A Thing of Beauty...

Its nearly midnight on New Years Day in lovely London.  Outside the air is very chilly, things are still and the world seems to be sleeping.  But off in the distance (nowhere in particular) the hum of the city continues its series of mechanical cadences.  East Hill playing host to the last few buses of the evening, and the A3 still coursing with lorries and black cabs.

Its the middle of winter, and the souls who trickled back from 'out of town' in the days since Christmas have collectively partied their way into 2013.  This year there seemed to be something of an anti-climax - once the bells had stopped ringing and the clocks steadily ticked on into silly o'clock in the morning, the realisation that January had begun was starting to settle in.  January (and its less lengthy cousin February) are not generally favourite months with Londoners.  The sun might only come out for a few days each month, and none of them consecutive.  When it does make an appearance, it is with an unobtrusive egg-yolk golden glow, it coats the grubby brick buildings with a beautiful honeyed hue, and all seems peaceful and mellow and warm.  But on a grey day, the bricks are dead, unresponsive.  The low light doesn't last much past four o'clock and neither do people's spirits!

Today was bright and golden and sunny, and London was lit up like a film set.  Tomorrow looks to be drizzly, and millions of us will be staring out the windows with our chins in our hands wondering if summer actually happened at all.

With nothing outside that seems immediately inspiring, its no wonder that the threat of three more months of this drudge fills our hearts with dread and melancholy.

But this is where my crusade begins.  To make things beautiful.  Maybe the view outside isn't looking lovely, but the curtains framing the window most certainly can be.  Maybe the film on the telly is something we've seen three times (this month) and the endless repeats of Friends are beginning to drain us - but the cushion supporting your elbow (and that umpteenth glass of red) can be something amazing.  Something that every time you look at it, your subconscious sighs and relaxes and you enjoy that next sip just that little bit more.

Its a bit of interior design, but its mostly about having filled your favourite places and spaces with things you love.  It probably sounds like I'm claiming you can change your life one cushion at a time!  We spend so much time at work, that our houses get neglected and less like a home.  If I hear anything from my fellow London folk, its that the desire to have a 'home' to come back to is paramount.

Fashion folk try and change your life one garment at a time - but we're never going to feel like we're masters of the universe if the place we inhabit is uninspiring!

And so 2013 is all about bringing beauty back into our surroundings.  It might be a photograph, a book, a rug, a vase of flowers.  But it has to make us stop, and smile, and relax.  And have a good look.

There's more to see than you think...

L