Join The Simple Things’ wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank and author of The Slow Traveller Jo Tinsley as they talk summer ball games and park yoga, music and memories and making the most of sunny days 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 sponsor Titanic Belfast. Find out more and how to visit at titanicbelfast.com and on Instagram @titanicbelfast
Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett
In the May issue (167) Balls identifier. Illustrations by Sarah Edmonds www.sarahedmondsshop.com
In the June issue (168) Park yoga picnic - enjoy a sunshine stretch followed by a tasty lunch and catch up with friends Why weight? The physical and mental benefits of getting stronger My place: outdoor kitchens to swoon over
In the July issue (169) available to buy from 26 June here Music and memories – how songs have the power to transport us to our most life changing moments. Read – Transported: The Everyday Magic of Musical Daydreams by Elizabeth Margulis (Oneworld) Listen – The Simple Things publish an original playlist every issue. Find them here My Living – Jo talks to Lois Povey of community pub Tafarn Yr Heliwr, Nefyn.
On the blog Grown up lollies Cucumber mint and lemonade lollies recipe Berry coconut lollies recipe Watermelon slices on a lolly stick recipe
From previous issues available to buy here Looking back – women in sport (Issue 88) The history of the pub beer garden (Issue 131) How to harness the sun in your garden (144) Picking petals and leaves for cooking (120)
May Days - Episode 4 - LARK
24/05/2026 | 52 min
Join The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Author of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley as they talk about sharing a fondness for camping, appreciating the joys of larking about, spontaneous adventures and magical creatures. 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. We can send subscriptions anywhere in the world. Or buy current and back issues here Thanks to our sponsor Titanic Belfast. Find out more and how to visit at titanicbelfast.com and on Instagram @titanicbelfast Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.
On the blog Recipe: Herdwick lamb curry in a hurry Camping recipe | Smoky Boston beans & armadillo potatoes
In the June issue (168) on sale from 29 May and available to buy here Peaky Blinders: Ways to mark 75 years of the UK’s first National Park
In the May issue (167) on sale now The joy of larking about – Swap organised fun for magical spontaneity Magical creatures – An appreciation of the sky lark
In previous issues available at picsandink.com
My Living – The campsite (158) Open to visit – The idea of ‘explorer days’ (157) The pursuit of pleasure – It’s time to move things up the list (122)
To read The School of Life: Small Pleasures – what makes life truly valuable (2022)
May Days - Episode 3 - TONIC
17/05/2026 | 50 min
Join editor of The Simple Things magazine Lisa Sykes and wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank as they appreciate summer foods and sensory walks, explore the medicinal benefits of garden herbs and rediscover the pleasure of handwriting a letter. 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 sponsor Titanic Belfast. Find out more and how to visit at titanicbelfast.com and on Instagram @titanicbelfast Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett
In the May issue (167) available to buy here Berry Shrub and other recipes from Michelle Tansley’s cottage garden in our new series, A Good Life Switching on the senses – discover the moodboosting benefits of sensory walks Bloom scrolling – self edit your feeds for a more fulfilling online experience
In the June issue (168) available to buy from 29 May here Weekend project – make your own herbal bug spray and natural after sun balm Cake in the house - Elderflower and strawberry tart Read our favourite entries from our midsummer microfiction competition. Find out more about National Flash Fiction Day on 13 June nationalflashfictionday.co.uk
On the blog Spring beans on toast – broad beans and ricotta with elderflower dressing recipe Pea cheesecake recipe Rhubarb and sweet cicely shrub with Aperol recipe Natural first aid for bee, wasp and jelly fish stings taken from The Natural First Aid Handbook by Brigitte Mars (Storey Publishing) Elderflower toner Chickweed Ice cube aftersun Letters that changed the world
To read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Penguin Books)
From previous issues available to buy here The joy of writing a letter April (167)
May Days - Episode 2 - TEND
10/05/2026 | 47 min
Join editor of The Simple Things magazine Lisa Sykes and regular contributor and author of The Slow Traveller Jo Tinsley as they explore ways of tending to your patch and your flock, whether that’s pottering in the garden, looking after your local bees or exploring your local neighbourhood. 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 sponsor Titanic Belfast. Find out more and how to visit at titanicbelfast.com and on Instagram @titanicbelfast Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett
In the May issue (167) available to buy here A good life: On the edge of the Derbyshire Dales, Michelle Tansley grows food and flowers in her cottage garden. Pottering about: Clever ways to give old plant pots new purpose in the garden My Neighbourhood Frome Leave it and reap: Plant once and harvest for years: perennial vegetables are an easy addition to a plot Churchyard rewilding
Coming up in the June issue – on sale from 29 May or try an immediate start subscription to get it earlier Simple ideas, using recycled materials, to help your garden grow and bloom. Taken from Way to Grow: Over 100 hacks for green-fingered greatness by Simon Akeroyd (DK)
From back issues available to buy here Know a thing or two: bees (Flourish Volume 3) DIY beeswax wraps (issue 96) Gathering: For a Sunday lunch with a difference ask friends to BYOT – bring your own trowel – and share the joy of planting and potting for the new season (issue 141)
On the blog Garden hacks | Turn a shoe-hanger into a tool rack
Garden hacks | Reuse cooking water on your plants
Garden hacks | Make a colander hanging basket
Garden hacks | DIY seed tapes
Beeswax wraps
Stress-busting Massage Balm
May Days - Episode 1 - FOLK
03/05/2026 | 48 min
Join editor of The Simple Things magazine Lisa Sykes and wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank as they dive into folk festivals, May Day customs, folklore and dancing. And to mark International Dawn Chorus Day (3 May), there’s an (amateur!) birdsong quiz… 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 supporter for this season Titanic Belfast. Find out more and how to visit at titanicbelfast.com and on Instagram @titanicbelfast Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett
In the April issue (166) available to buy here Speak easy: how to have better conversations
In the May issue (167) available to buy here Up with the lark: Have an early picnic while enjoying the birdsong before heading home for a second breakfast. We enjoy using the Merlin Bird ID app to help identify birdsong. Almanac: Embrace all things folk with the many May festivals from Jack in the Green to Garland Day and Beating the Bounds Modern Eccentrics – mods The Brighton Mod Weekender takes place from 27-30 August.
Coming up in the June issue – on sale from 29 May or try an immediate start subscription to get it earlier Learn all about The Lost Giants of Lostwithiel, Cornwall, the designers and co-creators of giants and beasts of disguise.
From back issues available to buy here Scene setting: look to the landscape to discover the folk tales they’ve inspired (Issue 151) Photography from the book Unseen Scotland by Bryan Millar Walker (Greenfinch) Modern Eccentrics: The Circus (Issue 118) Giffordscircus.com Modern Eccentrics: vintage car lovers (Issue 155). Women Drivers’ Social Club: facebook.com/WDSC Fairground attraction: Joby Carter of Carter’s Steam Fair on the art of signwriting (Issue 142)
À propos de Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things
À propos de Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things
À propos de Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things
Small Ways to Live Well is a podcast from The Simple Things, a monthly magazine about slowing down, remembering what’s important and making the most of where you live. Hosted by the Editor, Lisa Sykes, in this season, May days & summer afternoons, she’ll be sampling honesty boxes, seeking our magical creatures, taking sensory walks and generally revelling in the promise of summer, alongside co-hosts wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank and regular contributor and slow traveller Jo Tinsley. To subscribe or order a copy of The Simple Things visit thesimplethings.com A definite contender for ‘favourite time of the year’ these light-filled days of late spring and early summer are easy to love. The novelty of sustained sunshine and warmer days gladden the hearts. The countryside is at its best and cities start to go all Mediterranean, living life outside. Even the most humdrum garden looks pretty in May. And we’re as busy as the birds feeding chicks and bees gathering nectar – planting flowers, tending our veg patch and exploring our neighbourhood. It’s the end of the hungry gap with the first harvests so we enjoy eating outdoors and go on our first picnic of the year. We’re learning more about folklore and festivals, listening to birdsong and making the most of long weekends. Join us to dabble in something new and take a spontaneous day trip. Our motto for the season: ‘Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time’. There are six episodes in Season 9, released weekly from May Day and supported by Titanic Belfast
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