The art of pressing pause A SLOW SUMMER GUIDE

There’s a particular kind of calm that settles over the UK in the summertime. Hedgerows hum with bees, washing lines sway in the breeze, and the sun lingers longer, draping everything in a golden haze. Summer here never shouts, it leans in close and whispers. But to hear it, to truly settle into its rhythm, we have to stop trying to outrun it.

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‘Summer reminds us that the purpose of life isn’t to keep moving, it’s to fully arrive,’ says Geir Berthelsen, founder of the World Institute of Slowness, and that’s the invitation at the heart of this guide: to slow down and reconnect with what matters. To choose simplicity over pressure, quiet over noise, joy over urgency. To let go of pace in favour of presence, and create space to actually feel your life as it’s happening to you right now.

Slow food: Savouring the season

Summer brings a feast of simple pleasures: tomatoes that taste of sunshine, peaches so ripe the juice runs down your wrist. But to truly taste any of it, we have to slow down, because slow food isn’t just about what we eat, it’s about how we eat.

When we eat slowly and mindfully, the body softens, breath deepens, and digestion improves. We feel full not because the plate is empty, but because the body has time to listen. But, it’s more than a biological shift, slow eating brings us back to our senses. It’s a way of waking up to the moment.

As we slow down and pay attention, the details return — the peppery hit of rocket, the sweet-tart pop of a raspberry on your tongue, the crack of sourdough crust giving way to a soft, warm centre — and mealtimes become an invitation to linger.