Chicken thigh, olives & green beans with a basil & lemon dressing

Salt the skin on the chicken thighs and place skin side down in a cold frying pan with a splash of olive oil. Put on the heat, the rising temperature will release the fat from the skin and crisp it...

Parma ham, goat curd, pea & broad bean salad

Blanch the peas and broad beans for a minute in boiling water then refresh under cold running water. Mash the goat’s cheese and crème fraîche until you have a smooth paste – this is your ‘goat curd’. Heap two tablespoons...

Peach Melba with crushed amaretti biscuits

You can peel the peaches but I find it always reminds me of tinned peaches when you do, so I leave the skins on. Heat up the water, sugar and split vanilla pod, bring it to the boil, stirring to...

Cod with summer vegetable risotto

Fry the onion and celery in some light olive oil until soft, add the garlic and cook for one more minute, don’t allow the garlic to colour. Add the risotto rice and stir fry for a minute until the grains...

Easy courgette, cauliflower and blue cheese crumble

You'll love this easy-to-make savoury crumble. It's a great recipe to send off with your kids when they fly the nest and need to cater for themselves. Delicious and healthy too. 1 Put the prepared vegetables, garlic and thyme in a...

Style it Up

Men’s clothing can be a bit limited in scope – trousers, shirt, jacket, repeat – but with some nifty little tweaks the most basic combinations can be transformed. The simplest combo of a shirt and jeans is transformed just by rolling...

Picture perfect

One of the wonderful things about East Sussex is that as soon as you think you know the place, you will quickly realise that you don’t know it at all. Nestled at the bottom of that lane, the one you drive...

The mother of reinvention

Sassy Luke cites her two big interior loves as “the ridiculous and the sublime”. That’s her approach to the wonderfully idiosyncratic paintings, etchings, icons, greetings cards and cushions she makes. But it’s also true of her home. The Georgian flat...

A Passage from India

A bona fide legend of British interior design, Sasha Waddell has embarked on a charitable project designing beautiful textiles which will benefit impoverished children in Delhi – and are used to glorious effect throughout her own home. As soon as...

Chris Rivers Drummer-turned-Artist

Strange, beautiful, captivating, energetic and enchanting; all words which have been used to describe the paintings of upcoming UK artist Chris Rivers. Former professional rock-drummer-turned-artist, Chris began painting four years ago whilst touring the world as drummer with UK rock...

The House of Many Words

As Hastings launches its very first literary festival, we visit the extraordinary home of a theatrical collective where the house itself is an inspiration and performance space. Some of the most celebrated houses in the world have become such, not just...

Big is Beautiful

Sue Whigham rejoices in the splendour of plants with outrageously large leaves It was serendipitous that we discovered that Blenheim was to be closed for two days recently, as we had to put our visit off and decide on a...

Portrait of a Garden – Great Dixter

Jo Arnell shares her impressions of a year at Great Dixter, one of the great gardens of England, inspired by a new tribute by esteemed photographer Julian Anderson Everchanging, always interesting, often breathtaking, Great Dixter is a fascinating place to...

God’s acre

Every house has a story – but it’s very rare to find one that feels like a story in itself. With this dwelling, in the south east corner of Kent, even before you turn into the gravel drive that slopes...

House of scarves

Textile designer and pattern maker, Melanie Laslett, has transformed a 19th century fisherman’s cottage in Hastings into a light and airy home peppered with mid-century modern finds. It was William Morris, who said “Have nothing in your house that you...

Small is Beautiful

Josephine Fairley – a chronic over packer – rejoices in the beauty of travel mini kits. While I have every admiration for light travellers, I am personally incapable of going anywhere with less luggage than someone embarking on The Grand Tour....

Natural Protection

These days it can feel as though you need a PhD in biochemistry to navigate the suncream shelves. Wellbeing editor, Eminé Rushton, breaks down what the labels mean, and how to keep skin safe, naturally. My skin has always been...

Natural Wisdom with Lucy Parker

We chat to Lucy Parker, co-founder of Flow Tunbridge Wells – a holistic wellbeing haven that offers yoga, osteopathy, sports massage, therapies, workshops, courses and retreats. What one piece of seasonal wisdom helps you in summer? Taking a walk in the...

Good Garden Bugs

Early summer is the time for maximum growth in the garden. The new stems and leaves on our plants, plumped out by rain, fertilisers and human kindness are luscious – and irresistibly delicious to some of our garden visitors. Pesky...

Taking the lead: Longacre School

In Taking the Lead, we talk to school head teachers and heads of department. Matthew Bryan, Headmaster at Longacre School, tells us about his work and his own school days Favourite subject at school I always loved Latin and Greek, and...

Taking the lead: Hawthorns

We talk to Rose John-Cox, Head of Maths at Hawthorns – an independent school for girls and boys aged 2 to 13 years in Beltchingley, Surrey. She tells us about her work and her own school memories Favourite subject at...

Sing! – St Paul’s Cathedral School

An insight into St Paul's Cathedral School along with the unique school life – and opportunities – of a St Paul’s chorister. We talk to a member of staff, a pupil and a parent. Member of staff: Jaco Brand, Deputy Head...

City slickers or country mice?

Of course, children themselves don’t question their surroundings. They accept either trees or tower blocks as completely normal. But to parents it can be an agonising choice, and in our part of the world there are many families who have...

Centre stage: Manor House School

We talk to Teresa Williams, Head of Drama at Manor House School about the benefits of studying drama. At Manor House School, we pride ourselves on our all-inclusive approach to drama. We believe that drama is for all and that...