Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things cover art

Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things

Small Ways To Live Well from The Simple Things

By: The Simple Things
Listen for free

Season's Savings | £0.99/mo for 3 months

£5.99/mo after 3 months - terms apply. Cancel monthly

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

© 2026 Iceberg Press Ltd
Art Cooking Food & Wine Literary History & Criticism
Episodes
  • Dusk - Episode 5 - ROOTS
    Oct 18 2026

    Join Editor of The Simple Things Lisa Sykes and wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank as they talk root veg and autumn stews, playing records and reading aloud and the joy of browsing independent shops and local neighbourhoods.

    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 Austria Tourism for supporting this season To find out more about year-round outdoor adventures in Austria go to Austria.info or follow them @visitaustria

    Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett


    From the October RELISH issue (172) available to buy here

    Analogue | playing records

    Food to share | Corned beef hash in a giant yorkshire pud

    Gardens | Helping hibernators in your garden

    Cake in the house | Beetroot Battenberg

    My neighbourhood | Tring

    In the November HEARTY issue (173) available to buy here

    Gathering | Stews and stories for stormy days

    My Neighbourhood | South Manchester

    Life lessons from Pooh and friends

    Shopkeeper & maker of the month: Tinsmiths, Ledbury and Tinker & Tallulah, Notts

    From Flourish Journal available to buy here

    Try reading aloud | the pleasure of sharing a book

    On the blog

    Salt baked roasted roots with smoky yogurt

    Chocolate and sweet potato loaf cake

    Root veg, cheddar and marmite pie

    Autumn coleslaw



    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
  • Dusk - Episode 4 - THREAD
    Oct 11 2026

    Join The Simple Things’ Editor Lisa Sykes and author of The Slow Traveller and regular contributor Jo Tinsley as they talk about the joy of making things, getting stuff done on slow Sundays, going analogue and making connections.

    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 Austria Tourism for supporting this season To find out more about year-round outdoor adventures in Austria go to Austria.info or follow them @visitaustria

    Editing & music by Arthur Cosslett.

    On the blog

    Fading flowers – plants that look good in winter

    How the spider got eight legs

    Pinafore heroines


    In the November issue (173) available to buy here from 19 October, on newsstands 23 October

    MY PLOT Soil squad

    IDEAS The Jolly Girls

    In the October issue (172) on sale now

    Spice rack audit

    WEEKEND PROJECT A natural fibre brush

    In previous issues available to buy here

    OUTING Following a thread: Exploring Britain’s textile history (Issue 148)

    WEARING WELL The pinafore dress (Issue 171)

    HOME TOUR Among the wild flowers (Issue 171)

    MY PLOT Filling the canvas (Issue 171)


    Learn more

    How to dry flowers

    Artisans of Dartmoor by Suzy Bennett

    From the Land Comes the Cloth by Ian Lawson

    Silent Book Club


    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
  • Dusk - Episode 3 - HUG
    Oct 4 2026

    Join Editor of The Simple Things Lisa Sykes and wellbeing editor Rebecca Frank as they discuss food that feels like a hug on a plate, why hugging is good for us (and the best types of hug), how to cope with difficult times and the joy of the arts.

    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 Austria Tourism for supporting this season.

    Editing and music by Arthur Cosslett


    In the October RELISH issue (172) available to buy here

    A Good Life – comforting recipes for early autumn including butternut squash and blue cheese risotto, chicken noodle soup and fig leaf custard

    Food to share – Corned beef hash in a giant Yorkshire pudding

    Cake in the house – beetroot battenburg

    Beryl Cook – joyful art to make you smile 100 years after her birth. Extract from the new book Beryl Cook: Life and Art (Frances Lincoln).

    Beryl Cook & Friends installation at Bicester Village runs until 25 October. Find out more here

    Art cure - why the arts are so important for our wellbeing. Feature by Daisy Fancourt, author of Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Transform our Health (Cornerstone)

    Wisdom: Caitlin Moran talks about finding positivity in an anxious world. Her new book How to be Hopeful (Ebury) is out now.

    Coming up in the November HEARTY issue (173) On sale 23 October

    Know a thing or two about dogs: the fascinating evolution from wolf to man’s best friend, dog language and what we can learn from our pets

    From previous issues available to buy here

    Coping with big change (September, Issue 171)

    What to do when you can’t do anything (July, Issue 169)

    On the blog

    Smokey Boston beans and armadillo potatoes

    Rainbow minestrone with basil mayo topping

    Thanks again to Austria Tourism for supporting this season and to Rudolf Abraham, travel writer, guidebook author and photographer for sharing his highlights of the Austrian autumn including:
    Salzkammergut region – one of his favourite places. He is author of a guidebook to the area
    Dachstein mountains – Echerntal, a valley near Hallstatt which leads up onto the plateau
    Hohe Tauern mountains & national park
    Grossglockner (highest mountain in Austria) – Alpe Adria Trail starts at the foot of the Grossglockner.

    To find out more about year-round outdoor adventures in Austria go to Austria.info.

    Show More Show Less
    49 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet