A baking day. It is good to get out and about in the run-up to Christmas, but it is good to have some time at home too, a shelter from the madness of the festive season.
It is sometimes good to make something rather than buy, buy, buy. It is good to make something with loved ones, for loved ones.
I’m no baker, but I enjoyed the process. The weighing and waiting. It doesn’t hurt to slow down now and then. It doesn’t hurt to have cake now and then.
CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY
St Mary Aldermary is a wonderful church. It appears to have squeezed itself into the space within the buildings it surrounds, with its odd footprint and wonky ceilings, despite being significantly older that anything around it.
It is a peaceful space yet vibrant. This morning as I got a coffee in its little café at the rear of the church, there was a yoga session at the front. Yet it still feels a spiritual space. It serves many purposes lightly.
The best churches in the City of London offer a link between the past and future, without neglecting either. It is hard to create an authentic space in the centre of commerce. It is a wonder, a miracle even, that it can still happen.
I like to find the arcades in a city, see the old ways of selling goods, a link with history, the old rhythms of a place. And sometimes it is far more practical – to just get some shelter from the weather.
Wait until next year 