Project Calm 10

C R E AT I V I T Y

PA P E R A R T

M E D I TAT I O N

N AT U R E

RITUAL

EXTRAS PRETTY ORIGAMI ENVELOPES TO SEND CUSTOMISE A LABYRINTH POSTER TEA LABELS & STICKERS MAKE YOUR OWN SUNDIAL

Find time for a morning ritual, look to the horizon, learn from shadows, listen to the dawn chorus, let your mind wander, host a tea ceremony…

W E LO V E C R A F T

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EXTRAS I N THIS I SSU E Make all these projects using o u r exc l u s i ve p r i n ts, pa p e rs and templates

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Style up your tea shelf beautifully with our Japan-inspired packaging and stickers

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Customise a labyrinth poster

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Build your own desktop sundial

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Fold an origami envelope set

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Make an easy paper chain

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CON TEN TS 06 NATURE 08 Nature news 12 Listen to the dawn chorus 18 Inspired by: birds 20 Look to the horizon 26 Morning tea recipes 28 Learn from shadows 34 Make a sundial 36 MIND AND BODY 38 Wellbeing news 42 Labyrinth meditation

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48 Inspired by: labyrinths 50 Labyrinth poster 52 How to draw a labyrinth 54 Profile: Sofia Bonati 56 Let your mind wander 60 HOME 62 Home news 66 Community action 70 Make a paper chain 74 Launch a newsletter 80 Inspired by: work spaces 124

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83 Special section: Morning 100 TRAVEL 102 Travel news 105 Tea ceremonies

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112 Make your own tea packaging

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115 Fold pretty origami envelopes 120 Inspired by: Japan 122 Listen to our Spotify issue 10-themed playlist 124 Susannah Conway’s morning rituals 126 Evening tea recipes 128 Day’s end

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5

Dawn chorus S EC RE TS

OF THE

Early birds catch the most beautiful music, too.

T i f f a n y Fr a n c i s e n c o u r a g e s u s t o r i s e e a r l y t o l i s t e n t o n a t u r e ’s o r c h e s t r a .

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Illustrations: Tiffany Francis

Early morning in southern England, and the half-light of dawn is creeping over an indigo sky, washing away the stars with the first grey glow of a summer sunrise. Badgers roaming through the forest are making their way back home, and the creatures of daylight are beginning to stir within their dens. This is the twilight zone; there is a stillness in the trees; a pause between one day and the next, the past and the undecided future. All lies quiet, and a softness moves across the earth while the world sleeps. Silence.

And then, out of nothing, deep within the mottled canopy of a silver birch, a voice sings out in the darkness. Ripe, velvety notes float through the air and out into the ether; the first symphony of the morning bursting from the dark feathered chest of a male blackbird. For a few moments the world is his stage alone, one solitary

voice pouring through the trees. But soon he is joined by the bold melodies of the wren and robin, the wheezing greenfinch, pat-a-cake song thrush, whistling starling, dunnock, goldfinch and sparrow, until the air is ablaze with the beautiful chaos of birdsong chiming through the forest like a thousand silver bells.

While the warm days of spring and summer offer so much joy each year in so many ways, the dawn chorus is one of nature’s most powerful and captivating experiences. From four o’clock onwards our gardens, hedgerows and woodlands erupt into a cacophony of song as every male bird attempts to seduce a partner with the greatest aria of their little lives. They time their breeding season to coincide with the warmest part of the year, when food is plentiful and any eggs laid will have a greater chance of survival.

But it’s not just the ‘early bird’ attitude that encourages our birds to sing so promptly. This early in the day there is less background noise from the human world, and the air is of a different quality and can carry birdsong up to 20 times further. The males will sing both to defend their territory and find a mate, and females will be eager to find

a partner with a strong voice, as he is more likely to have the stamina to raise chicks and protect his territory.

For most of us, the dawn chorus is something to stumble upon by accident: a sleepless night, newborn baby or all-night party might lead us to a surprise performance, but by the time most of us wake up the chorus has faded to simple tweets and chirrups over our first cup of coffee. Could it be that while we snooze in our duvet nests, we are missing out on the greatest wake up call on earth? An energy boost more powerful than any yoga class or double shot macchiato – a burst of inspiration from the lungs of nature itself?

Step back into the world of our ancestors and we might see how the dawn chorus once played such a pivotal role in our lives. In a time without alarm clocks, electric lights or commuter trains, we were more in tune with the natural cycles of the earth, so when the birds began their serenade and the sun finally rose, it was time to wake up and continue the slower lifestyle we once enjoyed hundreds of years ago. In summer, the days were long with plenty to do, so it made sense to rise early and make the most of the sunlight; in winter the days were short, and with little food growing there would have been more time to rest and reflect.

In later centuries Britain became a Christian country, and the sound of church bells was used to call worshipers to prayer, as well as to signal the time of day. Now we rely on iPhone alarms to rouse us from sleep, caught in the unnatural rhythm of the modern world that means we are out of sync with the circadian cycle.

Every country has a dawn chorus of its own, and in hotter, more tropical countries where a bird’s beauty is found more in its plumage than its voice,

the noise can be wonderfully chaotic. In western culture the charm of birdsong has even found its way into popular music, from Laura Marling to Minnie Riperton, as well as the famous romantic song ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’ by Eric Maschwitz – sadly, it is highly unlikely for a nightingale to sing in central London, although some theorise it might have been a talented robin.

Research has shown that exposure to nature can reduce the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular illness, anxiety, depression and fatigue, as well as improving our life satisfaction, vitality, happiness and mindfulness. Could rising with the sun and listening to the awakening natural world improve our wellbeing, even if just once or twice a week? Treat yourself to an early night, open the window wide, and wake up to the sweet reverberations of birdsong at dawn. The joy will linger in your bones and carry you all the way through to sunset.

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Realms of possibilit y 20

We m a y n o t k n o w w h a t l i e s b e y o n d t h e h o r i z o n , b u t therein lies the magic, says Helen Martin

Contemplating the horizon can free your mind and open up your perspective on the present and the future.

Photograph: Olga Gavrilova

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Two infusions to wake you up Tr e a t y o u r t a s t e b u d s t o a q u i e t d a w n d r i n k .

Michael Isted shares his favourite botanical d r i n k s f o r c l e a n s i n g t h e b o d y.

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C L E A N SIN G

IN F USION

This is a simple amalgamation of some of my favourite cleansing herbs in a delicious herbal tea that can be enjoyed throughout the year. This infusion is particularly delicious in the morning, but can be prepared in a large batch and heated up as and when required.

YOU WILL NEED (Makes 1 tea caddy, or enough for about 20 teapots) • 100g (3½oz) dried calendula flowers • 75g (2¾oz) dried nettle leaf • 50g (1¾oz) dried cleavers • 50g (1¾oz) dried horsetail • 50g (1¾oz) dried red clover • 25g (1oz) dried fennel seed • 50g (1¾oz) dried burdock root 1. Weigh out all the dried herbs and mix together in a large bowl. Decant into an airtight container and seal. As with all dried herbs, this mixture will keep for one year in the sealed container.

2. Measure out 3-4 tsp of the herb mixture into a teapot, just cover the herbs with freshly boiled water and leave for 30 seconds to allow them to ‘bloom’, then top up with more just-boiled water and place the lid on the pot. Allow to infuse for at least five minutes, then pour through a tea strainer into cups and enjoy.

The Herball’s Guide to Botanical Drinks by Michael Isted with photography by Susan Bell, is out now, published by Jacqui Small, £20.

To order a copy for £15 including free UK P&P, phone 01903 828503 and quote offer code QPG511.

SKIN

TONI C

Good morning! This invigorating drink is a step up from that well-known morning ritual of lemon and hot water, boosting circulation and firing up digestion with a combination of warming ginger and cayenne with stimulating dandelion and burdock.

Dandelion and burdock have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and gentle bitter actions, which make this drink an essential part of a cleansing routine. These are fantastic skin herbs, due to their diuretic actions; they help to regulate blood pressure, cleansing the kidneys, bladder and urinary system.

YOU WILL NEED (Makes 1 teapot) For the drink • 2.5cm (1in) fresh organic ginger root • 1 unwaxed or organic lemon, finely grated zest and juice • pinch of cayenne pepper • dash of raw honey or alternative sweetener (optional) • 2ml (½ tsp) Dandelion and Burdock Decocted Tincture (see below) For the Dandelion and Burdock Decocted Tincture (Makes about 500ml / 18fl oz / generous 2 cups) • 40g (1½oz) dried dandelion root • 40g (1½oz) dried burdock root • 250ml (9fl oz / generous 1 cup) distilled water • 300ml (10fl oz / 1¼ cups) vegetable glycerine Equipment • muslin cloth (cheesecloth) or super bag • 50ml (2fl oz) glass bottle with pipette 1. For the Dandelion and Burdock Decocted Tincture: Put the dandelion and burdock roots into a saucepan with the distilled water (if you have time, let the herbs infuse for a couple of hours before heating). Stir, fire up the heat with the lid on, bring to a gentle simmer for 3-4 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave to cool with the lid on (to avoid losing any of the aromatics through evaporation). Once cool, add to a blender with the glycerine, blend for 30 seconds, then pour into an airtight container and leave to macerate for at least 14 days, gently shaking occasionally. Strain through muslin (cheesecloth) or a super bag, bottle and label.

2. For the drink: Cut the ginger into small pieces and place in a teapot. Squeeze in the finely grated zest and juice of half the lemon and add the cayenne pepper and honey or sweetener, if required.

Pour over 200ml (7fl oz / scant 1 cup) of freshly boiled water. Leave the lid on the teapot and infuse for 4-5 minutes. Strain through a tea strainer into tea cups, then drop the tincture into each cup from a pipette. Take a small piece of zest from the remaining half lemon and squeeze the oils out over the cups with your thumb and index finger.

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Powerful pahways Co n t ra r y to b e l i ef, yo u ca n ’t ge t l ost .

The labyrinth offers one path to follow in a n d o u t , a n d i t ’s t h e p e r f e c t o p p o r t u n i t y for mindfulness, says Sarah Gane

Find the centre, and find yourself by walking the Land’s End Eagle Point Labyrinth in San Francisco, California

Photograph: Jason Doiy

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A M O R N I N G M A N I F E S T O

by Allan Jenkins

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Early morning gives me time, hope, space. At a moment when they are all at a premium. The city (largely) sleeps. Interference is low; distractions minimal. My day opens up. My mind is clearer. My thoughts easier to read. Anxious urgency is removed. The light is elusive. I feel my way around, the room, my home, like a cat with whiskers. I pour tea. I fill the pot by sound not sight, a reassuring glug. It is curiously comforting to decouple from incessant electric light. I am aware of the air around me. I have hours on my own, free to follow my feelings.

I am liberated from the day’s demands. More at one, if you will, with the natural world. Perhaps just sitting, watching my thoughts. I can write, walk, gaze out of the window, soak it in. There is time to wonder what I want to say. Time to drink good tea. Time to hear the blackbird signal dawn (midsummer sunrise is 4.42am in London, and after 8am by midwinter).

Early morning connects me, makes me more awake. I listen to more isolated sound while the day and light lift. My room more slowly makes its presence felt. My day, my world, knock politely. There is time to wait, rising sun on my face as I write.

Cool light as I walk or garden, free from chatter, except my own, perhaps today a loop over Hampstead Heath, just me and the bumblebees, another early walker in the distance. I’ll nod, quietly say hello if we pass, a brotherly sisterhood of sharing with other early morning appreciators. An hour’s open-hearted meditation on morning, light and life. Stopping to admire the fading greening, perhaps catch sight of a heron. I am back before breakfast, in time to wake others. Time to read, say, Ted Hughes’s The Hawk in the Rain, to catch undone things from days before. Time to build in new memories, sow new seed.

From night to day, dark to dawn, winter to spring, there is enchantment for me in transition. This is when the owl flies, the curlew calls, the earth inhales or exhales. Flux, a natural thing.

From child to adult, it is in the letting go, watching, observing, not trying to control the change, where enchantment happens.

Before breakfast was when I roamed by the river, ambled through fields and woods as a child, in search of magic. Seeing the fox returning to his den, hearing the call of the wild, I knew anything was possible; reality’s grip lessened for a moment and therein lay the charm. No longer defined by home or who my parents were, there were other possibilities on offer. Whatever I wanted. My imagination soared with the shift in light.

Decades later it still holds true. You can do near anything you want to, be almost anybody you want, the rest of the world is asleep. For an hour or two feel free. There is nothing holding you back. Dawn is an enchanted world behind a hidden door, there if you want it, fine if you don’t. ‘Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me,’ says Thoreau. He’s right.

Photography clockwise: Jordan Wozniak, Jap Straydog, Vicki Jauron, Babylon and Beyond Photography, Kyle Wood / EyeEm, Aleksvrn51, Nathan Anderson, Twomeows

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L I S T E N T O T H E I S S U E T h i s i s s u e ’s P r o j e c t C a l m p l a y l i s t i s a g l o w i n g b i r d s o n g o f d u s k a n d d a w n , a n d y o u c a n f i n d i t o n S p o t i f y.

‘Songs to watch the light change as time seems to slow’ – that was our self-initiated brief for the issue 10 playlist. From chill-out to electronica, rock classics to beautiful instrumentals, we have just the thing to plug into once you’ve taken in the actual dawn chorus. So look to the horizon and time your visit for sunrise or sunset, and then lose yourself in the eclectic musical genius of Nitin Sawhney, Beck, The Cinematic Orchestra and more.

1. Sunset – Nitin Sawhney 2. Light (feat. Little Dragon) – ODESZA 3. Morning – Beck 4. Dawn Chorus – Beth Orton 5. Dog Years – Maggie Rogers 6. Skylark Interabang?! – Made in Heights 7. Time – Jungle 8. The Glow – Monogem 9. Then Comes the Wonder – The Landing 10. All Things Must Pass – George Harrison 11. Little Shadow – Yeah Yeah Yeahs 12. Horizon – The Cinematic Orchestra 13. Don’t Even Think – Twin Limb 14. Blackbird – Sarah McLachlan 15. People Help the People – Birdy 16. The Morning Fog – Kate Bush 17. Song of the Wood Thrush – Michael Jones

S TO RI E S

B E H I N D

T H E

M O R NING

FO G

DAWN

CHORUS

M US I C …

Photograph: Dave Hogan

Photograph: Caitlin Mogridge

T H E

T H E

Photograph: Burak Cingi

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DO G

YE ARS

Beth Orton

Kate Bush

Maggie Rogers

Taken from Beth Orton’s fifth album, Sugaring Season, Dawn Chorus is typical of her more stripped back acoustic sound, after becoming known for ‘folktronic’ – a mix of folk and electronica – in the mid 90s. She sings: “Beneath the noise there was silence / And what was left was ours to surprise us” – a beautiful dedication to the start of a new day.

As the final track on Kate Bush’s classic album, Hounds of Love (and the closing song on the B-side, a seventrack concept piece called The Ninth Wave), The Morning Fog is described by the icon herself as a “thank you and goodnight song”. The Ninth Wave itself is about a person alone in the water at night – their past, present and future keeping them alert till morning.

Maggie Rogers rose to fame after a video of her playing a song she wrote in 15 minutes – Alaska – to Pharrell Williams at a masterclass at New York University went viral due to his visibly impressed reaction. We’ve chosen another of her songs for this playlist, for the wonderfully unique lyrics: “I count my time in dog years / Swimming in sevens / Slow dancing in seconds…”

Want to catch up with all our playlists? You can find us on Spotify. Follow the link here: http://bit.ly/PC10playlist

Photograph: Hero Images

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G E T T H E L AT E S T I S S U E !

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N AT U R E

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Welcome to our beautiful magazine packed with creative projects & ideas, gorgeous photography and insightful features.

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ISSUE

TEN

EXTRAS PRETTY ORIGAMI ENVELOPES TO SEND CUSTOMISE A LABYRINTH POSTER GET ORGANISED WITH TEA LABELS & STICKERS MAKE YOUR OWN SUNDIAL

EXTRAS IN THIS ISSUE INCLUDE...

Keep track of time with your own tabletop sundial

Complete an exclusive labyrinth poster your way

Fold & send Japaneseinspired mini envelopes

Get your tea ...And use your stash organised sticker sheet with printed to embellish labels jars & journals

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY O R D E R O N L I N E W W W. B U Y S U B S C R I P T I O N S . C O M / C R A F T S P E C I A L O R CA L L 03 3 3 0 16 2 13 8 A N D QUOT E ‘CA L M 10 P R I N T 1 ’ Lines open weekdays 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm. Overseas please call +44 (0) 3330 162 138. * EUR price £11.99, ROW price £12.99. All prices include P&P. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery.