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.
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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Join The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and author of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley in the first episode of our Merry Midwinter season, where we are doing our best to find calm and contentment in the run up to Christmas. This episode we will be chatting about alternative approaches to advent calendars, the people working hard to preserve much-loved customs, the joy of a Christmas market and how to fill your home with festive scents.
Thanks to our partner for the Merry Midwinter season, the Marine Stewardship Council, which sets certification standards for sustainable fisheries and awards the blue ecolabel on fish products. Find out more at msc.org and follow them on instagram @mscintheuk
Golden Days - Episode 6 - RAMBLE
Sunday, October 5, 2025 • Duration 24:41
Join The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes, Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank and regular contributor and author of The Slow Traveller, Jo Tinsley as they take an early evening walk together and ponder over the joy and comfort of a familiar ramble, consider why being outdoors helps us to talk more freely, and finish with a stroll in the footsteps of Jane Austen in Bath’s very own pleasure gardens.
If you are in the UK, you can try an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things get 30% off and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here
Magical creatures – an appreciation of the tawny owl
In the November SPICE issue (161)
An Autumnal roast – it’s the season for roast dinners and this one is a winner
Buy the November issue at picsandink.com from 16 October and on the newsstand from 22 October.
Magical Midsummer - Epsiode 3 SHINE
Season 6 · Episode 3
Sunday, June 1, 2025 • Duration 35:44
Promise and Possibilities
In the third episode of our magical midsummer season, Rebecca Frank, Wellbeing Editor of The Simple Things, and Jo Tinsley, regular contributor and author of The Slow Traveller are celebrating the first day of summer and the things that make us shine at this time of year. Join us on a nostalgic trip to the British seaside, pick up some useful knowledge for growing your own pick of salad ingredients in pots and hanging baskets, and take some wise advice from our pick of wellbeing books for different times of life.
If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here
Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett
On the blog
BBQ sides – because it’s all about the side dishes and pickles really
Yoga for Stiff Birds by Marion Deuchars (Skittledog) – we feature a different stretch in the Miscellany section of the magazine each month.
Magical Midsummer - Epsiode 2 DISCOVER
Season 6 · Episode 2
Sunday, May 25, 2025 • Duration 45:34
Promise & Possibilities
It's half term, another bank holiday weekend so in this episode The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank are setting out to DISCOVER things new to them (and hopefully you) plus learning why stepping outside of our comfort zone is good for us. And because it is midsummer we’ll be celebrating a magical creature and finding a moment of magic to note and notice.
If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here
Anything seems possible at the start of summer and in this first episode The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor Rebecca Frank use their imagination to explore what a ‘could-do week’ looks like, find ways to make bank holiday journeys more bearable and the joy of being a regular, as well as making the most of elderflowers and roses and passing on some creative first aid.
If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here
Join us for our Easter Special episode of Small Ways to Live Well, the podcast from The Simple Things magazine
Released on Good Friday, Team TST are recording live from a Blackdown Shepherd Hut in Somerset where they’ll enjoy cake and decorate an Ostereierbaum (Easter tree) before trying a sauna and cold plunge and warming up with rival hot chocolate recipes. Plus the signs that spring proper is here, stories of cute spring animals and making the most of April showers. Oh and we’re learning how ducks quack in other languages.
Our Easter Special and Season 5: Return of the light is supported by Blackdown Shepherd Huts.
If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here. The May TEND issue is on sale at picsandink.com from 17 April, on newsstands 24 April
Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett.
To read:
Play spring bingo – signs that spring is really here
Feeling like spring has sprung? Join The Simple Things editor, Lisa Sykes, and wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank, who are marvelling at the first signs of spring with a hot picnic to go, enjoying the blossom in our gardens and finding out how different landscapes affect our wellbeing.
If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here.
The Walking Cure: Harness the life-changing power of landscape to heal, energise and inspire by Annabel Streets (Penguin Tonic)
To follow:
@wildwoodmoth – get inspired to take a photo a day on your regular routes with Alice Tatham
@mirandakeeling – stopping to notice. Look out for an extract from Miranda’s new book The Place I’m In in our May issue
To make:
Cherry blossom origami as seen in the March MEND issue here
Easter origami including rabbit egg holders, rabbits and chickens here
Return of the Light Episode 5 - RENEW
Season 5 · Episode 5
Sunday, March 9, 2025 • Duration 40:53
If you’ve got an urge to ‘sort things out’ we’re here to help cheer up a chore. The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and author of The Slow Traveller, Jo Tinsley tackle a bit of spring cleaning, appreciate new life and share some fresh thinking on finding the balance between the comfort of things and clearing out. Plus do you know your laundry labels (honestly more interesting than it sounds)
If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here.
Shrug off winter and wake up to spring – you’ll feel your energy levels rise while you listen to this episode. The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and author of The Slow Traveller, Jo Tinsley will be talking rhubarb (literally) drinking some good coffee, making pancakes and discovering foraging for indoor people.
If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here.
If you’re looking for ways to comfort and soothe your winter weary mind and body, then pop the kettle on, curl up and join us.
The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and Wellbeing Editor, Rebecca Frank, are talking pies, toast and other comfort foods, and how growing veg is a mental and physical tonic. We’ll also be discussing sunrooms and citrus trees and the pillars of good health that will help to keep us on track as winter draws to a close.
Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett. Season 5: Return of the light is supported by Blackdown Shepherd Huts
If you are in the UK, you can choose an immediate start subscription to the The Simple Things and receive the current issue straight away. Or buy current and back issues here.
To read:
Rough Patch: How a Year in The Garden Brought Me Back To Life by Kathy Slack (Robinson)
How to Sleep Like a Caveman: Ancient Wisdom for a Better Night’s Rest by Merijn van de Laar (William Collins)
One Pot Food Forest – a mini food forest where all the seeds are sown at once but have different harvest dates so the planter evolves over time, offering a constant crop.
From My Plot: A Wilder Way with Poppy Okotcha, author of A Wilder Way: How Gardens Grow Us (Bloomsbury)
Shelf help – 18 classic wellbeing books recommended by our experts that offer wisdom throughout life’s changes and challenges. The collection includes Quiet by Susan Cain and Lost Connections by Johann Hari as mentioned in the podcast.
Good vibrations – how chanting a mantra can help still a busy mind
Salad Days - growing advice and recipes for homegrown salads from The Kew G
Pushbike picnic : Vegetable crisps, three cheese & herb savoury muffins, Italian focaccia pressed sandwiches, apricot, blueberry and almond energy bars.
Back garden campout featured in August 2021 issue (110) with Paprika & Parmesan Popcorn, Campfire Tacos, Frittata, Kohlrabi Slaw, Bean Salsa and Chipotle Mayo with Puffed Quinoa fridge cake. Plus Raspberry French Toasties and skillet granola for breakfast
Life of pies - our favourite pies for picnics, parties, handy lunches and hearty dinners
Things I learned from the soil: Between the bare beds of winter and the abundance of spring - Kathy Slack finds hope in the veg patch cycle
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