Scenes from December
The foundations of a happy winter.
While I haven’t necessarily dived deep into festive cheer this year — I honestly kept forgetting that Christmas was even happening! — thinking back on my December, I have gotten up to some very pleasant wintery things. Nice little galavants that I think could easily be carried over into January and February. Months known, at least in England, for being entirely devoid of fun and warmth.
With two days until the Winter Solstice, I feel as though I’ve laid the foundations for quite an enjoyable cold season, so I thought I would share them with you. Here are a few fun things, both festive and ordinary, to get your motors running for the months ahead and help keep the Seasonal Affective Demons at bay.
Something that sticks
Exhibitions are always a good idea in winter, mainly because they’re indoors, but also because it’s nice to get something beautiful or colourful in front of you when it’s dark for most of the day outside.
Right at the very beginning of the month — the 2nd of December to be exact — I went to the Barbican with
to see the RE-SISTERS exhibition. A show that surveys the relationship between gender and ecology to highlight the systemic links between the oppression of women and Black, trans, and Indigenous communities, and the degradation of the planet.It wasn’t what I would call a “beach read” of a show, but remember it’s winter, so that’s not necessarily what we are looking for anyway. It tackled big topics, a few of the pieces were shrouded in the mysteries of art-speak, and I think both of us were pleased to go downstairs for a dirty martini afterwards, but there was a series of photographs by Pamela Singh called the Chipko Tree Huggers of the Himalayas that really stuck with me. They show a group of women from the villages of the Garhwal Hills in the Himalayas
“calmly and peacefully clinging on to and embracing trees to save them from state- and industry-sanctioned loggers… Positioning themselves as human shields, with their arms interlocked around tree trunks, the women of this successful nonviolent protest became emblematic of an international ecofeminist movement.”
The images in themselves are stunning, but they also inspire a sense of hope and are a testament to the power of calm, gentle, peaceful acts of resistance. I took pictures of them on my phone and have found myself flicking back to them over and over just to look at them for a while. And that’s kind of what you want from an exhibition, isn’t it? For something to stick with you.
Warm food with warm people
The 2nd was a very busy day for me because right after the exhibition, martini, and a long chat with Margaux, I had to get the tube to Hammersmith for a dinner party at Georgie and Rory’s place. I decided to run from the station to their house because it was so damn cold, and when I got there I was greeted with warm hugs and hellos, a negroni, and a big plate of cheese, cornichons, and caperberries. There were eight of us for dinner and we sat around the big kitchen table and ate a wonderful Pasta e Fagioli from the Brutto cookbook. We all just chatted and laughed and felt so warm and cosy. By the time we left around 11:30, my stomach was full and my cheeks were red from the wine and I went to sleep smiling that night.
Then last Friday evening, Veronique and Rob hosted a wreath-making workshop at their place. We were all instructed to bring a cheese and arrive around 7:30. We started with Manhattans that could put hairs on your chest, prawn cocktail, baked camembert, and pigs in blankets 4 ways (regular, with brussels sprouts, with pear, and with walnut and goat’s cheese).
The living room had been converted into a workshop with moss and three types of pine, little flowers, stems of berries, and dried slices of orange which V very expertly showed us how to use. It was amazing to see how differently each of our wreaths turned out despite having all the same materials and instructions. Christmas songs were playing in the background and as we worked, the floor became completely carpeted with the scraps and the whole place smelt like a forest.
It made me think that just because you’re doing dry January or whatever, it doesn’t mean you can’t have friends around to eat some snacks or a big pot of beans and maybe try your hand at pastels. The main thing is good food and people you love, but adding an activity in there can really jujj up an evening, Christmas or not.
Bring back mail!
On Sunday I finally sat down to write some Christmas cards, and I’d forgotten just how much I love writing to people.
In 2020, my New Year's resolution was to send more mail, and then COVID happened and I had plenty of time to deliver on that resolution. I would send big long letters or sweet little cards and it always brought me just as much joy writing them as it brought my friends and family receiving them. But then life sped up again and that nice little habit fell by the wayside.
At the moment, my mail mainly consists of letters from HMRC, DVLA, and Community Fibre — all murderously boring and often bearing bills — and I have a feeling most people are the same.
So I’m going to be bringing this resolution back for 2024, and if you could all do the same that would be just lovely.
Dropping in
This one was an “In” in the Ins and Outs post I did last year on Instagram, but I sadly did very little of it once the year got going and I don’t know why.
On Sunday, after posting my cards, I went to get some bread and then thought I should drop into my friend Kate’s shop to pick up some wrapping paper. She bought me a coffee from the café next door and I ended up sitting with her for an hour, chewing the fat about antiques and rude customers and her plans for the business.
When I left, I turned down Fernlea Road and called my friend Adil who lives on that same street and who happened to have just walked through the door. He put on the kettle and I ended up staying until it was dark outside and almost time for dinner.
These days, it’s so hard to book time in to see people, so maybe the answer is just showing up at their door. Or at least calling them when you’re close by to see if they’re in?
Working elsewhere
On the topic of going to friends’ places, they can also serve as great offices.
As a freelancer, working by yourself in your living room all day can get very old and a little lonely sometimes. So since getting back to London in November, I’ve been mixing things up a bit, and I’m honestly kind of annoyed I didn’t do this earlier.
In the past few weeks, I’ve worked at my friend Grace’s house and she has also come to mine. So far, it has been wildly successful. The schedule goes a bit like this:
9-ish: arrive at the other person's house
Have some coffee, tea, poached eggs, a chat
Get a few hours of work done (this is generally the most productive work slot, so make the most of it)
Walk the dog and eat a delicious lunch (Grace made Salade Niçoise, and at my place, we had spiced carrot and white bean soup with Alison Roman’s savoury granola on top)
More work
Have a snack and some more tea
Last little stretch of work
Go to the pub for some mulled wine and a bowl of chips.
Honestly, I couldn’t recommend it more for any freelancers or work-from-homers. The only season-specific part of this whole thing is the mulled wine, so we should really be doing this all year round, just with different drinks.
Before I sign off, I just wanted to say thank you for joining me on this little newsletter journey. Sending out my “stories”, as Gran calls them, and more recently, my interviews has been the most rewarding thing I’ve done all year, and I’m always so happy to hear when something connects with you or makes you laugh, think, or see something in a new way.
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See you next week for an interview all about allotment gardening and cultivating ideas with my lovely friend
.Annabel x
Love love love, especially dropping in !