Christmas has come to town!
All my life I’ve dreamt of experiencing a winter Christmas – well, now I’ve done the next best thing. On Friday last week I took the bus to London and soaked up the pre-Christmas atmosphere!
The Oxford bus dropped me at Marble Arch, in Park Lane, and from there I cruised along Oxford Street to Oxford Circus, nipping into department stores like Marks and Spencers, John Lewis, Debenhams and Selfridges. Didn’t actually make any purchases, but just absorbed the sights and sounds and enjoyed the eye-candy.
Like an automaton I turned into Regent Street and made a bee-line for Liberty. I have my own little ritual whenever I’m in London - I buy myself a glasses case in a different Liberty fabric. So in I plunged, looking for that wonderful gift hall they have, full of all things delightful, created out of Liberty’s William Morris fabric.
It wasn’t there!
“We don’t do that any more”, was the answer I received from the information desk. I do hate change… (Could I be getting old??) So I had to content myself with a Liberty handkerchief (couldn’t leave my favourite London shop empty-handed, now could I?)
However the good news was that I found out that Kaffe Fassett, a quilt and fabric designer of great note, was speaking at a morning tea at Liberty this week, so I booked myself in! He’s just published a book of quilt designs inspired by quilts in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
I dawdled around Regent Street until it was dark enough for the Christmas lights to show up clearly (it was nearly dark at 4 o’clock!), then began to make my slow way back to Park Lane, photographing as I went. This was when I really felt excited. Walking along Oxford Street, London’s Christmas lights shimmering above me against the dark night sky, people bustling past, wrapped up in long coats and woolly scarves and laden with shopping, and Christmas music drifting out of invitingly decorated shops – I loved it!!
So, though I haven’t experienced a northern hemisphere Christmas Day, with turkey and all the trimmings, I’ve experienced London at Christmas!
I hope you enjoy looking through my collection of Christmas lights photos. I’d award first prize to Galleries Lafayette in Paris – what do you think?
The Oxford bus dropped me at Marble Arch, in Park Lane, and from there I cruised along Oxford Street to Oxford Circus, nipping into department stores like Marks and Spencers, John Lewis, Debenhams and Selfridges. Didn’t actually make any purchases, but just absorbed the sights and sounds and enjoyed the eye-candy.
Like an automaton I turned into Regent Street and made a bee-line for Liberty. I have my own little ritual whenever I’m in London - I buy myself a glasses case in a different Liberty fabric. So in I plunged, looking for that wonderful gift hall they have, full of all things delightful, created out of Liberty’s William Morris fabric.
It wasn’t there!
“We don’t do that any more”, was the answer I received from the information desk. I do hate change… (Could I be getting old??) So I had to content myself with a Liberty handkerchief (couldn’t leave my favourite London shop empty-handed, now could I?)
However the good news was that I found out that Kaffe Fassett, a quilt and fabric designer of great note, was speaking at a morning tea at Liberty this week, so I booked myself in! He’s just published a book of quilt designs inspired by quilts in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
I dawdled around Regent Street until it was dark enough for the Christmas lights to show up clearly (it was nearly dark at 4 o’clock!), then began to make my slow way back to Park Lane, photographing as I went. This was when I really felt excited. Walking along Oxford Street, London’s Christmas lights shimmering above me against the dark night sky, people bustling past, wrapped up in long coats and woolly scarves and laden with shopping, and Christmas music drifting out of invitingly decorated shops – I loved it!!
So, though I haven’t experienced a northern hemisphere Christmas Day, with turkey and all the trimmings, I’ve experienced London at Christmas!
I hope you enjoy looking through my collection of Christmas lights photos. I’d award first prize to Galleries Lafayette in Paris – what do you think?
posted by Di at 1:58 PM
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