Finding light in January

Yes my body is still exhausted (although having written that first line a few weeks ago, I'm pleased to report that over the last week or so my legs have actually felt a lot lighter walking to and from school). Yes the sky has generally been far too grey and gloomy. Yes I would happily return to the Christmas Holidays with their comfy-cosiness and total lack of responsibility. But actually, January's not been so bad this year. I've been doing my best to find a little light where I can!


As always, there's been plenty of walking. Whereas the dark after the Summer crept in so fast I barely even noticed the change, in Winter I've been paying close attention to the lighter mornings and evenings, too. Even though it's only a minute or so every couple of days, it's been a nice small thing to celebrate as I walk to and sometimes from school.

In the second weekend of January, Steven and I took a new walk from home to Wandsworth Common. The circuit was pleasant, and took us a little way along the Wandle, some of the way along my usual school route, then up hill at Earlsfield and past many a gorgeous house in what's apparently known as 'the ladder' (although not the Haringey one), and onto the Common itself.

Never one to shy away from a walk, I do find myself walking slightly less in Winter if not only for the fact that there is less light. Leave it too late at a weekend, and you're chasing the sun. So it felt good even in January to feel as though we had a little more time. Yes, the sun was setting as we made our way home, but it wasn't quite dark by the time we made it, and then when it was, we were ready to get comfy-cosy and embrace it anyway.

Today, I've walked from Hampton Station to Hampton Court Palace for a school trip recce. Actually choosing for once to come away from the Thames, instead I took a detour through Bushy Park as I'd never been before. Got fairly soggy on my way home this afternoon in the 'light rain', but I was pleasantly surprised by a short but sweet appearance from the sun this morning.

I've been practising yoga intermittently since I moved to London. Introduced by my friend Sam, I've had an on-off relationship with it (like with any exercise, really) but recently I've been re-invigorated and have been enjoying a daily practise since the start of December. As is my preference with food, little and often seems to suit me well, and I'm really embracing yoga as part of my morning routine now.

This month I've been following Yoga With Adriene for some yummy at home yoga which means PJs, scented candles, and intrigued cats. Shocking, I know, but I'm pretty fussy when it comes to classes. Temperature, teacher, the playlist, a lack of playlist, smelly yoga mats, lighting, the list of elements that can make or break a yoga class' atmosphere is endless.. But at home, I'm far more content in my little yoga bubble where I can control almost every foreseeable factor.

Even on the mornings when I haven't quite felt up to getting out of bed those 30 minutes early, I've had a little light waiting for me, and it's been really reassuring and just such a good way to start my day.

For the third year (we think), Sam (of yoga introducing fame) and I went to Canary Wharf for their Winter Lights festival. Ever the optimistic, I felt as though we were in luck because it wasn't so cold as previous years.. but by light installation number 26, and 3 hours later, my numb hands had suggested otherwise.

Numbness aside, it was another beautiful year. And we were so pleased to have actually had time to see every installation this year! Choosing to go in numerical order, we followed the map from 1 through to 26 and loved the theme of reusable materials that seemed to be running through a lot of the installations.

Without the cold driving us to move on, we probably could have stopped and stared at a fair few which had particularly mesmerising qualities. As always, it was a lovely way to spend a Friday night, and the perfect way to find a little extra light in January.

February brings with it a half term, so I'm hoping for a little more adventure, but I'm also determined to stick to my New Year's resolution of taking it slow. Perhaps a slower paced January has also left me feeling a little lighter. Who knows?

Open House London 2014

This weekend was yet another where I ended up feeling rather like I was on holiday, not in London at all. I think this feeling has to be one of my favourite things about London; the way its cultural diversity means that you often find yourself stepping outside of 'England', just by stepping into a new or less familiar area.

Although this weekend may not have been spent solely in 'new' areas, it was spent discovering new places, and proved absolutely fascinating!

Open House London is an event across the city where more than 850 buildings are open to the general public for free. I was aware of it happening last year, but as it is only for one short weekend, it passed me by before I knew it and I missed the opportunity to explore! As soon as I saw posters appearing for this year's event, I noted the dates down in my diary and made the executive decision that I was going to get involved.

Between my own ideas and helpful suggestions from a Knowledge Boy, an extensive list was compiled and a route mapped out. So our journey began!

Saturday got off to a slow start as the dreaded Cold had struck me down at the end of the week. Nevertheless, not one to mope around and feel sorry for myself, I was determined still to get out and about! So I headed to the unfamiliar territory of Canning Town for our first port of call; Trinity Wharf Buoy/Container City.

Canning Town felt a little like South Lynn extreme; an industrial area with some houses and vehicles creeping by at a steady rate. The area was very sparce, and slightly tricky to navigate as a pedestrian, but we finally wound our way out in pursuit of the wharf (which I have only recently discovered stands for 'warehouse along river front'; mind blown). We saw where we were headed long before we reached it, as brightly coloured containers poked out above old warehouse buildings with the O2 standing boldly behind, the Emirates Airline running across the river to the left. After taking a little detour for a pretty view of the O2, we swiftly walked through an organised tour in order to discover the place for ourselves. Like a film set, there was plenty to catch the eye. Not only full of interesting things to see, the area also houses some sonic art installations; one that might be likened to a minature pipe organ, played by the tide, the other a computer run composition to last 1000 years. The latter was set inside London's only lighthouse which made for a surreal experience all round!

At least an hour later, we managed to tear ourselves away so to continue our quest. It was at this point (if not before) that we realised 13 ports of call was far too ambitious if we were going to be so enthralled by each of them! Nevertheless, we also decided at this point that we were already having a great day!

Our next stop (after a very tasty lunch break at Wahaca) was one of great interest; a partially-completed station at Canary Wharf forming part of the new Crossrail network. It was here that we encountered the very well-spoken adventurers, keeping us well amused with their ridiculous comments and expectations. Having spent many years (I think, or maybe it just felt that way) living in a building site when we moved into our current family home, there is something nostalgic about the smell and sight of bare materials. Getting what felt like a special preview of the station currently without its escalators, fixed lighting, working lifts (that was a little scary) and hoards of commuters, was a very special experience indeed. I can't wait to visit again when it opens for use!

Before heading for home, we made one final stop at Samuel Johnson's house, writer of the first English dictionary, and man whose quote I knew before I knew who he was:

'When a man tires of London, he is tired of life'

I think we were both a little disappointed by the way the house has now been gutted to accommodate the museum, but there were still narrow, rickety stairs and a sweet gift shop to keep us entertained. It is interesting to think of the power held by a man who writes a dictionary!

Sunday arrived, and after an unpleasantly early start to walk the dog (which was actually more than pleasant once I was out of bed and wandering around a still slightly misty Wimbledon Common trying to spot Wombles! Not to mention the Full English upon our return), this time we began in South London at a Buddhist Temple. The fact that 4 acres of land with a Buddhist Temple in the middle of it even exists in Wimbledon was quite astonishing enough! The temple in question was small but beautiful on the outside; brilliant white with red detail and gold which glinted in the sunshine. Off came our shoes and we stepped inside where we were greeted by a very friendly Buddhist lady who drew our attention to the most vivid murals covering wall to ceiling, and a huge shrine at the front of the room.

The murals were unbelievably hypnotic, and presented a mixture of Buddhist tradition with the modern world as machine guns were held in the trunks of elephants, the Mona Lisa hid in a corner, brightly coloured mohecans stood out above a crowd of robed monks and Maggie Thatcher sat on a chair in a corner watching a crowd of worshippers. We were told that as the temple was built in the late 70's, early 80's, the artist had decided to include a large number of references to life at the time so the place would also act as a time capsule. I think we could have stayed there all day.

However, we eventually tore ourselves away again and headed back home for a re-fuel before setting off into Central London again. Having learnt our lesson from Saturday, we only had a list of 3 this time. However I don't think we were expecting to be so absorbed by the temple, so number 2 was missed and instead the next port of call was a Livery Hall; the Barber-Surgeon Hall.

I'm still not entirely sure I understand Livery Halls, but I'm intrigued so may have to do a little bit of further research. On our way to the Barber-Surgeon Hall, we passed by a few others, and they certainly are grand buildings!

Too caught up again to think about lunchtime, our stomach's suddenly reminded us that heading straight for food after our visit was a good idea. So we ended up with picnic food which we ate at St Paul's; how idyllic!

After two full days of scaling London, we were ready for home, but not before locating a cosy pub in the Leadenhall Market for a drink or two (it was only 4 o'clock at this point, after all!).

Already counting down the days to the next Open House! Although the wonderful thing about the event is that it has also opened our eyes (or mine at least) to lots of buildings and points of interest around the city that we could actually visit at any time of year; how very exciting!

London isn't all that big really.

Attempting to write a half-decent post in 15 minutes having just made the discovery that Mr Selfridge returns to ITV TONIGHT (I am beyond excited)!

My pursuit of green space today began with a trip to Regent’s Park. In the planning of a route to take, I turned to a map of the area (maps are yet another of my slightly strange likes; perhaps at a time like this I realise even more than usual how this is for their prettiness as opposed to the practicality of them) and got rather over-excited that there are actually three of the better London parks within a stone’s throw from one another – I refer to Green Park, Kensington Gardens, and Regent’s Park itself (this is one of those embarrassing moments where anyone reading this will be saying, ‘well, obviously. I could have told you that Laura’.

Love a bit of 'Old and New'

I had a whole day planned with rough timings and everything! However upon arrival to Regent’s Park, and an encounter with a more detailed park map, I discovered that in my prior map-reading endeavour I had missed a trick – Primrose Hill!

As viewpoints go, I’ve always been more than content with Hampstead Heath and Alexandra Palace, or a bridge across the river somewhere. I’d heard of Primrose Hill, I was just never sure where it was, and have never put in any great effort to locate it. I now see why it is where I should have dragged people for New Year’s firework-spotting, as unlike the afore-mentioned hills with views, this one seems to offer rather a close encounter with the city – instead of half guessing what the different buildings jutting up in the skyline are, I could clearly distinguish The Shard, The Gherkin, Canary Wharf, The London Eye, and even the towers belonging to Tower Bridge.

Mesmerised as always, I could have probably stayed for a day if it wasn’t for the American tourists en mass and slippery mud unsuitable for sitting. I’ll definitely be going back for more!

As most of my days let loose on London tend to go, the rest was spent wandering the streets as it dawned on me how one place almost became the next;

Regent’s Park to Primrose Hill to Chalk Farm to Camden Town and back around in a grand circle to Regent’s Park.

(who knew that Regent’s Park was so close to Camden, that Chalk Farm looks so different in the day time, and that Primrose Hill is practically PART OF Regent’s Park? You did. I do too now!).

Graffiti I had crossed paths with before and regretted not taking a photo of. I do love an elephant!

Stables Market, Chalk Farm/Camden 

Colourful graffiti on a bridge over Regent's Canal

I ache a little, and definitely did not (but I did really) have a nap upon my return home, but it was absolutely worth it. Another weekend well spent I think!

(Mr Selfridge did not disappoint, catch it if you can/are at all into that sort of thing)!