Return of the Light Episode 6 - BLOSSOM

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

Transcript

Lisa Sykes (00:12):

Hi, welcome to Small Ways to Live Well, the podcast from The Simple Things magazine. I'm Lisa Sykes, the editor, and this is the final episode in our Return of the Light series that is seeing us through the end of winter into those early days of spring. So it seems appropriate to call this one Blossom when actual blossoms are starting to appear. New life is blossoming, are all around in nature, and we too begin to unfurl and blossom again after the much needed dormancy of winter. And my co-host today is our wellbeing editor, Rebecca Frank, who is very much a sunshine kind of girl, aren't you, Becs?

Becs Frank (00:45):

Hi Lisa. Yeah, I'm full of the joys of spring. I'm ready and raring to go.

Lisa Sykes (00:49):

 And today we're going to be really noticing what's going on outdoors, looking at how to bring blossom right to our back door and the familiarity of a local walk as well as learning from our mothers. But before we start chatting, I would like to thank Blackdown Shepherd Huts, who are our partners and supporters this season. Regular listeners will know by now that we are big fans of their beautifully crafted huts, which can be customised into garden rooms, home offices, yoga spaces, a retreat room, or even a treatment room. You can build them yourself or you can have them delivered ready to move into. To find out more at blackdownshepherdhuts.co.uk. And there's more in the show notes too. So one thing I love to do at this time of year, be on a sunny day like it is today, is have the first picnic of the year.

Becs Frank (01:36):

Oh, that's a nice idea. Yeah, I mean, I'm always up for a picnic, but it is still quite nippy here

Lisa Sykes (01:41):

And it's still a bit muddy and damp as well, so it definitely needs to be a hot picnic, doesn't it?

Becs Frank (01:45):

Ah, yes.

Lisa Sykes (01:46):

I think you've got to wrap up. You're not going to be sitting there on a blanket idling the afternoon away, are you? Yeah. So you

Becs Frank (01:52):

Need to plan around a bench, don't you, maybe. And pack something warm. That's a great idea to

Lisa Sykes (01:58):

Eat. Or some things you can eat on the go as well. You could have a mug of soup that you walk along with like you would a coffee cup. Really?

Becs Frank (02:05):

Yeah, in a thermos. Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (02:07):

And you need to do a bit of prep before you go as well. So we've done a few pieces on this over the years and now we'll try and dig some of out for the blog. If you do things like you cut your cake into quarters before you leave, so it's already pre-packed and fruit cake is better than the kind of crumbly cake because it doesn't fall apart or decant your trail mix into bags for individual people. That's quite nice.

Becs Frank (02:28):

That trail mix we did a recipe for, I mean it barely needs a recipe, does it? But it's just a reminder of the kind of nice key ingredients you can put whatever you like in it, can't you? But it's absolutely delicious because you roast it with some maple syrup on it and it's so moorish. It's such a nice idea, putting that into little kind paper bags for your family, whoever you're going out with to munch on as you walk. Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (02:52):

I know, I really like that. And flasks of soup and chilli, but what about a foil wrapped baked potato? That'd be good, wouldn't it? Because you can use that as a hand warmer as well.

Becs Frank (03:04):

That's definitely going to warm you up from the inside, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (03:07):

Definitely.

Becs Frank (03:08):

Do you have a baked potato? I love baked potatoes. I know. Yeah, that's such a good idea because I love the idea of picnics and I think we often probably maybe do them a bit too early too sandwiches. It needs to be a nice kind of sunny day for a blanket and some sandwiches, doesn't it? Definitely. If you could find a nice sit spot somewhere sheltered or in the sunshine depending on what weather you've got

Lisa Sykes (03:30):

And

Becs Frank (03:30):

Have something hot to warm you up, I think that's brilliant idea. Put that on my list of,

Lisa Sykes (03:34):

I know it really gets you out and there's so much to see down the woods. For example, you can do a bit book hunting because all the insects start waking up. So ladybirds appear and

Becs Frank (03:45):

Feels alive, doesn't it?

Lisa Sykes (03:46):

Beatles and spiders. Yeah, exactly. And you might, even if it's particularly warm that day, you might even see some of the first butterflies. You get an odd bead, aren't you coming out?

Becs Frank (03:58):

Yeah. You just need to open your eyes and look out for these things because they're just going to be little glimpses aren't there? And of course you'll get some leaves will be coming back onto the trees and some blossom too.

Lisa Sykes (04:08):

Yeah, no, the silver birch, they're one of the first to appear in the woodland. And there's such that I love silver birch trees. Yeah, asge green colour, aren't they? When they first come out. And you're going to see lots of nest buildings, so you're going to see birds collecting things for the nests, maybe even some woodpeckers drumming that happens sort of February, march time when they're kind preparing for mates. Yeah,

Becs Frank (04:30):

They're getting louder and busier.

Lisa Sykes (04:31):

One of the things I really love and there's a place near me where I always go this time of year is wild daffodils. Oh, how lovely. And they're much paler and more subtle as most wild plants are compared to cultivated plants, aren't they? But And quite small,

Becs Frank (04:45):

Are they?

Lisa Sykes (04:46):

Yeah, smaller. Smaller trumpets. Smaller trumpets,

Becs Frank (04:48):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (04:49):

But not a small, yeah, not tiny, but still recognisable as a narciss side. And you get them near old hedgerows or at the edge of old woods, you see them quite near wild garlic sometimes actually as well, which is obviously just starting to come up in that

Becs Frank (05:05):

That's up in our woods. Yeah, it's lovely. It's really signifies to me that springs here. The paths are all kind of turning green with their absolute blanketed in wild garlic. Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (05:17):

Very nice. Yeah. This is an excuse for me to plug our April issue. Our April issue is called jaunt and it's coming up in about a week, I think.

Becs Frank (05:26):

Yes.

Lisa Sykes (05:26):

And we've got a wild garlic walk gathering in there where go with a few friends, make some savoury scones when you get back. Scones, scones, whichever you prefer.

Becs Frank (05:36):

Cheese, wild, garlic and cheese, are they or Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (05:39):

Yeah. And with baked eggs as well, with a little bit of wild garlic in there. Yeah. Delicious. They would not last long would they? They'd be good to take on your walk next time as well. They actually, actually that would be perfect. Yeah. Wrapped up in a bit of kitchen paper, but blossom seasons starting. That's the real thing, isn't it? And the one in my garden, and I had a little look this morning, is the black thorn and they're such Oh, nice. Delicate little white flowers. Very pretty. I always find with blossom and any fruit trees, it's so amazing how those little flowers eventually become these fruits. I mean, in the case of apple, big fruits and that happens every single year. You just have to consider how miraculous that is, don't you? It's

Becs Frank (06:22):

Wonderful. It really is. We have a crab apple tree in our garden and the blossom is so pretty and then obviously the fruit is so ornamental, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (06:31):

Yeah, totally. And that's the thing, you don't actually even have to go very far. You don't even have to do the picnic if you don't want to do that. You could just have lunch outside that first time. When I have soup and a sandwich for lunch on the table, I pull the cover off the bench or the table and perch in a sunny spot and it's just so filled with promise, isn't it? That day?

Becs Frank (06:52):

Yeah, you can tell it's starting to warm up. And also, or just feel more spring light because you linger a bit longer, don't you, in the garden. And that's the thing, I do go out with a cup of tea quite often in the morning, but I'm finding myself lingering a bit longer and looking at things. Definitely. I like the idea that if you mate, we all love blossom, but you can plant trees with purely with a view to creating your own little view of blossom, can't

Lisa Sykes (07:17):

You? Yeah. Because I do wish we did more of that hanami, the viewing flowers in Japan where they go mad over the Japanese tradition. Yeah, cherry blossom. Yeah. There are places you can do it. The national trust have lots of those events and stuff, of

Becs Frank (07:31):

Course.

Lisa Sykes (07:32):

But having fruit trees in your garden. I've got quite a few actually. And the thing about a fruit tree is you get the blossom in the spring and then obviously you're going to get the harvest in the autumn of the actual fruit. And my apple trees are just like my favourite part of the garden. There's just always something to look at. The leaves give you privacy from your neighbours, and then you get shade in the summer. The dogs spends half the summer laid underneath them because they're just lovely and shady. And then you get the apples and the colourful leaves, and then in winter you've got this kind of structure there that just looks beautiful when it's frosty.

Becs Frank (08:07):

Yeah, I totally agree.

Lisa Sykes (08:09):

And you actually don't need to have a massive garden to plant one.

Becs Frank (08:14):

No, we planted when we moved into our house and we don't have a huge garden at all, and we had to, it was quite overgrown and not in a great way. And we planted I think three or four different trees in the garden and with a view to them not growing too big. So we got them. Yeah. So what have you got a crab apple? We had a plum, but sadly the plums the only one that didn't thrive. It did for a few years, and then I think it got damaged in a storm, silver birch, which is very beautiful as we've just said.

Lisa Sykes (08:43):

Yeah, and you get the catkins on those as well.

Becs Frank (08:45):

Yeah, Hawthorne. So they all offer something a different seat in different seasons, so it's

Lisa Sykes (08:51):

Really, well, we've also got a damson tree in our garden, which was here. I think there used to be a damson orchard here at one point, but in fact, we've got trees multiple now because the damson trees really old and branches kept blowing off in it in storms in the winter. But some of the seeds have obviously grown into other trees. Now what I'm not sure is whether they will turn into something that fruits with the original fruit.

Becs Frank (09:15):

Oh no, maybe not.

Lisa Sykes (09:16):

Because I mean fruit trees, I don't really know much about it, but the science of it is quite technical, isn't it? You graft certain trees onto certain roots and whether they come true, in fact, do you know the story about the bramley apple cooking apples?

Becs Frank (09:30):

No, I don't.

Lisa Sykes (09:31):

No. There's an original bramley apple tree, right? Is there really? And I can give you its address. It's at 75 Church Street in Southwell in Nottinghamshire. No way. And yeah, what happened is how old is that tree

Becs Frank (09:45):

Then?

Lisa Sykes (09:46):

Well, the woman who lived in the cottage, basically her daughter who's called Maryanne Brailsford in 1809, planted a pip. Her mum was making an apple pie and she took the apple and like you do when your kids, you just planted a pip. Right. And by the way, Bramley had nothing to do with it. I was going to

Becs Frank (10:02):

Say, I thought she'd be called bramley.

Lisa Sykes (10:04):

Yeah, no, he happened to be the owner of the cottage, so they ended up getting his permission when it got developed. But basically, so the first fruit they just sold from the tree because it turned out to be this really good cooking apple in the 1850s. But then some local butcher got involved and took some cuttings and started making it into something a bit more commercial. But what's really lovely about the original tree is that another woman, Nancy Harrison, who lived her whole life near this cottage, or in fact sometimes lived in the cottage, and she cared for the tree until she was in her nineties, and she only died in 2014.

Becs Frank (10:41):

Oh, wow.

Lisa Sykes (10:42):

And this tree was struck by lightning and they thought it was going to die, and then it's got honey fungus.

Becs Frank (10:48):

So it's still going strong, is it?

Lisa Sykes (10:49):

Well, it's not so strong, but what they've done is Nottingham, Trent Uni has actually bought the cottage now, and the unis have taken cuttings and tissue cultures to make clones of the tree. So yeah, so it's going. That's so interesting. Yeah. Isn't it a cool story? I think we ran it in the magazine, but it just really struck me how there's just always a human story behind things like this, isn't there?

Becs Frank (11:14):

Yeah, I think, well, I've got two apple trees as well, but I'm thinking I might plant a pear to replace the plum that had to come down.

Lisa Sykes (11:21):

Oh, that'd be nice. Yeah,

Becs Frank (11:22):

They, they're meant to be quite

Lisa Sykes (11:23):

Sturdy. We've got a peach tree in a pot against a sunny wall. But I have to say when it's down, how's that doing? I sometimes get really excited. I get a peach the size of a sort of what marble. And then I think, oh, it's going to grow. And then sometimes do they not? No.

Becs Frank (11:40):

Maybe it's just not warm and sunny enough.

Lisa Sykes (11:42):

I think you need a really hot spot, I think.

Becs Frank (11:45):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (11:46):

And I've got a cherry tree, but I tend to let the birds have the cherries because you need to net them, really? And I don't like nets in my garden. I think they're really ugly.

Becs Frank (11:53):

Yeah. Would they be edible though if you

Lisa Sykes (11:56):

Oh yeah, no, no. They're definitely edible. Yeah, they're good if

Becs Frank (11:59):

You tried them. Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (12:00):

It's just the birds will take them before you can if you don't put a net around them, so

Becs Frank (12:05):

Yeah. Well if the birds a treat, that's quite

Lisa Sykes (12:07):

Nice. Yes,

Becs Frank (12:07):

Exactly. Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (12:08):

But I'm talking birds, aren't we hearing them loads in the morning now?

Becs Frank (12:12):

Yes,

Lisa Sykes (12:13):

I've really noticed it. It's just waking you up.

Becs Frank (12:16):

Yeah. It's funny actually, because I've got one of these alarm clocks that plays bird song in the morning instead of that kind horrible beeping. So it kind of gets gradually light and then plays bird song at the time. So it gets light for about half an hour before that you set the alarm for, and then at the time you set the alarm, the bird song starts the other day. I woke up and I thought, oh my God, why is my alarm going off? It's too early, it's dark. And it was at the actual birds. It was real light birds. So the

Lisa Sykes (12:48):

Actual birds that were waking you up? Yeah,

Becs Frank (12:50):

It was the actual birds, yeah. Oh, lovely. And I was really confused because the light wasn't on my alarm clock and it was, or maybe I hadn't set it that day, I can't remember. Anyway, I was really confused as to why these, but the birds, I was half asleep as well, but then I was like, oh, how lovely.

Lisa Sykes (13:04):

Just going back to your alarm clock then. Does it really help you start your day with that gradual wake up and I really like it, the beautiful sound and the light fading in as well.

Becs Frank (13:13):

Yeah, I mean, at the moment we have light in the mornings, but it's great. The light is brilliant when you're trying to get up in the dark, but also just whatever time of year if you have, because I like my bedroom quite dark anyway, so I've got quite thick curtains that light. So it's designed to be this kind of quite a natural light. So it's a sort of warm yellowy glow rather than a kind of bright white light. And it gradually comes on through the morning. And that's meant to kind of help you just to wake up with, I mean, you can imagine, can't you? Just feeling calmer feeling. And apparently it's all to do with, we wake up with quite a lot of cortisol, which is our stress hormone, but it's also our hormone that makes us get up in the morning and go about our day rather than laying in bed. But then if we then have a coffee, then I dunno, switch on our phones. So we're a bit overloaded. Are we?

Lisa Sykes (14:03):

Yeah.

Becs Frank (14:03):

Read some news, we're a bit overloaded, and then this is kind of a bit of a calmer way to start the day.

Lisa Sykes (14:09):

Sounds like it really grounds your day at the beginning of the day, doesn't it?

Becs Frank (14:13):

Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (14:13):

I, and actually another way to do that is, and I'm sure you and I do this quite a lot because we both got dogs that we walk, but to walk the same path every day. It's such a familiar thing to do, isn't it?

Becs Frank (14:25):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (14:25):

But there is, do you remember Alice Tatham, who is a Wildwood Moth? That's her Instagram and her blog, and she's such a beautiful writer and she also, and she's a photographer, isn't she? Yeah. And photographer. And she just takes these amazing pictures, but she takes a picture in the same place every day and she does a photo a day. She,

Becs Frank (14:46):

It's such a good idea.

Lisa Sykes (14:47):

Yeah, it's such a nice way to mark the arrival of spring, isn't it? To create a visual diary? Well, of all the seasons actually. And when you do walk roots regularly, as I know we both do, it helps you notice the change and the seasonal shift, doesn't it?

Becs Frank (15:04):

I think you tend to take photos of things that are different or that you notice that like, oh, there's a lamb, the lambs weren't born last week, so I'll take some photos. But actually just taking a photo of something you see every day or even once a week and then you would notice the changes, wouldn't you?

Lisa Sykes (15:20):

Definitely.

Becs Frank (15:21):

And I think what's nice about, I dunno about you, I sometimes think, oh God, I should be more adventurous. I do the same walk.

Lisa Sykes (15:27):

Yes, yes,

Becs Frank (15:28):

I know. Because it's just, I know it's quick, it's easy. I've got the dog, it's easy

Lisa Sykes (15:32):

And you've got to fit it

Becs Frank (15:33):

In. But actually I think there's benefits to that because you're not having to concentrate on where you're going and you can just pause and observe and it's quite

Lisa Sykes (15:43):

No, it's true. It's a different kind of walking, isn't it?

Becs Frank (15:46):

And she inspired me to think about that and think about, feel reassured that that's a good thing to do. And also just to notice the same spots.

Lisa Sykes (15:53):

I struggle with stopping to take photos a lot because I find myself faffing around with technical aspects of getting a photo. And so actually, or then distracted by your phone of course.

Becs Frank (16:05):

Because once you've got it out and you take a photo. Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (16:08):

Yeah, exactly it is. So I've started trying to be a bit more present when I'm doing my same walk, so almost like a memory diary. And the thing I really like is there, I do things there. So in the woods where I go off and I forage holly in the winter, and I might look for, there's lots of sweet chest nut trees. So sometimes I collect those in the autumn and in the spring I might pick a few blue bells or blackberries in the, so they're kind of all around the same spot and they're all connections to that place. You've done things there. And then just the wildlife, I always see the same herds of deer and there's a pair of buzzards that live there, so they're almost like part of the landscape,

(16:49):

Although I have to say sometimes then you get a total once in a lifetime surprise. And I dunno whether I've ever told you this, but I once went down these woods and there was this albino book that has been around the area. It's pure white, and he appeared with a female and just stood there, not very far away from me watching me. And this is when I had a dog that was a better behave than the dog I have now. So she just stood there and it was like, do you know what? It reminded me of a patronus in Harry Potter. It was like proper magical moment. I bet that was really magical and quite spooky on that case. I did slip my phone out of my pocket. Yes, you got a photo and I took a photo. It's a little bit shaky, but I just couldn't not try and take a photo. It was amazing. That's amazing. It's that whole everyday magic thing, isn't it? You just never know what you'll see.

Becs Frank (17:45):

Yeah. It's funny actually because there's a woman called Miranda Keeling who has written two lovely books, one's coming out in May, and we've actually got an extract in our May issue, which is called the Place I'm in, and she just writes these very short little observations of things that she sees. So she could be in a cafe, she could be in a park or on a train, and they're just little moments, snapshots of her day and they're really evocative. And this has reminded me. So look out for that. That's going to be an amay issue, but it's just reminded me of that, of just opening your eyes and ears even as you're just going about something that might seem quite mundane.

Lisa Sykes (18:23):

Well, my turn to turn the tables on you back, I am going to give you an exercise to do now instead of you giving me one. And I think we should do this right? So I think we should both look outside. I think we've both got windows where we work, haven't we? Yeah,

Becs Frank (18:36):

Yeah. I'm looking out the window now.

Lisa Sykes (18:38):

So we're going to look outside and really notice what is out there. And actually the listeners can do this as well. I mean find your nearest window and just take a moment. You go first then

Becs Frank (18:50):

Do you want me to describe it

Lisa Sykes (18:52):

To you? So describe the scene outside your window and then give me a tiny detail that you might not have noticed if you hadn't stopped to look.

Becs Frank (18:59):

So I'm looking out over a wooded area with a path going up, which I walk up really regularly and the trees are still bare, but it's a sunny day and the sun is kind of beaming

Speaker 3 (19:12):

Through

Becs Frank (19:12):

The branches and shining this really lovely kind of pattern on this little cottage opposite, which is a kind of bath stone, yellow stone. And it's creating this really nice shadow on this pattern, like a pattern. And I've just seen a man in a red jacket who's walking down the path, which is the one I walk up and down all the time with the dogs.

Lisa Sykes (19:34):

That's really lovely. I love that. Right? Shall I do mine? Yeah. My front window looks across a road which is often quite busy, but not so much at this time of day in the middle of the day. And so I tend to just block out the cars and look beyond because beyond is a field and there's a really old hedge right at the edge of this field and it's really overgrown. So it changes totally with the seasons. And this time of year it's not filled in yet, so you can see right through the hedge into the field. And so sometimes I can actually see deer from where I'm at.

Becs Frank (20:09):

Wow.

Lisa Sykes (20:10):

Towards the end of the day. And that's when the sun comes in this room as well. But right now what I can see is the sun coming from the south and it's making all the ivy, which is the only sort of non-air vegetation out there, shine and glisten and shimmer just in the breeze. And I kind of never really thought about it before and it's only because stopping to look that I've noticed it.

Becs Frank (20:35):

It's so nice, isn't it, to actually describe a really tiny

Lisa Sykes (20:39):

Detail

Becs Frank (20:39):

To just describe something that you see all the time that you don't really ever notice. All those little details.

Lisa Sykes (20:47):

Details. I know. And sometimes maybe saying out loud does actually work because you don't have to take time to write it down or even take a photo. You could just say it to yourself.

Becs Frank (20:57):

Yeah, you could just do little voice recordings maybe if you don't want to take photos. And that's what Miranda Keeling does.

Lisa Sykes (21:04):

Well, there you go

Becs Frank (21:05):

As well on her podcast, she's just little kind of voice notes.

Lisa Sykes (21:09):

And I think what's interesting is you can do this anywhere because even if you live in the middle of a town, there's always nature trying to take over, isn't it? There's always some nature trying to get through. And actually this is a very nice link unintended actually to our read aloud story where we pause and listen to someone talking about, and this case, it's going to be someone who's moved from the town to the countryside in spring confetti a short story by ferry the things that Ash inherited from her. Great Aunt Vera included pale skin, easily bruised shins and the small stone cottage that was Vera's childhood home dark as a cave and nestled against a hill and beside a pine forest. The things that hadn't been passed down would make a long list, but top of it would be anything that might help a timid person survive in the wild days and nights of the countryside where the rain reined a river, the fire refused to light and the silence was undone by loud and unidentifiable noises that could be marauding, ghosts or somebody alive with bad intentions.

(22:24):

Outside the window was spring budding trees in a cackle of crows on the power lines inside Ivy was growing and the cold was creeping through this three small rooms as Ash tried to remember Vera's lesson about kindling and wood and embers. Soon it would be night again. The sky is dark as the soot drifting down from the chimney. And Ash would be awake on a damp trickle bed listening to the two clocks, ticking seconds out of sequence and wondered if she could walk back into the town two and a half hours on foot, but much faster on the bike that she'd also inherited from Vera, a sturdy high Nelly that gave Vera the posture of a heavily corseted queen Victoria when she cycled past the rows of cherry trees that lined the town streets. But Ash was a city girl now used to bus and trains and cherry of trancing her look on two wheels.

(23:16):

She managed to fall asleep, huddled under the duvet, dreaming of restless phantoms, knocking at old wooden doors in the deep dark of the countryside. And then someone did knock on the back door rattling and shaking, determined to get in ash. Her heart as loud as the outer time clocks ran to the door hoping she was imagining the raffle of the lock, the shake of the bolt. But no, the door was quay in its frame. Who's there? She shouted. Who is it? No one answered and still the door. She stood for long years in the unquiet of the kitchen, but mere seconds passed until she scurried across the cold cement floor, opened the door and hurried around the side of the house with no thought in her head. Adrenaline cancelling out fear to see a silent sinuous Sprite run towards the forest to see the wooden door nearly nod to through to open air near the jam.

(24:08):

The next morning was bright as a new wish. Aen sang and the two of the far away neighbours girls arrived to check on the visitor Your doors wreck said sissy. Ash told the story of the night before the ruckus had run around the house, the fleeting shape. We have those in our barn, those bloody pineapples with their big sharp teeth. They come out of the forest at night and head straight for the woodwork, said Maeve. Sissy looked at ash and nodded, wait, hang on, it's not pineapples. What are they called again? The girls paused and thought for a moment. Pine Martins said Sissy Pine Martins agreed. Maeve, you were mad fearsome to go and tackle it though without even a poker as a weapon. And then she added, we're cycling into town. Do you want to come? And Ash newly burnished with bravery agreed, the trio set off and Ash regal as a queen on the high Nelly coasted along the town road while pretty pink blossomed from the cherry trees, settled on their hair and shoulders a celebrator as confetti. So this lovely story was written by our books and stories editor, Edna Furry, who lives in London but spends a lot of time walking and cycling the Irish countryside, which is near where her and her family live. I just thought it was a really good story, didn't you? Vex?

Becs Frank (25:31):

It's great. And I hadn't actually realised that Edna had written that, which makes it even more special. It's so interesting. It made me think about just inheriting things from your family, but not only things, but all the characteristics and different things that you inherit from your family and particularly your mom's. Because we've got a piece, actually we in our April issue is a bit of a nod to, actually it's in March Beck,

Lisa Sykes (25:56):

Because Yeah, because Mother's Day. Mother's Day is nearly upon us, isn't it?

Becs Frank (25:59):

Sorry, March issue. Yeah, I'm getting ahead of myself. Yes, exactly. In that magazine way, I'm getting ahead of myself. I know. Yeah. It's about how different four different women and different aspects of their mother's wisdom that they've carried through with them into their adult lives. And there's a bit of a nod to Mother's Day when it's because it's a difficult time for some people, isn't it? And then not everyone's relationships with their mom. Hass always been straightforward. Not everyone has their mom around anymore. And I thought this was a very interesting way to mark Mother's Day and reflect a little

Lisa Sykes (26:30):

Bit. Definitely. Because I think whether we like it or not, we do learn from our mothers. We, and

Becs Frank (26:38):

We are probably more like our mothers than we realise.

Lisa Sykes (26:41):

Absolutely. And I think that's one of the hardest things to realise.

Becs Frank (26:46):

Yes.

Lisa Sykes (26:46):

But at the same time, that's not all bad, is it? Because actually there's lots of good things there as well.

Becs Frank (26:53):

Lots of good things, which is, we can see in this

Lisa Sykes (26:54):

Piece. But these women had often inherited skills they like craft or cooking from their mothers, which is obviously a great thing to inherit.

Becs Frank (27:04):

Yeah, well actually, I mean one was inherited. It is craft skills and also a whole load of incredible sewing equipment from her mum who was obviously this incredible character. Another is she's cooking,

Lisa Sykes (27:18):

Oh, there was the flower farmer wasn't there,

Becs Frank (27:20):

It's the flower farmer. There's someone who's cooking the food from the Philippines, which is where her mother was from. And so she is her heritage as well. And then we have this flower farmer in Newcastle who said that she's inherited her mum's fierce approach to life and this great piece of advice that her mum always said. She said, use your voice for those who need you to, that's more important than anything else. And that's kind of been her, what she's had as her little sort of motto, which I think is so interesting.

Lisa Sykes (27:47):

Yeah, definitely. And I think it did inspire me to want to talk to my mom a little bit more about

Becs Frank (27:53):

Yeah, me too.

Lisa Sykes (27:54):

I think a lot of us fall into the habit with our moms, don't we, of talking about our kids or they tell you stuff about people, their neighbours or whatever, that you don't really know anymore.

Becs Frank (28:04):

Same conversations,

Lisa Sykes (28:05):

And you get into the sort of every day little bit mundane. And

Becs Frank (28:09):

Actually,

Lisa Sykes (28:10):

I was thinking the other day that I know very little about my mum at the age I am now because I'd left home by then and her midlife experiences and menopause and all sorts of things like that. And actually I thought, oh, I should spend more time talking to her than just properly talking to her. Yes, properly talking. That's the

Becs Frank (28:31):

Thing. Yes. No, I completely agree. I think it is really nice to do that in a kind of quite relaxed, sometimes we just have these little phone calls we, but I think it's nice to do it in a bit more of a relaxed kind of longer setting. We can sit down with cup of tea and I think who doesn't like to be

Lisa Sykes (28:46):

Yes, a proper chat Exactly.

Becs Frank (28:49):

Asked about or to go back into their memories and talk about certain stages of their lives. It's

Lisa Sykes (28:55):

Funny how it skips a generation, isn't it? Because I remember talking to my nan about things like this, oh, really? Going to visit my nan when she was a bit older and I was younger and I would talk to her for hours, but I don't remember sitting down with my mom. It's a slightly different relationship, isn't it? But maybe when you get a bit older and your mom's obviously older still there's an opportunity to do that again.

Becs Frank (29:17):

Yeah. I think when you get to the age that they are, like you just said about the thinking about your mum at the age that you are now. So I think it was probably about when I left home was probably about the age that my mum is now. And I remember I left home really quite suddenly and not really intending to never come back when I moved down to London. But then I never did come back. And I think, gosh, that must've been that I was the youngest child. That must've been quite difficult

Lisa Sykes (29:40):

A wrench,

Becs Frank (29:42):

But I never even really battered neither about it or thought about it. And then we've never really talked about it. So I think that's something I'd like to talk about it because I'm experiencing it now with my children leaving, and I think I would really probably understand

Lisa Sykes (29:58):

More now. There's a commonality there, isn't there? Yeah. Yeah.

Becs Frank (30:01):

I can relate to it more.

Lisa Sykes (30:03):

See, what I find interesting is the age difference is massive in that when I left home, my mum was only in her forties. And actually as my kids are leaving home now, I'm in my fifties,

Becs Frank (30:15):

So that's quite different.

Lisa Sykes (30:17):

So she started working when we left home and she and my dad began to travel more and things like that. Whereas I'm in a completely different place. I'm working because I've been working my whole life. And so it's not the same experience. So it'd be just quite interesting to compare and contrast, I think, wouldn't it?

Becs Frank (30:36):

Yeah, I think to do that and Mother's Day, father's Day, whatever.

Lisa Sykes (30:40):

Yeah. Interesting. Maybe that's what we'll do on Mother's

Becs Frank (30:43):

Day. Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (30:44):

Yeah.

Becs Frank (30:44):

Good chance to do that rather than just putting a card in the post I

Lisa Sykes (30:47):

Think. Exactly. Exactly.

Becs Frank (30:49):

And if your mom is around, of course, and if not, then I think it's a nice thing to do. I have find this on Father's Day and my dad's not around and there's all this noise about Father's Day. Sometimes I just cite a little reflect, look at some of the letters you sent to me or photos.

Lisa Sykes (31:01):

Oh, that's nice.

Becs Frank (31:02):

And that's kind of nice. We'll talk to my family about him. So there's different ways of honouring it, aren't there?

Lisa Sykes (31:07):

Definitely. It's interesting because Mother's Day this year is obviously the 30th of March, but that's also the day that finally the clocks go forward. Yes. It's very late. It feels like a long wait. Late this year, doesn't it? Yeah. I dunno why, because it's always the end of March, but for some reason this year feels very late.

Becs Frank (31:29):

We all anticipate it so keenly, don't we?

Lisa Sykes (31:32):

It's true. It's a big moment.

Becs Frank (31:35):

And so that's on the 30th and Mother's Day is on the Sunday. Of course,

Lisa Sykes (31:39):

Yeah.

Becs Frank (31:40):

Are thinking about, do you do a little gift on Mother's Day or, because I noticed a little project that might be nice for

Lisa Sykes (31:50):

Yeah. Oh, go on. What was the, oh, I know what you're going to say because you are saying this on purpose. I've struggled with this, arent you? This is the origami, isn't it? I think you were trying to skip over this, Lisa. I know, I was thinking about it. I think we need talk about it. Okay, well let me just set the scene. So actually I know it is quite useful for listeners. We have got lots of Easter origami projects on our blog that we'll put links to in the show notes. And there's videos which I now discover is very helpful. There's like a rabbit egg holder, there's a chicken and a rabbit, and if you really advance, there's a 3D origami egg, which let me tell you now is way out of my league. There's a crane. Yeah. So we ran in the magazine, and this is on the blog too, one to make cherry blossom paper cherry blossom, and you just make a single blossom and then you duplicate lots of times. So I thought I'll have a go at this. And I said to Bex, I'll make it and we can talk about it on the podcast. Oh, well, I mean I think my brain just struggles because I sat on step three the whole of yesterday evening, not really progressing and in the end I got my daughter who is studying fine art and he's quite good at this sort of thing to send me a video of how to do it. Did you actually,

(33:07):

That's

Becs Frank (33:08):

So funny.

Lisa Sykes (33:09):

And I'm just going to show up the sad little thing that doesn't look at all like cherry blossom. I can't get the last step to work, but more like an aeroplane. I'm sorry, Becks. It's a thanks. Thanks for that. Anyway, so that's not going to be my

Becs Frank (33:22):

Mother's Day gift. The point is, if people are thinking, well, why would I want to do that? It sounds really hard, A, you might not find it as hard as Lisa, but also it is actually a really nice kind of quite calming mindful activity or aami, isn't it? It's meant to be one of the most relaxing Yes,

Lisa Sykes (33:39):

Yes.

Becs Frank (33:39):

Things you can do and obviously in a very creative, but there's something about the act of folding paper.

Lisa Sykes (33:44):

No. And do you know what? I did find the process mindful because it's very absorbing even though I struggled with it. But I think this is why I like a class. I like people to show me how to do it. Anyway, I'm going back now, I'm moving on from origami. I'm going back to the whole extra hour of daylight we're getting in, which I will not be using it to do origami.

Becs Frank (34:05):

What are you going to do with it then? When it comes?

Lisa Sykes (34:08):

I always will be outside if the weather's okay. I mean, I could practically live outside I think in spring and summer. I love it and I appreciate the light more. And I will be without doubt in my garden until it's almost dark, I think, because that's what I'll do. How about you?

Becs Frank (34:26):

Yeah, no, I mean the same. What else to do with an extra hour of daylight than be outside in it? So what I really like is doing an evening dog walk. So after we've eaten, so particularly on a Sunday when we eat, we have a Sunday dinner usually of some kind, but we have it later, about five or six. And I'm always completely stuffed. Nice. Going for a nice walk after that when you've still got the light, it just makes me feel so much better, less full, makes me sleep better, makes me really appreciate the evening. So I'll be doing that.

Lisa Sykes (34:54):

What's not to like about that? You've just been working on a really interesting pizza on walking, haven't you? And this idea that the type of walk, well actually you explain it Becks because you'll explain it better.

Becs Frank (35:06):

So it's actually from a book written by Annabel Streets and there's a book called The Walking Cure, and we have published a few of her walks in the April issue. And it's basically about how the types of different types of landscape can make us feel quite differently. So just getting outside and walking is not always going to be the same experience.

Lisa Sykes (35:27):

Is the idea you choose a landscape according to what mood you're in, then is it that sort of connected? Yeah.

Becs Frank (35:34):

Yeah. And sometimes that can be very, it's exactly that. Yeah. And sometimes you do that very

Lisa Sykes (35:38):

Instinctively. Yeah, you just want to go to the sea,

Becs Frank (35:41):

Don't you? Sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. And then when you read the reasons why you can understand it. So it's also about once the different benefits, then you can be a bit more intentional with it. Would you like me to let you guess what type of walk would suit certain

Lisa Sykes (35:56):

Moods? Oh, okay. Yeah, go for it. Okay, good. I'm prepared for this.

Becs Frank (36:00):

Okay. So think about all the different kinds of places that you might walk in a wood by the sea, like you just said, or something like that. Try and think of different places and imagine. So if you were feeling sad or low or maybe even anxious, what do you think? Where do you think you'd like to

Lisa Sykes (36:20):

Walk? Well, it kind of feels like you could go two ways with it. You might want somewhere that's really calming, like serene, maybe a lake or I might work once, somewhere that's going to take my mind off it Totally. That I can really stomp along. So I don't know. I dunno.

Becs Frank (36:41):

It's interesting because somewhere that you were speaking about earlier, I mean obviously you can feel better in any of those types of places that you said, but one of the places that will make you feel better is a woodland.

Speaker 3 (36:54):

Oh, okay.

Becs Frank (36:54):

Yeah. So the comforting protective. Oh, because enclosed and yes, enclosed. And they say large old trees, comfort and calmers.

Lisa Sykes (37:07):

Oh yeah. I go to the woodland all the time and I think it definitely delivers that. Yeah.

Becs Frank (37:13):

And it's about the compounds produced by the trees as well. So it's actually having a physiological effect on you.

Speaker 3 (37:19):

Yeah.

Becs Frank (37:19):

Okay. So next time you feel like that head for your local woods. What about if you've got a bit of an uneasy mind, you're overthinking, ruminating headaches maybe.

Lisa Sykes (37:29):

Okay, yeah. Well this is something to calm you down there. You want something soothing, don't you?

Becs Frank (37:34):

Yeah. So you want something, maybe if you've got a headache, got eye strain, you've got your thinking a lot. You are in your head,

Lisa Sykes (37:42):

Oh, what about a big wide vista, big skies and maybe the Europa Hill then are you? And you're looking across a big landscape, something expansive. Yes.

Becs Frank (37:54):

Yeah, exactly. That

Lisa Sykes (37:55):

Makes a lot of sense.

Becs Frank (37:56):

A rolling hill.

Lisa Sykes (37:57):

It's actually quite interesting. You do have to think about it. You kind of know what you want, but then you have to translate that to a landscape. Yeah,

Becs Frank (38:05):

Yeah, yeah. No, exactly. It's not that easy to think, but when you think about it, you can understand why. So yes, the rolling hills is good for rumination, and then when you get to the top, you can see that lovely vista get some perspective, but apparently the up and down and the kind of effort that takes in your body helps to

Lisa Sykes (38:22):

Yes. It takes your mind off it. It

Becs Frank (38:24):

Takes your mind off it. Exactly that. Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (38:26):

Yeah. No, exactly that. Sometimes you want that physical effort to just stop thinking. Yeah.

Becs Frank (38:32):

So what about a sense of purposelessness if you're a bit bored, feeling a bit lacking in purpose, A bit of wanderlust.

Lisa Sykes (38:41):

Oh, do you need something that's got lots of distraction, lots of kind of things to look at.

Becs Frank (38:45):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (38:46):

Can I get a clue here? Are we talking rural or urban as well? Could it be either?

Becs Frank (38:51):

Well, it could be either. It could be a bit of a mix to be honest with this one.

Lisa Sykes (38:55):

Okay. So maybe there is a bit of pavement stomping involved in this one then, because you want things to look at and to feed off, don't you? Yeah,

Becs Frank (39:04):

Somewhere you could get up a bit of a risk stride as well. Yeah. So basically country lanes or rural roads.

Lisa Sykes (39:10):

Yeah, exactly. So

Becs Frank (39:11):

Yeah, which can lead into towns and villages as well. So

Lisa Sykes (39:15):

Villagers or Yeah, exactly.

Becs Frank (39:17):

Yeah. You've got some distractions, you've got a bit of things. Look at animals, houses, a little church maybe, but apparently that sort of rhythmic walking that you can get when you're on the road is good for planning and reflection.

Lisa Sykes (39:29):

Oh, this stuff's so

Becs Frank (39:30):

Inspiring. Very interesting, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (39:33):

Yeah, no, I'm definitely, obviously we've got the piece coming up and there are lots more in the book. I'm going to buy the book I think, because it is really interesting and it's so at my street

Becs Frank (39:44):

And she covers off all sorts of different landscapes from flatlands to also urban cities and things. So yeah,

Lisa Sykes (39:51):

Definitely worth checking out.

Becs Frank (39:53):

Thank you Annabel, for that inspiration.

Lisa Sykes (39:55):

Definitely. And on that note, I'm feeling very inspired, so it is time for us seeing the light moments, which just to remind our listeners, you can do this too. It's the moment that has made your light bulbs come on, because you've heard something in this issue that has inspired you to do something, to set an intention after you bes.

Becs Frank (40:14):

So mine's going to be about the taking a photograph on a daily walk. I might not do it every day, but I'm going to try that thing of taking a photo in the same place. Or it might even be in my garden, or maybe I'll do both. Something to look back on and reflect and see the changing of the seasons.

Lisa Sykes (40:29):

Well, I am going to, and actually she may well be listening to this, so I think she'll be holding me to it, but I am going to talk to my mum more about her actual life. Oh yes. Nice. Rather than the boring stuff about that week or the kids.

Becs Frank (40:42):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (40:43):

So I'm going to do more of that. I think it'll be interesting. I think we'll both learn something from it.

Becs Frank (40:48):

Yes, it will be.

Lisa Sykes (40:49):

Yeah. So that sort of actually brings us to the end of the season, sadly, because I've enjoyed this one. I feel like we've seen ourselves into spring, haven't we? Oh,

Becs Frank (40:57):

Already. Yeah, we have. And we are there and yay.

Lisa Sykes (41:03):

I know, ready for spring and summer.

(41:06):

But the return of the light, it's happening daily and you can notice it by the end of this month, we'll have a whole extra day, not a whole extra day, what I'm saying, an hour. An hour. But that's why our April issue is called Jaunt and it's about time to get out and about. So that's going to be with subscribers in a week or so. Or you can try an immediate start subscription and you'll get that issue as soon as we get it back from the printers. But our March mend issue is also on sale now. And we've mentioned obviously that throughout the season. Well, thanks to Blackdown Shepherd Huts for supporting this season. It makes a really big difference to a small independent magazine like ourselves. So thank you for being there, and all their links are in the show notes. And thank you to you Bex, as always, for your wellbeing wisdom.

Becs Frank (41:48):

Thank you. I really enjoyed it. And we'll be back, won't we, for an Easter special, is that right?

Lisa Sykes (41:52):

We will. Well, our next season is all about Midsummer Magic, and that's going to be released from the middle of May, but be says before that you can join us on Good Friday or anytime you fancy a little break over that hectic Easter weekend for our Easter special when Yeah, Becs, Jo and I are going to be together in person, which is nice. And we're enjoying a sauna and a cold plunge.

Becs Frank (42:13):

I can't wait for this.

Lisa Sykes (42:14):

I know it's going to be good in Blackdown. It's one of Blackdown's, newish shepherd huts. So we're going to be making hot chocolate eating cake and discussing the wonder of eggs. Thanks so much for listening.