Hey everyone,
How's it going? Sorry this newsletter is a bit late - I spent yesterday in Cambridge celebrating Bridgemas and was having too much fun to write. But more on that later!
It's been a fairly quiet week for me. Mostly because on Monday I started my week off right by whacking my face on a climbing hold and somehow also straining my back despite fastidiously making sure I warmed up properly. Oops.
So yeah, I've been feeling stiffer than the Tin Man which made for a week of staying at home in the evenings to rest my poor back muscles. Especially because I want to be back to full strength in time for a climbing competition I'm doing next weekend!
It has also been very, very cold this week which probably hasn't helped - only max 2°C on the coldest day, with wind chill too. But I did enjoy seeing frost again after almost two years. The winter air was so dry in Tokyo that even if it had got that cold, there was no water to freeze. Here, though, the sun rises on a sparkling frosted world, the fallen leaves on the ground encrusted with white crystals. It's so beautiful and it'll never get old! I was so engrossed in it that I didn't take any photos, aside from this one of my favourite view on my street. This is the New River, which it turns out is not so new, as it was built in the 1600s.
new river plus twinkly frost!
I went on some good walks this week in an attempt to stay gently active. On Thursday I walked around Finsbury Park, then instead of heading home I decided to carry on and explore a new neighbourbood - Crouch End. I found a footpath through a nature reserve on a disused railway which was bustling with runners and a group of volunteers who were building a natural fence made of logs. The views were pretty good as it was an elevated path, with the added bonus that I didn’t need to climb as much of Crouch Hill as I would've if I stuck to the roads. Heading over Crouch Hill towards Crouch End, you can see Alexandra Palace in the distance, and then you descend into this lovely villagey kind of place with all sorts of nice shops and cafes, and a newly renovated art deco hall. I stopped for a very delicious chai latte and cake in a lovely warm cafe with very comfy armchairs, before heading home on the bus. A successful walk!
looking north from finsbury park. it was SO cold I hope that comes through
looking south from crouch hill
hornsey town hall, very art deco, newly renovated & opening in 2 weeks!
north london life is basically just 101 ways to see the BT tower
a bereal with ally pally!
best chai latte of the year so far (they went hard on the spices yay) plus a delicious chocolate & mandarin cake
On Saturday I went on a walk around Hampstead Heath with a group called Dykes Who Hike, which was pretty fun - at least until the heavens opened and it began to rain! We were doing a loop around the outside of Hampstead Heath and got about halfway round before the rain came. After that it was a bit soggy and very gloomy because the sun was setting, but there were some nice autumnal views in the forest. Alas my hands were too cold to take many photos!
the one photo I took. muddy vibes
bridgemas
The peak of my week! I came to Cambridge quite spontaneously for Bridgemas dinner with my friends. We cooked a delicious mostly vegetarian Christmas dinner (well, I say we cooked, it was mostly everyone else, I just helped to chop vegetables) and watched Christmas films. Somehow I'd got this far without ever watching Nativity?! It was so heartwarming, and also featured Alan Carr looking even more silly than normal as a Scrooge-like local reporter…
our future traitors winner, everybody. also probably my mum's reaction to us having christmas dinner in november
Bridgemas is the Cambridge version of Christmas, celebrated a month early around the 25th of November because the university term finishes in the first week of December. I would never normally celebrate this early, and I didn't feel even a little bit festive before I arrived in Cambridge, but it's actually quite lovely to have a friends version of Christmas well before the real thing. It's also great that I can just pop on the train and be here in an hour or so versus being a 14 hour flight away. I’m still here this morning, we’re having lunch together somewhere in Cambridge before I head back this afternoon.
Anyway here are some pictures! Enjoy the festive vibes :) (also thanks Liza for the lovely header photo!)
watching nativity & making stuffing
my plate. so full afterwards
captured on film! (thanks Joanna)
the food spread! so many leftovers
a bereal with a very excellent selfie
photo creds to Mads!
album of the week
It's back! I didn't do album of the week last week because I didn't really listen to anything new in amongst the writing. But I did listen to new things this week, so without further ado…
rosalia - lux
This album was recommended to me by r/popheads on Reddit, a community of pop nerds who discuss the latest and greatest in pop music. It's honestly stunning, the instrumentation (or should I say orchestration) is so creative. If only I could understand Spanish! Highly recommend giving it a listen.
(December doesn't have many new albums at all because it's so close to Christmas, so I'm not sure what the format of ‘album of the week’ will be through the next month or so. Song of the week? Suggestions welcome!)
internet finding of the week
This is a video about ‘beasts’ that this guy has made in 2025 on a beach in the Netherlands, powered entirely by wind. Genuinely in awe of his brain, it's amazing how alive they look.
Anyway that's all I can think of! Have a lovely week!
Stella x