Golden Days - Episode 3 - NEST

In this third episode The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank turn their attention to what they have and where they live, enjoying treasures, finding fresh ideas at home and sampling a bit of Kveldsmat – the Norwegian tradition of evening breakfast.

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

 Editing by Dhylyn Foster. Music by Arthur Cosslett. 

On the blog

Greek Panzanella 

Journalling ideas 

Search ‘What I treasure’ on the blog for some of our published pieces from readers on a belonging that means a lot to them.

To browse
Treasure tins – #concentratesofplace @tanyashadrickwriter

Window swap

In The Simple Things

From the September issue – 159

Home Economics: Tomatoes – how to make the most of a seasonal glut of tomatoes 

Wisdom: Emma Bridgewater on 40 years of preparing pottery and the special ritual of coffee and cake

How to Kveldsmat – the Norwegian tradition of a late night snack

My plot: Andrew Fusek Peters shares wildlife photography taken from his Shropshire garden. Fusekphotos.com @andrewfusekpeters and book Garden Safari (Graffeg)

In the October (160) issue 

My Place: The corners of our home that mean the most – Kitchen tables 

Keeping a commonplace book by Miranda Mills, author of The Country Commonplace Book (Batsford)

Sunday best – the comfort and delight of Sundays by Daniel Gray author of Sunday Best: Travels through the day of restby Daniel Gray 
(Harper North)

Bramble basket project 

Buy the October issue at picsandink.com from 18 September and on the newsstand from 24 September.

From earlier issues

Letting go – just like nature, we need to shed in order to grow and flourish  (136)

How to great a weekend retreat at home (142)

Back garden campout – enjoy an end of summer camping trip without going away (110)

Transcript

Lisa Sykes (00:11):

Hi, welcome to the Small Ways To Live Well podcast from The Simple Things. If you're new to us, we're a monthly magazine all about taking time to live well, and I'm Lisa Sykes, the editor. You are joining us for episode three of The Golden Day season, and we're going to take you through this fleeting but beautiful time where summer turns into autumn and today the theme is Nest. And I'm joined by my co-host, wellbeing editor, Bex Frank. And we're hoping to find some fresh ideas at home and sample a bit of fel, the Norwegian tradition of evening breakfast. Sobeck. We're having snack break today. That okay with you?

Becs Frank (00:45):

Absolutely. You know me always up for a snack. I really like the sound of this one.

Lisa Sykes (00:49):

Yeah, no, I love an extra meal.

Becs Frank (00:51):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (00:51):

The thing is, I am still spending quite a lot of time outdoors and I know you are too.

Becs Frank (00:55):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (00:56):

Especially when the sun's shining. But it's also a time when we do turn our attention more inwards. We, there's a bit of a nesting period before the night's dark and we start to spend more time indoors. Are you feeling that? Yeah, there

Becs Frank (01:07):

Really is. Yeah. Actually, do you know what? Since we last spoke and I was kind of sort of slightly clinging onto summer a bit more, I've had a little mini break.

Lisa Sykes (01:16):

Yes.

Becs Frank (01:17):

And I've come back.

Lisa Sykes (01:18):

So your holidays are done. Yeah, yeah,

Becs Frank (01:20):

Yeah. And I've come back with this kind of real urge. My husband and I both have to get the house ready for the, I dunno the change of the season or whatever it is, but we're both kind of walking around going, yeah, we want to do this, I want to do that, and I've got this bit of a nesting instinct going on.

Lisa Sykes (01:35):

Yeah. And you set a few intentions and goals, don't you, for the rest of the year.

Becs Frank (01:39):

Yeah, there's that too.

Lisa Sykes (01:40):

I always feel refreshed after summer and full of new ideas. Yeah. It's not even that bigger change is it? I keep looking around my rooms and thinking, can I find the new in what I've already got? Just changing things around. So maybe,

Becs Frank (01:54):

Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (01:54):

That's a good approach. I keep looking at this chair and thinking, oh, I'll move that into that other room. But you want to get things done before the C word Christmas, don't you? Because kind of want it all.

Becs Frank (02:05):

Nice. Someone said that to me the other day, I think I was talking to, we want to get one of our windows done. He was like, well, I'm really busy now. Everyone wants everything done before Christmas. I was like, my God, are we talking about that already? But I think that's a really good point in that you don't have to buy new things to have a change. No. And it's important not to just dispose of things, isn't

Lisa Sykes (02:25):

It? Yeah.

Becs Frank (02:26):

Buy things to keep and change things around. I mean, we've talked before about that kind of changing of colours a little bit. Maybe changing cushions, things like that. Moving a picture. Moving a picture. Exactly. And obviously a lick of paint. It's quite a good time, I think autumn for decorating.

Lisa Sykes (02:39):

I think so. And even just a proper dusting, I think more than in spring. Yeah. Because in spring I don't really care because I'm going outside anyway.

Becs Frank (02:48):

Yeah. The houseworks been a bit

Lisa Sykes (02:50):

Slack, but this time of year actually get the big feather duster out and a proper damp cloth dusting, you know what I mean? Not just a duster away. You flick it around and it falls back down again. A damp cloth I think.

Becs Frank (03:01):

Yeah. I'm feeling that I'm back in my kitchen again a bit more.

Lisa Sykes (03:04):

Yes.

Becs Frank (03:04):

And I did have to give that, I feel like I needed to organise that again.

Lisa Sykes (03:08):

Yes, I think so. So well I have got a tonne of apples. I'm eating several a day right now on my tree.

Becs Frank (03:15):

Yes. Apples are amazing this

Lisa Sykes (03:17):

Year. I know. And also my tomatoes are the long dry summer has meant my tomatoes. The harvest is the best I've ever had, I think.

Becs Frank (03:26):

Oh, will you bring me some?

Lisa Sykes (03:27):

Yeah, I should Seriously, because we are meeting up soon, aren't we? I will bring you apples and tomatoes.

Becs Frank (03:31):

Yeah. I haven't grown tomatoes this year. I wish I had.

Lisa Sykes (03:35):

Oh, it's just that taste when you just pick them warm in the sun off the bush. And also that smell of your greenhouse. It's just so unmistakable, isn't it?

Becs Frank (03:44):

Yeah. Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (03:45):

Because we've got this piece in the new September issue, haven't we? Home economics just to explain to people what home economics is all about. I really like this feature, don't you? Yeah, it's great. It's about using our resource as well. So it's not about being stingy in the kitchen and on a budget, it's about valuing your ingredients, your time and your

Becs Frank (04:02):

Money.

Lisa Sykes (04:02):

Maybe sharpening up our kitchen skills to make the most of something.

Becs Frank (04:06):

Yeah, no, it's very clever and there's always an idea in there that I would never have thought of and always want to try and it's that thing of something for now and then something for later.

Lisa Sykes (04:14):

Yes.

Becs Frank (04:15):

It got me at the panzanella because oh, I love a panzanella salad. Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (04:19):

You've always got some stale bread around, right?

Becs Frank (04:22):

Yes.

Lisa Sykes (04:22):

And actually this recipe's going to be on the blog as well, so we'll put a link to it in our show notes. But it just, when you get that juicy tomato and it always just floats into the bread, soaks up that flavour,

Becs Frank (04:33):

Doesn't it?

Lisa Sykes (04:33):

Yes.

Becs Frank (04:34):

It just reminds me of holidays as well.

Lisa Sykes (04:36):

Yeah, totally.

Becs Frank (04:37):

That's the great thing about if you do want to kind of hold onto that holiday, feeling tomatoes in September is probably the best way to do it, I think. Make Apao

Lisa Sykes (04:46):

Totally. Because this time of year is the only time really in this country where your tomatoes will be as ripe as they would in Italy because they just need longer here to get

Becs Frank (04:54):

There. No, exactly.

Lisa Sykes (04:55):

And yeah, you said even just bread with tomato on.

Becs Frank (04:58):

Yes.

Lisa Sykes (04:58):

Classic Spanish breakfast. Yeah,

Becs Frank (05:00):

Absolutely. Yeah, delicious.

Lisa Sykes (05:02):

But if you fancy bit of a project, we quite like these, didn't we? Cherry tomato bombs like an alternative to tin tomatoes. Are these the ones you ferment or preserve them in vinegar?

Becs Frank (05:13):

Yeah, so there's two recipes. One, you kind of make a brine and they're called cherry tomato bombs. And I think that they will keep quite firm, obviously depending on how long you so them for, and then kind of have a little pop when you eat them little pop of flavour in your mouth. You imagine that it'd be really tasty.

Lisa Sykes (05:29):

Yeah, nice.

Becs Frank (05:30):

A little bit salty because of the brine.

Lisa Sykes (05:32):

I'm actually tasting them right now as you're talking.

Becs Frank (05:35):

Yeah, yeah, yeah. My saliva buds are kind of, I know. And then one that's sort of possibly a bit simpler and add less salt. It was the tin tomatoes preserved in vinegar. And this is great. I mean it's just making your own homemade tin tomatoes, super simple. And then you've got them, you can put them in some pasta maybe with some barta or something for another nice flavour of summer.

Lisa Sykes (05:56):

Nice. Well, I have to say, I don't get to blow my own trumpet on the food front very often, as you know. But I made pass yesterday, homemade pass.

Becs Frank (06:05):

Did you?

Lisa Sykes (06:06):

From my tomato crop. Because what happened is I had to do a S spag bowl for a crowd, and I realised we only had one tin of tomatoes in the cupboard and someone else was in the car, so I couldn't go out and get any, and we don't have a corner shop nearby, so I thought, right, I've got to rustle up tomato sauce here. I love that.

Becs Frank (06:23):

Brilliant. So was that really quick?

Lisa Sykes (06:25):

Well, no, because you have to roast them for like 45 minutes to an hour, you see. But then I mashed it all through the sieve to get a smooth source because some of the audience were little kids and I knew they wouldn't like it if they had the skins in there. Too many bits. Yeah. So yeah, I felt like an Italian nana at home that I didn't go as far as make the pasta obviously, but I was pretty pleased with that. But I do love a kitchen table project. In fact, I actually love my kitchen table.

Becs Frank (06:52):

Yes, you've got a good kitchen table, haven't you?

Lisa Sykes (06:54):

I have,

Becs Frank (06:55):

Yeah. I remember you telling me. And it's a place of gathering and good times, isn't it? And memories.

Lisa Sykes (07:01):

Yeah, because it was actually my grandma's and I remember us having Sunday tea there and playing card games with my granddad.

Becs Frank (07:09):

Lovely.

Lisa Sykes (07:10):

And so when I inherited it, and now my grandma would be horrified, it's got litter ingrained in all the cracks and felt tip marks and scuffs, but actually the kids are now practically grown up. I decided to get it restored and it's amazing. It's come up really well, but a little part of me's really sorry that those things are not there anymore. The little marks and

Becs Frank (07:32):

Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (07:33):

You just dunno when to do that deed. I dunno. It's kind of hard to make the decision of when to let something go like that

Becs Frank (07:38):

Completely. Yeah. We've just replaced sofas that really, we've had them for a long time. They needed two sofas needed replacing one. I sold actually the kind of bigger one, a better condition. And the other one were like, we're just going to get rid of it, put on free. So how? And move it down to the garage. Do think about it later. But I can't quite bring myself to part with it. I don't know. Now I see it there on its own and we've had so many good times curled up on that so many movie nights. Just think, oh, I'm not quite ready. Completely honest. I'm not that good at letting things go.

Lisa Sykes (08:08):

No, I think a lot of people do attach memories to specific pieces of furniture. And of course we have that feature in the magazine, don't we? At my place,

Becs Frank (08:16):

Which

Lisa Sykes (08:16):

Is about the corners of our homes that mean the most. And we've just done kitchen tables. Well actually it's coming up in the next issue in October, and I was reading the quotes from people when they send us their pictures of their kitchen tables and there's so much love and emotion and memories in them. Some are hand me downs, some are like the heart of the home and people just get really attached, aren't they?

Becs Frank (08:36):

Yeah, yeah.

Lisa Sykes (08:37):

And even just, sorry, I'll just share this one. It was when you have your kids' bedroom and then they get to about, I don't know, 12 and they say, I don't want my bedroom like this anymore. And you kind of have to repaint it. Yes. And I was like in tears. We covered over the head jog that was transferred on the wall.

Becs Frank (08:54):

Oh yes, yes. Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (08:56):

The height marks by the door. She didn't want those anymore.

Becs Frank (09:00):

Yes, of course. The height marks. I've seen people paint around height marks quite a lot.

Lisa Sykes (09:05):

I know. I wish I'd done that. I wish I'd done that.

Becs Frank (09:07):

Yeah, yeah.

Lisa Sykes (09:08):

It's a real marking of an end of an era, isn't it?

Becs Frank (09:11):

Yeah, no, it is. And it's interesting, that whole thing about knowing what to hold onto and what to let go of.

Lisa Sykes (09:16):

Yes.

Becs Frank (09:17):

Because these things, which did the piece once didn't we, on the comfort of things and why we become attached to them. And it's all about the memories obviously, that are held in these items. And there's actually nothing wrong with that. There's been a bit of a flurry of decluttering and we don't like that, do we? No.

Lisa Sykes (09:32):

We never tell people to declutter.

Becs Frank (09:35):

No, no. And it's okay. It's okay to cherish things.

Lisa Sykes (09:38):

This guy in the piece, he's got a book and it's still out. It is called The Comfort of Things. We'll put a link to it. But he was saying that although there's a bit of a guilt associated with not getting rid of things, but he was saying that our attachments to things actually doesn't come at the expense of social bombs of relationships. It's not like you're closer to your things, so you're not very close to people. No, they said actually the opposite's often the case and people who do have an attachment to their things because of the memories

Becs Frank (10:03):

That are associated with them, actually are quite close to people, which is why they have that attachment. That makes sense.

Lisa Sykes (10:08):

Yeah, exactly. And there's a whole campaign about getting makers to make emotionally durable design, which is things we cherish rather than throw away. We obviously feature a maker of the month in the magazine every month and a shopkeeper because they sell those kinds of things, don't they?

Becs Frank (10:24):

Yes.

Lisa Sykes (10:25):

I mean, I think a loft full of boxes is probably something you do need to sort out, isn't it? You're not using it, are you? It's just there.

Becs Frank (10:33):

No, and that stuff can weigh down on you as well, particularly if you know it's a job that's going to need to be done at some point. I definitely agree that in that situation it can be cathartic to have a sort through. And also a lot of the things that we carry and let go of aren't actual objects. They're emotions.

Lisa Sykes (10:48):

Yes.

Becs Frank (10:49):

We did a piece, it was an autumn piece I think last year, and we'll again put the note in the show notes about where to find it, but it was all about letting the things that we tend to hold onto emotionally. And it was all sorts of things from the past, from friendships, perhaps busyness. Busyness was one of them.

Lisa Sykes (11:07):

Yeah. Letting go of busyness. That's something I struggle to let go of.

Becs Frank (11:11):

And negative emotions.

Lisa Sykes (11:12):

Yes.

Becs Frank (11:13):

We need to kind of free ourselves of that bitterness that we might feel about something.

Lisa Sykes (11:16):

And I think that it's such a good time to do it, isn't it? Yeah. If you take your cues from nature, as we often encourage people to do in the magazine, seeds are setting, being dispersed, leaves are falling

Becs Frank (11:27):

Completely.

Lisa Sykes (11:28):

Our way of letting go is to release pressure and tension, isn't it? Yes. And let go of those emotions.

Becs Frank (11:34):

Really? Yes. I think that was exactly what the expert in the piece said to me when I interviewed them and said, it's taking a spanner and kind of releasing the pressure.

Lisa Sykes (11:41):

Oh yeah. Interesting.

Becs Frank (11:42):

And you can just feel yourself lighten sometimes.

Lisa Sykes (11:45):

Yes.

Becs Frank (11:45):

By letting go of the things that you clinging onto that aren't necessarily that good for you.

Lisa Sykes (11:49):

It doesn't mean not having memories does it? Memories

Becs Frank (11:52):

Are still important. That's just about to say it doesn't mean not having memories. And we've had some brilliant ideas in the magazine, haven't we, about how to hold onto memories because often we hold onto memories with photos on our phone that we don't really sort out.

Lisa Sykes (12:04):

I know which one you're going to mention. You're going to talk about treasure tins, aren't you?

Becs Frank (12:07):

Yes. Yes. Those wonderful little treasure tins. So this was somebody who started finding these beautiful little vintage tins, didn't she? And kept just a few little items in each one of a time or a place or even a person that mattered to her. And there was just a few little

Lisa Sykes (12:23):

Items and some of them were just a few pebbles or a twig or whatever, weren't they? Yeah,

Becs Frank (12:28):

Yeah. Often nature kind of focus, weren't they?

Lisa Sykes (12:31):

But she arranged them all really beautifully in these tins and then she labels the tins.

Becs Frank (12:35):

Yes,

Lisa Sykes (12:36):

Exactly. I even like what she calls them concentrates of place.

Becs Frank (12:39):

Yes. That's it. Yeah. Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (12:41):

It's a woman called Tanya Sherick. Chadwick, sorry. And again, we'll put a link in because I think she still blogs about them

Becs Frank (12:46):

For a simpler idea that you could just start straight away. Now is a nice time because at the end of summer was something called a summer memory jar, which is just take a glass jar, any kind of glass jar and add things that remind you of your summer. Maybe you've been somewhere or a few little treasures that you've found, veneers a little photo or take anything and display them inside your jar using, you can use blue ack.

Lisa Sykes (13:09):

Yeah. Yeah. So you can see them

Becs Frank (13:11):

And just put that somewhere where you see it so that it's a bit like having a photo on the mantlepiece or something that you'll glance at it and it'll give you that nice warm memory.

Lisa Sykes (13:18):

That's very nice. I know. I like this idea of having a sort of visual souvenir of the summer.

Becs Frank (13:23):

Yeah, I think it's a great

Lisa Sykes (13:24):

Idea. I tend to pick up a pebble when I've been on holiday and keep it in my pocket.

Becs Frank (13:29):

Yes.

Lisa Sykes (13:29):

It's a really grounding thing actually, isn't it? Just to feel that pebble in your pocket.

Becs Frank (13:33):

Yeah. Holding a pebble is a great feeling, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (13:36):

I've got been away a three times this year. I've been very lucky. And actually I've got a pebble from each place.

Becs Frank (13:42):

Have you?

Lisa Sykes (13:42):

Yeah, I know. And they sort of scattered around various clothing. I did find one in the washing machine the other day, so I need to be a bit careful about that.

Becs Frank (13:50):

Maybe you should label them because you'll forget. You'll forget where they're from.

Lisa Sykes (13:53):

No, I will. It's true. It's true. I need to do that. But talking about memories and because this is our golden day season where reading aloud someone's recollections about their belongings every episode and they're things that are special to them and they come from our what I Treasure series in the magazine and today it's actually you.

Becs Frank (14:10):

Yes.

Lisa Sykes (14:10):

And you're going to be talking about your diaries. So over to you.

Becs Frank (14:21):

What I treasure my journals by Rebecca Frank, writing things down has always mattered to me. Throughout my early teens, I kept a diary religiously documenting my life growing up in the 1980s, looking back I know what I had for tea every day. Cottage pie and chicken kiv featured heavily and I can relive moments of pure joy. School shut for snow, boy asked me to the disco and total devastation not allowed. Kitten heels dumped by boy for best friend on day of disco. The best bits were at the back though, where I kept my lists ranging from best friends, lots of crossing out here to pop star crushes George Michael Lamar. Apparently my face where my husband pulled out my 1986 Garfield diary during his wedding speech and read a couple of his favourite extracts was a picture everyone howled, of course, apart from my grandmother, why or why didn't he edit the swearing?

(15:20):

Moving on a few years, and I have a tiny but very detailed diary from around the world trip I did, including lists of the 24 books I read, many of which I really hoped to reread one day, and the names of the many hostels and guest houses that we stayed in. Another precious journal was a present when my first baby was born back in 2004. Its empty pages soon filled with lists, but this time its gifts received feeding and sleeping times and occasional longer entries to mark big events such as our first family holiday. And then finally my return to work when my third child was born, I was too busy and tired to keep a journal, so I asked my daughters then aged four and six to do it. We all love looking back at their pictures and funny entries, like my brother, he's a cheeky boy, he likes climbing and apples, but not potatoes. Now I don't keep a daily diary, but I do always have a notebook or journal on the go for thoughts, things to remember, projects, plans. And when I finished a book, I add it to the others and it gives me comfort knowing that I've got a pile of memories to hand if ever I feel like a dose of nostalgia or even just a good giggle.

Lisa Sykes (16:39):

I love the fact that Jason read that out at your wedding. That's so funny. I mean, I don't keep a diary either though.

Becs Frank (16:45):

When you were younger though,

Lisa Sykes (16:46):

I did as a teenager and my mum once posted them all to me. She was having a clear out at home along with letters that I wrote when I was at university because obviously we didn't have emails then.

Becs Frank (16:55):

No.

Lisa Sykes (16:56):

And I just know she will have read them before she put them in the post. Of course.

Becs Frank (17:00):

Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (17:00):

Yeah. So yeah, I don't keep a diary, but I do love a nice notebook and a pen and I often start writing a few things down and then kind of just drift away from it. I've got lots of books that I've got a few pages of things in and then I don't do it.

Becs Frank (17:13):

Yeah, that's true actually. It makes a bit like buying nice stationary. This the buying is often the looking for it and choosing it and buying it and then what to do with it.

Lisa Sykes (17:24):

No, because there is a ritual to doing it, isn't there? You kind of probably have to make time to journal or diary

Becs Frank (17:31):

And I think maybe have a sort of theme for that book.

Lisa Sykes (17:34):

Yes.

Becs Frank (17:34):

There's a piece in October issue and it's an ideas piece written by Miranda Mills and she's actually written a book as well, but this is a piece about her commonplace book she calls it. And it's kind of a journal I guess, where just a book, she writes down ideas and words that resonate with her, so things that she comes across when she's reading books or poetry,

Lisa Sykes (17:55):

Such a nice idea.

Becs Frank (17:56):

She tools it, the phrases that stop you in your tracks. Sometimes I pop those down on my phone.

Lisa Sykes (18:01):

Yes, I've started doing that. A quote, even a book I'm reading that I think, oh, that's really profound or kind of mean something to me. Yes.

Becs Frank (18:09):

But then probably never go back and look at it again. No. Whereas if you have a place where you put it in a nice book and also it's the act of doing it.

Lisa Sykes (18:17):

Yes.

Becs Frank (18:18):

Not just the recording, she says it's like a meditative act for her.

Lisa Sykes (18:22):

Yes. Because it's not something you have to do every day or anything, is it? You do it as you find them. And also it's a good excuse to go out and buy a nice notepad and a pen, isn't it?

Becs Frank (18:31):

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. There's lots of journal ideas.

Lisa Sykes (18:35):

Yeah. Oh yeah.

Becs Frank (18:36):

Because there's so many different things you can do aren't there with types of journals, bullet journals, nature journals.

Lisa Sykes (18:41):

We've got lots of this on the blog, haven't we? So shall we share some links for that?

Becs Frank (18:44):

Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

Lisa Sykes (18:45):

But one of the things we've done in, because our September issue is called Treasure, and we did a cover that we thought was quite witty actually. It reflects the pictures that people send us on Instagram when they're reading the simple things, when they have a nice mug, a cake, a little notepad and pane and a copy of the magazine. So we did a cover, it's an illustrator, shamefacedly, I've forgotten the illustrator's name, but we will put it in the show notes and give her full credit. She's called Lydia, but I can't remember her last name. But we will put it in there.

Becs Frank (19:12):

But you know what I love looking at the pictures that people post on Instagram.

Lisa Sykes (19:16):

Yes.

Becs Frank (19:17):

Of the places, like you said, the little nook that they've created this space for them to sit and read the magazine,

Lisa Sykes (19:22):

Don't they? It's not just about getting your mag out. No. And throwing yourself on the safer. No, there's often a ju of flowers and like you say, a nice mug. And it was really interesting because we happened to have an interview with Emma Bridgewater in this same issue, speaking of nice mugs. Exactly. And they're celebrating 40 years of ever Bridgewater. And of course she's done lots to rejuvenate the pottery industry and stoke on Trent. It's where all their mugs are made. There won't be many people listening who haven't bought or got an ever Bridgewater mug somewhere I think. Yeah, I'm sure in this interview, unprompted by us, she entirely understands this idea. And she was talking about people creating this special place for themselves, even in a cafe, they kind of assemble their things on the table in the way they want them and they'll kind of set themselves up. And I just thought it's a really nice idea, isn't it, that you make a space for yourself. Yes. Because all you were talking about are kitchen tables earlier, weren't we? And actually, I don't think we mentioned it, but we were talking about the piles of rubbish that accumulate on one empty kitchen table.

Becs Frank (20:22):

So get rid of the pile of rubbish and create a nice space.

Lisa Sykes (20:26):

And I started at the other end of the table making a little arrangement to just try and discourage the dumping of things. It's not quite working, but at least it looks nice.

Becs Frank (20:35):

Oh, that's a good idea. I like having a jug of flowers on the kitchen table. But we do always end up with the little pile of random items. But I thought it was a lovely interview with Emma Bridgewater and did capture that moment very well.

Lisa Sykes (20:47):

Everyone likes a nest, don't they? And there's often a pen and a notebook at the heart of it. And actually we've got a playlist this month with a writing theme too, actually. People might not know. You can download any of our playlists from Spotify. We produce one every month. Francis, our deputy editor is chief playlist maker. Although there is lots of contribution from everyone, isn't there?

Becs Frank (21:07):

Yeah. There's always such a good eclectic mix, isn't there? Definitely. You could put this on while you have a little write in a journal.

Lisa Sykes (21:13):

I think that would be good. That would be good. And that's the thing, we do enjoy spending time at home this time of year we've talked about earlier. And this nesting is part of that. But you can also turn it into a little break because actually if you are really missing holidays,

Becs Frank (21:27):

Have a weekend away at home.

Lisa Sykes (21:28):

Yes, exactly. Because that idea, when you're on holiday, you shop differently, don't you? Yeah. You go to nice delis and you don't have a list and you're, you browse more, don't you? And I love that shop for the day for the moment, don't you? Right. I'm going to go to the fish mongers and I'm going to choose something interesting, that kind of

Becs Frank (21:46):

Idea.

Lisa Sykes (21:46):

Or maybe go and see a site or spend time with a book like you would on holiday. And of course the crucial one, and I know you like this be is ential meals.

Becs Frank (21:55):

Yes.

Lisa Sykes (21:55):

Having elevens or afternoon tea or happy hour cocktails.

Becs Frank (21:58):

You plan your day completely differently, don't you?

Lisa Sykes (22:01):

Totally. Yeah.

Becs Frank (22:02):

But I also think it's a nice time to maybe have a little retreat at home, just a quiet day. I'm quite craving this at the moment, just having a day in the house by myself, stop to do jobs, but to just start myself off with something that I've been wanting to do and probably haven't got around to it in the summer, get back into really for me, get back into a practise.

Lisa Sykes (22:24):

Interesting. So like yoga maybe?

Becs Frank (22:26):

Yeah, A bit of meditation maybe. Or even just a little craft project or something. Or just rest a bit. Just to have a bit of quiet time.

Lisa Sykes (22:35):

But you kind of have to plan it, don't you? Yeah. I don't think it's a very impromptu thing because you need to get nice food in or map it out in

Becs Frank (22:42):

Advance. Map it out in advance, because otherwise you'll probably, well, I would probably end up procrastinating, be distracted by something and end up not doing the thing that I intended to do.

Lisa Sykes (22:53):

Yes.

Becs Frank (22:53):

So yes, I think plan for it. Buy the things that you need the stock up on, the nice things that you need so you don't have to go

Lisa Sykes (22:59):

Out. I'm liking the sound of this.

Becs Frank (23:01):

Yeah, yeah. It's like a self-guided retreat, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (23:05):

Yes. I like it. The other thing you can do, and in fact David and I have been talking about doing this. We haven't been camping this year for the first time ever, I

Becs Frank (23:12):

Think. Wow, that's changed for you guys, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (23:14):

I know. We've been like a decade of camping, so we might set the tent up in the garden and pretend we're camping at home. Yeah. Do the back garden camp out. Absolutely. Yeah. And cook over the barbecue like you do when you're camping.

Becs Frank (23:27):

It doesn't get cold at this time of year when you're camping, doesn't it? So you can always sneak back in if it gets too chilly.

Lisa Sykes (23:34):

Yeah. Yeah. That's the thing. And there's a loo of course, but you do have to think what kind of holiday you need if you're going to do it at home, don't you? I often think that I need time alone because I'm communicating with the team on the magazine all week. But actually what I really need is time offline.

Becs Frank (23:51):

Yes, very good point.

Lisa Sykes (23:52):

Because most of my communication is remote. I think I want to be alone, but actually I should go out and see people in real

Becs Frank (23:59):

Life. Yes, you should. Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (24:01):

I do really enjoy it and I feel like I'm communicating, but I'm not really because I'm not seeing people.

Becs Frank (24:06):

And that in-person time just does give you a real lift and an oxytocin boost.

Lisa Sykes (24:11):

Some days are a good time to do all this stuff though, aren't they?

Becs Frank (24:13):

Yeah. Get some friends over if you're feeling like that. We've got so many ideas, haven't we? On simple gatherings that don't have to be involved. Lots of

Lisa Sykes (24:21):

Work

Becs Frank (24:22):

And you can just get a couple of people over. We're popping over to some friends today actually for a very similar thing, hoping for the sun to stay out and we can sit in the garden. Nice. Just very relaxed and a few nibbles and just catch

Lisa Sykes (24:33):

Up time. We run a gathering in every single issue and we are on 160 next month. That means we've done 160 gatherings. But the thing is that you don't have to make every dish in them. No. They're just ideas, aren't they? So you can pick and choose, but there's nearly always a reason for gathering isn't there? Which is a nice thing.

Becs Frank (24:50):

Yeah. Well try to do a nice meal on a Sunday, and I quite often get inspiration for that from the gatherings, much as I love a roast.

Lisa Sykes (24:56):

Yes.

Becs Frank (24:57):

We have some simpler, just as nice version. Definitely.

Lisa Sykes (25:00):

We've got actually a roast gathering coming up in November, which looks lush. Oh,

Becs Frank (25:05):

November. I'll be ready for it then.

Lisa Sykes (25:07):

Yeah, no, we don't have them as much now. Now the girls aren't home. But I do like this idea of mixing it up. It was Jo, our, the co-host. She said she likes to do a roast on a Saturday instead of a Sunday and do the post roast curry on the Sunday.

Becs Frank (25:19):

And the first reaction to that was, no, that's all wrong. Can't do a roast on a Saturday. But then I thought, well actually quite often have a barbecue on a Saturday

Lisa Sykes (25:28):

And

Becs Frank (25:29):

Use leftovers. And so I was thinking it's actually the same really, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (25:32):

And you've got more time to make a curry on the Sunday, haven't you? Then you have on a Monday night.

Becs Frank (25:36):

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And also it is quite a big chore on a Sunday sometimes. Yes. It's funny, we talk about Sunday, we have a piece coming up again in the October issue about Sundays. And it's really funny.

Lisa Sykes (25:48):

This guy's a really witty

Becs Frank (25:50):

Writer,

Lisa Sykes (25:50):

Daniel Grey, and he's got a new book called Sunday Best, and he's done travels through the day of rest. So he's gone to find a few things. And it is all the things we hated as kids about Sundays, isn't it? It's like cricket church, you can't go to the pub

Becs Frank (26:03):

Car boot sales.

Lisa Sykes (26:05):

But actually he's sort of reclaimed them a bit, hasn't he?

Becs Frank (26:08):

Yeah, it's funny. I'm a Sunday convert. I did not like Sundays, I didn't like them as a child and I didn't much like them when I was a full-time office worker either because I'd start getting just that feeling of even though I didn't not like my job, not dread, but just the cherished weekend is kind of coming to an end and have, you've done everything done that you need to do. But now I'm a Sunday convert. I like the fact that're restful and I don't have plans usually.

Lisa Sykes (26:32):

And actually he makes a really interesting point about church because obviously very few people observe the Sabbath in a religious way that he talks about because he goes to a church in the book and he's saying it's actually a real chance to sit peacefully and let your mind wander a little

Becs Frank (26:48):

Bit.

Lisa Sykes (26:49):

And he said he got goosebumps as the choir was singing and there's something therapeutic about repeating our men and it made me think about it. Yeah, me too. Me too.

Becs Frank (26:57):

It's a weekly ritual, isn't it? And it's a coming together of people.

Lisa Sykes (27:00):

And of course car boot sales are made for Sundays. You've got all the time in the world, haven't you?

Becs Frank (27:04):

Apart from having to get up too early.

Lisa Sykes (27:06):

And of course it's a chance to get more stuff. Yay.

Becs Frank (27:09):

Yeah, find some treasures,

Lisa Sykes (27:11):

But you don't need a list or a big shop. And the thing I would really like to do, and it really appealed, is nurse a pin in the pub, spend all afternoon drinking heavily, but just sit there with a pint in the papers.

Becs Frank (27:24):

I just think that's a lovely thing to do at the end of a walk.

Lisa Sykes (27:26):

Yes.

Becs Frank (27:27):

Done your walk, you've earned your pint in the pub and then you can just stress. You want to relax and you just can sit down.

Lisa Sykes (27:33):

Yes. But we've got another way to mix up the routine as well. We, I know you've been liking the idea of kema, we're not sure we're pronouncing it correctly, but

Becs Frank (27:42):

No, I'm sure we're not, in fact. But this is the Norwegian evening breakfast, right? Yeah. So it's an extra meal. I like lots of things about this. One obviously is it's an extra meal. It's a picky bit meal. It is. Which I love. And also it means you move your dinner a bit earlier, which is the Norwegian custom really to eat more like five or six, which I guess is something to do with the fading light maybe, do you think?

Lisa Sykes (28:03):

Yeah, maybe. And I think also because it was an agricultural country, the main meal would be at lunchtime.

Becs Frank (28:10):

Yes,

Lisa Sykes (28:10):

Of course. Yeah. So actually tea slash dinner would be more of a high tea type thing I would've thought. And then there's room for supper later. But what's really interesting is apparently, although it's declining in Norway, because people are eating their dinner later, half the country still eats veap three to seven times a week. Amazing. And kids nearly always have it apparently. So yeah, it's really interesting.

Becs Frank (28:33):

Well, it's the old fashioned supper, isn't it? But obviously in the kind of Scandinavian way, it's quite common to have a nice open sandwich or a kind of oat cake or something, but with some yummy topping on. So the writer does have Norwegian roots, doesn't she?

Lisa Sykes (28:48):

Yeah. Yeah. And the reason it's called Norwegian breakfast is because the food's actually very similar to what they have for breakfast meats and cheeses, bread and crackers, that sort of thing.

Becs Frank (28:56):

Yes.

Lisa Sykes (28:57):

I quite like cheese and crackers supper actually.

Becs Frank (29:00):

Yeah, me too.

Lisa Sykes (29:00):

If I had an early tea. Yes. I do quite like that.

Becs Frank (29:03):

I quite like her suggestion of bananas and peanut butter. That really reminds me of kind of childhood.

Lisa Sykes (29:08):

That sounds disgusting. Really. I don't like peanut butter, but actually just that combo. No, I'm not a fan of a banana in bread,

Becs Frank (29:16):

Honey, drizzled avocado on Marmite.

Lisa Sykes (29:18):

That does sound nice actually.

Becs Frank (29:19):

I mean, I'd have to try that. I like all of the components, whether I'd like them together. I don't know.

Lisa Sykes (29:25):

Well, that's your mission for this weekend then.

Becs Frank (29:27):

Yeah, have a felt much.

Lisa Sykes (29:29):

I know. And it's interesting, isn't it? Because I'm sure there are people out there who still don't like Sundays or don't want to mess around with their meal times and stuff, but we talked a while ago, didn't we, about that could do week idea where you reframe your week according to what you want to do rather than what you're supposed to do. And you could easily do that with your weekend. Yeah,

Becs Frank (29:49):

No, exactly.

Lisa Sykes (29:50):

But of course Sunday's a big day for gardening as well, isn't it?

Becs Frank (29:52):

Indeed.

Lisa Sykes (29:53):

And again, people might see that as a chore. It's a funny time in the garden. It never looks at its best really in August and September and just before it get that autumn colour,

Becs Frank (30:02):

I just feel this urge to kind of put the garden to bed, just go around lopping everything and then just leave it.

Lisa Sykes (30:11):

I think a lot of people do, but the thing is, what I think is a good idea, and this is something we are exploring in our issues at the moment, is turning the garden into more of a creative space to do things in.

Becs Frank (30:21):

Yes, I think this is a great idea.

Lisa Sykes (30:23):

And this guy, so this is Andrew first Peters, who's also got a book out called Garden Safari. He had a bit of a breakdown, so he was recovering from it and he wanted to use his cameras, a way to slow down and really see things. So he started taking wildlife photographs in his back garden and this garden is only 60 foot by 20 foot, so it's not a massive garden. And they live in sch rupture and the sheer amount of wildlife he's managed to capture in these beautiful photos. Unbelievable,

Becs Frank (30:52):

Isn't it? I can't actually believe that those photographs were taken in garden. I know. And he takes a lot of them from his kitchen window as well.

Lisa Sykes (30:59):

Yes. He uses the kitchen window as like a hide and there is a V nibbling. There's butterflies and goldfinches and fox cubs. And we didn't actually put this one in the piece because it seemed so unlikely that it felt a bit farfetched, but there were its young hair suckling in his back garden.

Becs Frank (31:17):

You're kidding me.

Lisa Sykes (31:18):

No,

Becs Frank (31:18):

That's amazing. You have to check this out. It really is quite unbelievable.

Lisa Sykes (31:22):

And we'll include the link. He's got a website as well. But it's interesting about the kitchen window thing because looking out of your window onto your garden is always really interesting. My kitchen sink is right under my window that looks out into my back garden, and so I can check things out as I'm washing up. We went down a bit of a rabbit hole, didn't we? With windows swap.com.

Becs Frank (31:43):

So this is like a website where you can see people post the views from their windows all around the world. As you log on, you click to show me a window or something

Lisa Sykes (31:52):

And it just randomises it. So I mean, I went from Myanmar to Spain to Belgium in a few minutes and every single one was fascinating and you just wanted to delve into this view.

Becs Frank (32:02):

You go from this urban scene to this wild rural

Lisa Sykes (32:06):

That you can

Becs Frank (32:07):

Feel the difference in temperature and time of

Lisa Sykes (32:09):

Day. It's much better than kind of doom scrolling. I just thought it was really interesting.

Becs Frank (32:14):

Very interesting. Window swap.com. Yeah, if you've got some time to waste,

Lisa Sykes (32:18):

But if you want to do something a bit different, I've got a project now for you, Bex, if you want to not put your garden to bed. I dunno whether you've got lots of brambles in your garden, but I certainly have.

Becs Frank (32:26):

We do. And the lane just below our garden.

Lisa Sykes (32:29):

So you could make a basket from brambles. I can see you looking a bit sceptical at this point. I knew you were going to say this. Imagine willow weaving, but with brambles, right?

Becs Frank (32:38):

The basket looks beautiful. I've seen the picture of it.

Lisa Sykes (32:41):

It does. So obviously you can't use the mother load bramble, the one that's the thick trunk that looks like it could grow through concrete. You'd never get the spikes off it, the thorns of it. But if you use a spindly one that's flexible and then with gloves on, you can remove the sharp bits. Yeah, there's thorns and you basically weave them. You have to soak them first, I think to get them even more pliable.

Becs Frank (33:01):

We've got a project, it's quite a project it, it is quite a project. I must admit. I looked at it and it felt to me like, gosh, this is quite an involved project I think. I reckon lots of our readers will be very, very equipped at doing something like this. Because I've seen people, because I've been on these courses and I've tried willow weaving and they sat next to me going, oh yes, this is lovely. One demonstration. And here I am. Whereas I did you commander, the expert's time. I had the expert, literally one-on-one. Excuse me. Don't go over there. I just need another hat. And in the end, my fingers were so sore I couldn't carry on.

Lisa Sykes (33:38):

I've also did a willow weaving thing and I made some amazing plant supports and circles in a day and they lasted three years and then I tried to make them at home and couldn't do it at all. I always think I found my calling on the day that this is going to be my new hobby, but I just can't do it when I haven't got that one-to-one attention.

Becs Frank (33:54):

Do you know what though? Isn't it wonderful working with all that willow? I mean it's just such a beautiful thing, isn't it?

Lisa Sykes (33:59):

I know

Becs Frank (34:00):

How lovely that you could go down your garden or go out somewhere and forage some brambles and have a go at it. As we've said in this issue, it's about having a go. It doesn't have to be perfect.

Lisa Sykes (34:09):

And I have got a lot of brambles in my garden, so I am always chopping them back and burning them. So I might have a go. I might try this, have a go. Please do. Please do. But the thing is our projects are like that, and some of them are very easy. You could do it in an afternoon, no prep needed, and others are just, oh, that's interesting idea. Doesn't matter if you don't do it. Is it more of a

Becs Frank (34:27):

Challenge?

Lisa Sykes (34:27):

Yeah. Know that it's something you could do, isn't it? Anyway, talking of doing things, we're going to set our intentions like we do every episode, aren't we? This season we're talking about golden hour activities, something that's calming nice, easy that you do in the golden hour. And I talked about it earlier when I made my passata. I also made a crumble and some apple sauce and I didn't try and fit it in amongst other chores. I just treated it more like a project. I really need to get my cooking mojo back. I've not been enjoying cooking recently, and this kind of really felt like it was the starting step for that. So I'm going to do it again this weekend.

Becs Frank (35:05):

That's great. I think that's probably the key, isn't it actually what you just said.

Lisa Sykes (35:08):

Yes.

Becs Frank (35:09):

It wasn't another chore, not another thing on your to-do list. How about you? Well, mine's just come to me actually as we've been talking. It's the commonplace book idea.

Lisa Sykes (35:17):

Oh yeah, yeah.

Becs Frank (35:18):

I do have my journals, as I mentioned, and I read quite a lot of fiction books and I just forget them. I forget them really quickly. So I'm going to get a Complace book and use it for the little quotes excerpts. Just note down from the books that I read to help me recall.

Lisa Sykes (35:33):

Oh, that would be lovely. I had love to see that when you've got some in there, by the way.

Becs Frank (35:36):

Yeah,

Lisa Sykes (35:36):

I think it's nice to share them, I think, and show other people as well, isn't it? It'll be good. So that brings us to the end of Nest. I'm looking around my very cluttered study here as we've been talking and I can already see some things that will transform it. I hope some of our listeners feel the same way too. So Be's going to be back next week, aren't you with co-host Joe Tinsley? Yes. Who's author of The Slow Traveller, which is appropriate because you're going to be on the Roam episode, aren't you? What are you going to be talking about?

Becs Frank (36:02):

Well, we're talking about adventures really, both at home and going a bit further flung. And we're going to bring the dogs back again. Hey, the dogs are coming back. The dogs are back. We're talking about Days Out with the dogs. Joe's written a book on this as well. So this is going to be good. And also we're going to be playing some games with our dogs.

Lisa Sykes (36:19):

Oh, fantastic. Ways to keep them occupied. All the things we've mentioned here will be linked in our show notes. And you can buy current and back issues or try an immediate start subscription to get the September treasure issues straight away. And you'll save 30% if you do that. So thanks very much for listening and we'll see you all next time. See you.