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Gabriella Bennett Books

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“5. Thou must set the scene with tunes. Road trips aren't the only time a decent playlist is required. How we consume music has changed radically over the years. Dinner at my grandparents' house was set to silence, at my parents' the radio, and at my friends' something much more personal: a playlist put together for the occasion with songs that are meaningful to us. Supper is on hold until the right music starts to play, even if it means holding a knife and fork and slavering over the smell of dinner until the person in charge of the tunes has done their job.”

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“Waking up in a hut clarifies our relationship to the land around us. The things we think are essential to living melt away and less complicated ideas take their place. All we really need is fire, a place to wash, a desk to draw or form or think. Somewhere to capture a new view of the world and somewhere comfortable to sleep.”

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“A coorie home is one that both looks and feels good. A squishy couch and a favourite mug filled with a steaming cup of tea can brighten the edges of even the most miserable day. There must be a psychological reason behind why we get attached to certain items in our homes, whether it's dad's armchair with its alarmingly permanent bum groove or a wooden spoon with just the right shaped handle. Answers on a postcard, please.”

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“Perhaps we live in a wilder place than we give ourselves credit for. Scots tend to be hardy perennials. It's as if we've evolved to withstand the challenging nature of our own country. And what's more, we've worked out how to shape it into a force for good. Out of necessity our homes feature clever ways to keep the outside out and the inside warm. Scotland's oldest towerhouses were built with slits for windows not just as a defensive measure, but to protect residents from the elements. Out of problems came solutions, even beauty. Our foreparents thought to install open fires to heat their homes then toiled to make them easy on the eye. Intricately carved wooden fireplaces and elaborate hearths that referenced Scottish folklore followed.”

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“Studies suggest that Scots spend less on home décor than anywhere else in the UK, but what we do spend big on is renovating and converting our properties instead of moving houses. Instead of moving home and incurring extra tax, it appears homeowners prefer to line the pockets of Scotland's architects. This suggests that instead of seeing the politics of home ownership and house building as a problem, we are choosing to turn it into an opportunity. This shift in thinking an help us live more comfortably, be more in touch with our individual needs, and in turn support Scottish practitioners.”

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“The closest book most journalists have to a bible is their publication's style guide. Looking back over previous editions allow us to track the "ebb and flow of a living language", according to The Times. In my eyes, new additions to a style guide or dictionary highlight the impact of shifts in culture better than almost anything else.”

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“2. Thou shall not fear the cold. So many coorie activities involve being outdoors: hiking demands a steely core and constitution, exploring the woods for crafty finds requires sturdy footwear - even skiing in the Cairngorms requires patience. All these pursuits offer the chance to clear the mind and get to know the country from within. Wild swimming in Scottish lochs is having a moment. Its beauty, swimmers claim, lies in the restorative nature of an ice-cold dip set against a backdrop of Scotland's most idyllic scenery. Nobody promised Barbadian temperatures, or clear blue seas, but for enthusiasts the appeal lies in testing yourself to your furthest limits.”

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“4. Thou shall attempt a staycation, even if thou detests the word staycation. There are two types of people in the world. Those who will camp, and those who won't. Those who fall in the former category need little encouragement to pack up their sleeping bag and a Kelly Kettle and head out into the countryside. The ones who wander freely clearing up after themselves can set up a tent anywhere they fancy, as long as they show respect. This freedom to roam also lends itself well to the coorie movement. Braving the night-time chill around a fire with a furry friend at your feet and a hot chocolate in your hands after a day of toiling to create a coorie campsite is pretty special. A caravan stay in Aberfeldy is a more realistic option for the extended family than schlepping abroad en masse. Bonding time between grandparents and wee ones also gives mums and dads the chance for a gin on the banks of the River Tay before sundown.”

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“The place bewitched me. You could spend weeks here, I realised, and it still wouldn't feel long enough. It was a Narnia moment: the door opening to a place that felt like an adventure playground for adults. Pull open the door, tip your head back and watch for shooting stars on an August night.”

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“One of the highlights of exploring the Scottish wilderness is spotting buildings that punctuate the landscape. They can be as humble as a doocot, as intriguing as an abandoned farmstead or as imposing as a ruined Palladian mansion. Each one will give clues to the people who have lived on and worked the land.”

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“I'm certain that our friends from around the world find it hilarious that as soon as the sun makes an appearance we rush to sit out on our patios and balconies clutching hot drinks, "Isn't it lovely?" we tell each other, our voices barely audible through the chatter of our teeth. Even in summer the Scottish weather can be so changeable that we have learned to adapt our gardens, putting up seagrass walls to shield lawns and installing barbeques in sunken courtyards in an attempt to prevent being driven inside by the wind.”

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“We spend prolonged periods in pubs and restaurants after all, whiling away the hours with friends, waiting in vain for the weather to ease. Our homes become a natural extension of these convivial spaces: warm and open to guests. Spending so much time indoors with other people, perhaps over an alcoholic drink, encourages conversation, arguments and resolutions. It fills us up with more knowledge - or at least allows us to realise there are other opinions aside from our own.”

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“Coorie Tip: For a cosy light source guaranteed to withstand rain, buy battery operated fairy lights or frosted mini bulb string lights. Wind them around your hand until they're tightly coiled then wedge into a mason jar before sealing the lid shut. The result is a waterproof lamp worthy of a fairy glen.”

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“The current generation of huts might help creative folk focus on making new work but the bothy's original function was more egalitarian. It wanted to offer shelter in remote Scottish locations for walkers and climbers, the idea being that if hikers made the sacrifice to explore extreme locations they should be rewarded by basic accommodation that was free of charge. The concept was rolled out across the country and aroused a new kind of generosity among landowners. More than a hundred of these shelters are provided by estate owners on the proviso they are left clean and undamaged. "Bothying" came about as agricultural methods changed and farmsteads were increasingly abandoned. During the 1940s the idea of leisure was shifting as it began to mean roaming in the hills and countryside. Walkers looked for shelter on their meanderings and these small buildings did the trick. All share the same unique highlight: they are sited within some of the most breath-taking scenery that rural Scotland has to offer. To come across a bothy is the closest experience Scotland has to a palm tree dotted island mirage after hours stranded out at sea. With one slight difference: this vision is real.”

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“Is there any other place where a more vibrant palette of human behaviour can be observed than the Scottish pub? Our drinking holes are social spaces, shelters and, with the rise of flexible working and free WiFi, informal offices. The pub is a courtroom, a therapist's clinic, a place to let socks dry out after an arduous day orienteering. Relationships begin and end in its confines. Pub dogs become celebrities. If we run with the myth that there are languages with fifty words for snow, Scots could match that with their own terms related to the act of drinking.”

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“Scots have sat to sip alcohol with friends for centuries. The coorie roadside coach houses with space to tether a horse may since have been upgraded into speakeasies with copper fittings but the original idea endures. They are still a place to let thoughts uncoil after a tough day out in the world, where it is possible to be solitary and sociable at the same time.”

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“Coorie has long been synonymous with nestling affectionately into a loved one, but only recently has it entered everyday parlance as a way to describe a scene. One equally warm and comforting where a cosy room lit by a flickering fire provides refuge from the banshee wind and horizontal rain outside.”

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“The ideal coorie scene should reflect a balance of the outside and in. Bring to mind a day spent Munro-bagging or loch swimming, bookended by a bowl of something hot and nourishing as you dry off next to a heat source with a contended dog at your side. Don't forget smell: faint lanolin clinging to woollen blankets, cinnamon dissolving into porridge cooking slowly on the hob, the frosty pinch of winter air when you step into a Trossachs morning. If a King Creosote album is playing as you road trip across the humpbacked north-west Highlands then all the better. The more homegrown ingredients are added to the mix, the coorier life will be.”

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“For some, this idea was a shade too close to the lifestyles our Nordic cousins. Hygge and lagom, the Danish and Swedish movements of living well. But while these movements laid the groundwork for a similar trend to emerge in Scotland, coorie has some obvious differences. Where hygge is concerned with the pursuit of happiness through candles, coffee and togetherness, coorie seeks to make the most of what comes from Scotland to feel satisfied. Lagom is the art of balancing frugality and fairness to create a balanced existence. Coorie takes into account being kind to the earth and our wallets, but can also extend to premium experiences once in a while. Crucially, neither of these Scandinavian lifestyle approaches took their starting point from what is dug out of the earth. Coorie is more than simply being cosy. Sure, it is linked, but more importantly it focuses on working out how to be in tune with our surroundings to evoke that feeling.”

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“Scots are an inquisitive bunch. They ask questions, pick over the finer details and want counter-arguments backed up. Sometimes there can be a weariness of the unknown. Coorie offers a familiar newness, a fresh take on an old word extolling the virtues of things we have always know.”

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“Meanwhile, the must-haves we're encouraged to lust over bombard us from every direction. Jewellery. Clothes. Technology. Cars. In pursuit of them, the reasons for which we are enticed to buy slip from view. To make life happier, to have more downtime and fewer complications. Folk practising the coorie commandments are working to cast aside fast consumerism and usher in meaningful products. One school of thought argues that handing the population the information they need to make decisions on how to live a more mindful existence is half the battle won.”

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“To start, planters large enough to host quick growing shrubbery work best on terraces but think about how much light your outside space receives. Try foliage in shady spots and grasses in areas that are scorched by the wind. Once established, greenery should also provide an extra layer of shelter to protect when you're sitting outside with a morning coffee. Light sources are the final, crucial addition to coorie gardens - as they are in most ideas relating to the concept. If your outside space has a pagoda or loggia, roof-hung lighting creates a beguiling grotto effect.”

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“Coorie gardens have a common trait: there will be at least one place that encourages reflection and peacefulness. A coorie spot could be a garden grotto, blending into the scenery with trained climbers concealing its form or a basic summerhouse with space to sit. A balcony with a comfortable chair where you can turn your face to the sun and read a book is a perfect coorie space. Even a shared back court with a picnic bench can be dressed with lanterns and potted plants to conjure the feeling of coorie. Some intrepid souls might like to string a hammock out to evoke the ultimate sense of downtime.”

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