42 THINGS

My annual tradition inspired many years ago by Hula Seventy to put together a list capturing things I'd like to do during my forty-second year before I reach forty-three *sobs at how old I'm getting*

1. Practice yoga each week
2. Stay at Ty Donkey in Wales 
3. Plant a kitchen garden
4. Make a Galette des Rois 
5. Press our apples & make apple juice
6. Runaway with the circus 
7. Take the youngest horse riding 
8. Visit my aunty's grave even though I find it hard 
9. Make a scarecrow
10. Weave a blanket 
11. Take the boys ice skating 
12. Learn to identify umbellifers 
13. Make sloe gin
14. Swim under a Welsh waterfall 
15. Organise an outdoor cinema night 
16. Plant a bean tipi
17. Visit Harp Cottage in Wales
18. Make a toy whale out of an old pair of jeans
19. Catch a snowflake 
20. Learn to play the ukelele 
21. Stargaze 
22. Make an owl box from an old tea chest
23. Go paddleboarding  
24. Grow dark dahlias 
25. Film a series of campfire conversations with people that inspire me
26. Rejoin the library and read more books
27. Make a gingerbread house 
28. Carve a wooden spoon 
29. Declutter the house properly! 
30. Enjoy my edible seed collection from The New Almanac
31. Go camping in the bell tent 
32. Read Romeo & Juliet with my eldest and hope I remember it from my schooldays and can impart some wisdom (may have to resort to Baz Lurhmanns film)
33. Visit the Pig Hotel & have a treatment in the potting shed
34. Watch the final series of Mad Men 
35. Volunteer my time for a good cause 
36. Make an honesty shop
37. Get away from it all at Top of Lane Cottage 
38. Bake a loaf of bread each week 
39. Illustrate some of our favourite walks 
40. Go for an adventure on a steam train
41. Make snow lollies 
42. Don't look back, keep moving forwards 

CAMPFIRE CONVERSATION WITH LIA LEENDERTZ

I am so excited to share with you an interview I recently did with the fabulous Lia Leendertz, who you may recognise from her columns in The Guardian, Telegraph, Simple Things magazine or the many books she has authored. I hate being in front of the camera but I seized the opportunity to give it a go when Lia recently visited me for lunch. My good friend Anne-Marie Randall shot the film and her daughter, currently reading film studies at Uni edited it - although she did note the amount of times I say "um" and I think she removed them all too! I hadn't realised that my son was in the frame and he does steal the show somewhat as you watch and wonder what he's going to do next!

Anyway the reason I thought it would be good to film our campfire conversation is that Lia is currently crowd funding a new book called The New Almanac and truthfully it's the book I wish I had written. It will cover seasons, information about tides for example, recipes and lore and it will be fab. She has had great support, even from the great Nigel Slater, but needs your support to reach her target which she's not far away from at all!

There are great rewards for those that pledge their support from signed first editions, a cut flower and an edible garden club and gorgeous art prints to an allotment party in 2017 that I will be helping out at and styling, along with Mark Diacono who will be making cocktails and Clare Thompson of Five O'Clock Apron who will be making some delicious food.

Do take a look at Lia's The New Almanac page it's a lovely community she's building through shared interests and I'm delighted to support this fab new venture and offer you 5% discount off the rewards if you quote bradshaw16.

THE SHEPHERDS HUT

Our new shepherds hut has recently arrived and found a home in a secluded glade at the end of our campsite. It was crafted by a local blacksmith at Cherington Forge near Tetbury and even has a handmade woodburning stove inside.

We have been busy getting it ready, furnishing and decorating the interior and I thought you'd like a little preview of what we've done so far?

I chose Little Greene Paint to paint the interior of the hut choosing floor paint in Lamp Black #228 and the walls and ceiling with intelligent matt emulsion in Fescue #231.

The bedding is a linen bed set from H&M, although despite buying a double duvet set, it only came with one pillow case and no sheet which I thought a shame but really like the natural colour.

As the hut is small we chose a drop leaf table from Ikea to maximise the space and added two school stools and a vintage Ercol chair by the stove that I found on eBay, complete with Ikea sheepskin.

I accessorised the interiors with a small wooden shelf unit from Domestic Science in Tetbury and old copies of The Countryman and biological prints from the Malthouse Emporium in Stroud.

A bit more painting and then it should be finished all being well.