Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things

Dawn - Episode 3 - NEW LIFE

• The Simple Things • Season 9 • Episode 3

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Join The Simple Things’ Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frankand our regular co-host, contributor to the magazine and author of The Slow Traveller, Jo Tinsley, as they talk about how these early days of spring bring about a rise in energy, an urge to sort and maybe spring clean and how to bring new life to old and get out in the garden.

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

Thanks to our partner for Season 9, Friends of Glass, an organisation that celebrates and supports glass packaging for food, drink and cosmetics. Find out more about why glass is better for health, taste and the environment and follow them on instagram @friendsofglassuk

 Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett 


On the blog

Koromagae Linen Spray

 

In the March issue (165) on sale now, available to buy here

Spruce up – As the garden springs back to life, now is the time to rejuvenate neglected corners. 

Magical Creatures: An appreciation of the first butterfly of the year

Home Economics: Tropical Fruits. How to ensure the long journey of these drops of sunshine is worth its while.

Gathering: Clothes swap brunch 

Wisdom: The joy of enough. A change in circumstances made Anna Kilpatrick rethink her life. 

 

In the Feb issue (164) available to buy here

My Place: linen cupboards 

Change by numbers: Helping to make the world a better place 

 

In our Flourish Volume 4

Pleasure Garden – Spring seems to arrive sooner when you have fruit trees and blossom

The First Blossom:  a promise of renewal each spring. 

 

Find out more

Plantlife's No Mow May Movement

Not Needing New: A Practical Guide to Finding the Joy of Enough (Orion)

 


Becs Frank

Hello and welcome to the Small Ways to Live Well podcast, brought to you from the Simple Things magazine. I'm Bex Frank, the well-being editor, and today I'm joined by Joe Tinsley. Joe's our regular co-host and contributor to The Simple Things and author of the book The Slow Traveller. Now this is episode three in our new dawn series, and today we're going to be talking about new life and how these early days of spring bring about a rise in energy and an urge to sort and revive and bring new life to old. We're of course going to get back out into the garden and get started on a few spring tweaks. Hi Joe, how are you today? Can you believe we're in March already? I mean, the weather might not quite have caught up yet with our ideas of spring, but this is it. It's the start of spring, right?

Jo Tinsley

It is, yeah, yeah, no, it's really starting to um feel like it. I'm really loving these brighter mornings and evenings. Um and yeah, it definitely does feel like it gives you more energy, doesn't it? This sort of feeling of new life everywhere.

Becs Frank

It does. And first, before we get going, I should say, as this season is full of fresh ideas and taking a new look at our lives, it's great to have the support of Friends of Glass. They are an organization that celebrates and supports glass packaging. And we've been talking in this season about the many reasons why glass is good for us. It's good for the environment, it's good for our health, and also the taste of our food and drink. And I've been so inspired by the different ways that we can choose, reuse, and recycle glass bottles and jars. And I've found so much interesting information about this over on their Instagram. So I'd definitely recommend you go and have a look at and the addresses at friendsofglassuk. So, Joe, I literally turn over the page of my calendar in from February into March, and I'm just overcome by this kind of strong urge to get to get out into the garden. There's so much new life out there, but I mean that I don't know about you, but there's a lot of winter clearing up to do as well in my back garden. Yeah. And it's a good time to start getting it in good shape, isn't it?

Jo Tinsley

It really is. Yeah, it's a really good time to start sprucing up the garden. And we've got a feature in the March issue, which is the one that's out now, about rejuvenating a garden. I think everyone has parts of their garden that get beyond your control. So whether that's like taken over by brambles, a pond that's really murky, a slippery patio, all of our outdoor spaces could do with a bit of TLC at this time of year.

Becs Frank

Yeah, because we've had such a wet winter as well, haven't we? And a lot of wind and storms where where I am as well, where we are. And so I feel like there's more clearing up to do than ever before, to be honest.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah. And what are the parts of your garden that you think you could give a spruce up to?

Becs Frank

Well, that'd be it might be easier to list the parts that don't need a spruce up. My pond. I was really interested in this in this article. So, yes, just to say again, our March issue, the uh hero word at the front is peak, and that's out now to buy in the shops and also obviously to order from our website. We'll put the link to that in the show notes. And I literally devoured this piece because I'm not hugely experienced or skillful gardener, but I am keen. Yes, same. I like to get out there and and get stuck in. So there was there was loads of good information. But for me, it's my it's my pond that I'm I have a constant battle with, really, because Does it not look after itself? Not really, no. I never but I think actually I've learned a few things where we're going wrong a bit. And actually, I just sort of leave it at the end of summer. And I what I need to do more of is kind of take away all the dead leaves and things. And I and there's still time to do that.

Jo Tinsley

I'm saying that I probably need to do that with mine, because we have like boom and bust kind of situations with the tadpoles, like some year they do brilliantly and some year they all die, and I don't know why. So there might be something going on there that I could have a look at.

Becs Frank

Yeah, so apparently, if you let things decompose in the water too too much dead stuff, then they release um nutrients and that depletes the oxygen.

Jo Tinsley

That makes sense, yeah, yeah.

Becs Frank

Yeah, so at the moment it's actually really clear, which is kind of why I've been inclined to leave it. But as soon as it starts getting warmer and the sun comes out again, I'm gonna get that pond weed and algae, which I really, we really get a lot of. So I am gonna do a bit of plant pruning in in my pond. And it'll also help my so we've got um you've got your tadpoles, we uh or we'll have, we've got newts.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, we've got newts as well. That's the other thing.

Becs Frank

The tadpoles don't stand a chance. No, I was gonna say, we've never we would be able to uh uh to have tadpoles in our pond. So we can't be too heavy-handed because they're you know, you've got it's quite a delicate ecosystem, isn't it? And it's interesting because I'm gonna tell my husband this. It takes apparently years for if you if you clear out a pond for that ecosystem to recover, and he's always keen.

Jo Tinsley

So you get in your excuses in early.

unknown

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Becs Frank

He's always keen to kind of you know clear it out and refill it and things like that. Like, no. No, you've got to let it rest. You've got to let it rest. And also, if you when I am, you know, when I am taking plants out or pruning plants or dividing them, I'm gonna divide up my lily pads as well. It's a good idea to keep them at the side of the pond before you kind of get rid of them, just in case there are any any newts or other creatures that can then make their own way back in.

Jo Tinsley

Well, for for me, I think it's gonna be about waking up the veg beds. Yes. I've got this tiered woodland garden that's detached from my house. All the houses around here have like a little plot that's kind of up the hill. Oh, that's nice.

Becs Frank

So what do you have? A little wander down to your plot then, is it?

Jo Tinsley

A wander up, yeah. So which is good because I'm in the valley, which is a complete frost pocket, but the actual the gardens gets full on south facing sun, but has no water in it. So you know it's a bit of a balance because um yeah, a lot of the time I plant stuff. Do you cat a water butt then and yeah, I've got one water butt, but it doesn't um doesn't last very long. But I need yeah, I need to work that out. I quite like letting most of it go wild because it kind of works like that, because it kind of goes into this you know field and forest at the back. But I'd really like to get the veg beds under control. And I think this feature had some nice ideas. So, you know, about suppressing weeds with mulch, so well-rotted manure or compost.

Becs Frank

Yes, that's a great tip, isn't it?

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, because you don't even need to dig over things. No. You know, you can just cover it with mulch, you have to buy quite a lot.

Becs Frank

In fact, it's better not to sometimes, isn't it?

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, yeah. So it's because it, you know, it's this no-dig method where you put lots of organic material on top, um, and then you plant the seeds or seedlings directly into that, so it doesn't damage the soil structure or disrupt the drainage or fungal network.

Becs Frank

Yeah, makes sense. Makes sense, and a lot easier too.

Jo Tinsley

Exactly, yeah. So she kind of goes through like three different approaches to weeding. So I'll I'll uh I'll read that. Might do that.

Becs Frank

Good to do it now, because the weeds are gonna start coming up, aren't they?

unknown

Yeah.

Jo Tinsley

I know, I know. It's like a fighting and losing battle. But did you know there's also there's actually a correct time to cut the grass?

Becs Frank

I think this is amazing. It's about the um temperature of the soil, is that right?

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, yeah. So grass grows once the soil temperature reaches six degrees Celsius. And on average, lawn owners find the times right for the first trim on the 18th of March. So that's according to surveys by the Woodland Trust. Obviously, it's not going to be the same every year, but like that's your average is the 18th of March.

Becs Frank

Okay, that's very interesting, isn't it? I've got the urge now, but it's quite damp. Yeah, maybe you should I should should wait a little bit. Even if you're kind of wanting to leave it a bit more natural and go for the kind of no-mo method, or it's best to get in some early mows, isn't it?

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what um Plant Life, the charity Plant Life was saying. It's that so they made up the no-mo May campaign. Yeah. They advise mowing a couple of times before April and then sitting back in the spring to let the wildflowers bloom, because it gives um the wildflowers a chance to grow.

Becs Frank

Great advice. So um, yeah, lots and lots of uh I like to call them like tweaks rather than full-on spring jobs. Yeah. Because uh otherwise, yeah, I don't know, we don't want to make it all sound too much like hard work, do we? But and then less hard work, but oh my gosh, how lovely. We all love this. There's blossom out there.

Jo Tinsley

I know it's it's always earlier than you think, isn't it? Yeah. Because actually, you know, depending on the weather and where you are in the country, it can start like in late February. Yeah. And I I looked up the order of it. Obviously, this is going to be dependent on on weather, because mild spring can mean early blooming, whereas cold weather delays it, and southern England will have blooms earlier than northern England. So like almond and cherry plum is in late Feb. And then blackfawn, which is your slow, that's early March.

Becs Frank

Yeah.

Jo Tinsley

And then there's sort of dams in March kind of April, wild cherry and pear in April. And then apple and crab apple are not even coming out till like mid-April, May.

Becs Frank

No, they're later, aren't they? I know that, and because we've got one in our, you know, we've got them in our garden, but I always notice the first is the cherry next door.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah.

Becs Frank

And uh and I that's that makes me just it's really joyful, gives me hope. It's really joyful.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, and then you get the hawthorn in May, which is really lovely around here in Somerset. I don't know if you've got that where you're on when you're just driving along the lanes and everything is like this white blossom, it's just gorgeous.

Becs Frank

Yeah, I I mean I literally plan my outings kind of when it comes late, you know, a little bit later. There's a lovely park that has beautiful blossom, and I I literally go only really go there so often in the spring because of Is that the orchard near you that we walked past on the podcast? Yeah, so the orchard is lovely as well, and that's that's gonna be great this year because they're all quite young, young trees in there, a lot of them. And um, so that that's gonna look um that's gonna look beautiful this year. We always want to cover blossom in the magazine because everybody, everybody loves it, and there are so many we we've talked about, planting trees for blossom. You know, plant choosing trees to put into your garden, you can actually still do that. This is um, if you're wanting to plant a fruit tree now, is you know, you've still got a bit of time to do that. And choosing things particularly, you know, so you've got a kind of an array of different flowering blossoms, it's it's such a lovely idea, isn't it? But we also had a lovely piece, that's actually in our our latest edition of Flourish, our well-being magazine. And it's one of our writers, Jessica Furseth, who writes quite a lot of our very thoughtful, really beautifully written reflection pieces. And she's she wrote one about cherry blossom and how she kind of finds it this sort of metaphor for for life and renewal. She loves it so much, she had a tattoo of cherry blossom. It's a great piece. Uh have you got like a particular favourite blossom?

Jo Tinsley

Mine's actually Magnolia. Oh, yeah. It obviously isn't the fruiting blossom, so it's why it wasn't in that list before.

Becs Frank

And that's a not far off, is it?

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, that's no, it can come out as early as February. Um, and it depends where you are in the country. Yeah. Yeah. One of the nice things about magnolia is like I always know where the trees are, like on when I'm driving through towns, because they're often in people's gardens, aren't they?

Becs Frank

Yes.

Jo Tinsley

Um, and so you can take different routes to sort of see them because it's so brief. It's what, a matter of two weeks or something that they come out of it.

Becs Frank

It really is. We used to have one in our in our old house in our in our front garden. And uh it must have been kind of around, I can't think whether it would have been February it can't be February half term, that would be too uh maybe it was when we had an early Easter and we'd go away for Easter and we'd come back if we'd gone away for a week. We missed it before. We'd missed it. We'd just have a kind of So disappointing, a whole kind of garden full of beautiful petals, and uh and we'd missed most of it. But it yeah, it there they are.

Jo Tinsley

It's an incredible plant. It's one of the only plants where the petals come before the leaves, which is why they look so incredible because they're not you know being sort of drowned out by leaves. But they're one of our most ancient flowering trees, so they existed for over like a hundred million years before bees, so evolving to attract beetles for pollination with these large, fragrant, goblet-shaped flowers. Yeah. Which um I didn't know before looking this up. No, and pink or white, can't you?

Becs Frank

I mean, yeah, ours was a pin, a really beautiful kind of pale pink one. Yeah. They they symbolize purity, I think, don't they? And because they've got quite a lot of purity, nobility. Yeah, sort of cultural significance in uh different places around the world. Yeah, so interesting. But also, you know, back to the sort of fruit tree blossom, you can bring that in. And if you've not so if you've got some blossom in your garden, it's not quite out yet. A lovely thing to do is is kind of force it. Bring the bring a few branches in and put it in in some water in a in a vase.

Jo Tinsley

And I've always wanted to try this. Yeah, how do you do it?

Becs Frank

Well, you just carefully prune some of the branches with with closed buds, bring them inside. You you just strip the outer bark off the bottom of the of the branch, put it in the water using using like you know, your secateurs or a sharp knife, you split the stem, and then um because you but you're you're what you're doing basically is increasing the surface area of the stem so that you can let more water in. So it'll absorb the water and then you'll and then you'll get this lovely blossom coming out.

Jo Tinsley

So nice. I've seen that. I've seen that in the magazine. We've done it a few times in different ways, haven't we? But I've never actually tried it. Yeah. Um, but yeah, maybe this is the year because that sounds really nice.

Becs Frank

Yeah, and if you actually also um if you've got we've we've got another great piece in March, and one of our magical creatures, which is related to related to blossom as well, and that's the uh the brimstone butterfly. Have you read that?

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, it's really nice because they're they're the ones which are like vivid yellow, but it's actually only the male that's yellow, the female's like a pistachio kind of colour.

Becs Frank

Yes, I didn't know that. You you'll see them around Buckthorn, is that right? Yeah, there was two, wasn't there? Was it Buckthorn and um and a different two different types of buckthorn, I think older Buckthorn.

Jo Tinsley

Oh yeah, older Bockthorn and Bockthorn.

Becs Frank

Yeah. They they they have these very pretty small, almost star-like petals, uh, flowers, and this sort of greenish, greenish-white, really, really delicate, pretty. That's where they you you'll find them. And they have this um yeah, they're they're they're actually our longest living butterfly as well.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I read that. They live for like 10 months or something. Because some butterflies, it's it's such a short life, isn't it? Yeah.

Becs Frank

Yeah. So all through the winter they've been kind of um hibernating, basically, in some in some ivy, ivy somewhere. And then they come and have this incredible sort of majestic courtship dance. Oh, I'm gonna I'm gonna look out for those. And my last fact about the brimstone butterfly, which I think is lovely, is that that might actually might be why they're called butterflies, because of their buttercolour. So they yeah, that that we might might be thanks to thanks to the brimstone. So I mean, it it's like there's there's lots of new life out there, but actually, like you were just saying about your veg patch, there's not a lot going on going on there at the moment, is there? No. We've got to wait, wait a bit longer for that. And it's we it's called the hungry gap, isn't it, this this time of year?

Jo Tinsley

And yeah, yeah. So I've heard of this. So yeah, it's the hungry gap refers to this spring period, typically between like March and May, where winter stored produce has run out if you were eating your own things, but new spring, summer crops are not yet ready to harvest. So there's this sort of shortage of fresh homegrown food, which obviously in the you know, when we have supermarkets, um isn't how things are, but like it's uh it's an interesting idea. But one, you know, we're probably getting this feeling where we want to eat differently, right? Because the sun's out, we want to perhaps eat more lightly, more colourfully.

Becs Frank

Definitely. If you get a veg box, you would notice this as well, because um, you know, you you you're kind of root veg and thing. I mean, we we've had a lot.

Jo Tinsley

It's like, why are we still on root veg? Exactly.

Becs Frank

So yeah, we we did a we did a feature, one of our home economics features, which is uh a series that we run. And as you just explained a little bit, it's kind of like a it's a new approach to planning meals, basically, and with a whole kind of you know, the emphasis on avoiding waste and valuing our ingredients more so that things last love last longer. And there's lots of ideas about how to sort of get more inventive and and use up use up all your ingredients with things for the freezer, things to keep, things to things to have today. And this one is about exotic fruits in in our March issue, which I thought was was great because we're waiting for our spring harvest and they can bring this lighter, kind of tasty spring drop of sunshine into your kitchen. And uh who doesn't need that, right?

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, yeah, because I guess the only thing we have at this time of year is like forced rhubarb, do you know what I mean? Which which fills that gap a little bit.

Becs Frank

Oh yes, we do. Yeah, yeah. I'm not a massive rhubarb fan, dare I say that?

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, uh, I really am. I think it's and do you not like it in any way?

Becs Frank

Uh not hugely. Actually, never and I know Lisa is the biggest rhubarb fan ever, but I think it goes back to having some very sloppy kind of stupid rhubarb, perhaps at school or something. Or I asked my mum about this. I tried to blame her.

Jo Tinsley

It probably was. I'd imagine lots of people, and it's stringy and sloppy.

Becs Frank

Yeah, with kind of cream, which I don't like. You know, and yeah, so I think I probably yeah, I could probably be converted. But there are lots of other things. So there was in this piece there were mangoes, uh, coconut, bananas, pineapple.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah. And I think one of the things that I like about exotic fruits is um using them in savory dishes. So uh, like we have fish and mango tacos really regularly at our house because it's one of the things that like consistently goes down well.

Becs Frank

Do you? Did you see the pineapple tacos in the in the feature?

Jo Tinsley

No.

Becs Frank

Yeah, so you make basically a pineapple barbecue sauce. Um so instead of like using a tomato base, you use the you roast the pineapple and use that as the which gives a really kind of nice sweet richness to um to the sauce. So you actually roast your pineapple with some onion garlic, blend it with some spices and things, marinate whatever you're having, pork, chicken, fish, vegetables, mushrooms, whatever you you want to put on, and you're making these little kebabs with pineapple and and then your marinated other ingredient. I think that sounds wonderful. And it's actually the recipe's going to be on our blog, so we'll um we'll put a link to that. You could freshen up your fish tacos with a with some pineapple.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, I think it's quite a controversial subject, isn't it? Hot fruit. Yeah, there's a lot of people that really aren't for that. And I always found it strange when I when I when I left home when I was younger, and um the things that you think are normal at your house, and then you go out into the world, and like I'm putting bananas on my curry, and everyone's like, what are you doing? It's like, does no one else slice bananas on top of their curry? Is that I don't I don't think that's abnormal.

Becs Frank

No, we we we we would have had bananas, and there's a banana curry in this in this piece, so you're not you're not the weird one there.

Jo Tinsley

I mean, yeah, I've been to India, they they have bananas, you know, a curry breakfast.

Becs Frank

But no, you're right. And um, I'm I still I'm still kind of a the throwback to the ham and pineapple pizza. I like I'm all for that.

Jo Tinsley

Some people are really against that. I think it's great.

Becs Frank

Oh yeah, yeah. Um they these things just bring some, I think, some sweetness. There's some good tips about just using like things like the banana skin. Um, so there's a banana skin chutney. I didn't know you could do that. And also everyone knows bananas go over, don't they, so quickly. And then, you know, what is it? You know, banana bread's your only option. Well, which is a good option. I love a banana bread. But there are some good ideas and tips about freezing bananas to, you know, also to use in in banana bread, because apparently they they make an extra good banana bread. But just then, you know, you've to stop them from you know ripening too quickly and making sure that you can you can use them all up. So, yeah, loads of good ideas in there and across the magazine for bridging the hungry gap and livening up our palates while we wait patiently for the new spring harvest. And I mean, I think that that actually brings us nicely into our story today, which is actually all about the gradual arrival of spring and and how it reflects the seasonality of life. So sit back and um enjoy our short story for today. Tallock. It was never an arrival exactly, more a slow accumulation of evidence. The rumours could be brushed aside at first, false hopes or plain untruths. But in the end the signs were there, innumerate and impossible to ignore. Spring came not with the curlews, nor the wheaters, nor the skylarks. It came not with the daffodils nor the primroses at the roadside. It came in the noticing of these things, in the acknowledgement of them, and the understanding then that another winter had passed. It came always late. Mary sat in the garden against the south-facing wall of the house, watching her husband. He was fifty yards away at the end of their drive, and he too was watching. Beyond him the sheep milled close to the fence, their bellies round and swollen. The lambs were still weeks away, but David had begun to feel anxious. He'd begun to keep an eye out. It happened like this every year. No matter that he'd done it scores of times, that he'd seen generation after generation of lambs born in these fields, that he'd been midwife to many of them, and that most of what could go wrong he knew how to fix. No matter, no matter. Each year he worried until the time came. Then, until it was over, he was calm. He'd been the same way before their girls, now grown and gone, were born. In the eighth month, he'd stop sleeping. He would lie awake for hours, then get up to pace the kitchen floor until exhaustion brought him back to bed. He'd imagined complications that didn't come. He'd planned that half-hour drive to the hospital, though there was only one road, only ever one way out. But then when it was time, he'd sat behind the wheel, solid and composed, as if their journey were no more than a weekend trip to town. This morning light had drenched the valley, found each part of it like the first rainfall after drought. Mary had come outside to clear weeds from the garden, to make space in the flower beds for the summer to come. The sun wasn't warm, not even close, but wrapped up as she was in a coat and scarf and gloves, it was warm enough. She had worked for an hour while her husband was in the shed, then turned as he came down the drive. She'd sat then on the bench by the wall and leaned back. There was a kind of absurdity to the coming of spring, Mary sometimes thought. It was clearer as each year passed. Or perhaps absurdity wasn't the right word at all. Perhaps tragedy was better. That season of eternal regeneration felt at times like a taunt. The world renewed itself after winter, but the people he loved did not. Her husband, who turned now towards the house, was getting old. He walked slowly and limp, just a little. His right hip hurt, though he tried to disguise the fact. His face, like hers, was an old person's face, the skin loose around His eyes and neck. Each year the work they had to do grew harder. It would not take many more springs before it was too much for them. This garden, those fields. She couldn't help but think that sometimes. David opened the gate beside the house and came towards his wife. He sat beside her on the bench and sighed. Everything okay out there? she asked, pressing her hand firmly into his. He grinned and nodded. Everything is perfect, he said, squeezing her fingers tight. Everything is perfect.

Jo Tinsley

That was a nice story. I I always like noticing those first signs of spring because they they always happen much earlier than you'd imagine, don't they?

Becs Frank

Yeah, and I like that it is these it's it's the moments when you just capture something. Yeah. And and then they just happen more and more frequently. Yeah. Lovely. Yeah, really lovely story. So along with the garden, the other thing that like really needs a spruce up in my life right now is my wardrobe. And I always feel like this at this time of year. And I just I want to put away all my my winter clothes, and it's too early, really. But I just want to kind of, I don't know, I just feel like I I need to give it some some new life.

Jo Tinsley

There's that Japanese sort of tradition for this at this time of year, isn't there? Called spring koromagare.

Becs Frank

Yes. Well they do it twice a year, don't they? They do, yeah. Yes, it's the sea it's it's at the start of a new season.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, it's the idea of kind of airing and caring for your clothes, kind of shifting from one season to the other.

Becs Frank

Yes. It's good a good kind of practice, because it's not it's not about buying new, which is you know kind of what I feel like doing, if I'm totally honest. It's about uh sorting and clearing and caring for your things.

Jo Tinsley

And kind of looking after your things, right? Yeah, caring for things.

Becs Frank

Yeah. Because I I don't know, I I don't have that sort of really a ritual of of putting things away. I put I do put away a a few woolens and I I am I am aware of we have had problems with moths before. So I actually did make some of these because I was spending a fortune on on kind of different types of moth repellent things. And then um we in a piece that we ran last year on this this kind of Japanese custom Koramagari project for making like um your own little moth kind of bags of and you just put in some rosemary and some lavender and some cloves and cinnamon, different things that are known to naturally repel moths. It was actually a really nice, really nice thing to do, and it seems to have worked.

Jo Tinsley

Hmm.

Becs Frank

That's good, I looked that up.

Jo Tinsley

Because yeah, we've got moth moths here. But they do they do it elsewhere in um in the world as well. Like Norway has a mitten day. Brilliant. Which is the date for getting your mittens out and your of a knitwear ready for winter.

Becs Frank

So we could be putting away the mittens soon.

Jo Tinsley

We could be putting away the mittens.

Becs Frank

Yes, you've got to put your mittens and your scarves and your woolly hats away as well, because they they kind of tend to be the things that get forgotten, I think, and sit in still are in a box in the porch and then and then they can get, you know, they don't last, they don't that's but it's good to take care of those as well. We did we did a a my place, which is uh sort of nice gallery of pictures of different parts, different areas of people's homes.

Jo Tinsley

That's pictures that people have sent in or or they're real homes, aren't they? Yeah.

Becs Frank

They're real homes and they're a corner of their real homes. It's the linen cupboards in the latest issue. And I was just uh and for me that's the dream. Why am I not one of these people who can have one of these perfectly folded linen cupboards? I see you as someone that would have one of those. Do you know? Yeah. I love that. No. In fact, I have a big cupboard, and um, I can see it from where I'm sitting now. It's kind of making me, you know, feel anxious because it's um it's the exact opposite of that. It's just because you because it doesn't have glasses. This is the thing, it doesn't have glass windows, so you can't see what's going on.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, they were all really nicely painted glass wooden cabinets, weren't they?

Becs Frank

Yeah, they were. So things are shoved in there. My husband keeps threatening to like empty it out and get rid of half of it because he loves throwing things away and I like hoarding things. So we're kind of we have this tussle. Yeah. Um, but uh that did inspire me. Things like linen spray. I mean, again, I want to be what what do you You want to be the sort of person that owns linen spray. I want to be the sort of person who sprays my linen. Yeah. But actually in the piece, it does say about you know, just just often clothes are overwashed. We do too much washing and and really it's usually odors that we're kind of mm concerned about, cooking smells and things like that. So sometimes just a you know, a spritz or a steam and something before you put your clothes away is is enough. So I'm all for that actually.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, there were some other ideas, wasn't there, in um a recent issue about like incense cones and reed diffusers and wax melts as well.

Becs Frank

And I think these things in our in our February issue.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah.

Becs Frank

Yeah, really nice ways to sort of freshen up your home with homemade projects.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, and these things are so personal, aren't they? And also often a bit pricey. So to make your own, it's quite a nice idea, isn't it?

Becs Frank

Making a reed diffuser is actually really easy, and and you can, as you say, choose your own scent and uh because they you know they go down really quickly as well, don't they? So and they can be they can be expensive, and it is just a an enjoyable, an enjoyable thing to do as well.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah. I mean I'm I'm not very good that you know, I don't have a fancy linen cut but do anything, but I'm pretty good at like keeping my clothes. I wouldn't say one in, one out, but like I have all my clothes on like an open wardrobe, like an open rail.

Becs Frank

I think that's the yeah, that helps.

Jo Tinsley

And I go through all the time and be like, right, I don't wear this, take that out, sell that on vintage, or send it to the charity shop. It's quite a recent thing. Oh, you're good. I think it's because I've got you know I've changed sizes and so I've managed to have an overhaul. Yeah. And then you're trying new things, and then you're just like, well, that you know, I had that for several months, it's not working, move it out. Then if there's only space for, you know, if there's only one rail, that's the amount of clothes that you can do. But I think one of one of the good things you can do is a clothes swap.

Becs Frank

We did a gathering, haven't we, in uh in our current March issue that we've we've uh our gathering are kind of reason to get together with friends and and do so have some nice food and they often have a theme. And um, this is I mean, the coffee morning is kind of incidental here, although there's some great ideas for for yummy things like salmon scotch eggs and wild garlic quiches and things like that. But um also bring a bring an item of clothing or two or three, or maybe yeah, and and I mean I used to I've been I haven't been to one of these for a long time, but I did go through a phase of I might have dealing with a group of friends that we had in um it's a great way to you've got to invite the friends who are gonna have really nice clothes. Yeah, exactly. I mean the clothes in this piece look lovely, and they and pe clearly people have come along and bought nice uh spring clothes. So, you know, then when you are having those days where you just think I've got nothing to wear and this at this time of year, nothing that feels nice and light and um is gonna cheer me up, then you know that what a good idea going um because someone you're something you're sick and tired of and feel like you've worn for the last few years is someone else's new exciting purchase.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, exactly. And like like with the spring clothes, I quite like the idea of doing like a themed one. So, like you know, I'd quite like to do one with swimming kit. I mean, I've got so much swimming kit. So, you know, bringing along or kids' clothes or you know, something like that could work really nicer.

Becs Frank

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a really good idea. You could do that with your with your swimmer friends, or you could have like a themed car boot, Joe. I mean, people would be swarming around all your uh your swimming clothes. They would. Got a lot of wetsuits, yeah. Uh I know, I would be. But we and actually on the also on the theme of not needing new, we've got Anna Kilpatrick, who in our our wisdom interview, who I mean, I was so interested to read her story because her kind of her whole philosophy is about making do, I guess, and and being happy with with what you have and being happy with enough, which she was kind of you know f forced into a situation of taking on that approach with her life when some things happened that left her, you know, having to change her home and downsize considerably and struggle to make ends meet. And she was she was a single parent. She suddenly, I think, was quite keen to get this message out that you know that we we don't need as much as we think we do, and it's quite possible to to live a sort of a more yeah lower budget life, but actually still still very lovely.

Jo Tinsley

She has a really nice philosophy, doesn't she? It was all about living joyfully, not frugally.

Becs Frank

Yes, exactly. It feels joyful rather than like you're depriving yourself of something.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, yeah. No, I found that really inspiring.

Becs Frank

And she and all her clothes look great, and she buys everything from charity shops, I think.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, she was saying that when you wear charity shop clothes, that's often when you get the most compliments. Yeah. Which is good because then you're just like, I only got this for this amount of money. You know, it's like you can feel quite smug about it.

Becs Frank

And you can't go and find the same one either. Yeah.

Jo Tinsley

Do you do you ever do I know some people do these sort of challenges to like like Frances on the team did a year of not buying anything new, didn't she? She did. Do you ever do you ever do any of these kind of challenges?

Becs Frank

Uh no, I don't well, not I do you know what was I read you you did a piece, didn't you, Joe, on how picking something like with a challenge like that, a a number, something to kind of aim for, because there's so many different ideas. Oh, you could change by numbers, I think. Do you want to explain a bit about it? Because I was really inspired by this.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, so this was like the idea that like just like trying to run a marathon where you might start out with jogging like five or ten minutes at a time, when it comes to achieving significant impact, it's a matter of taking small incremental steps rather than like massive running leaps. So it was looking at projects that help you tap into that.

Becs Frank

So, you know, whether it's I don't know, buying nothing for 24 hours or picking up pieces of litter on the way back from a swim or quite a lot of it was about making positive changes to your community or to the to the world basically, to the w the w where we live and without having to go all in and feel and then because then you get this, I can't manage this, I feel hopeless, and and actually And then change doesn't happen. Change doesn't happen, exactly. Yeah.

Jo Tinsley

I like that because I'm not I'm not an all or nothing kind of person. Like I like kind of slowly changing habits and stuff like that. But yeah, one of the ones I quite liked was halfway heroes. So that's making 50% of your weekly meals plant-based.

Becs Frank

Yes, I really like that too. And that feels really achievable, doesn't it?

Jo Tinsley

I think so. Yeah, rather than like veganyary or you know, something where you're having I mean, lots of people get on well with these challenges, but like where you're maybe denying something or you're doing completely nothing. I think it depends what kind of person you are. Like some people love that, yeah, don't they? Some people really like sort of cutting something out.

unknown

Yeah.

Jo Tinsley

Whereas I quite like doing something 50-50. That kind of works for me.

Becs Frank

And and I like that you talked about a hundred-day concept as well, which is quite interesting, because that being kind of uh about the route a right amount of time to get to form a new habit. Um and so you know, if you think a year is a is a long time to think I didn't I'm not sure I could manage not buying anything new for a year, but I mean, I think aside from a few essentials, shall I say, I think Frances did manage it, definitely. Yeah, I think she did. But I think, yeah, even if or even if you start with your hundred a hundred days, then and then it might you might get to that hundred days and think, well, I wanna I want to carry this on. One of the other ideas was about plastic waste and picking up plastic, wasn't it? So take was it taking three pieces, trying to find when you're on a beach or something, three three pieces of plastic to take away with you.

Jo Tinsley

Just something that you can do while you're there. Yeah.

Becs Frank

Exactly. Because we all see and know how much how much plastic gets kind of washed up and onto our beaches. And also just having um friends of glass on board for this season has really made me think about where I can do those swaps of plastic for glass specifically. So I am now, you know, just finding myself buying bottle. When if I buy a bottled water, I choose I choose a glass bottle rather than a plastic bottle. And and also the interesting thing is it's it's better for taste. Yeah. So yeah, storing your food in in glass containers or jars or bottles is it helps them last longer. It's better for taste. And I've been going to a refill shop as well and you and getting my shampoos and conditioners. Oh, you have been making real changes. That's good. Yeah, that has been inspired by just educating myself a little bit more and feeling that actually it's not that difficult. So um I would urge you to go and look at the Friends of Glass UK Instagram just for loads of tips on there. Yeah, I I don't know. I feel like um spring is a good time. We said this last last year, didn't we? Um sorry, last year, last week, and probably last year, is a good time to start. Start small and start thinking about new new ideas. And so actually think talking about last year, our intentions.

Jo Tinsley

We are revisiting things that we We're holding ourselves accountable for for season five's intentions.

Becs Frank

Yes, to everybody out there about whether we do actually do the things that we say we're gonna do. Well, Joe, this is gonna be this is interesting. This because uh the what I looked at our uh one of ours from last spring and um because I think we were obviously talking about clothes again and the joy of of repairing and mending. And I am I remember you saying that you're gonna kind of start trying to do a little bit more repairing of your own clothes rather than giving them to somebody else to look after.

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, I haven't quite done this. So I'm I'm ashamed to say I haven't done this, so I'm still asking my partner's mum for help when I need to. I mean, you know, I can do a button, but you know, when I need something um a bit more complex done. But like I say, I'm storing things well. I'm keep you know, I'm regularly weeding things out, but yeah, I'm not, I haven't gotten braver. And someone is doing it.

Becs Frank

It's not like you're not you're not repairing. Yeah. So I think that's it, that's a good thing. Yeah, yeah. To someone else. And I talked about um taking a photograph of the same place. I think we talked about taking photographs as through through the seasons when you're out on a walk or somewhere familiar. I've actually been doing this, done this in my garden, and it's been really helpful. I because I when I was kind of planting my bulbs and things, I looked back and because you can never you can't picture when when in November when I'm putting bulbs in the grass and there's nothing there, you can't remember where everything is or what comes into flower when. So that has been been really useful for that, and it's helped me kind of grow in confidence. I'm going to start doing it on my regular walk, the one I took you and Lisa on actually, because and taking a photo maybe once a week or something, because we've actually they've opened up the view by chopping down quite a few of the high trees and and and shrubs that were blocking the view a bit. So I think it'll be actually be even more interesting to see how that changes through the season though. And like this looking back has actually reminded me, reminded me to do that.

Jo Tinsley

So yeah, it is good to kind of look back and um sort of make notes on these things, right?

Becs Frank

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Jo Tinsley

Exactly.

Becs Frank

Well, I'm feeling revived and I don't know about you, full of good ideas. So thanks, Joe, and to everyone for listening and to Friends of Glass for supporting our dawn season. Don't forget to check out the Glass Champions, which are the brands that our readers have nominated, which we will be featuring in our April issue next month. Remember that you can go over to Friends of Glass Instagram at Friends of Glass UK for lots of ideas on how to choose, use and recycle your glass packaging. Next week, Joe is gonna be back with Lisa for episode four. And what are you what are you gonna be talking about next week, Joe?

Jo Tinsley

Yeah, so the theme is gonna be dawning and we're gonna be discussing sort of realisations, understanding about yourself and others, fresh approaches, new ways of looking at things. So quite a reflective one.

Becs Frank

Nice. I'm gonna be listening to that. I'm gonna be actually on holiday. Are you listening to that? Yeah, with my March issue, which is on sale now. If you actually take out an immediate start subscription, you'll get the March issue straight away. Or you can pop over to simple things.com or Pix and Inc and order yourself a copy. So links for that and everything else that we've mentioned will be in our show notes as always. And for now, that's that's all, and bye for now. Thank you very much for listening. Bye for now.