The festive spirit
I don’t like to make Christmas into a big, all-consuming event, and I only celebrate it as a non-religious family-oriented gift-giving festival, but I am (rather surprisingly) feeling very festive this year! A trip into London last weekend helped this along, I am sure. I despise shopping centres with piped-in Christmas hits — Slade, Wizzard, and Wham! have a lot to answer for — but wandering around lots of individual shops, looking at gorgeous window displays in the large department stores, and visiting special Christmas events is a real pleasure.
First stop was the Winter Wonderland event in Hyde Park, which consisted of a small German market, various fairground rides, and ice skating. The market was pretty, but not especially inspiring, and by far the best thing there was the food. There was also mulled wine (which really took the edge off what was a freezing morning) and delicious sausage.
More shopping ensued, as did a necessary stop for coffee (it really was bitingly cold, sub-zero with the wind chill factor, and I was very glad I’d worn a scarf, hat and gloves). Covent Garden is always a favourite haunt of mine, and this year their event is called Christmas Deluxe. It was a little early for the food market to be properly open but I was still full from my sausage — and the queues would have been epic, anyway, judging from the number of people already there! The decorations in the piazza were beautiful, probably even more so at night.
And then, quite by chance, we stumbled across a sea of Santa Clauses in Leicester Square.
I did a little checking when I got home, and this is apparently a big pub crawl, possibly called “Santacon”. Brilliant.
Hats
There have been a few ‘perfect’ winter days recently; I mean the kind with clear pale blue skies and crisp, invigorating air. I love going out for walks when the weather’s like this. Of course, the fact that the sun is shining doesn’t preclude strong wind… and I’ve decided that hats are the key to Winter Hairstyle Survival. There’s nothing more irritating than walking outside and having your hair rearrange itself on your head after a particularly vicious gust – it makes me feel like a poor relation of Susan Sto-Helit. I’m a fan of the cloche (which seems to be ‘in’, but it’s a classic hat that should, frankly, be worn whether it’s in or not) and own one, but I recently bought a trilby and really like that too. (There’s a photo of said trilby here.)
I’ve been thinking about knitting a hat, but there are so many patterns to choose from! I’m not sure what would suit me, either – only certain things look good on my head, and I haven’t figured out what those things are yet. Some hats I like:
- Estella, by Ysolda
- Gretel, by Ysolda
- Bonnie, by Kim Hargreaves
- Soul, by Kim Hargreaves
- Katie Cap, by Staceyjoy Elkin
- Ice Queen, by Rosemary Hill (this isn’t actually a hat, but does potentially cover the head)
I really can’t choose between them. I’m edging towards “Bonnie”, which is in the Kim Hargreaves pattern book (Heartfelt) that I’m getting for Christmas. It’s knit with just a couple of balls of RYC Bamboo Soft, which I’ve wanted to try for ages… I had a fondle last time I was in a yarn shop and it really is silky-soft. (I’ve also heard it’s splitty, but I think I can cope with that for one hat.)
My own knitting efforts are drifting between doll sweaters and secret Christmas presents, and I can’t show the latter here in case someone’s being naughty and peeking! I can show off dolly knits, though. I like the colour pink more than I used to, but only in small doses… so I’m knitting thin stripes of it into this plain black sweater. I love horizontal stripes, but I’d never wear them myself because of the “person looks bigger than actual size” problem. (Living vicariously through doll fashion? Moi?)
Geek chart: recognise yourself?
From brunching.com comes the magnificent Geek Hierarchy. Where do you fit in? I seem to float somewhere around the third level from the top…
I also liked this question from the accompanying Frequently Paraphrased Questions:
As a Ren Faire person, am I more or less geeky than someone who writes fanfic?
This sort of conundrum is the very essence of the complex web of status and discarded candy wrappers that is the Geek Hierarchy. Your position as a fan of science fiction literature (a category which includes nearly all geeks to some extent or another) puts you above fanfic writers, but fanfic writers can say the same to you. Embracing this paradox will lead to understanding of the Geek Nature.
The archives are worth perusing – I found two great summaries of Unreal Tournament weaponry (my preferred gun, the Flak Cannon, was naturally rated an excellent A-) and there are some amusing film reviews.
brunching.com is an archive site, and there’s some newer material over at badgods.com, including this indispensable guide to facial hair.