SNOW STORM

The steed and traveler stopped, the courier's feet 

Delayed, all friends shut out, the housemates sit 

Around the radiant fireplace, enclosed 

In a tumultuous privacy of storm. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Gandalf hat - M&S, Coat - Gap, Satchel - Tate Modern, Dress and Scarf - H&M, and old, old riding boots

Boy, it's cold in London at the moment. I haven't been more than five minutes from the house since work on Friday.  Weather like this is a big enabler of my Danish 'hygge' tendencies. We were meant to go away for the weekend, but instead of getting stuck on a train in the middle of a snow drift for hours on the way back we decided to stay home with the heating on and fatten up for the winter.

So, this weekend's activities have included:

Sunday roast at Simon the Tanner

• Eating a hunk of roast beef as big as my fist at Simon the Tanner, a very underrated pub just by Bermondsey Street.  

• Listening to old snow-related songs like Arcade Fire's Neighbourhood#1.

• Wanting awesome hair extensions like Jen.

• Learning Spanish with my new Michel Thomas course (RECOMMENDED) before I go back to Barcelona for another Primavera Sound in May.  The embarrassment of only being able to say "DUO CERVESA POR FAVOR!!" has finally become too excruciating for me.

• ALSO, waiting for the Primavera press conference on Wednesday, when the full line-up will be announced. Come on David Byrne & St. Vincent!

• Reading about Chengdu - the capital of Sichuan, a province of China blessed with spicy food and pandas.  The Chinese Government-PR heavy feature in this month's Monocle has definitely influenced me.

• Watching East of Eden for the first time.  My favourite character is definitely Cal's runaway, whorehouse-owning mother Kate/Cathy, who seems to get much better treatment in the film than the book.  

Emotions running high in East of Eden...

• Reading more about Chungking Mansions, after my visit in Hong Kong:

Teeming, crumbling and motley in the extreme, it is a structure to attract or repel the people of Hong Kong, like the Spaceport Cantina in the original “Star Wars”. Pushtun touts, Nigerians slinging fake Rolexes and a flock of Indian prostitutes in garish saris congregate at its maw.

• Taking photos of snow...