London Lenten thanks

It's Lent, and winter, and cold and dark, and life still feels pretty uncertain - definitely a season requiring some thanks to keep focussed on the light.

So here's some recent London discoveries I'm grateful for:

Ziferblat and sisters

That cafe where you pay per minute... My younger sister (who's spent the last few years in Preston/Manchester and hardly ever comes to London) came down and spent a Sunday with me and my other younger sister (who's currently living in London AND is working with me - hooray!). We did touristy stuff like wander down Brick Lane, bought Chinese from one of the food stalls, walked past the Tower of London, climbed the Monument (built in memory of the Great Fire) and ended the day at this lovely cafe. Great atmosphere, friendly staff, tons of board games. You pay for your time, not what you eat/drink. Can't say there was the most amazing selection of food and beverages BUT vibes more than made up for it. Also we arrived at the end of a rainy Sunday, so stocks might have been depleted by then!

St Ethelburga's

At a recent family gathering my aunt told me about this church, so I looked it up and booked in for an event. It's tucked away right near Liverpool Street and Moorgate, in between grand buildings and banks. Apparently it was bombed in the 90s by the IRA, but the Bishop of London campaigned and fundraised for it to be saved and it's now a centre for peace, reconciliation and inter-faith work. You can see the old walls that remained after the bombing and it's been done up beautifully, with a gorgeous garden and inter-faith meeting space behind it. It really is full of peace, and I look forward to spending more time there.

Knitting

OK so not strictly London, but I've been doing it on my commute, and in the evenings whilst watching House or Call the Midwife! My sister-in-law reminded me how to knit over New Year and I've been enjoying making things and using my hands in a way that's not typing on a keyboard!

Loose Muse

A monthly women's poetry night held at the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden. I'd been meaning to go for a while so was glad to finally make it. Actually it was the first poetry night I'd been to this year, for one reason or other I'd not gone to any, which I now realise is a bit silly - because it was LOVELY and made my heart happy! The crowd was pretty small because of an event the day before, but I got to do three poems in the open mic (yey!), there were some fab words shared by Leila Segal and Sue Johns (who I performed in Penzance with last year!) and others and the interaction between the audience and the speakers/readers was great. I met some inspiring ladies and I look forward to going back :-)

Books

Again, more of commute thing: one of the benefits is time for reading that I never felt I had before.
This year so far I've particularly enjoyed:

"We are all completely beside ourselves" by Karen Joy Fowler (best if I don't tell you what it's about, but take it from me, it's very well written and thought-provoking)
"In the heart of the sea" by Nathanael Philbrick (a narrative non-fiction of the story that inspired Moby Dick, I learned a whole lot about whaling and sailing and Nantucket in the 1800s, something I knew nothing at all about before!)
Anything by Elizabeth Gilbert (as in literally, that's not a title! I was inspired by a interview with her, hearing how seriously she takes writing, and have a lot of respect for her)
"A tree full of angels" by Macrina Wiederkehr (beautiful meditations by a Catholic nun - great to read just a page or two in the morning)

Mr Q

(Well, since it was Valentines Day) I have to say one of the main things I'm thankful for in this kind-of-London-life is my husband. For the days I come home shattered from the commute and he's once again tidied the flat and cooked dinner. For the hugs and running a bath and picking me and my bike up from the station on rainy days. Even though I failed to even have a card ready and managed to horrendously burn the leftovers we ate for lunch on Sunday before he had to go off to work (SO romantic)... I LOVE YOU!

We didn't look like this on V-Day

So there we go, lots to keep my tanks full, as they say.