Snowbirds in London

London is a curious place after snowfall. A deathly stillness descends upon the city, as the usual sounds of cars and planes all but disappear.

ShopCurious ventured out before most people were out of bed, to track down curiosities of the cold snap. A few early birds were up to catch the fresh snow and make the first snowman.

No one had yet spotted a solitary traffic cone – the perfect prop for a curiously creative snow sculpture. See if you can find it in the pic below:


The recreation ground, that on Sunday mornings would normally be full of bleary-eyed dads who've been packed off with the kids, was eerily deserted.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the park, fearless fitness-obsessives risked hypothermia to participate in an early morning military-style bootcamp.

And the park benches would have been covered in virgin snow, except that birds had walked over them...


















In fact, I even spotted a new variety of snowbird, complete with dinky wings and a cute little tail (see left).

Talking of snowbirds, I think I got my timing wrong – I should have stayed in sunny Florida. Oh, and check out this strangely snowy video clip of the 1969 song, Snowbird, by Canadian singer, Anne Murray:

Will you?

Scents of the season

I was out in the snow yesterday, playing with my new best friend - Calum, the snowman. Don’t you love the sound of icy snow crunching underfoot? And the appearance of freshly fallen snow: that strange yellowy blue light from the snowy sky, and the curiously lunar-white landscape. The coldness and soft melting quality of snow to the touch is totally unique – it even feels and tastes rather lovely on the tongue. But there’s one thing that snow doesn’t seem to have… a smell.

I was trying to recall the scents that have stuck in my mind, if that’s where the sense of smell resides? Then I found myself wondering about the first thing I ever smelled. At what age does recognition of smell kick in? Why do young children sniff so many things up their noses (sometimes requiring medical intervention to get them out again)?



I vividly remember my grandmother’s smell. A sort of lavender talcum-powdery, bathroomy sweetness, not unlike the relatively recently created Agent Provocateur fragrance. Then there was my first trip on a school exhange to France, where it wasn’t so much the wafting aroma of fresh croissants and coffee, more the pungent niff of Palmolive soap used by my host family that stuck up my nose – or in my memory at least.







Nowadays I use Burt’s Bees shampoo. Partly because it’s made with natural ingredients and is hypo-allergenic, but also because I love the smell. It reminds me of the bedroom I had as a child. There was a big honeysuckle bush outside, and almost every morning I’d be woken up by the sound of a bumble bee coming in through the open window and getting stuck behind the curtain (ahh, the days of the open window..)



On another trip to France I visited a wonderfully plain and simple white-washed church, where monks sang Gregorian chant in a haze of incense. The sounds and the smells were equally divine, and the essential purity of the whole experience left a lasting impression on me.

If you love naturally beautiful perfumes and ingredients too, I can suggest nothing better for Christmas than the organic scented products from Zarvis London at ShopCurious. From exclusive Patchouli Baby and Lavender Crystal gift sets to home fragrances like the seasonal scents in this Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh tin, which are guaranteed to 'bring forth good cheer.' There’s something for everyone - and every occasion in this range… So long as you have a suitably discerning sense of taste and smell.

Do you?

Curiosities of snowy London

These were the views I woke up to this morning. One of my windows was iced over – thankfully only on the outside. The terrace was covered in snow, though only a few inches.












Nevertheless, with a biting north-easterly wind, it was pretty cold outside... but I was still determined to have a little walk along the river to see if anyone was out and about.





As it happened, there wasn’t anything much going on in the park, and not one illegal barbecuer in sight.

Someone had obviously ventured down the riverside slipway, though there was no evidence of their tracks coming back up again.



It was altogether very quiet - perhaps everyone had cleverly stayed in the warm?




And then I noticed something decidedly odd…







What looked suspiciously like a body was dangling from a rope in the River Thames. I tried to get a closer look, but my hands were shaking so much from the cold I couldn’t focus my camera.




I inspected the curious corpse from above and considered my options. Should I call the police? Should I see if I could somehow climb down to take a closer look, or pull the hanging body out of the water?











I thought about it, but then spotted a sign on the neighbouring building.






Perhaps this was just down to some kids being ‘nauty’?







On the way back there were more signs of those intrepid enough to brave the icy conditions, but still no barbecuers.










Anyway, if you’re going out today, I can only suggest you wear something suitably warm.






These eco-friendly, ‘snow bunny’ sheepskin boot covers from Romp London at ShopCurious should keep your feet and legs curiously cosy.

Just be careful on the slippery pavements – and beware of children and boats.

Will you?

Back in London, city of snow...

Last night I sat snuggled up in a warm cinema and, amidst a symphony of snivels from the audience, was mesmerized by scenes of sunshine pouring over the parched coastal terrain of Southern Australia. It was a harsh reality to wake up to snow in London this morning. Apparently, last night was Canberra’s warmest in 27 years...









I had a meeting in the City, so used the opportunity to take a few snaps of London, as I travelled along – it looked really beautiful in the snow. I might even use one of these for next year’s ShopCurious Christmas card.







Anyway, in case you’re curious, the film I saw was The Boys Are Back, and is based on the memoirs of journalist, Simon Carr. It stars Clive Owen as a sports reporter and father, struggling to bring up his young son, following the death of his wife. It’s essentially a film about the grieving process and the psychological effects of abandonment and bereavement upon children.

As funny as it is moving, the film, due out shortly, is definitely worth a visit to the cinema for - especially if it’s nice and cosy inside. Wrap up in warm clothing, buy some popcorn and escape to sunnier climes – but do remember to take your hankies.

Will you?

Keeping up the standard...

I’m not expecting this post to be read, due to the ‘big story’ of the day – a few inches of snow having brought the country to a standstill. It's a darned shame, because I’d really like everyone to hear me letting off steam and having a bit of a rant. Anyway, here goes... please stand well clear and prepare for the blasting:

Last night I managed to get hold of a copy of the Evening Standard. It hasn’t happened very often lately – at least not since it’s been free: I tend not to use the underground - and I don’t hang about every afternoon in Sainsbury’s or Waitrose, or wherever else you can find a copy (as it happens, I usually do my food shopping early in the morning, or late at night when most of the papers have long been removed from the shelves).





Anyway, I wonder how the sad demise of the paid-for version of the publication has affected our small, local shops? The one near me, for instance, that I used to visit every week-day to make my purchase…where every time went in, I always ended up buying at least one other thing, or five? Now I pop by on a Saturday, or occasionally on Sunday, if I haven’t already picked up my mountain of papers at the petrol station. And what about the curiously characterful Standard sellers in those funny little booths, that used to be dotted about the streets all over London – what happened to them?



I have fond memories of the one who became trapped underneath his upturned metal stand, when it was blown over outside Bank underground station during the storm of 1991. And all the drivers of those quirky orange striped vans – do we see quite so many now? I’m curious to know, as these days I rarely get a chance to read the newspaper that I once considered to be something of a favourite. Not so long ago, in fact, I was so addicted to my daily fix, I’d do almost anything to get a copy.

However, what really bugs me, is not the strange void left by the absence of fashion, food, film and trends (as covered by my favoured London newspaper), but that I’m still prepared to pay for it – as are many of my friends, who were also loyal readers and are equally champing at the bit in annoyance at being denied regular access to something they enjoyed and identified with. Unless I’m seriously mistaken (and please do correct me, if I’m barking up the wrong tree), someone, somewhere has got something very wrong?



The website's perfectly fine, but I still like to hold, touch and turn the pages of the real thing - and see the printed word on paper. The issue I managed to get hold of yesterday lived up to expectations - full of articulate articles, thought provoking features and stuff I totally disagree with, making for stimulating and compelling reading, (even though it’s now very rarely available to the likes of me - unless I happen to be passing a far-flung railway station, walking down the right street, or shopping in the right shop at the right time of day).

I particularly like the article by Andrew Gilligan about making the Thames a proper highway: Well, I would, as I live on the river - but seriously, why don’t we make more sensible use of this amazing natural transport route, upon which the very foundations of our great city were created?

An article by Sarah Sands, entitled ‘Captialism can wear a halo too, you know’ really got me thinking – yes, we’re easily duped by large global corporations trying to sell us stuff courtesy of their ‘we’re oh so righteous’ multi-million pound marketing campaigns. By way of example, she says, “Whole Foods Market offers an entire feelgood philosophy…” curiously adding “I think of Whole Foods and imagine that I’m Laura Bailey”. Well, I have to admit that I’ve never visited this store in Kensington, but I’ve certainly seen plenty of people traipsing around London with Whole Foods’ rather dull looking fabric bags - perhaps that’s the only thing they’ve bought there, as I've heard the prices are pretty steep. As for wanting to be Laura Bailey, whom Sarah Sands suggests is an ‘athletic blonde’ - isn’t wanting to be someone else rather a sad waste of time? By the way, Sarah, having been in close proximity with LB at my former gym in Notting Hill, I can confirm that she is indeed blonde – though very waif-like.

When I read the news items towards the back of the paper about ‘Upbeat Next ramps up profit forecast yet again’ I became quite depressed that we really are so very easily duped by hype and the power advertisers and politicians have over the media. Judging from my local branch of Next, it’s obvious Mary Portas has never visited – it’s one of the most downbeat, in terms of location, lighting, window display and presentation, of all the shops I’ve ever seen.


Anyway, back to Ms Sands, who concludes that she admires the founder and chief excecutive of Whole Foods, John Mackey’s honesty for destroying the assumption that only Left-wing people believe in good food. “Amusingly, you can eat kale and watch Fox TV”, she claims. Well, I say it’s a shame I can’t tuck into my spam fritters, whilst poring over a free copy of the Evening Standard, as some of the very people advertisers would surely want to be targeting are being totally overlooked… Oh, and another message for the Evening Standard: Sorry for taking you for granted… and sorry for being negative.

Now it’s time for some fun - create your own Evening Standard headline here and post it with your comments.

Will you?


PS If you’re looking for unique and unusual, individually handmade and naturally beautiful things to buy at up to 50% off, do check out the ShopCurious sale.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing all our customers and everyone in the blogosphere a curiously cracking Christmas. Here’s a curious card I picked up at my local newsagents-cum-Post Office: Thought you might appreciate a rather quirky take on London in the snow - as it was a few days ago. Not sure if Chelsea has ever looked quite this pastoral, but its prettification has a certain quaint and timeless olde worlde seasonal charm... (by the way, that's not a fashion season I'm referring to and no, this isn't a blog about trends, though nostalgia is pretty big at the moment).








If you travel a little outside London (just 20 miles up the A41 will do) you can find the real thing – as I discovered last weekend when driving to a party in deepest Buckinghamshire. See the photo left (taken from a car window) of the English countryside looking peaceful and serenely beautiful - though it was actually fairly treacherous on the roads.

Thank you for being curious in 2009.

I’m really looking forward to another year of style with brains in 2010.


Are you?

Say it with snow

I woke up in London today to this view from my window ( left - click on the pics to enlarge) – which soon turned to this (right) – anyone for a bit of snowbathing?









Curious to find out what was happening outside, I ventured into the local park, where I discovered a proliferation of snowmen along the bank of the River Thames … the race was on as to who could make the biggest.





The snow seems to have put a smile on everyone’s faces. The people of Putney suddenly started talking to each other, old ladies out sweeping their doorsteps spoke of the last time they had seen snow like this and dogs went berserk in the park.





I was going to call this blog ‘say it with flowers’ and tell you about the beautifully scented magnolia and magnolia rose parcels by Catherine Masson that are now available at ShopCurious. They’d make a suitably unique Valentine’s gift and will last much longer than a traditional floral bouquet – both come with a wonderfully fragrant room spray too.




They’ll look really stylish in your wardrobe and the perfume will make it smell fabulous too, as well as keeping nasty bugs at bay - though these are so exquisitely decorated and luxurious that they’re good enough to keep on display in your bedroom.

Then I noticed that someone had an even more romantic gesture to make for Valentine's Day … why not ‘say it with snow’?



Tom, I hope you’re reading this and that you’re able to identify the lovely lady who's got style with brains and a winning smile and who wants you to know that she loves you ...

Are you?
PS It's snowing harder than ever now - can barely see out of my window at all ... help!