the icy wind blasting in your face, the slight drizzle causing a damp on your jacket, but not soaking it. the crowd of people hustling and bustling through narrow streets, each one sporting a paper bag or two. Gucci, Prada ones with ribbons tied on top, bright orange Hermes bags in between, in different sizes. Huge Next plastic bags with hangers poking out of them. Selfridges plastic bags bright yellow in colour, serving as a warning - get out of the way! the smell of hotdogs from round' the corner, the tramps and vagabonds asking you for change as you struggle to get some personal space from the sidewalk around you.
bright sign displays on shopwindows displaying their discounts, people pushing through, kids crying, not realising their mothers are just round the aisle,basket in tow. street music buskers banging on drums, each one festive as the other, wearing santa hats. the indecisive couple not knowing which shop to go to, the archtypical Japanese tourist busy snapping away. The black cabs whizzing around, avoiding the slow moving buses packed with tourists and shoppers alike.
the warm taste of coffee soothing your throat, the aroma of it isolating you from the world outside, just as the floor to ceiling windows becomes a barrier to the unrelenting noise and activity outside. inside its all cozy, ambient jazz music, soft sofa with generic branding.
in a nutshell, boxing day - London.
thats my london winter last year. 12 months on, its quite different. here i am, at home, typing out this blog. theres no boxing day holidays here, i have a feeling they should, as to allow us another extra day off (although i reckon we have the most number of holidays as compared to other countries). Being a Muslim-majority country (I wouldnt go as far as to declare Malaysia to be a Muslim country, as I follow the Constitution, and not political party rhetorics), the celebrations here are not as fun and huge as it is in england, but i guess they try their best to liven things up with a few santa clauses and some christmas trees in the shopping malls and hotel lobbies.
i had the best christmas last year having the full monty - unwrapping christmas presents placed under the christmas tree in the morning, christmas dinner, and lazing about in the lounge watching tv afterwards. perfect! the boxing day was spent ice skating in front of the natural history museum.. and had chinese at Mr Kongs ( or was it Wongs, i dont know!).
i had a christmas bbq yesterday (25th) at Moon's. Great food, great company. And the tinge of sadness of having to get back to work the next day. It feels like when I was in boarding school, when I just head back from a long holiday. That dreaded feeling, oh yes, i think you all know what i mean.
well. unfortunately i had planned to blog more, but as always, im running out of things to say. will blog later if i do figure out what to write. till then, ta-ra!
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