SPRING

 It always captivates me how the seasons manifest themselves physically. After months of dark, cold, winter mornings, you step outside and the sun is warm. Warm enough to soothe your skin, bright enough to adjust your gaze. Bristol stops being 50 shades of grey and the sandstone starts to reflect the colour of the sky. Blossom surprises at street corners and daffodils sneak out of the ground. All of a sudden, everything's looking up again. The cynicism, loneliness and isolation of winter, that you didn't realise you were carrying around inside, starts to dissolve and you can't help but exclaim 'it's March! It's March!' to all your friends. 

Weekend Escapades

As soon as the temperature rises and the ever allusive sunshine returns to Bristol you know it's time to ditch the books and plan an escapade, if only to avoid any growing resentment towards libraries and work. My blogging galpal Charity always talks about having a staycation (essentially staying at home and holidaying in your surroundings) and I am determined to embrace this idea for the upcoming months. After all, I might not be living here much longer and there is so much of this wonderful city that I have yet to explore! So, a few Saturdays ago, my pal Amy and I decided to catch up on a spontaneous walk to Ashton Court. I can't believe I have never been before! It is so beautiful. There is something about a country house that inspires a gooey patriotism and a tendency to walk around as if you were in a BBC costume drama. I mean, I cannot think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon in springtime!

We grabbed a take-out at Clifton Boston Tea Party, paused at the suspension bridge to admire the view, then swanned across the bridge towards the Ashton Court estate. Four hours of walking and talking in the sunshine is perhaps my best cabin-fever cure to date. 

An Evening at the Proms

It's become a bit of an annual tradition to go 'promming' during the Summer Holidays. The BBC Proms is a season of around 70 concerts that are held at The Royal Albert Hall during the Summer. For £5 on the day you can obtain a standing ticket for the arena, which is known as 'promming'. This is because the concerts used to be held outside and were called Promenade Concerts as the audience could stroll around the area whilst the music was playing. Nowadays there's less strolling and more sit-down-stand-upping, as people start to lose the feeling in their legs. Even if you're not a classical music enthusiast or expert (I am certainly neither) it is still an wonderful experience. There's something about listening to a live orchestra that makes me feel infinite. Plus, watching the soloists is completely mindblowing! My two favourite pieces were Debussy's- La Mer and Ravel's Daphnis e Chloe - Suite No. 2 - I found them so uplifting!

It's also a great place to people watch, because the mix of people standing in the arena is completely random. You'll find yourself standing shoulder to shoulder with students, businessmen and businesswomen, families with small children, families with big children, old men, reviewers with notepads and tourists. The Proms also exude a real edifying britishness that makes me feel proud of my heritage. Also, strolling around South Kensington in the Summer evening glow is pretty magic too.

One year, I'd like to buy a season ticket and stand in the arena every night, but that will have to wait until I'm slightly richer and actually live in London. Have you ever been to the Proms? What do you like about it?

What The Season Brings: William Wordsworth 'Daffodils'

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

I really love Daffodils. They're just such perfectly formed flowers; they burst forth like a ray of sunshine and hold the promise of lighter, warmer days. These photos are taken just outside my house in Clifton. I loved the contrast of the skeletal winter trees and the springtime flowers.

Favourite Socks

Spring might be just around the corner but my house is FREEZING. I was working in my room all of yesterday and when Louis turned up for dinner my hands were literally frozen together. BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR. It's those darn big windows of mine, when the sun shines my room sweats like a rainforest leaf and when the temperature drops its like living in an igloo. I've also recently discovered that I'm mildly allergic to my lavender-scented-microwaveable-dinosaur so I'm having to find new ways of keeping warm. *sigh* These socks have ALWAYS been my favourite, but since the sudden temperature drop we've rekindled our love affair. They're wool Cath Kidston socks that I got for my 19th Birthday from my wonderful housemates and are so thick and snug, they're practically slippers. I also tell myself that because they're like slippers I don't need to wash them all that often *snigger* All I need now are hand-socks that won't inhibit me using my fountain pen...hmmmmmm.

Do you have a favourite pair of socks!?