Snapshots of late: Snow? In Bristol?!

Having grown up amongst routine blizzards and ten-foot snow drifts, I'd planned for disappointment this winter. But in the middle of January we had a glittering surprise: it snowed in Bristol! Here are a couple of snaps I managed to get in our brief wintry spell...

1. Filton. 2. Trekking over the ice.

3 & 4. Snowy gables in Bishopston.

5. Snow dog outside The Full Moon / Attic.

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.

My Monday: the first of 2013

This Monday has been a quiet one. I stayed up too late on Saturday night, twirling and laughing and eventually walking home and crawling into bed, and my body is still catching up with the lag from that.

Lazy mornings journalling in bed

I can't quite believe that it has arrived: 2013. It sounds all a wrong in my mouth and it's the first year in thirteen that I haven't begun in the northeast. I began it instead with a handful of friends and a bottle of ginger beer, screaming out my elation in a microplex cinema.

And today, I began with coffee, a crêpe, and a spot of READING (Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Leviathan) and bringing my journal up to date before flinging myself out into the sunshine to buy out half of the greengrocer's shop and pick up a spinach tortilla from La Ruca, all while LISTENING to Blondie.

A Spanish tortilla and a blood orange.

This WEEKEND is all but gone, but the week ahead will be a good one: after all, I've got a fridge full of fresh fruit and I'll see my Dad towards the end of it.

Snapshots of late: winter sunshine

I love the light in winter: sharper than before; cleaner. I love trudging around in my sturdy old Doc Martens, headphones cushioning my ears from the cold and eyes alert, scanning for moments to freeze. I love the bite in the air when we tilt away from the suns beams, and the caress of its light on my cheeks as we're drawn in closer along the path we cut around it. Just as much, I love escaping into cafés and warming my hands and heart on something fruity, tucking into a hearty lunch and discovering trinkets in the transient pop-up boutiques that pepper Bristol but don't always stick around for long!

 1. Winter sunshine at St. Nick's market. 2. Clean reflections on St. Augustine's Parade.

3 & 4. Filling up on sandwiches and "Granny's Garden" tea at Cox & Baloney's tearoom (adjacent to their delightful vintage boutique). 5. Their tea blends are available to buy to take home. Granny's Garden is a glorious, warming hug in delicate bone china.

6, 7 & 8. The Birdcage on Corn Street.

9 & 10. I picked up these hummingbird earrings from the Artizans Emporium at the Looking Glass arts space (the Emporium has sadly passed on by now). The darling deer is a little something I nabbed from my parents' house when they were moving earlier this year.

Snapshots of late: easing into winter

Having moved to Bristol in the cool, dark blink of an eye on a scorching day late in July, I held onto that summery feeling for a lot longer than usual. All of a sudden we were well into autumn and I still felt the holiday buzz that comes with exploring a new place - and still do. For that reason, the seasons are flying by and soon we'll be racing down the hill towards Christmas, wrapped up in woollen embraces with old friends and those we once knew. Looking back at a few photographs from the last month or two charts the steady slip into winter proper. There's finally a bite in the air and it's exciting!

1. Cute critters in St. Werburgh's. 2. St. Andrew's Park. 3. Guerilla knitting in the park.

4. Late pumpkin carving - a glowing heart for bonfire night, 5. Fancy dress: my skeleton get-up for hallowe'en this year.

6. The best thing about the biting wind is escaping it in the cosiest of cafés. City Farm café at St Werburgh's. It reminds me of a hobbit hole and is one of my current favourite places!

7&8. The German Christmas market has colonised Broadmead. I've convinced myself (after a mulled wine or two) that I'm a whizz on iceskates.