As autumn says hello and the apples start to fall from the trees, we celebrate a new season with a most appropriate recipe – apple crumble. This classic favourite is yummy served hot with anything from ice-cream to berries to crème fraiche.

Ingredients

1kg apples – peeled, cored and sliced
150g caster sugar
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
125ml water

Crumble topping:

75g porridge oats
125g plain flour
225g dark brown soft sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
125g butter, melted

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4.

2. Place the sliced apples in a 20×30cm (9×13 in) baking dish. Mix the caster sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over the mix.

3. Make the crumble topping: Combine the oats, 125g flour, brown sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and melted butter. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.

4. Bake the apple crumble for about 45 minutes.

So it’s goodbye to another summer as August draws to a close. We had a great summer here at Kaleidoscope – we liked wearing our shift dresses and sunglasses in the sunshine and enjoying the lovely hot weather. We hope your summer was fabulous as well.

As the seasons change, so do our wardrobes. It’s difficult to have your summer and winter clothes together, but most of us don’t have the storage space to have two separate wardrobes. The best thing to do is to clear out your summer wardrobe now so that you make space for your winter wardrobe (remember, all of those coats and jumpers take up a lot of room).

Clearing out your summer wardrobe now also means that you’ll only keep the ladies fashion you really love. It will also make it easier for you to see what you need to buy next summer.

Clearing out is easy but you need to be ruthless. You should get rid of a piece of clothing if you haven’t worn it in over six months; if it no longer fits; if it looks too dated or if you no longer have anywhere to wear it. These items can go to the charity shop. Remember to clear out your shoes and accessories as well.

We all know about walnut cake. We all know about coffee cake. But how about mixing them together – and even adding some apricots into the mix too? This is a moist and delicious cake that works well as a dessert served with ice-cream.

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks (6 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter an 8-inch springform pan and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar until light. Stir in the eggs, then the yogurt and vanilla.

4. In another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the moist to blend them.

5. Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan, being sure to make it level.

6. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, spices, apricots, and walnuts. Strew half of the mixture over the batter. Repeat with the remaining batter and the apricot mixture.

7. Insert a round-tipped knife into the batter into the layers and swirl it through. This will give that lovely marbled effect.

8. Put the cake in the oven and bake for about an hour. When it has cooled, unhinge the spring, remove the rim, and cut the cake into wedges.

Autumn is around the corner, bringing with it colourful leaves, the start of another school year and lots of rain (probably!). Still, August has been rather damp, so at least we’re used to it already.

Don’t be sad about the end of the sunshine though. Autumn always brings some gorgeous new ladies’ fashion to enjoy. Yours truly actually loves autumn and winter clothes. It’s so easy to look stylish in the colder months – a smart shift dress, a nice hat and some knee-length boots look so sophisticated.

Dresses are a wardrobe staple when it comes to autumn fashion. Treat yourself to a couple of patterned numbers along with a black dress or two. Think day to night for dresses that you want to wear during the week – the right dress looks as good with a jacket for work as it does with a cardigan for evenings out afterwards.

Layered dressing is a good approach for autumn days, as the temperature can be changeable. Make sure you have a couple of sleeveless or short-sleeved dresses on hand for surprise warm days – you can team these with bolero jackets, or wear a blouse underneath, when it’s colder.

We’d all like to be slimmer, wouldn’t we – even if we don’t have much weight to lose! There’s no doubt that even just shifting a pound or two does wonders for the old confidence. And when you feel more confident, you look great in your favourite dresses and ladies fashion.

There’s no need to go on a drastic crash diet to be slimmer. In fact, crash diets are really bad for you. There are easy ways to lose a bit of weight that won’t ruin your health. Here are five of our favourite tips:

1.    Stop picking at the kids’ leftovers! This is something that mothers nearly always do. Eating what’s left on your kids’ plates without even thinking about it is an easy way to pick up an extra 200 calories a day. So stop!

2.    Swap coffee and tea for herbal drinks. Cutting out milk and sugar will save on calories. Plus, herbal drinks are better for you anyway.

3.    Have a goal in mind. A target is a great incentive to slim down. You might have a new dress that you want to slim into, or maybe a friend’s wedding to get trim for. Visualise yourself reaching that goal as often as possible.

4.    Exercise! This is fundamental to weight loss. If you can, buy a pedometer (available from most home shopping catalogues) and try to get at least 2000 extra steps in a day. If you can do it, making 10,000 steps a day for two months will help to shift pounds.

5.    Drink loads of water. Water helps to flush out the toxins and other rubbish that bloat us out. Aim for at least 1.5 litres a day.

We’ve only got one month left to enjoy the summer holidays. Eek! We at Kaleidoscope will be very sad to say goodbye to long days, sunshine and ice-cream.

However, let’s not get maudlin just set. August isn’t finished and there’s still time to enjoy a summer holiday. In fact, there’s still time to plan and book a summer holiday. And what better way to spend the last days of summer by booking a summer holiday in the UK?

So treat yourself to a summer dress or two, look through your home shopping catalogues for a shiny new suitcase and marvel at our pick of the UK’s summer holiday hotspots:

Brighton: beautiful, bohemian and generally wonderful. Head to the Lanes to browse through alternative shops and enjoy wholesome food at one of its many cafes – or enjoy fish and chips on the beach!

Blackpool: home to the UK’s most famous pier, you’ll be able to catch a fun family show or two whilst you’re there – maybe even one starring your favourite comedians from TV.

Cornwall: a must-visit and a wonderful place for a family holiday. There’s lots to enjoy for people of all ages though, including some very smart restaurants to sample such as TV chef Rick Stein’s collection of eateries.

What’s even better than an exercise plan? An exercise plan you can actually stick to!

We’ve all been there, haven’t we – starting an exercise plan with the best of intentions, only for it to fall flat on its face before the week has even ended.

The good news is that you can actually set yourself an exercise plan that you’ll be able to stick to. And that’s a wonderful thing. Exercise is so good for your mind, spirit and body that it’s really worth taking the time to devise a plan and sticking to it. Here’s how..

Love, not hate: this sounds obvious but the first and most important thing is to identify exercise that you will enjoy doing. Whether it’s walking part of the way to work every day or playing five a side with the girls from work, do something that you love! This is the only way you’ll want to do it again and again.

Make it easy: joining the gym is all well and good but not if the gym is a half hour drive from your house. Choose a type of exercise that is easy for you to access. Trust us, when your motivation is low, a long journey will only put you off even more.

Gym kit: you’ll feel motivated to exercise if you treat yourself to an outfit or three to work out in. Peruse your home shopping catalogue for the latest in ladies fitness fashion.

Dear diary: make appointments to exercise in your diary and make sure you stick to them. Exercise should be and indeed can be scheduled in like all of your other activities.

Three times a week: that’s the optimum when it comes to exercise, although of course if you can exercise more, then do! Experts recommend that each session lasts for 40 minutes and includes cardio and toning work.

Phone a friend: and ask them to exercise with you. Many people find that the motivation and company of others helps to spur them on in their pursuit of fitness.

Celebrate the English summer with a native dessert! Simply spiffing.

Ingredients

4 trifle sponges
60 ml (4 tbsp) cherry jam
15 ratafia or amaretti biscuits
60 ml (4 tbsp) sherry
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
225 g (8 oz) cherries, stoned
450 ml (3/4 pint) fresh milk
3 eggs
50 g (2 oz) caster sugar
150 ml (5 fl oz) fresh double cream
glace cherries, to decorate
25 g (1 oz) chopped nuts, toasted, to decorate

Method

1.    Cut the trifle sponges in half and spread with jam, then sandwich together. Arrange in the base of a glass serving dish.

2. Cover with the biscuits and sprinkle with sherry. Coat the bananas in lemon juice. Arrange the bananas and cherries on top of the biscuits.

3. Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until almost boiling. In a big bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon rind and sugar until pale, then pour on the hot milk, stirring continuously.

4. Return to the saucepan and heat gently, stirring continuously, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Do not allow to boil. Set aside to cool.

5. Pour the custard over the trifle and leave until cold.

6. Whip the cream until stiff and pipe on the top of the trifle and decorate with glace cherries and nuts.

We’ve got one bank holiday left until Christmas (argh!) so we here at Kaleidoscope say – let’s make the most of it!

The August bank holiday provides a perfect opportunity to spend some quality time en famille before the kids go back to school, if you’re a mum, and a perfect opportunity to enjoy a day off work without cutting into your annual leave. What’s not to like?

The key to a successful bank holiday break is planning, planning and planning. With just over three weeks to go, here are our top tips for planning a brilliant bank holiday break.

Put all of your medicines and sun creams into plastic bags so that you can see what you’ve got. Once they’re in their bags, they’re ready to be packed.

If you’re going away for a few days rather than a week, be strict with everybody’s packing. You can all take your favourite ladies fashion items, but not too many of them!

Double check that everybody’s passports and driving licences are valid. You don’t want any nasty surprises at the airport or car hire place.

If you’re staying in a hotel, check ahead to see what activities and facilities they have. Ask whether there are any day trips they would recommend and if they give any discounts for them.

The sun is our friend but can also be our enemy – too much sunbathing and you’ll end up looking like a leather handbag! Of course, you can enjoy the sun, but you must do so safely. Here are our five quick tips for protecting yourself against the sun.

1) Factor it in: use a high factor suncream at all times. This even applies to when you’re out and about at home. You can get burnt in the UK! Aim for a minimum of factor 15.

2) Hat’s the trick: Joan Collins is never seen without a broad-rimmed hat on holiday and she has fabulous skin. Copy her style and protect your skin (and look amazing!).

3) Midday malaise: As the song goes: “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” The sun is at its most powerful between 12 and 3 in the afternoon, so don’t sit out during these times.

4) Shady business: whether on the beach or by the pool, hire a parasol. You can still get tanned under the shade but you’ll do so safely, thereby avoiding sunstroke and skin cancer (note – you must still wear suncream)

5) Cute cover-up: invest in a kaftan or light long-sleeved top to wear over your swimsuit. You’ll protect your skin and look fabulous in the latest ladies fashion. It sounds obvious, but if you go topless, you’re super exposed. Clothes help!