Rosemary is delicious in all kinds of savoury cooking, and it’s simple to grow in climates not too different from its home base around the Mediterranean. If you plant it near a path not only can you enjoy its scent when you brush past on sunny days, but on rainy days you can easily pick [more...]
The first flower salad I ever saw was covered with bright nasturtiums like the visual treat in the photo. It impressed me with the idea that some garden flowers are not only edible, but look wonderful on food. You can grow them as well as the better-known herbs to add interesting colours and flavours to [more...]
Famille rose decoration for porcelain developed in China around 1720. A new wave of Chinese ceramics using rose and ruby shades in multi-colour designs was greatly admired in Europe. Introduced just before the western craze for oriental style interior decoration peaked in the mid-18th century, plenty was manufactured for export, along with many other Asian [more...]
When Buffy the Vampire Slayer script writers put a claddagh ring on Sarah Michelle Gellar’s hand in 1998, millions of Buffy and Angel (David Boreanaz) fans began to take an interest in this traditional Irish love ring. The internet has added to that new wave of popularity with thousands of sites explaining how to wear [more...]
Josiah Wedgwood was not only an innovator in ceramic techniques and design, he was also a managing director who insisted on high standards, and promoted his products energetically. In 1759 he founded an enterprise producing good quality, desirable tableware and ornamental ceramics that suited the fashions of the time. Born into a family of potters, he [more...]
Jasper dip and solid jasper are two different kinds of Wedgwood jasperware. Both have white classical designs on a coloured background, and look similar to non-experts. If in doubt you are always safe calling this style of pottery jasperware. Solid jasper came first. After secret experiments in the early 1770s, blending clays with other ingredients, Wedgwood [more...]
Chinese porcelain seemed fine, white and desirable to 18th century Europe, and it inspired skilled western potters to develop their own versions of porcelain. Others worked on more affordable earthenware, trying various clay and flint blends in the search for pale, creamy colours. This new creamware was developed during the mid-1700s. One of the most successful [more...]
Lavender likes a temperate climate with sunny summer days and cool winters. It will grow in most of Europe and in American zones 5-10. While it is happier on well-drained soils than on damp clay, it’s not too fussy otherwise. Mix sand into the earth round lavender roots to help it cope with heavy, wet [more...]
Creating your own cottage garden is about building up an overall effect, not about following hard and fast rules. Aim for a nostalgic, informal look, with plenty of old-fashioned flowers – sweet-scented if possible. This style can suit not-too-hot parts of North America and Europe as well as anywhere in the UK. A traditional cottage look [more...]
Once upon a time the answer was always “No”. Strictly speaking, Fair Isle knitting is one particular kind of multi-colour stranded knitting from the Shetland Islands and nearby Fair Isle. Nowadays the name is spreading and you may find Fair Isle, or fairisle, used to mean almost any style of stranded knitting. Click through to read [more...]
Fair Isle and the neighbouring island group of Shetland, on the northern fringes of the UK, have their own traditional styles of multicolour knitting. Local experts can tell the difference between the two, but the designs are so closely related that most people treat them as one single tradition. The early history wasn’t written down, [more...]
France is full of attractive cafés where you can sit and watch the world go by. They may be in a small town square, or on a busy avenue in Paris. They may look out on trees, or a crowded shopping area. But before you can really enjoy their relaxed charm, you need to know [more...]
The Georgian era was when four kings all called George were on the British throne one after another – a period lasting more than a century (1714-1830). Even though fashions in architecture and interior design didn’t stand still, there was an overall Georgian style favoured during this time – in North America as well as [more...]
It’s always been a difference between English-speaking countries and France. Bidets have just never caught on on the USA or the UK, except for an occasional “trend” that never really went very far. But in France there’s a bidet in every bathroom, isn’t there? Not any more. In recent years the bidet has been disappearing from [more...]
If you have difficulty using hands or arms, or severe pain anywhere from neck to fingers, you may already be using voice recognition software to “type” with your voice instead of your hands. But what if the pain is more moderate? You carry on using the keyboard, but sometimes arthritis, carpal tunnel, or another painful [more...]
If you want to celebrate May Day as a family, or with a larger group of kids, try planning some activities based on old traditions. Creating your own festival is just as good as going to see a parade, or watching other people dancing round a maypole. And you can do both! May Day in England [more...]
Arriving in York by train is more fun than driving in by car, grappling first with ring roads and then with parking. As soon as you come out of the station you’ll see the medieval city wall just across the road. If you aren’t going direct to the nearby Railway Museum, you can follow the [more...]
Rag trees, clootie wells, and raggedy bushes are English, Scottish, and Irish names for special places with a mystical reputation. People visit in the hope of healing and good fortune and tie a piece of cloth on a particular tree or bush near a well or source of water. Often the tree is a hawthorn [more...]
Lopi comes from the distinctive Icelandic sheep. Their fleeces have two layers, each with its own kind of wool. The sheep’s outer coat is water-repellent wool made up of long, tough fibres (called tog) and the under coat is highly insulating, made up of fine, soft wool (called thel or þel). The two fibres are [more...]
UK supermarkets now label some meat, fish, and eggs as “freedom food” or “freedom foods”. If this sounds pretty much the same as free range food to you, look again. You may have been confused by the similar-sounding words free and freedom. ‘Freedom Food’ is the name of a programme designed to improve the lives of [more...]