Curiously cold, but crammed with colour

I feel really sorry for all those whose travel plans were disrupted by the snow this Christmas: The time of year is stressful enough as it is. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve done my own rather rushed UK tour, visiting friends and relatives in far flung parts of the country, in addition to all the usual duties like food shopping, preparing Christmas party fare, making a traditional turkey lunch, tidying bedrooms and speed-wrapping stacks of presents.




This year one of my resolutions is to slow down - I’m just hoping that my curiosity to do, see and try new things allows me to pack a little less into my days so I don’t end up permanently frayed and frazzled. Anyway, here are some of the curious things I’ve seen during the bits of the holiday that were spent in London:

Yes, I met a talking tree at the Winter Wonderland in London’s Hyde Park.







Other strange encounters included a lost Father Christmas (above right) and an artificial snowman with child…

Unfortunately, the snow in London had almost all melted by Boxing Day, but remarkably the Serpentine was completely frozen, and looked eerily beautiful in the late morning sun.




















A ride on the helter skelter is about as dare-devil as I get when it comes to fairgrounds, but I’m curious to hear what it’s like on this enormous tower that looks seriously scary to me...




































More to my liking were the VIP views of London from the observation wheel – in a minimalist pod complete with computer-generated Christmas carols and champagne.


















And, a few days later the fabulous lightshow, as seen from my balcony, of the New Year’s Eve fireworks over the the river and Big Ben.


This year there was also an unusual light display around the London Eye. And the dense freezing fog of previous days lifted just in time to be able to see it all, thank goodness…








If you're not already snoring, I'll share a few more photos of my curiously crammed Christmas travels in the next post.








Meantime, this month I’ll be rejigging and re-stocking the ShopCurious website. So look out for a new selection of sale items coming shortly, along with a pared down, but uniquely original offering of vintage and contemporary gifts, accessories and curiosities.

Will you?