Blog
Taking Time to Live Well
Some are moody – some, poppy: songs with a Nordic soul to make you feel cooler.
Seasonal tracks chosen by The Simple Things team
Listen to our December playlist: Christmas songs
I close my eyes, then I drift away... Songs to help you dream sweetly
Listen to our soundtrack to November: Music for sweet dreams
Time to run to the forest and watch the leaves tumble
Listen to our Songs of the Woods playlist on Spotify now
All we want is a room somewhere... This month, we relish the comforts of home. Loverly.
Listen to our Home playlist now.
More playlists from The Simple Things:
It’s the summertime and the weather is fine. This month, we’re piling out into the garden and having a party.
Roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair. This month, we’re hitting the road looking for adventure with a head full of songs
This playlist from our April 2016 issue is music to accompany puddle-splashing and shower-dodging. Plus, some cheery tunes for sunny intervals and bright sunshine days.
Image: Alamy
WHETHER YOU PLAY ‘CHARABANC ROULETTE’ AND GO WHERE FATE TAKES YOU, OR TAKE A SLOW CHUG IN A VINTAGE VEHICLE, LIFE LOOKS DIFFERENT FROM THE DECK OF A BUS.
On page 68 of July's The Simple Things, Julian Owen takes us on a trip down memory lane.
Need a soundtrack? Have a listen to our bus journey playlist for 41 minutes of songs to listen to while those wheels go round. Cheers drive, as they say in the west country.
Although the vernacular music of England has always been around, many of us have been distracted by the pleasures of pop music and put off folk music by witnessing middle-aged men in pubs singing through their noses. Which is a shame as traditional folk songs, with songs covering a variety of subjects including yearning maidens, laments, farewells, daring lassies, murders, drowned sailors and blowing winds, offer much in terms of storytelling and social history.
Thankfully, contemporary musicians including Northumbrian sisters The Unthanks have hauled it back into our consciousness by recording old songs as well as writing their own. Many others have picked up the folk baton with sub- genres including ‘alt-folk’, ‘psych-folk’ and ‘nu-folk’ springing up.
Download our Spotify playlist for a selection of our favourite new folk, including Lady Maisery, Telling the Bees, Mad Magdelen, The Black Feathers and the Hare and the Moon.
Bright Young Folk is a compendium of interviews, reviews, directories and listings of traditional British folk music artists.
If you fancy singing a few traditional ballads, join a folk choir, now growing in popularity. The Great Sea Choir in Bristol welcomes singers of all ages without an audition. The Morris Choir in London is fairly full but welcomes those who can sing, play a fiddle or bang a bodhran.
Turn to page 91 of June's The Simple Things for a run-down of dance, craft and folk traditions through the year.
Words: Clare Gogerty
Illustration: Alice Patullo
It stills the mind, rejuvenates the body and helps to connect our inner and outer world. Walking is so much more than getting from A to B.
On any given weekend, between seven and eight million people in the UK go for a walk, many leaving cities to walk in the hills or across the fields of the open countryside. Whether hiking alone or perambulating with friends, we share the sense of liberation that comes with walking. Out in the open air, free from observation or judgement, you can sing as loudly as you care to, shout out loud at the wind, lie down and sleep... eat with your mouth open, if you must.
Read Peter Owen Jones’ paean to perambulating on page 93 of the April issue of The Simple Things - out on 25 March 2015. Off on a jaunt of your own? Have a listen to Associate Editor, Clare Gogerty’s walking playlist while you explore the great outdoors.
Image: Getty
This month in our series on what makes a house a home, we relish the indulgence of wallowing in a warm, scented and foaming bath.
Shut the bathroom door, run the hot tap, light the candles and, in an instant, your utilitarian bathroom becomes a place of self indulgence. No other room has such a dual personality, switching from morning wash house to evening mini-spa with the simple addition of a few tea lights and a bottle of Matey.
The power of a long hot soak is undeniable: it can help de-kink any annoying mental and physical niggles that have built up during the day, and it offers a space to think away from the commotion going on in the rest of the house.
The most successful baths are a sensory overload – stroke and coddle your five senses and an hour or so of bliss will be yours.
Turn to page 116 of February's The Simple Things for five tips on choosing and running the perfect bath.
And have a listen to our favourite tub soakin’ tunes in our Spotify playlist.
Words and playlist: Clare Gogerty
We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.
