happy new year! are you all loving it so far? it does not feel like a new year here. where is the summer, the beach, the heat like a furnace? it feels very strange to be in winter right now. sometimes i feel so cold i am afraid of slipping on the frost in case i shatter like a block of ice. four layers, two pairs of stockings, a pair of gloves, two scarves [i love the double scarf], and a wooly hat is not enough for you, london? i shake my frozen fist at you!
enough complaining. are you ready for stories?
some more greetings from denmark! i went to the henrik vibskov store in copenhagen, it was amazing. to see his vision encapsulated in a single space made my eyes pop [sort of tribal but fun, string strung everywhere, lots of bright colours]. down the same street was the copenhagen city library.
looking through the front windows, i thought it was a danish designer furniture shop. it had a roll of astroturf with a slight concave so one could sit on it. clever! my aunt kindly bought me tsumori chisato jumper dress [at 75% off, bargain!] and my cousin bought me a pair of socks. so nice!
is this not the sweetest bike you have ever seen? it appeals to the girl in everyone. do not fight it, you know it is true.
we spent the evening at tivoli, the amusement park in the centre of town. you know what that means, right? four hours of hanging about in the cold, riding as many rides as possible, screaming from start to finish on said rides, trying to settle my stomach [with fairy floss and toffee apples]. fun fun fun! on my last day with the relatives, killing time before dinner, i did something i had not done in years. i played the piano and enjoyed it. i felt so free. ok so my creaky fingers tripped over the keys and my cousins giggled at my rendition of popular danish children's songs, but i really enjoyed playing the piano. i am usually overcome by a sense of dread whenever i am near such an instrument because i was forced to play it when i was a child. not this time! in addition to entertaining [and i use that term loosely] everyone with my ivory tickling, i made a banoffee pie for dessert and prepared a roll-your-own-sushi-roll dinner much to everyone's delight.
now onto my london adventures. stefan and i went to the wolseley for afternoon tea last tuesday. the wolseley was built to house a luxury car showroom. it is grand and spacious with high ceilings, a black and white interior trimmed in gold. it is beautiful. come visit me and i will take you! it is very posh but not at all intimidating. the most delicious thing on the cake stand was the fruit scones especially when dolloped with the thickest clotted cream imaginable and the best strawberry jam we had ever tasted. die!
new year's eve was a very civilised affair. i spent the day helping my friend, v, with some production for her label. i had spent the last few days braiding long strips of black/ grey/ lilac/ apricot cotton jersey for belts and trims for her oversized jersey dresses. we are weaving silver and gold ribbons into the braids and they look amazing.
i went over to stefan's for dinner [moussaka, no side salad] and we made crazy masks out of paper hats for a nye masked party at his local pub. we danced our way into the new year.
on new year's day i spent the afternoon by myself cruising the sales at liberty and topshop. i tried really hard to resist the sales, i mean come on now, 50% off? only? give me 75%!
well i failed and came home with a sonia rykiel wool tote with a face knitted into it, a dirty ivory marc jacobs clutch, and a lingerie set. umm i work hard for the money? so hard for the money?
let me tell you about my amazing evenings out. last thursday stefan and i went to a preview of julie verhoeven's fannying around at the hayward. i love her work. who can resist the charms of illustrated girls with heart-shaped faces and big round eyes? not me! the installation was masses of paper plates painted with circles and illustrations of girls' faces stuck on. i was very tempted to peel one off the wall and slip it into my bag. on the way home stefan gets very excited because we are near [his words] one of the coolest places to have a drink in east london. near my house? where? he is looking down side alleys trying to find it and then stumble here stumble there, it appears. the bistrotheque! i am all wide-eyed surprise. it is down a dark street, you would never think there is anything worthwhile down there. i have always wanted to go to the bistrotheque but could never find it. it is a restaurant, a bar, and hosts cabaret shows. we stop by for a drink. it is dark and cosy and filled with east london types but lacks the usual air of pretension one would expect. at the end of the bar we are nursing our gin and tonics and making out like cans of noodles, as in, canoodling.
i cannot tell you how much i will miss s when he goes away tomorrow. it is so sad. i try to be brave and say brave things like i already knew this could not be anything more than whatever it is right now because he is leaving, that we have only known each other two months, it has been hardly any time at all. but i have never met a person lovelier, more considerate, and fun than him. the other morning when we were lying in bed, spooning, he called me his little spoon. die! the other thing i think about is this tape he found when he was packing his room. it is a recording of catherine williams and it started as our make-out tape but now when he plays it, it makes me cry. there is a knot in my stomach that tightens at the thought of tomorrow. i know this is all very silly and i am sure i will write again next week laughing at my follies, but right now, tears spring to mind.
it is saturday evening as i type this. i am supposed to go to cat's birthday party. you have to meet her, she is like no one you have ever met before. cat is an old lady trapped inside a young woman's body. she dresses very lady-like, all blouses and pencil skirts and furs and back-combed hair. she always looks amazing. we are all imitations of cat tonight. what to wear? i do not have a blonde wig. after, i am going to stefan's house. his housemates are amazing guitarists and they are having a late-night session with guests. the last time they did this [at their house party] it was pretty special.
i wish you were here.
lots of love
o
now onto my london adventures. stefan and i went to the wolseley for afternoon tea last tuesday. the wolseley was built to house a luxury car showroom. it is grand and spacious with high ceilings, a black and white interior trimmed in gold. it is beautiful. come visit me and i will take you! it is very posh but not at all intimidating. the most delicious thing on the cake stand was the fruit scones especially when dolloped with the thickest clotted cream imaginable and the best strawberry jam we had ever tasted. die!
new year's eve was a very civilised affair. i spent the day helping my friend, v, with some production for her label. i had spent the last few days braiding long strips of black/ grey/ lilac/ apricot cotton jersey for belts and trims for her oversized jersey dresses. we are weaving silver and gold ribbons into the braids and they look amazing.
i went over to stefan's for dinner [moussaka, no side salad] and we made crazy masks out of paper hats for a nye masked party at his local pub. we danced our way into the new year.
on new year's day i spent the afternoon by myself cruising the sales at liberty and topshop. i tried really hard to resist the sales, i mean come on now, 50% off? only? give me 75%!
well i failed and came home with a sonia rykiel wool tote with a face knitted into it, a dirty ivory marc jacobs clutch, and a lingerie set. umm i work hard for the money? so hard for the money?
let me tell you about my amazing evenings out. last thursday stefan and i went to a preview of julie verhoeven's fannying around at the hayward. i love her work. who can resist the charms of illustrated girls with heart-shaped faces and big round eyes? not me! the installation was masses of paper plates painted with circles and illustrations of girls' faces stuck on. i was very tempted to peel one off the wall and slip it into my bag. on the way home stefan gets very excited because we are near [his words] one of the coolest places to have a drink in east london. near my house? where? he is looking down side alleys trying to find it and then stumble here stumble there, it appears. the bistrotheque! i am all wide-eyed surprise. it is down a dark street, you would never think there is anything worthwhile down there. i have always wanted to go to the bistrotheque but could never find it. it is a restaurant, a bar, and hosts cabaret shows. we stop by for a drink. it is dark and cosy and filled with east london types but lacks the usual air of pretension one would expect. at the end of the bar we are nursing our gin and tonics and making out like cans of noodles, as in, canoodling.
i cannot tell you how much i will miss s when he goes away tomorrow. it is so sad. i try to be brave and say brave things like i already knew this could not be anything more than whatever it is right now because he is leaving, that we have only known each other two months, it has been hardly any time at all. but i have never met a person lovelier, more considerate, and fun than him. the other morning when we were lying in bed, spooning, he called me his little spoon. die! the other thing i think about is this tape he found when he was packing his room. it is a recording of catherine williams and it started as our make-out tape but now when he plays it, it makes me cry. there is a knot in my stomach that tightens at the thought of tomorrow. i know this is all very silly and i am sure i will write again next week laughing at my follies, but right now, tears spring to mind.
it is saturday evening as i type this. i am supposed to go to cat's birthday party. you have to meet her, she is like no one you have ever met before. cat is an old lady trapped inside a young woman's body. she dresses very lady-like, all blouses and pencil skirts and furs and back-combed hair. she always looks amazing. we are all imitations of cat tonight. what to wear? i do not have a blonde wig. after, i am going to stefan's house. his housemates are amazing guitarists and they are having a late-night session with guests. the last time they did this [at their house party] it was pretty special.
i wish you were here.
lots of love
o
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