Safari sidebar layout preferences not retained after closing

How do I retain my safari layout when closing the browser?

I've searched the forums and top answer is from 2006 🤷🏻‍♂️

The problem I have, is every time I close the browser, the bookmark 'favourites' are all closed.

When I reopen Safari, in the sidebar, the 'recents' are featured at the top and my 'favourites' bar remains closed.

But I want the favourites bar to remain open and the 'recents' to go away altogether - I don't need a reminder - yet if I delete the 'recent' bookmarks, it simply installs another to replace the deleted item, no matter how old, and no matter how many times I delete.

Is there a setting somewhere, that I can 'fix' my layout, so that when I open it again, it is how I left it? That's how its worked for the past 20 years... Thanks