blanche neige

voilà the incredible scene outside our flat. i was awoken this morning (at half past seven - eek) by what sounded like a knock on a door; i grumbled out of bed and headed towards my window where i was greeted with:


snow on trees, snow on grass, snow on cars - "absolutely brilliant", to borrow a british catchphrase. dawn had not yet given way to morning, and in the dimness of the streetlights i spotted a neighbour trying to clear away the inches of snow off his car with a pail of water. in my 2.5 years in urban london i have never seen snow settle like this, effectively producing a white-out

too excited to go back to bed, i stumbled downstairs to make some breakfast (toast with butter and strawberry jam, a satsuma, and milky coffee. mmm). in the kitchen, i heard more noise outside and peeked out of the kitchen window - delighted schoolchildren (some would call them rowdy young male rascals) were scooping snow off cars and railings with their mittens and having a mini-snowfight

my own worries and issues were temporarily frozen and (snow-)shoved to the back of mine as i contemplated the happy (mischevious) innocence played out before me

revelation of the day - happiness doesn't last. but neither does pain.