Lynton to Hunter’s Inn – August 2020 (between lockdowns) This weekend has been the first of four weekends in our latest national lockdown, also known colloquially as Lockdown 2.0. Since Thursday, all parts of England have returned to a full Covid-19 restrictions, with the re-closure of non-essential retail businesses and with restaurants and cafes offering takeaway menus, rather than eat-in options. Happily, Saturday was a lovely, melow, autumn day, so the people of Kenilworth were able to be outdoors, enjoying the fresh air, walk with a companion or cycle in the sunhine (all observing the loc ..read more

A rag-and-bone man with his horse and cart on the streets of Streatham, southwest London in 1985 (Image from Wikipedia) When I was a child in the 1970s, a simple way of getting rid on unwanted items was to wait for the ‘rag-and-bone man’ to call by. I have a distant memory of a man calling “Rag a’ Bone!” as he arrived via pony and cart to collect unwanted metal and other items. He also handed out pink balloons to the children! I was surprised to discover the above image, which is from 1985 and shows that the ‘rag and bone’ trade with horse and cart persisted for some time. Fast forward al ..read more

After a little break from the blog over the summer, I’m back for a new season with some new life adventures to share with you. I hope you have been keeping well and happy, in spite of lockdown restrictions. Our daughter is about to take the next step on her life journey and embark upon the quasi-independent life of being a university student. She is one of the hundreds of thousands of UK teenagers who belong to the ‘Class of Covid-19’ whose achievements were ultimately based on ‘centre assessed grades,’ rather than on a combination of teacher insights and a controversial algorithm. So, I’m so ..read more

After a little break from the blog over the summer, I’m back for a new season with some new life adventures to share with you. I hope you have been keeping well and happy, in spite of lockdown restrictions. Our daughter is about to take the next step on her life journey and embark upon the quasi-independent life of being a university student. She is one of the hundreds of thousands of UK teenagers who belong to the ‘Class of Covid-19’ whose achievements were ultimately based on ‘centre assessed grades,’ rather than on a combination of teacher insights and a controversial algorithm. So, I’m so ..read more

When I first embalked upon my simplicity journey around 4 years ago, I described how this wasn’t only about being able to let of excess ‘stuff.’ Back then, becoming minimalist was also about letting go of a sense of obligation, of constant busy-ness, and stress. Our time in lockdown has taken me back to that time of living more simply and letting go. We’re now on Day 75 here in the UK. As lockdown restrictions begin to ease (for good or ill – no pun intended), I feel it’s worth reflecting on what this time has taught me so far. Lockdown lessons First of all, let me say if you’re a key worker ..read more

Most of the personal emails I’ve been getting during the current Covid-19 lockdown have fallen into 3 categories: Helping our customers….(insert company X’s statement of reassurance, safety and ‘necessary measures’) Coronavirus: (insert latest news here) The marketing campaigns capitalising on the ‘at home’ situation: “Wondering how to make the most of your space?” (from a very well-known UK high street department store) I wanted to make my message a little simpler: Hello… How are you? How are you getting on in your corner of the world? And perhaps you will permit me to share a little of m ..read more

Imagine my surprise and delight when I had the chance to read a newly-arrived copy of Courtney Carver’s new book, Project 333. In case you’ve not yet seen it (the book’s official publication date was 3/3 (of course!), I thought you might appreciate a review. So, here it is! If you’re familiar with Courtney Carver, then this is the book that followers of bemorewithless.com might have expected her to have written first. In fact, Soulful Simplicity came before which included a section on the project. Still, Project 333 (along with Carver’s popular Tiny Wardrobe Tour) is arguably the most well-kn ..read more

Are you a “last-minute-Lucy” or someone who likes to get started with tasks early? I’ve typically fallen into the latter camp. When issued with an assignment at university (a looongg time ago now!), I’d be the first to head for the library as soon as the question was issued. That approach has stood me in good stead throughout my career, especially when issued with directives from a one-time CEO whose deadline was usually 12:00 noon the following day (no matter how challenging the task). What I’ve only just realised, though, is how much simpler life becomes if you adopt the same approach to fo ..read more

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a sucker for a new recipem book. And it’s true that probably the only things I regret letting go of in my decluttering phase are some of my lesser-used cookbooks. Most recently, we’ve been enjoying the wonderful recipes from The Diabetes Weight Loss Cookbook by Katie Caldesi. These low carb, creative and incredibly tasty dishes offer a lighter take on tradional recipes with an italian twist. I’m also keen to have a look at Amelia Freer’s latest book, Simply Good for You but I am holding myself back because of the book I’m about to ..read more