LUCY KIPPIST’S JUNE ALMANAC

Junae. Junel. Junia. Juno. No matter how you spell it the month of June means one thing: women. Derived from the ancient Roman celebration of all things fertile, fecund and feminine where we fairer sex got about in nothing but cream togas and sandals and reclined on sun beds, being fed grapes. Just like a normal day, really.

In season: Chestnuts, pears, rhubarb, artichokes, pumpkin, rosemary, sage and witlof. Warming, nourishing and convivial, June is a month to be excited about sharing food. It’s cold enough for soups and casseroles and warming your hands around a mug or sharing a long lunch with good friends in front of a fire.

My grandmother’s copy of Jane Beaton’s 1967 Woman’s Own Book of Casserole Cookery suggests radicalising a casserole with a bouquet garni: “This herb flavouring is extra mild because the herbs are suspended in a muslin bag or sachet in the liquid while the dish is being cooked and then removed before serving.”

Friendships are an integral part of being a woman, so it seems fitting subject for discussion in the month of June. What kind of a friend are you? This can be a hard question at certain times of a person’s life and one I was reminded of recently reading Stephanie Dowrick’s Facebook page.

Dowrick is a modern-day spiritual guru, who has written many books on love, the heart and relationships. I follow her Facebook page for a bit of soul food. She raised the issue of friendship recently by saying a friend had gone out of their way and busy schedule to have lunch with her and how important it is to do things for the friends in your life – just because you know they’d love it.

Ever since I read the entire series of Anne of Green Gables (aged 12), I’ve clung to the notion that friends must be carefully considered and loved dearly for a lifetime. Life has had its own way of challenging this idea for me over the years and Dowrick’s post was a great reminder that selflessness is a huge part of friendship. We’re not always supposed to laugh and share the good times, or even see life the same way as our friends, we’re just meant to meet each other half way and help each other get through it.

Life’s tiny details intrigue  me. Particularly the everyday habits of other people. I’d take great satisfaction in being free to ask an entire train carriage full of people what they do before getting out of bed in the morning. Or how they take their tea or coffee. And if they put socks or underwear on first.

Ditto peek inside the contents of the handbags, kitchen drawers or glovebox.  So I nearly fell over backwards when I found this series from American Bon Appetit magazine called My Morning Routine. It’s a series of Q&A-style interviews with people like rapper Ice Cube (who eats leftovers for breakfast) and Garbage lead singer Shirley Manson (who drinks Earl Grey) among others AND it’s replete with colourful photographs. Plus, they add to it every month. Enjoy!

Here’s a tip for this month’s full moon: meditate. Find a quiet space, light a candle, or just close your eyes and spend five minutes thinking about the things in your life that you are grateful for or would most like to change and let the magic of the moon do the rest for you.

JUNE’S FLOWER IS THE ROSE: Roses are like an old-fashioned aunt – well-dressed, well-mannered and reliably “on hand” for every important occasion.  Of all the flowers they’re made for display in a cut glass vase, and look just as good on their own or in company.