The Simple Things

Ideally in August, we‘d not work at all – instead we would ‘summer’ at the sea or hide away in the mountains. Days filled with slow, simple pleasures and long carefree nights. But in the real world, it's more about taking time now and again to potter and dawdle, to ramble and to drift. There's no such thing as wasting time in high summer. Linger in the night garden, seek out a starfish in a rockpool, share a pitcher of shandy as the sun sets, Picnic in a meadow, idle by a brook. The theme here is about going with the flow, not resisting the current. Drifting doesn't mean you are adrift. With no firm plan in mind, it simply opens the possibility for happy accident, who knows what we…

There's a moment between daylight and dusk when my urban summer garden gives me the chills. In this quiet, almost secretive time when the sun drops behind the fence line, it seems as if I'm entering a parallel universe. Nighttime insects and animals arrive, and even plants behave differently, all of which can be so easily overlooked. Less reliant on sight, my other senses become heightened. Flowers release intoxicating fragrances, the soil smells moist and sweet, and the sounds of water features and rustling foliage can take on magical qualities without the clamour of children, traffic or neighbours. My garden under moonlight seems to detach itself from the ground, transporting me to another world. White flowers shine like moons, my pond becomes a planet, the waterfall a luminous constellation, and nighttime creatures…

“I've always journalled throughout my life, but when I went to study abroad in Ireland, the practice of my travel journal truly started to thrive. Ireland's astounding nature, the people, the stories all needed to be remembered and recorded. I usually use watercolour or whatever I have on hand – sometimes I feel like using black ink, sometimes gouache. It's mostly about having fun and relaxing for me. Most of my pages are in both Czech and English.” Magdalena Konečná, @divoka.tuzka “I've been keeping holiday journals for 25 years. I'm very much a ‘need to be busy’ person and am useless at sunbathing, so the diaries keep me occupied and provide a canvas for sketching and drawing within a context. I like the simple narrative of a holiday, nothing challenging, just painting…

Excited screams from the sandy beach beyond the headland blend with the cries of young swallows circling the cliffs. The Cornish summer is ebbing, sending nature into an electrified frenzy. Time is running short for everything, including my hopes to find a cushion starfish ‘nest’. Unlike the bold starfish illustrations in children's books, the cushion star only comes in understated shades of buff-brown and green, its five stumpy arms poking out from a puffy central disc. It cannot compete with the dustbin-lid proportions of the spiny starfish or the tangerine brightness of the common starfish, yet I love nothingbetter than lifting seaweed to uncover constellations of scattered cushion stars. Larger starfish species prise open mussels, reducing them to soup, but cushion stars are gentle scavengers. They sail smoothly over the rock, gliding…

PALOMA Tequila. It makes us happy, as the song goes. Especially when served in this civilised Mexican cocktail. Serves 4 Salt 200ml tequila bianco 40ml agave syrup 40ml lime juice 240ml pink grapefruit juice Ice Soda water Pink or red grapefruit slices and rosemary sprigs or borage flowers, to garnish 1 Dip the rim of each glass in a bowl of water, shake off the excess, then sprinkle a spoonful of salt onto a plate or saucer and dip the glasses in to coat the rims. 2 Fill a cocktail shaker or large lidded jar with ice, then add all the remaining ingredients except for the soda water and garnish. Depending on the size of your shaker, you may need to do this in a few batches. Shake until the outside of the shaker feels…

Serves 10-12 For the streusel* topping: 90g plain flour ¼ tsp fine sea salt 60g soft light brown sugar 55g unsalted butter, melted For the cake: 150g plain flour 1¾ tsp baking powder ¼ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp fine sea salt 75g ground almonds, toasted 120g sour cream, at room temp 45ml sunflower oil 60ml whole milk, at room temp ½ tsp vanilla extract 90g unsalted butter, at room temp 150g soft light brown sugar 2 large eggs, at room temp 150g raspberries Icing sugar, for dusting 1 Begin by making the streusel topping. Sift the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and whisk to combine. Gradually add the melted butter while stirring with a fork, until the mixture starts clumping together. Store in the fridge until needed. 2 Preheat the…