures by Jo Tinsley

Tiny Campsites: 80 Small but Perfect Places to Pitch by Dixe Wills

Mini Quilting by Laura Strutt

Things to do & make

The Big Retreat Festival, Pembrokeshire

Weekend Project: Pass holderand Belt bago or pouch template

Greener Camping Club

Nearly Wild Camping

In The Simple Things:

From the June SOAR issue (156)

My Living: The Festival. Amber Lort-Phillips on the realities of running a festival

Wearing Well: Bucket Hats. More stories of the clothes we love!

Buy June issue here and on the newsstand until 24 June

Subscribers will receive the July issue from 20 June when pre-orders will also open at picsandink.com or you can buy on the newsstand from the 25 June. Find out how to subscribe here

The Simple Things Anthology Volume 4: A Year of Celebrations

Any excuse to celebrate with the food, flowers and decorations for every occasion and ways to mark the season

Country shows: A day out with animal, vegetable and mineral appeal.

In previous issues of The Simple Things (back issues are available to buy here)

Out

Magical Midsummer - Epsiode 3 SHINE Jun 01, 2025

Show notes

Promise and Possibilities

In the third episode of our magical midsummer season, Rebecca Frank, Wellbeing Editor of The Simple Things, and Jo Tinsley, regular contributor and author of The Slow Traveller are celebrating the first day of summer and the things that make us shine at this time of year. Join us on a nostalgic trip to the British seaside, pick up some useful knowledge for growing your own pick of salad ingredients in pots and hanging baskets, and take some wise advice from our pick of wellbeing books for different times of life.

If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett

On the blog

BBQ sides – because it’s all about the side dishes and pickles really

Broad bean guacamole and kohlrabi slaw

Salty dill cucumbers

To read or listen to

Yoga for Stiff Birds by Marion Deuchars (Skittledog) – we feature a different stretch in the Miscellany section of the magazine each month.

Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown (Ebury)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (Penguin)

The Lido Guide by Emma Pusill and Janet Wilkinson (Boundless)

To find out more

Lidos – Discover your nearest lido by visiting The Outdoor Swimming Society website and browse ‘The Big Lido Map’ at All The Lidos

Visit the lidos mentioned in the episode:

Shepton Mallet Lido

Hathersage Swimming Pool

Silver Nutmeg jewellery on Folksy

In The Simple Things

From the May TEND issue (155)

One Pot Food Forest – a mini food forest where all the seeds are sown at once but have different harvest dates so the planter evolves over time, offering a constant crop.

From My Plot: A Wilder Way with Poppy Okotcha, author of A Wilder Way: How Gardens Grow Us (Bloomsbury)

Magical creatures: an appreciation of pondskaters

Buy the May issue here

From the June SOAR issue (156)

Shelf help – 18 classic wellbeing books recommended by our experts that offer wisdom throughout life’s changes and challenges. The collection includes Quiet by Susan Cain and Lost Connections by Johann Hari as mentioned in the podcast.

Good vibrations – how chanting a mantra can help still a busy mind

Salad Days - growing advice and recipes for homegrown salads from The Kew G

Magical Midsummer - Epsiode 2 DISCOVER May 25, 2025

Show notes

Promise & Possibilities

It's half term, another bank holiday weekend so in this episode The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank are setting out to DISCOVER things new to them (and hopefully you) plus learning why stepping outside of our comfort zone is good for us. And because it is midsummer we’ll be celebrating a magical creature and finding a moment of magic to note and notice.

If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett.

To discover

Treasure Trails

Caring for God’s Acre – Love your Burial Ground Week 7-15 June

To read

Snorkelling Britain: 100 Marine Adventuresby Emma and Gordon Taylor (Wild Things Publishing)

On the blog

From the June issue (156)

Magical creature: Beavers

My Plot: Narrowboat nursery & tow-along greenhouse

Weekend away: staying in a lighthouse

Buy the June issue here and on newsstands from 28 May.

From our new book: The Simple Things Anthology Volume 4: A Year of Celebrations

Whitsuntide recipes

Modern Eccentrics – Boss Morris, yarn bombers, mermaid, steam punks

Treasure hunting

In previous The Simple Things

Whitsuntide gathering (May 2024 – 143)

Nature reserves (May 2023 – 131)

Churchyards for wildlife (July 2022 – 121)

Narrowboat home tour (August 2021 –110)
Three campervans (July 2021 – 109)

Converted horsebox home (August 2024 – 146)

Magical Midsummer - Epsiode 1 IMAGINE May 18, 2025

Show notes

Promise & Possibilities

Anything seems possible at the start of summer and in this first episode The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank use their imagination to explore what a ‘could-do week’ looks like, find ways to make bank holiday journeys more bearable and the joy of being a regular, as well as making the most of elderflowers and roses and passing on some creative first aid.

If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett.

On the blog

Rhubarb and rosewater tart

https://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/2016/4/13/recipe-rhubarb-and-rosewater-tart-with-cardamom-and-honey-cream?rq=rose

Elderflower champagne recipe

https://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/2014/06/06/recipe-elderflower-champagne?rq=elderflower%20

Rose petal and strawberry sandwiches

https://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/silly-sandwiches?rq=rose%20petal

To read

Extra Mile guides to Delicious Alternatives to Motorway Services, Coastal cafes and Farm shops

Wild Swimming Hidden Beaches by Daniel Start (Wild Guides)

Creative First Aid by Caitlin Marshall and Lizzie Rose (Murdoch Books)

In The Simple Things

From the May issue (155)

Respect your elders – plan an elderflower foraging session then make cake, cordial and much more…

The joys of being a regular – why revisiting regular favourite places results in so many happy returns

Buy the May issue here

From the June issue (156)

Could-do week – shake up your week to make time for the things you enjoy every day

The Longest Day microfiction competition

Buy the June issue at picsandink.com from 23 May and on the newsstand from 28 May.

From The Simple Things Anthology Volume 4: A Year of Celebrations

Pushbike picnic : Vegetable crisps, three cheese & herb savoury muffins, Italian focaccia pressed sandwiches, apricot, blueberry and almond energy bars.

Back garden campout featured in August 2021 issue (110) with Paprika & Parmesan Popcorn, Campfire Tacos, Frittata, Kohlrabi Slaw, Bean Salsa and Chipotle Mayo with Puffed Quinoa fridge cake. Plus Raspberry French Toasties and skillet granola for breakfast

Return of the Light - EASTER SPECIAL Apr 18, 2025

Show notes

Join us for our Easter Special episode of Small Ways to Live Well, the podcast from The Simple Things magazine

Released on Good Friday, Team TST are recording live from a Blackdown Shepherd Hut in Somerset where they’ll enjoy cake and decorate an Ostereierbaum (Easter tree) before trying a sauna and cold plunge and warming up with rival hot chocolate recipes. Plus the signs that spring proper is here, stories of cute spring animals and making the most of April showers. Oh and we’re learning how ducks quack in other languages.

Co-hosted by The Simple Things Editor, Lisa Sykes; wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank and author of The Slow Traveller, Jo Tinsley

Our Easter Special and Season 5: Return of the light is supported by Blackdown Shepherd Huts.

If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here. The May TEND issue is on sale at picsandink.com from 17 April, on newsstands 24 April

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett.

To read:

Play spring bingo – signs that spring is really here

Speak like a duck abroad

To bake:

Simnel cake recipe & history

Hot cross buns recipe

Gugelhupf – Austrian Easter cakes

To make:

Ostereierbaum (Easter tree)

Hot chocolate
Tangerine & nutmeg
Sea salt
Spiced
With pink peppercorns
Orangey tipple

To buy:

M&S Simnel cake

Blackdown sauna & cold plunge deck

Beautiful mugs in the Blackdown hut for hot chocolate were by Florence Ceramics

From The Simple Things:

In the April JAUNT issue

Rain gardens

Easter buns of Europe

Magical Creatures – mallards

In our new anthology&

Return of the Light Episode 6 - BLOSSOM Mar 16, 2025

Show notes

Feeling like spring has sprung? Join The Simple Things editor, Lisa Sykes, and wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank, who are marvelling at the first signs of spring with a hot picnic to go, enjoying the blossom in our gardens and finding out how different landscapes affect our wellbeing.

If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here.

Season 5: Return of the light is supported by Blackdown Shepherd Huts

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett.

To read:

The Walking Cure: Harness the life-changing power of landscape to heal, energise and inspire by Annabel Streets (Penguin Tonic)

To follow:

@wildwoodmoth – get inspired to take a photo a day on your regular routes with Alice Tatham

@mirandakeeling – stopping to notice. Look out for an extract from Miranda’s new book The Place I’m In in our May issue

To make:

Cherry blossom origami as seen in the March MEND issue here

Easter origami including rabbit egg holders, rabbits and chickens here

To buy:
Lumie Sunrise alarm clock (with birdsong)

From The Simple Things:

In the March MEND issue

Learn with mother: four women discuss the unique qualities they inherited from their mother

In the April JAUNT issue (on sale at picsandink.com from 20 March, on newsstands 26 March)

Walk on the wild side: gather wild garlic to enjoy with friends and find new ways to cook with this easy forage

Healing landscapes: thinking about where you walk and what you need will help you choose the right route for your mind and body

From our March 2023 Light Issue (129) available to buy here

First picnic of the year (with warming food while it’s still a bit nippy!)

Plant a fruit tree in the garden (however small) for your own beautiful blossom.

Find out how to plant a fruit tree

Return of the Light Episode 5 - RENEW Mar 09, 2025

Show notes

If you’ve got an urge to ‘sort things out’ we’re here to help cheer up a chore. The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and author of The Slow Traveller, Jo Tinsley tackle a bit of spring cleaning, appreciate new life and share some fresh thinking on finding the balance between the comfort of things and clearing out. Plus do you know your laundry labels (honestly more interesting than it sounds)

Season 5: Return of the light is supported by Blackdown Shepherd Huts

If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here.

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett.

THINGS TO MAKE & DO

Revamp Your Woollies for Winter

https://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/revamp-woollies?rq=mending

Homemade Cleaning Wonders

https://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/129-homemade-cleaning?rq=spring%20cleaning

An excellent toolbox

https://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/good-tool-box?rq=spring%20cleaning

Conker Laundry Soap

https://www.thesimplethings.com/blog/conker-soap?rq=laundry

ON THE BLOG

In praise of potting sheds

Allotment Sheds

Easy Eco Switch Ups

TO READ

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Grams (Doubleday Books, 2022)

Rough Patch by Kathy Slack (Little Brown 2025)

TO LISTEN

Spring cleaning songs

IN THE MARCH ISSUE

My Plot: Building a recycled shed

Gathering: BYO project party

Home economics: Patching and stitching. How to revive jeans, shirts and other wardrobe staples Identifier: Laundry symbols

IN THE FEBRUARY ISSUE

An ode to the library

Return of the Light Episode 4 - AWAKE Mar 02, 2025

Show notes

Shrug off winter and wake up to spring – you’ll feel your energy levels rise while you listen to this episode. The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and author of The Slow Traveller, Jo Tinsley will be talking rhubarb (literally) drinking some good coffee, making pancakes and discovering foraging for indoor people.

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett.

Season 5: Return of the light is supported by Blackdown Shepherd Huts

If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here.

On the blog:

Rhubarb & Marzipan Cake

Rhubarb Mimosas

Rhubarb and ginger pavlova

Rhubarb and custard crepes
Birch sap wine

From The Simple Things:

In the March MEND issue

Turning saps, buds and shoots into nourishing and reviving dishes and drinks
Roasted Rhubarb and Cream Cake
Chai Pancakes
Laundry symbols identifier

Manifesting, Coffee history – issue 128

Forced rhubarb recipes – issue 141

TO GO & DO:

Olney Pancake Race, 4 March 2025,

Skipping Day, Scarborough, 4 March 2025

Blackdown Shepherd Hut breaks

TO FOLLOW:

Rachel de Thample

Jeska Herne, Lobster & Swan

Return of the Light Episode 3 - BALM Feb 23, 2025

Show notes

If you’re looking for ways to comfort and soothe your winter weary mind and body, then pop the kettle on, curl up and join us.

The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor, Rebecca Frank, are talking pies, toast and other comfort foods, and how growing veg is a mental and physical tonic. We’ll also be discussing sunrooms and citrus trees and the pillars of good health that will help to keep us on track as winter draws to a close.

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett. Season 5: Return of the light is supported by Blackdown Shepherd Huts

Season 5: Return of the light is supported by Blackdown Shepherd Huts

If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here.

To read:

Rough Patch: How a Year in The Garden Brought Me Back To Life by Kathy Slack (Robinson)

How to Sleep Like a Caveman: Ancient Wisdom for a Better Night’s Rest by Merijn van de Laar (William Collins)

On the blog:

Marmite and cheddar Welsh Rarebit

Reinventing the toastie

Easter pie (Torta Pasqualina)

Root veg, Marmite & cheddar pie

To do:

British Pie Week (3-9 March 2025)

From The Simple Things:

Issue 141 – Growing a lemon tree

In the new March MEND issue (order via picsandink.com)

Life of pies - our favourite pies for picnics, parties, handy lunches and hearty dinners

Things I learned from the soil: Between the bare beds of winter and the abundance of spring - Kathy Slack finds hope in the veg patch cycle

Return of the Light Episode 2 - BREATHE Feb 16, 2025

Show notes

If you’ve got cabin fever and are ready to head out and about then we’re here to help

Wellbeing editor, Rebecca Frank and author of The Slow Traveller, Jo Tinsley, are taking some deep breaths as they head outdoors to blow (or even rinse off) the cobwebs with a bracing walk or a sauna and a cold dip. We will be also be finding ways to keep warm while appreciating nature and satisfying the urge to get growing again.

Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett. Season 5: Return of the light is supported by Blackdown Shepherd Huts

Small Ways to Live Well is a podcast from The Simple Things, a monthly magazine about slowing down, remembering what’s important and making the most of where you live.
If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the magazine at http://www.icebergpress.co.uk/subscribe and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here.
Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett

To read:

Weathering: How the earth’s deep wisdom can help us endure life’s storms by Ruth Allen (Ebury)

Just Add Nature: Embrace the healing powers of nature and increase your sense of wellbeing by Rebecca Frank (National Trust)

To go and do:

The Eden Project, Cornwall

Sheffield Winter Garden

The Japanese Gardens, Tatton Park, Cheshire

The Japanese Garden, St Mawgan Cornwall

Jack and Jill Windmills, West Sussex

Cley Windmill, Norfolk

The Line, London

Beach Box Spa, Brighton

Stamner Sauna Garden storytelling

Oakhill Ponds, Somerset

Ty Sawna, Gower Peninsula

The British Sauna Society

Glen Dye Cottages

On the blog:

The Swedish concept of Fika

Beachcombing: Things you can take home from the seaside

Yarn Bomber’s Toolkit

In the February GLIMMER issue:

Another Country: If holidays seem a long way off, get a tiny taste of travel thanks to landscapes, culture and food from aboard

Jam Jar Gardens: Planting hyacinth bulbs in mason jars

Flavour of the Weeks: Jenny Coates’ nature diary project Jenny Coates’ 52 Weeks of Nature Art

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