Magical Midsummer - Epsiode 4 CAREFREE

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

Transcript

Lisa Sykes (00:13):

Hello, you've arrived at episode four in Our Magical Midsummer Season of The Small Ways to Live Well podcast from the Simple Things Magazine. I'm Lisa Sykes, editor of the magazine, and my co-host today is Jo Tinsley, who's a regular contributor and an author of The Slow Traveller. And our 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, well when can you really, hi Joe. What'd you say? Are you ready for some fun and adventure?

Jo Tinsley (00:43):

Hi. Yeah, no, absolutely. Let's go.

Lisa Sykes (00:45):

I know. So let's think of us. I mean, I think our role today, Joe, is to be a suggestion box. I reckon let's be like an audible prompt to get people to try things they haven't done for years. Maybe wear something a bit out of the ordinary or take a trip. And yeah, we'll also be appreciating a magical creature as we've done every episode this season and sharing a few moments of magic that will hopefully inspire you to capture your own. But as always, if you like what you're listening to, then you can buy copies of the magazine@pixinc.com or you can try a quarterly subscription which gives you three issues is much cheaper and it'll be delivered to your door. So you could give that a go and the details are in your show notes, which will also include things we're mentioning in the episode as well. But first Joe, shall we head to a festival?

Jo Tinsley (01:33):

Yeah, I love festivals. I've been going since I was about 15 going to the Leeds Festival and things like that.

Lisa Sykes (01:40):

Nice.

Jo Tinsley (01:40):

But yeah, it's festival season. What better way to be carefree and leave the world behind for a few days than to go to a festival?

Lisa Sykes (01:47):

I know they are a bubble, aren't they? And that is the thing you can leave your responsibilities behind and I think that's what people love about it. I think that's why they've taken off so much in recent years, don't you?

Jo Tinsley (01:58):

Yeah. I went to one a few weekends ago, the big retreat festival, which we featured in the magazine and it was just this gorgeous setting overlooking the estuary in Pembrokeshire. But it's just, yeah, it's like you say, once you've pitched, which is the really hard part, you've got all your stuff there.

Lisa Sykes (02:12):

It's

Jo Tinsley (02:12):

Like you just exhale, you just relaxed. You're free to wander around to stumble upon things. It's a place to be rather than to do, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (02:22):

I think that's the thing, isn't it? You do want to find your own kind festival. Obviously the big retreats are quite a wellbeing festival, isn't it? I've been to it too. Most of the festivals I've been to are ones that I've actually been working at through the magazine.

Jo Tinsley (02:37):

Oh yeah, yeah, likewise.

Lisa Sykes (02:39):

And that is slightly different because you can't quite let yourself go in the same way, but it doesn't feel like real work does it. And I really like the thing at festivals where you stumble across something or someone, they're like a kindred spirit.

Jo Tinsley (02:55):

Exactly.

Lisa Sykes (02:56):

We hosted a simple things picnic at one where we actually encouraged this idea of making new friends because we had hampers that people had paid to come along and have a hamper, but they had to commit to sharing with someone they didn't know in each hamper. We put conversation starters and talking points and so people and people really got into it. At the beginning I was really thinking, oh, is this going to work? But by the end of it, people were going off together to go and have a drink. It was great.

Jo Tinsley (03:26):

I can see that really working at this last festival I to sat in a sauna and there was this woman there who had come to the festival on her own. She travelled for several hours to come to the festival on her own. I found that really inspiring. I genuinely like to do that because they're the most easy places to meet people and just get chatting. And there was those kind of solo meetups, which is what people would've been coming to at that picnic if they were, I reckon.

Lisa Sykes (03:48):

And it's also a joy to dress up as well. You can adopt a new persona for the weekend. Currently, are you a fan of a sequin top?

Jo Tinsley (03:56):

Do you know what I used to be, I used to have a pile of sequined sort of stuff and I don't know Afghan coats and things like that. But no, I'm really low key nowadays I just wear jeans and vests and stuff. But no, I used to really love that.

Lisa Sykes (04:09):

You live quite close to Glastonbury.

Jo Tinsley (04:10):

I do.

Lisa Sykes (04:12):

So you must see some sites. Right.

Jo Tinsley (04:14):

And it always surprises me because the local, my big shop is the Tesco that's closest to Glastonbury. And so every year it comes quite early in the year. It always surprises me, I go in just to do my normal shop and I'm like, why is everyone dressed up? Why is there a wall of cider? Oh, it's Glastonbury each year. It takes me by surprise. I mean I can't even imagine how hard it must be

Lisa Sykes (04:34):

To run a festival.

Jo Tinsley (04:35):

Oh, it must be so hard. I just interviewed in the June issue, I interviewed Amber who's the co-founder of the big retreat festival. Oh yeah. And that's part of my living features. And I find these really inspiring because many of us dream of running our own businesses and it's a chance to sort of ask these people to share their insights and inspirations, but also the reality of the graft and the hard one wisdom. So it's always really, really interesting.

Lisa Sykes (04:59):

We've tried to focus on businesses that people dream about running a bookshop.

Jo Tinsley (05:03):

A bookshop that's also a cafe.

Lisa Sykes (05:05):

Yeah, exactly. And in fact, we did little interview with ourselves about running a magazine, so that was nice to be able to share a few words of wisdom. But I think a lot of people who have a passion for their business, you really wouldn't have it any other way. It's hard work, but actually they love what they do. And I think Amber certainly, it sounds like she does quite a few little disasters over the years with the festival, things going up and down and things that you have to cope with over a four day festival. But actually she loves it,

Jo Tinsley (05:34):

Didn't she? Yeah. And she was saying the first year she did everything from manning the reception, parking the cars, teaching the classes, cleaning loo, and slowly kind of outsourced all that. But it's like you need to know those things in order to know how everything runs. Which again, you And I know about running a magazine as well, but yeah, the thing she learned, so she was talking about the importance of unconditional acceptance. So there's a festival for everyone, whether you're drinking, whether you're not drinking, whatever it is that you're into, making sure everyone is comfortable as possible

Lisa Sykes (06:02):

Catered for.

Jo Tinsley (06:02):

Yes. And also not to fear the weather because I dunno if you've found this, but the festivals where you have really bad weather can sometimes have the best memories. Not always,

Lisa Sykes (06:12):

No, but you're right, there's a sort of shared spirit in adversity, isn't there? That kind of thing. In fact, I was at big retreat when it did rain quite heavily. Were you? It's Wales and it got very muddy. Yeah, but you're right, they do give the memories. The thing about a festival for me is at some point I need to just get out. I need a walk. I also get that same thing in a big city like New York when the buildings are all around you and I just want to get to the edge. I crave solitude eventually in a festival and actually solitude. You can spend time by yourself, but you're never really alone at a festival are you? I'll often just get out and walk around the lane a bit or go to the pembrokeshire. I went down to the estuary

Jo Tinsley (06:55):

And

Lisa Sykes (06:55):

It was just beautiful and a half an hour of peace and then I was about ready to go back in.

Jo Tinsley (07:00):

I think that's the thing that they're often in these really beautiful locations, aren't they? So you've got Glasbury tour obviously, but Greenman Festival has this really interesting Sugarloaf shaped hill overlooking at it. And I always looking at going, I want to walk that you can do.

Lisa Sykes (07:13):

Oh, is that the one near Aveni?

Jo Tinsley (07:16):

Yeah, it's not the actual Sugarloaf, but it's a Sugarloaf shaped hill, but, and you can walk along the canal there and there are people leading trails out there, but you can just go and have a look at a different perspective on the festival. I should do that. Sometimes

Lisa Sykes (07:28):

It is a privilege because they're often on private estates, aren't they? And you get to explore, because we went to AKI in Darbyshire and that was great. They did some guided runs and cycles, so you basically could just somebody who knew the area took you around. So it was just a really nice chance to explore somewhere without constantly thinking which way am I going? But I liked good life a lot because we did that with the magazine quite a few times and you can take your dog, but actually it's quite rare to take dogs to festivals. But actually I think there are quite a few festivals who are set up specifically to do that now. Literally it's not for everyone, but I think I'd rather take a dog than the baby, if I'm honest. Much easier. It's just a bit more flexible. But yeah, so we've got a couple of projects in our June shoe about going to a festival and they're both made from fabric scraps, scrappy do projects.

(08:20):

In fact, for those who aren't making the readers of the magazine are We Can Project is the idea that you read this feature and these instructions and that weekend you could make something, which is very satisfying to do, isn't it? Anyway, these are a pass holder, so you can get your little mini programme or your pass for your festival on a nice little scrappy fabric lanyard. Actually that one's on the blog, so we'll pop that on there, link to that. And we've got a template for a handy pouch, which is like a sort of mini bumba made also of scrap materials. Actually these both came from a book, so I'll give it a little plug, A mini Quilting by Laura Struck, which are very nice little projects. And then there's hats at festivals, which always fascinate me because practically everyone takes a hat of some sort to a festival. They It's true. And some people go for practical and some people go for flamboyant. We've got a feature coming up in September issue actually about a hat festival, which I don't think I told you about, Joe. Oh wow. I've seen the pictures and it is very good. So I'm looking forward to working on that one. But are you hat

Jo Tinsley (09:25):

Wearer? I mean I'm a winter hat wearer. I like a beanie. Oh

Lisa Sykes (09:28):

Yeah.

Jo Tinsley (09:29):

I was super shy at uni. My tutor told me that for the first two years he just knew me as the girl in the hat. I just used to hide behind my hat and not say anything. Oh bless. But yeah, no, I'm a bit of a self-conscious hat wearer. So recently I started wearing a denim baseball cap when it's really sunny and it's really plain, it's really inconspicuous, but I can't help thinking everyone's like, look at her in the cap. It's like they know I'm new to wearing it, so I'm really self-conscious about it.

Lisa Sykes (09:52):

Yeah, you see, I think the less hair you've got, the better it is to wear a hat. Like my partner who, he won't like me saying this, but he hasn't got lots of hair and he likes Panama and it really suits him. Whereas I've got quite big hair, but I do need to wear a sun hat. So I bought this straw hat on holiday last year. It was like a straw bucket hat actually. And it was ideal, it was classy. I thought it was great. And there is one photo of me in it and then I lost it at a festival and the replacement I've bought is just not up to the mark and I just know I'm never going to be able to find that hat again.

Jo Tinsley (10:25):

Yeah, I mean saying that being self-conscious. I do also love a massive sun hat. I wouldn't wear this in Tescos and Shep mullet, but it's when you're on holiday, a really sophisticated large hat. It's like the size of your shoulders. Yeah, I do enjoy that.

Lisa Sykes (10:38):

Yes. You want glamorous. Yes, but

Jo Tinsley (10:41):

The problem with that is you can't pack it.

Lisa Sykes (10:43):

No,

Jo Tinsley (10:44):

I've bought one before and then just left it at home.

Lisa Sykes (10:47):

That is true. Although I once had one from, do you remember Miss Selfridge? Oh yeah. I had a hat that was a big sunhat like cotton, but it's like those pop-up tents when you fold them up, they kind of got wire around the edge and they would fold up into a disc so then they'd slip in into a little case and go you back and I've still got it. I found it recently. It must be 30 years old, right? Stood the test of time. But I have to say it does look a bit more well goth rather than sophisticated I think is probably the best description

Jo Tinsley (11:15):

I've been thinking recently. I'd quite like to experiment with advisor. I've got this point in my life advisor. What is the point of advisor then? I dunno. I've got this point in my life where I don't want to dress my age. I've just bought a pair of leopard print jeans that I'm wearing right now and I just think advisor might be my next step.

Lisa Sykes (11:33):

Joe, I think you are maybe 10 years younger than me, maybe a bit more. And there's definitely a point where you really have to dress your age, so you go for it Girl, you wear those Leo print jeans and yeah, visor. It's very sort of eighties makes me think of tennis players. Interesting. You won't be able to pack that though. And that's where your it hat comes in.

Jo Tinsley (11:54):

No, I'll just have to wear it the whole way. Yeah, book its hats. Yeah, exactly.

Lisa Sykes (11:57):

We love a book it hat and in fact in our June issue we've got a wearing well, which is our style feature about the clothes we love the most and it's a festival essential really, isn't it?

Jo Tinsley (12:05):

It is, yeah. And it was kind of, everyone had one in the eighties and nineties made you think of Manchester and Britpop and hip hop and things like that.

Lisa Sykes (12:12):

Yes.

Jo Tinsley (12:13):

But yeah, it's a really festival head given and I think it's because it's sort of packable, it's washable. You can crumple it and cram it into a bag and it still looks good.

Lisa Sykes (12:22):

They were practical though originally they, it is fishermen and farmers that wore them in the early 20th century.

Jo Tinsley (12:28):

Yeah, yeah. They used to be made of lanolin rich wool that repelled the seas spray in the rain and then it had this sloping brim to protect your eyes. Oh, interesting. I didn't know that. So yeah, but they're cotton nowadays.

Lisa Sykes (12:40):

Oh, I'm feeling like I want to go to a festival now. I did try and get tickets for some ones that I thought were still small enough to be able to A, afford and B get tickets for, but they sold out really quickly. It seems like even the ones you thought were small have now got big. Yeah, it's true. Do you like a tiny festival though?

Jo Tinsley (12:56):

I do like a tiny festival. I was thinking about this. They're either festivals that were always small and they stayed little, like the pretty folk festival or something like that. Or there's these new little biju festivals coming up and yeah, coming. No, I like that. Rather than your big festival,

Lisa Sykes (13:09):

You have to find your festival, don't you? But maybe your festival isn't really a festival. Maybe it's a country show. Yes. I love a country show.

Jo Tinsley (13:19):

No, same. Same. There's loads around here in Somerset. I wonder, do you think you get them all around the country?

Lisa Sykes (13:24):

Well I do because I know that there's one in the village next to mine that has been going for donkey years. Emily Village show. I'll give it a little plug and it's set on the hillside and I can actually see my mom's house from the showground and there's always a brass band playing Jerusalem. It's always slightly drizzly. There's immaculately turned out horses and fancy ducks. Yes. But in a quagmire of mud usually. But I love it. I think that's the point is whether it's a village show, a county show or a country show, whatever the size, the format's pretty similar. And of course it's not just villages because Lambeth in London has a country show in zone two,

Jo Tinsley (14:05):

Which

Lisa Sykes (14:05):

Is a reminder, I think that everywhere was one rural, so presumably everywhere had one at one point and they do it in a very urban way in a park, but it's still got giant veg competition. It's still got all the handycrafts. I think they bring in a few sheep and cows and things as well. Yeah, there's a feature isn't there in the latest anthology. I'm glad you brought that up, Joe, because I specifically told Joe not to look at this feature. That's

Jo Tinsley (14:30):

True.

Lisa Sykes (14:31):

Because there's a bit of a quiz in it that I'm going to test her on in a few minutes, really. But let's talk a bit more about current county shows first, because the biggest ones are like I think the Royal three counties in Melbourne and the Royal Welsh. I mean, I'm a big fan of the Great Yorkshire show, but I bet you go to Bath and West and things like that, don't you?

Jo Tinsley (14:48):

Yeah, I went to Bath and West one the first time I went there, which is, I dunno, about 20 years ago they had a human cannonball and that was the first thing I saw when I walked in. I love the novelties, like the dry cream cracker eating competitions or there's always someone herding runner ducks with collies and thinly veiled threats.

Lisa Sykes (15:03):

Absolutely. And I love the fact you get loads of teenage girls all like drooling over a farrier that's half naked and then you get loads of sort of middle-aged men drooling over a steam powered engine in another corner of the field and there's definitely something for everyone. Yeah, I love the horse parades where the women, they're in authentic Victorian dress or Georgian and they're judged on their dress and their horse handling abilities. And the reason is is because how people attracted the opposite sex because back in the day, because they were riding along and they had to look good on a horse. You see, that's how you met people and it is quite interesting. But yes, it does look a little bit sort of out of place now. But the outfits are amazing. I do think they do hark back to simpler times country shows. I

Jo Tinsley (15:54):

Think they do.

Lisa Sykes (15:55):

There's a familiarity. It's like going to a good wedding, you know what comes next, what's there? And I think we like that, don't we? Yeah. Rare breeds love a few rare breeds.

Jo Tinsley (16:03):

Yeah. All the fancy rabbits and Guinea pigs

Lisa Sykes (16:05):

And fancy rabbits. I once saw an entire display of Guinea pigs.

Jo Tinsley (16:09):

Nice

Lisa Sykes (16:10):

So many different times. Who knew they were that different from each other? I am going to mention our anthology, which is called A Year of Celebrations, and it's a new book that we just made, which has got some of our favourite features in the mag and it's all about finding an excuse to celebrate at whatever time of year. And some of the articles are about marking the season, so the country show is about that. But in the country show we did a quiz, the actual line we wrote was, now you've got your rustic eye in it's time for a quick round of sheep or cheese. So Joe, here we go.

Jo Tinsley (16:45):

I really hope this goes better than the last quiz you gave me, Lisa

Lisa Sykes (16:48):

Sheep or cheese. Yeah, there's no drawing in this one. Anyone who listened to one of our earlier seasons will know Joe struggled a little bit with my last quiz. Right? So blue textel sheep or cheese blue.

Jo Tinsley (17:00):

That's got to be sheep.

Lisa Sykes (17:02):

That is true. It originated in the Netherlands in the 1970s and is a blue colour, no surprise. Varying from pale to dark. Okay. Paric fell. Paric

Jo Tinsley (17:12):

Fell. Oh gosh, that could be either, couldn't

Lisa Sykes (17:14):

It? Well, you got to decide.

Jo Tinsley (17:17):

I think it's another sheep.

Lisa Sykes (17:19):

It is a cheese. It's a cheese. It is named after. You're not going to like this from your county named after a steep cone shaped lanker fel synonymous with sheep grazing.

Jo Tinsley (17:29):

I've let everyone down. I'm

Lisa Sykes (17:30):

Sorry. It's all right. And castle milk mu it

Jo Tinsley (17:35):

Cheese

Lisa Sykes (17:37):

Sheep.

Jo Tinsley (17:38):

Oh my gosh.

Lisa Sykes (17:39):

It was created in the 19 hundreds on land owned by the first Baronet Jardine. That's the most random fact ever. And I mean that's just a

Jo Tinsley (17:48):

Place, isn't it? SW dale? I think that's a sheep.

Lisa Sykes (17:52):

Both.

Jo Tinsley (17:53):

Both.

Lisa Sykes (17:53):

It's a sheep and a cheese. Yeah, so I thought you were going to get that because you'd said both earlier, but anyway, so yeah, I think did all right. Not fantastic sheep and cheese knowledge, but not bad. Not bad. It's trickier than you think, but I think what it illustrates is just how every single valley or Dale or locality has got, because even cheddar is quite near where you are, but there are lots of different types of cheddars, aren't they? And it's our own version of terroir, isn't it?

Jo Tinsley (18:20):

Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (18:20):

It's very interesting. Anyway, we could talk about cheese for a long time. We love cheese, but yes,

Jo Tinsley (18:25):

Save that for another podcast.

Lisa Sykes (18:27):

Let's move on to what we're going to talk about next, which is about, this season is all about taking trips. And I know trips aren't always carefree, but you could make them more carefree by not driving in a car or going on a plane. That's

Jo Tinsley (18:41):

True. That's true. Always adds this sort of element of adventure, A little bit of mild peril.

Lisa Sykes (18:47):

I think so, yes. Mild peril. We like that. Mild peril is the theme of our next bit of this podcast, but it is about going on public transport and you have to accept that something can and will go wrong, don't you?

Jo Tinsley (18:58):

Yeah, it's true. And I wrote about this in the Slow Traveller, just this,

Lisa Sykes (19:02):

Sorry. Yes. I should just say we have lucky, we have our slow travel expert here. Joe's latest book is The Slow Traveller and we will put a link to that to buy in the show notes. There you go, Joe. There's your plug.

Jo Tinsley (19:14):

Thanks. But yeah, in one of the chapters talking about the importance of spontaneity, bringing spontaneity into your trips, but of course spontaneity isn't always a choice. When you are travelling, you'd carefully laid plans just can become unstuck. You can take a wrong turn, you can miss the train and it doesn't always feel exciting. Sometimes it feels quite anxiety ridden, but nowadays I actually

Lisa Sykes (19:36):

Do you embrace it now?

Jo Tinsley (19:38):

I embrace it, yeah. It kind of lifts the weight off your shoulders. But I remember one time when I was visiting this uninhabited Croatian island on a boat trip. We missed the boat back. He said we wouldn't wait for us and we got lost and he didn't wait for us. And it was me and a friend and the only thing that was left there when we got to the dock was this private charter and they were untying the boat and we were waving and shouting, saying, take us home. It was just one of the most memorable journeys. No one spoke the same language. Everyone was passing around this homemade moonshine and dancing, salsa, dancing. I dunno why. And this entire school of dolphins went past the boat while we were all getting really merry and dancing and chatting in different languages.

Lisa Sykes (20:18):

And it's the best memory of your trip, right? Yeah, yeah,

Jo Tinsley (20:21):

Exactly. I completely wouldn't change it.

Lisa Sykes (20:23):

I think that you have to throw yourself upon the kindness of strangers, don't you?

Jo Tinsley (20:27):

I think so.

Lisa Sykes (20:28):

Obviously you don't want to put yourself in danger, but you really can't guide book the whole thing with a trip. It surely that's what being a bit carefree is about, isn't it? It's just kind of being prepared to see what's on the other side really. We used to do a lot of take our bikes on holiday a lot and we once cycled across this island to see what was on the other side, forgetting that there was a huge mountain in the middle of the island. Literally I got to that point where I just got off my bike and said, I'm not cycling uphill anymore. This is enough. I'm done. I'll run out of water. And so I hitched a lift with this lorry that was going over the other side and I said, just drop me off at the top. And it was all sign language and eventually my other half got to the top and then we did

Jo Tinsley (21:08):

This. I like the fact that he didn't have a lift too.

Lisa Sykes (21:10):

No, no. He was like, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this to the top the way boys do. And we had this perilous descent on the other side still with no water. And then we got there and of course there wasn't anywhere to stay in this village and eventually mother's friend found us a room and oh, we ended up having a great night in this bar and playing cards and thinking. Then the next day we just got the bus back and they just put the bikes on the roof and drove over the mountain. A good story, isn't it? Those experiences do not happen if you are within the confines of a car.

Jo Tinsley (21:44):

No, exactly. Yeah. Public transport is the way to kind of encourage these adventures to happen.

Lisa Sykes (21:48):

And I know you're a fan of a ferry.

Jo Tinsley (21:50):

Do you like a ferry? Yeah, I just think it just adds a bit of adventure to it and it doesn't even have to be sort of a big ferry or something. There's this tiny ferry that goes from OB to keer, this tiny little island in Argyle, and I've done it before. I've gone to get some fish from the Oen fish market and then gone over in this tiny little boat and camped next to the ruins of the castle and cooked the fish over a fire. And it's just such a nice micro adventure. Feels like you've gone miles.

Lisa Sykes (22:19):

Yeah, exactly. You're right. Even going to the isle of white on the ferry there couldn't be a more kind of suburban ferry if you like, but actually it still feels like you've gone further, doesn't it?

Jo Tinsley (22:31):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (22:32):

And it's like the chain ferry is like at Foy where you just crossing the estuary to cut off a bit of road. I think it was, you said to me the other day, there's always a pub on either side, which is always great, isn't it? Yeah,

Jo Tinsley (22:43):

Yeah. There's always a pub. It's really cool when you're doing the coast path and you can stop at a pub, wait for the ferry, get on the ferry, stop at another pub. Carry on. Yeah, there's always a reward for getting there.

Lisa Sykes (22:53):

No, it's very good. And I like special ferries. I once went on these bike ferries in Do you knowland? It's kind of part of Finland, but it speaks Swedish and it's in the middle of the Gulf of Bne, so between the two countries in the Baltic, but all the ferries between the islands are for bikes only. So the whole thing is designed to cycle around and it is just very cool. You have to make a timetable though with a ferry, don't you? There's a slight free on

Jo Tinsley (23:22):

This is a mild peril we were talking about. Yeah, because it's always the chant

Lisa Sykes (23:25):

Can miss it. It's your mild peril again. Definitely. I'm about to travel to Copenhagen on the train and so that's going to be good. I can't wait to not drive somewhere basically. I think it'll be really good. But also that you can get stuck with the weather and all sorts of things, can't you?

Jo Tinsley (23:43):

Yeah, and I think one of the best things about trains is when you get a train to the sea, so wherever you're starting, but especially if you're in the middle of a city or something. I think there's a fact that in the magazine that nowhere way in Britain is more than 75 miles from the sea and it's like it's such a tempting and spontaneous sort of day trip that you can take. And I always think the best one is the train to penance. It's such an end of the line destination.

Lisa Sykes (24:08):

Yeah. Can't go any further. Yeah,

Jo Tinsley (24:10):

Every time I do it, I forget about that part. When you're going through tamer from ish on the Riviera Airline, and it's almost like you can skim your hand on the water.

Lisa Sykes (24:18):

The waves are practically lapping the track they

Jo Tinsley (24:21):

Are when it's windy, they do actually spread. And

Lisa Sykes (24:23):

Then you've got that red sandstone cliff on the other side and the colours are just so vivid and it feels like you've come to the sea already, doesn't it?

Jo Tinsley (24:31):

Yeah. And you've still got a long way to go at that point,

Lisa Sykes (24:35):

But also you can do that in the Welsh coast at Palm Maddock and Path as well, can't you?

Jo Tinsley (24:39):

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Lisa Sykes (24:41):

The But I really like the long promise of the sea through the highlands. If you set off from Glasgow and you go to Ma Lake or open and you just know eventually you're going to get to the sea.

(24:53):

But even because I live quite near Brighton and there's nothing nicer, especially on a sunny day than coming out of the rail station at Brighton and seeing the glimpse of the sea at the end of the hill. There's this tiny little glimmer, isn't there? I think all entrances to places at the seaside should be like that. I agree. Because where we spend a lot of time, my partner's family are all there, but Morcombe used to have, well, it's still got the jetty, but the railway station was actually on the jetty at the end. So all these Victorian day trippers would get off in the middle of Morton Bay and it'd be right there surrounding them.

Jo Tinsley (25:29):

It's a real du moment, isn't

Lisa Sykes (25:31):

It? Absolutely. And then now they've moved it to some in the middle of the town centre. It's just such a disappointment. I just think that must have been what an experience that must have been for people who've quite often never seen the Z before and suddenly they'd be out in the middle of the bay.

Jo Tinsley (25:47):

And I guess then finally it's not seen as romantic as trains and ferries, but buses, right?

Lisa Sykes (25:51):

Yes.

Jo Tinsley (25:52):

And I always think there's this sort middle part of our lives that you and I are in. We're like, you don't go on buses, so you go on buses when you're a student and you go on buses when you get your OAP pass. But this middle part, why would you? Because you've got a car. But actually there's something really fun about, especially like a long distance

Lisa Sykes (26:08):

Bus trip. I guess you use buses more if you live in the middle of a city, but lots of us, and I think you've got to get the best seat on the bus though, haven't you? If you're going on a long distance bus.

Jo Tinsley (26:19):

That's true. Yeah. You have to be front of the line and a bit sharp in the elbows. But yeah, I used to get the coaster bus along from Brighton, I think it was stopped at Seaford. Seven sisters east born and you could get the one where you looked like you're driving the bus on the top deck right at the front.

Lisa Sykes (26:32):

Nice.

Jo Tinsley (26:33):

Yeah. So you could stop somewhere, walk along the coast path for a bit, stop at a pub on a village green and then get the bus back from somewhere else. And it was just like, that's a day out.

Lisa Sykes (26:41):

It's great. We should research buses more when we go on holiday because actually I use them more when I go abroad than I do in this country. Yeah,

Jo Tinsley (26:49):

Exactly. You do when you're abroad, don't you? Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (26:51):

Yeah. And they're very chatty place, aren't they?

Jo Tinsley (26:53):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (26:54):

And they take you to the heart of the place. You can get right into the centre of a market town on the bus, whereas actually sometimes the railway sessions like out of town or whatever.

(27:04):

But actually this all ties in very neatly because it's time for our read aloud story and this episode it's about a bus drive the voyages, A short story by Lisa Blower. He told me he drove the seven Nations bus, could say good morning in seven different languages back in the seventies. His name Jack Bright on the streets of Wolverhampton and he's in his shirt sleeves but still wears a tie as he drops off, picks up the workers at Goodyear and it's a good year this year, a Caribbean son, some folks left behind and he agrees Curry does taste better in the heat. He accepts it in Tupperware along with Halvar and jerk chicken crowds, his family round an old pasting table in the street and smiles as his wife smooths out a tablecloth. Now sit. She tells the kids as Jack sizzles, polish sausages over a camping stove with a spatula laughs when his wife putters a chapati and second helpings are passed around.

(28:14):

They come together in the sun, sit on doorsteps, chew the fat, try this with a fork, try that with a spoon, dip and lick their fingers. Talk of lives they've had. And these new ones now laughing at Jack's wife, slathering sun lotion on his bare naked children. She has a cue forming. Everyone wants to know what it feels like and those tyre skinned kids squeal because it's slippery and cold. Here's the ice cream van and money's pooled. Jack notes that everyone's tongue is the same colour. His wife tells him, you've got Raspberry ripple on your chin, cocker the midday sun now. And he has an idea. The depot on the Cleveland Road is not far. Jack counts 12 kids and thinks of them as doctors and nurses, teachers and engineers of little Sanjay's way with animals florence's knack to fashion a skirt. He drives a double decker navy and blue and cream with jolly headlights and leather seats and the hoses in the yard over 50 foot long.

(29:11):

There's nothing more satisfying than washing a bus. And he divides the children into teams team A. You'll hose down this side, team B, the other he gives Keith with his long arms the extendable mop and tasks him with the windscreen. 1, 2, 3. And Jack turns on the tap and the hoses gush alive. He wishes he had a video camera. He has seen them in shop windows, but memories will be enough. These 12 kids and their fathers now playing tug of war with those hoses. Jack wishes he could all that shrieking and laughter sprinkle it in dark times like summer rain, he takes to the driver's seat and one by one takes a child on his lap and offers them the wheel laps of the yard. It's like a fairground ride. The girls take turns in ringing the bell and play conductors where to they ask the seaside single or return, they paddle in the puddles left behind, catch the rainbows in the sunbeams pebbles become shells and they find water spiders in the pools.

(30:09):

Then they go back to all those tables pulled together in the street, the Rome talking long into the night in later life when retired and telling all this to his grandson, Jack can still smell the sun on the tarmac, taste the raspberry ripple on his skin. It became a thing on scorching days to troop the kids to the yard to host down the buses where they found Jamaican beaches and built castles on Indian sand. And then the next day bidding. Good morning, Jen Dobra ra bunard di ssam du Boston feal last night and stealing his shirt sleeves, feeling as if he'd travelled the world. I think it does hark back to simpler times. That doesn't it. But I do love the multiculturalism that you get in a big city, but I must apologise for the pronunciations and learning to ways to say good morning in seven different languages when I'm not a natural linguist was quite tricky. So apologies in advance to every single nation that offended. But now we're going to talk camping, which let's a full disclosure, Joe. We are both big fans camping.

Jo Tinsley (31:31):

True, that's true.

Lisa Sykes (31:32):

But we're not going to evangelise about it, are we? We're not going to try and convert people.

Jo Tinsley (31:36):

We are not here to persuade you to go camping because it's absolutely okay to not like camping. It's kind of like Marmite, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (31:42):

Yes, it is. Marmite. I think that's very true. But you made a good point to me the other day that if you work at home or in an office, you probably would love to be outside on your holiday. The real joy of camping, isn't it? You are outside a lot, but if you walk dogs for a living or you work outdoors,

Jo Tinsley (32:04):

It's like the last thing you want to be doing. You want to be staying in a nice hotel,

Lisa Sykes (32:06):

Of course you want to stay in a hotel. Why would you want to be outside again? So I think it is hostage for courses, isn't it? And I think glamping has tried to come a long way down that route. You get the outdoor life, but with creature comforts and that is really good. But I do feel that it's campers who appreciate glamping, whereas people who don't camp just think that that's quite an expensive way to not be as comfortable as if they're in a hotel. Whereas I love glamping. I appreciate the comforts.

Jo Tinsley (32:37):

Yeah. Where the audience going for. Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (32:40):

Totally. I've definitely moved into glamping or camping glamping, please. Yeah. Just because you appreciate the comforts you get with a real bed and possibly a wood burner and Yeah,

Jo Tinsley (32:52):

I think it's all just about being outside all the time. So whether you are camping or glamping or whatever, having the opportunity to be outside really early and really late in the day.

Lisa Sykes (33:02):

Yes.

Jo Tinsley (33:03):

When you go stargazing, when you go for a cheeky wee at five in the morning or when you're woken up by bird song or in sunlight and things like that, it's like you get to see those early times.

Lisa Sykes (33:12):

We put a few of these on our blog actually. We'll share the link link I think at some point. But you have to be a realist about camping. At some point you will be wet, cold, or hungry or possibly all three and that's okay. But I definitely contributed to these. You've been camping when moments second breakfast. That for me is one of the joys of camping because you wake up so early, you have your little first snack breakfast at the first

Jo Tinsley (33:37):

Time I went to, I had three

Lisa Sykes (33:38):

Breakfasts and the prize of the one comfy camp chair that everyone fights over.

Jo Tinsley (33:45):

Yes. It's like you are really scared to get up,

Lisa Sykes (33:48):

But sipping whiskey by the light of the campfire and you've not seen the kids for an hour. That was always a good thing.

Jo Tinsley (33:56):

But then you've got, on the other hand, you've got, we know when the air bed slowly deflates throughout the night and you always just wake up on the ground,

Lisa Sykes (34:03):

That's going to happen. Yes. Even when the bed has leaked last time you went,

Jo Tinsley (34:08):

You

Lisa Sykes (34:08):

Somehow fail to remember that before you go next to him. And then less positively. I've definitely had to do this. You've had to retrieve the dog from someone else's camp Lader in the early morning. They've managed to slither under the tent and go and raid. That's not fun. I think one of the low points was ice on the inside of the tent. That's never a good start to the day, is it?

Jo Tinsley (34:30):

Yeah. I've had whole rivers of water running through a tent before in one door and out the other several times. Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (34:37):

I like the fact that you become very resourceful when you're camping. Don't you find ingenious ways to use bits of kit, like a crate that carries all your stuff, then turns into a table and portable washing up station and I think you've probably used one as a toddler bath at some point as well. Have you? Yeah, I've definitely been there.

Jo Tinsley (34:53):

I think that's the thing is that they're more useful and ingenious than the things that you buy that are these camping essentials, which are actually things that you don't need. I think there's just so many of these.

Lisa Sykes (35:03):

The toilet tent is my particular bug bear toilet tent. I can't understand why people want that. They're like an inverse tardis. They're even smaller on the inside than they look from the outside

Jo Tinsley (35:14):

And they're going to get warm.

Lisa Sykes (35:16):

Yeah, no, it's not good.

Jo Tinsley (35:17):

No. For me it's the tea light chandelier and I've actually, this is for a belt 10. It's awful. It's awful. I've had a couple of these in my life. They're so pointless because they don't even like,

Lisa Sykes (35:28):

But it sounds dangerous.

Jo Tinsley (35:30):

They don't even light up the space enough so that you can read and then you're banging your head on it with lit candles and there's candles falling all over the floor of a canvas tent. It's just ridiculous.

Lisa Sykes (35:38):

I really miss toast when I'm camping because I love toast. It's my way to start the day. And so I did buy a camp cooker with a toaster in it. I mean, it's just a way to burn bread. It does not distribute the heat evenly in any shape or form. So I've had to give up on that. I think you definitely, when you hone in your camping kit and it's there packed, ready to go when you become a camper, isn't it? Yeah. You can just pop

Jo Tinsley (36:06):

It in the car. Yeah, I was just going to say, it's worse. I find it more stressful when you're taking too much

Lisa Sykes (36:12):

Stuff

Jo Tinsley (36:13):

Than when you're thinking, oh, there's something I've forgotten. When you're packing the car and you're struggling to close the car, I get really stressed about that. It's just better to have it well honed.

Lisa Sykes (36:23):

I think so, no. So camping history though, because we've got a piece in our may issue, and this is our looking back section where we dig out a bit of forgotten wisdom and the histories of interesting things. In fact, in June issue we're doing the radio. Did you know it was a hundred years of national radio this summer and in July we're doing fans. That's things to keep you cool as opposed to being a supporter. Although actually we have done fan clubs in the past as well. Honestly, think the best thing about editing this magazine is we can and do write about such eclectic range of topics. There's nothing we can't talk about. But anyway, it's also been a hundred years since people started sleeping under canvas for pleasure apparently. So the leisure camping industry dates back a hundred years.

Jo Tinsley (37:05):

Yeah, so it was the first lightweight camping equipment was invented in the late 18 hundreds. I think These were the silk, a framed tents that were designed to be carried by bike.

Lisa Sykes (37:15):

Oh, interesting.

Jo Tinsley (37:16):

But yeah, people really got into it after the first World War when there was just people who were writing into the papers saying, I actually really enjoyed being outdoors all the time. How can I continue to do this? Oh wow. Which you wouldn't expect, really.

Lisa Sykes (37:29):

And scouts and guides, of course. They've always been big campers, haven't they?

Jo Tinsley (37:32):

Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (37:32):

Exactly. But I guess your working families who were used to going on holidays in boarding houses where you were, please do not return till 5:00 PM and the curfews and mealtimes and this must have felt like such freedom by comparison.

Jo Tinsley (37:47):

Yeah, absolutely. And it was only fairly recently that camping started to get kind of fancy with the rise of yurts and bell tents and sort of accommodation that you could put a full post of bed in and things like that.

Lisa Sykes (37:57):

Yeah, I know mean people watching is one of the great, I mean, we talked about people watching at festivals, but people watching on campsite is also fantastic, isn't it?

Jo Tinsley (38:05):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (38:06):

There's nothing more entertaining than watching new arrivals, putting up their tents,

Jo Tinsley (38:11):

Seeing the dynamics of someone else's family,

Lisa Sykes (38:13):

The big row after a six hour drive, and then the joy of them settling into deck chairs and opening a beer at the end of

Jo Tinsley (38:21):

It. There's a very different vibe from the Friday night and the Saturday night isn't there?

Lisa Sykes (38:25):

Definitely, definitely. But I like a bit of naly wild camping because wild camping. It's interesting. I know the legalities are a bit of a grey area, although good news that Dart Mu has just allowed it. The courts upheld its ruling, isn't it? That you can still wild camp on Dartmoor, which is one of the few places in England. You can actually, are you a fan of wild

Jo Tinsley (38:47):

Camping? Well, I struggle with breaking rules, so I have done lots of wild camping, but I can't ever quite relax. But no, I like this kind of almost wild camping. So we'll put some links on the show notes. There's lots of sort of places where you can go and you pay a very small amount or an honesty box kind of amount. So you're allowed to camp there in someone's field. Super

Lisa Sykes (39:09):

Basic. But sometimes there's a lu, right?

Jo Tinsley (39:11):

Yeah, there's a lu, there's a lu and there's a tap and there's a place to park your car, but it's often not next to where you're going to be camping. So there might be a wheelbarrow or something like that. And then you can just go and camp in this really wild place and probably be the only one there.

Lisa Sykes (39:25):

Yeah, because you kind of almost forget you're on a campsite, you think in the wild somewhere.

(39:31):

You're not going to get woken up by an angry farmer. And you also have got a couple of facilities. I have to say that there's a campsite like this that has a very special place in our memory in the forest of Boland up in the north, which we are big fans of. And it is that open field bounded by a dry stone wall. There's a lu in a lean to by the farmhouse and drinking water from a tap, but you can walk down the road to a pub, which is a really good pub. And in fact the Parker's arms, it's a very good pub and over a pint or several, that is where we decided to set up iceberg press and buy the simple things. Nice. So it's like etched in our memories. Yeah, definitely. How about you? Have you got some memories from,

Jo Tinsley (40:14):

Oh gosh, I've got so many. Yeah, I mean, I was thinking one of my favourite campsites is because I've been to Glenco so many times.

Lisa Sykes (40:22):

Oh yeah.

Jo Tinsley (40:23):

And there's the red squirrel campsite or the three squirrel red squirrel campsite I think. Yeah. I often arrive late at night putting a tent with a head torch. It's not what you planned for, but it's actually quite fun.

Lisa Sykes (40:34):

You're brave

Jo Tinsley (40:36):

Because it's been a really long drive. And then you put up view tent and it's about a 10 minute walk, 15 minute walk down. It's really spooky lane to the clack egg in where they have, I don't know, over 200 whiskeys or something. And

Lisa Sykes (40:46):

You're not coming back in a hurry, are you? To your half made

Jo Tinsley (40:49):

Tent. Yeah. And hagger, kns and tatties and all. And you spend all night there and then you stagger back to this shoddily pitch tent and it's just, yeah, this is camping gold.

Lisa Sykes (40:58):

Yeah, definitely. It's interesting that we both put walking distance to a pub in those stories, which is there's something, yeah, we never go camping without packing the whiskey. I think that's essential.

Jo Tinsley (41:09):

It's needed whether you're having a good time or a bad time.

Lisa Sykes (41:11):

Definitely. But I do think this is because I want to talk about a magical creature. And it does remind me because often when you camping you go to sleep with the sound of owls, don't you? And our magical creature for this episode is the bar now, and it was actually our first magical creature that we talked about back in 2017 when we started that series. So this is where we, a creature that you will be able to see in the uk, but it's truly magical and barn nows. Wow. They are otherworldly, aren't they?

(41:44):

And June, of course is a great time to watch them because they're out early when it's still light hunting, feeding. And we're up in the Dales at the moment and I was watching one last night really hunting right in front of the cottage. Yeah, it was great. But yeah, it's interesting that I find them incredibly calming to watch, I mean silent, right? Yeah. I, a bit bit of a story. Some of my marriage fell apart. I took my two and a half year old daughter to a cottage in Northumberland and I was really worried and anxious and wanted to prove I could do this by myself. And every night when she was in bed, I'd sit with my dog outside the front of the cottage and the light nights and watch this barn out hunt sort of silently over the meadow between the cottage and the sea. And it was just the most calming, sanity saving point in every day. Yeah,

Jo Tinsley (42:33):

Really grounding. Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (42:37):

They're just a very special thing, aren't they?

Jo Tinsley (42:38):

Yeah. Yeah. Really nice. We've got toney owls opposite us, but we've got Swifts and they're just like, we've got this sort of screeching parties of Swifts that go past our house at the moment. And they're so beautiful and rare, are they?

Lisa Sykes (42:52):

Yeah. Well, less common. They used to be. I think they've declined a lot, haven't they?

Jo Tinsley (42:56):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (42:56):

Yeah. Now we get house Martins, they're late this time because of the dry spring, I think. But I love birds swooping eating insects because every insect they eat is less mosquitoes to bite me, which I'm always quite pleased about that. I think. On that practical note, we've probably come to the end of this episode. I think we have the carefree episode, and I hope you found it inspiring. And I have a few ideas to put into practise this summer. There's going to be reminders and links for all the various things we've mentioned in our show notes, which appear on whichever app you're using. And if you're tempted by our juneish issue, then you can try an immediate start subscription and you'll get this one delivered to your door. Just visit iceberg press.co uk slash subscribe. So thanks Jo for your fascinating facts as ever. Thanks for having me and for co-hosting. Yeah, but we're back, aren't we? Next week?

Jo Tinsley (43:45):

We are.

Lisa Sykes (43:46):

Next week's. Episode is slow. It will be delivered at the usual speed. But we're going to be talking about how to have a slow summer and you can subscribe for free on your podcast app so you don't miss it. So thank you very much for listening. Bye. From us.