My 21 days of Christmas: solo Christmassing

There's a strange taboo that lingers in the air around the notion of spending Christmas alone. Rushed offers are extended: You must join us! I'll cook you a roast! It'll be nice to have company on Christmas day! The last is the indicator: we should spend time together because it's Christmas. Not that the people who made these offers weren't people I enjoy spending time with. But a Christmas without my own family was always going to be a bit odd and I wanted to indulge myself and have some "me" time. To most people, the very idea of being alone on Christmas day is a hideous tragedy, but I've test-driven it for you and let me assure you, a lonely Christmas is the new nicking the green triangles out of the tin of Quality Street and wearing your Christmas cracker hats while you watch Doctor Who.

I spent the morning at work, rising before the crack of dawn (if we're going to make this an accurate account). The atmosphere was fairly cheery, all things considered, but soon we were all finished and people were rushing off to see their families and tuck into their turkey dinners. I returned home in soft sunshine and finally looked in my stocking (it was sent, sealed, down from Durham with me the week before Santa was kind to me), before setting out on a walk. It felt like the right thing to do. At home, we always used to take the dog for a long walk in the snow after we'd given our dinner time to settle. Here, there was no snow, nor a dog, but St. Andrew's Park was bright and after following the winding paths around and reading of the parks history, I found myself climbing higher up the paved hills into Montpelier, spending fifteen minutes on a swing set and walking back up a deserted Gloucester Road.

St Andrew's Park

Montpelier

Berkeley Road looking onto Sommerville Road

The Arches

I stayed out far longer than I had planned, returning home in darkness and more than ready for my Christmas dinner - but I still had to cook it from scratch! I swapped roasties for double helpings of roast parsnips and enjoyed the whole thing with a glass of Crabbie's ginger beer and the Outnumbered Christmas special.

Christmas dinner for one

I must have done something right because after that I was too full to move! I managed to peel myself from my chair and into my bedroom, where, after opening my presents, I constructed the perfect den, clambered inside and watched Love Actually with a box of M&S chocolates.

Atomic Burger: Never grow up

As a girl who loves her food, and loves a good gimmick, I've been itching to try out Atomic Burger at 189 Gloucester Road ever since I arrived in Bristol. So, when my friend Steph suggested we grab a bite to eat one evening, my choice, I knew exactly where we'd be heading.

From the moment you step over the threshold, you're transported back to a time when nothing much mattered other than your pog collection and mastering the seven times table. Projected against the far wall are scenes from iconic 80s and 90s films and every action figure and toy you could dredge up from memory dangles from the ceiling.

Atomic Burger is all about fun. Never grow up!

We squealed in amazement at the paradise of childhood memories unfolding around us, as friendly staff in "Space Cadet" t-shirts took our orders. First off, I couldn't resist a cocktail (I really never can), and was soon sipping a raspberry margharita and waiting for my food to arrive. When it did, I was certainly not disappointed. Each burger is named after a celebrity. I'd ordered a Sergio Leoni: roasted peppers, chorizo and sour cream on my burger of choice, chicken. I also had a side order of sci fries- with a name like that, how could I not?

The Sergio Leoni with sci fries

The food was divine and plentiful. My mouth is watering just thinking about it now! The sci fries had the perfect blend of chilli rub, the chicken was tender and the overall combination of the burger I'd chosen was absolutely perfect. The list of set toppings is extensive and includes famous names such as Daisy Duke (okay, so she's fictional), Johnny Cash and Audrey Hepburn. They also do milkshakes (being lactose intolerant, I couldn't sample them, sadly) and the dessert menu is a sight to behold! Clutching our tummmies, we decided to just split a "roasty toasty marshmallows", which comes with its own mini campfire for at-your-table toasting.

Roasty toasy marshmallows

It's now been a few weeks since our visit and I think I'm ready to go back for more (scratch that, I was ready as soon as I left the place!). Atomic Burger take bookings and also have a restaurant in Oxford.

Foraging and foraying: exploring Bristol

Having yet to complete my first month of work, I'm in that frustrating period of working full-time and having nothing to show for it- and no disposable income to play with! But that couldn't keep me indoors on my days off and I have set out to find a chain of treasure troves where I might spend a little of my wages when I finally receive them. I'm a sucker for a well-set-out vintage shop: but only one holding homeware as well as oversized sweatshirts and angry-seeming knitted jumpers. Along Gloucester Road there are many vintage boutiques and charity shops, which I intend to explore with vigour once I have a bit of change in my pocket.

However, I couldn't resist peeking in a couple of places and one has already become a firm favourite, a place to pore over old tobacco tins, vintage lights and suitcases and let myself drift off to bygone times when telly was in black and white and wallpaper was never understated. This is RePsycho, the "retro superstore" in Bishopston. On my first visit, fresh from the Northeast and reeling from the distance to my loved ones, I thumbed through the vintage postcard rack by the shop entrance and found a postcard commemorating the West Stanley pit disaster. It seems a bit of a morbid card to affix above your bed but it feels like a tiny slice of home and now has pride of place next to a photo I took of the Tyne Bridge only a couple of months ago.

RePsycho on Gloucester Road

Tin treasures at RePsycho

A postcard of home: 50p from RePsycho's collection of vintage postcards

 My next find is right in the heart of Bristol: SHOP on Christmas Steps, the arts quarter. I'd peered in the window before but yesterday I ventured over the threshold to gasp in wonder. SHOP are a self-proclaimed "vintage lounge and arts venue" and non-profit company: all the money made in the space (because it is more than just a shop!) is channelled back into community arts. One thing that really delighted me was the little corner they have transformed into a zine library, but I'm cursing myself now for not stopping to sit and read awhile (my excuse? I wanted to get back up Gloucester Road before the greengrocer's shut - I love having access to free, fresh produce once more). On sale in the shop are men's and women's vintage clothes, scarves, jewellery and all sorts of other bits and pieces including old film and television photographs. Through  a door to your left (as you're standing, having just entered the shop) is the dedicated arts space, currently home to Robros (see poster below), although not for long. Catch it if you can, because, sadly, it looks like I won't!

SHOP on Christmas Steps

Robros @ SHOP until 16th August

Christmas Steps

It certainly looks like Bristol has a lot to offer me- or anyone! For now, I'll be prowling the streets taking note of posters and looking for things and places to attend. Watch this space!