Here comes snow again!!!

The moment I stepped out from the airplane onto the field of my country,Snow started to patter from the sky.Welcomed by my sister at the airport, I became in the mood of celebration for the New Year coming very next day.

In Japan, the period of New Year is the most important national festival ,in which people have holidays from about December 29th and it lasts one or two weeks to return their home and spend the moment with their families and relatives generally.

Toward New Year, we take dust from our houses and decolate with specific stuffs made with pine and bamboo,then make a special unite of dishes,which is called ''Osechi-ryori" and eaten during the event as being able to be kept for a couple of days. The contents are herring roem(kazunoko),sea tangle roll(konbumaki),sweetened black soybeans(kuromame),fish cakes(kamaboko) and so on,accompanied with their own wishes such as ''being able to be active'' for kuromame and '' happiness'' for konbumaki.

By the time we arrived at our home town, the snow mounted as deep as ever, which we never expected on the eve. Astonished by the unusual incident,I imagined that we were watching the annual program for New Year,eating a special noddle ''Toshikosi soba'' to wish our long-last lives at the very moment of the year changing and writing our ambitions for the coming year on the plain mind in the snug room.

The Christmas season!

I remember when 24 th of December was one of the most delightful days to be planed ,as if it had been in fantasy with St. Nicholas and a dream of the gifts beside the pillow given in the morning of the very next day ,when I was child . Of course, being adult, we look forward to the day to have a Christmas Eve diner and exchange presents with family,lovers,friends and so on ,imitating the way European countries celebrate the birth of Christ,which is said to be created to stimulate our consumer desire for parches,letting the market active in my country.

On the 25 th  I was awake from the weariness as I had been busy in selling Christmas cards and gifts in London.After a small bite of bread with a cup of coffee, I was waiting for my friends coming to pick me up for the Celebration. In Japan after Eve we are to get back to normal,heading to school and work.On the contrary,it is one of the most important national holidays here and we are all supposed not to work and be at home with family and friends.
As I entered the room,there were plenty of senses of the special day sparkling in the air.Under the tree were presents,on the table were set plates,glasses and crackers for the midday diner and I smelled turkeys being grilled.  The Christmas trip started to open the crackers, and  move to sip the soup,bite the turkey and unwrap the presents over our conversation,then finished with Christmas pudding accompanied by a glass of liqueur and, later,a cup of tea,having played fun games on the floor.

       

  

Having say goodbye to my friends and their family,delighted by their hospitality,I appreciated the spiritual  atmosphere lifted by the nation's joyful spirits with the feeling being soaked by the Christmas culture.

Here comes snow

On the way back from a Christmas greeting, I met a snowfall which made me stacked in the town, Ealing Broadway. It started to fall suddenly and covered everywhere in no time.
It was 2009 that the heaviest snow in 18 years was announced in London. Since then it has snowed as deep. Less experienced in a heavy snow, the city froze with few transport run, by which people were able to excuse to stay in and be warm at home. However, now that they are not beginners of snow, the tube and buses are supposed not to have  pretexts and let us run as possible as we hope.

Standing on the platform,waiting for a tube bringing me back to my flat, I was watching snow dropped from the sky onto the green,concealing the shape of  the scenery, which reminded me of my hometown,Shiga having snow every winter, where I was supposed to be in 2 weeks.
Due to the severe delay of Central line, I decided to wait a bus instead. Headding to the bus stop,I barely saw the road ahead ,which was hidden by the white.

On Millennium Bridge

The bridge named Millennium Bridge is the place where tourists are viewing  the tone of the city, a school group is talking about their destination Tate,a family hand in hand is walking toward St Paul's Cathedral and a lovers is kissing with the moment which seems to last forever. Being the same as many London's regions, the bridge can gather millions of people's footsteps over years and years.Well,it is rather to be said that it will have more future than past, as its construction was completed just 8 years ago in 2002.
It took for its being built 4years to finish, including from the reconstruction in 2000 to its reopen, due to the strange swaying motion after the first opening in 2 days. So, the bridge can be called "Wobbly bridge" among Londoners.

Every time I see the frame of it with St Paul's Cathedral as background on some book's covers, someones photographs,greeting cards as its design and so on, my memories built upon it flush back into my vision in my brain, correcting the information with nostalgic emotion randomly.Some said how we remember the places where we have visited is virtually how we have been having it in our body with the connection of memories.And that is absolutely right. Stepping back from its body to the south side of the grand beside Tate Modern, I wondered about the decades ahead of me.

The hill overviewing London city

It was two years ago when I visited Chark Farm first time,still being a tourist,with the excitement that I might be able to bump into someone in the limelight.This time,thought, I didn't come to fulfill the failed motivation but to view the whole London city on the summit of Primrose hill.And It succeeded with a clear sky above the city.
Primrose hill, the north part of Regent's Park, used to be a hunting preserve of Henry VII, having been in the hand of Royal family, became a public open space provided in the law in 1842. Surrounded by Victorian terraces, it is a reserve now.

Along the road named Regent's Park rd to the hill from Chark Farm tube station are some pretty individual shops letting us be able to have a short pleasurable shopping. Not only boutiques and interia shops but also restaurants,cafes and bars are among them.A booking essential Greek restaurant,Lemonia, provides us with quality time with its food and space.

As I am a big fun of cup cakes seen at many places in London, I walked down to the corner of the road, Gloucester Avenue,where the shop called Primrose Bakery is waiting for sweet lovers.It being packed with people, I gave up to have a small bite of a cup of cake this day.

There is a card saying, ''Happiness is a tea time".Having missed the time which gives us a reason of life,I decided to get on the way back home for the moment at my flat.

 

  

Strolling Holland Park

Sun came up after morning rain,which made my way to Holland park. I took Central line from Hanger Lane where I am living to Holland Park station. Having been off from there, I felt the spell of Sun which eventually last two hours, giving me the idea of capturing the view with the reflection of the light.

Holland Park,located in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea-west central London,is one of the most peaceful and various of green spaces in London.You can go through the woodland walks to the rose garden,or perhaps mean to reach the Kyoto Japanese garden built for the festival of Japan nine years ago.Kids enjoy seeing squirrels and peacocks on the way to the children's playground.
Holland park used to be a estate laid out Holland house whose name was taken to the district.The east side of the house has been used as Youth hostel and the other for  restaurants and exhibition centres.

Strolling the road back to the station, I was hit by the thought of concern―the tube strike action was on the way.If it had been my normal routine amble, I would have stopped by its local shops which are a independent book shop named Daunt Books, of which main shop stands in Marylebone High Street, a selected wine shop having a big range of both home and imported delicate cheeses,Jeroboams and cafe shops, Paul, Patisserie Valerietothe or Maison Blanc  to conclude the trip with sweet and coffee,along the main road,Holland Park Avenue.
 "It will be a long day as I have to arise before dawn to get an early start by a bus journey", I sighed.