How to use the Christmas break?

Many of us get a week or so off over Christmas (whether we celebrate Christmas or not). For two days there are no shops open, though there is always online shopping and social media to keep us amused. But don’t you think the winter break should be special?

Special means different. Different can mean different things but it needs to involve a change of pace and a change of focus. I like to take a walk and see what I can see, or meet up with friends and have a natter with no distracting mobiles. The important thing is to slow down and look outside of yourself – at people you (think you) know well, or complete strangers, or just the world. The main thing is to look and to listen.

 

I am no photographer but here are some pictures I have taken on my walks around Cambridge at Christmas time.

 

This picture was taken on Christmas Day last year. The saddle cover must be 9 years old because the pantomime is dated 2014.

 

Frosted spider web, woven on temporary fencing by Jesus Lock, which was under maintenance.

An attic window which has frozen up on the outside. These frost patterns seem to be increasingly rare, presumably due to climate warming.

 

Not Christmas Day - Feb. 2024- but it's a lovely picture anyway. Floods are getting more common but it is still possible to have fun like this little boy (click on the picture for a larger version).

Transition Cambridge likes to celebrate the new year with a gentle walk. Next year we will meet by the Green Dragon bridge. All welcome, old friends and new.

Transition Cambridge New Year's meander last year (or was it the year before?) From the Chisholm Trail, near the football ground. From the left, Ben, Liz, Anna, Sam, me (Nicola), Charlotte, Tamsin, Rory and Jacky.