Wait until next year

Sometimes the Christmas lights frame a little bit of magic. There are so many views of St Paul’s Cathedral, views that are often properly protected by legislation, or failing that campaigns and all that stuff. And sometimes those views can veer dangerously close to cliché, as why does St Paul’s get that sort of special treatment that no other building gets? And then you find yourself one cold morning walking down the tucked-away and winding little streets the City still has, the closest you can really get to the City’s history, and you see all these pretty little lights dotting the shafts of sky above and you look ahead and there is St Paul’s dome, everlasting, the one thing you can cling onto in the City, that reference point, that view that at the right time in the right context can still make your heart your heart swell and your spirits soar and you’re part of the cliché of Christmas lights and tourist views and festive cheer and not being cynical about the motives of the world and you just don’t care at all.