Festive Musings

Posted On 14 Dec 2018

Festive Musings

14 Dec 2018

Candidate Resource, Employer Resource, News & Events

Festive Musings

Our WHV competition winner Ella Crowley shares her musings for the festive season…

December, Blog #5. It feels completely insane to type out! This time of year always seems to slap me in the face like that, although this year has a special kind of sting to it (being the most transformative year I’ve experienced to date). It’s Christmas season and London is host to chilly nights, markets and light strung footpaths. I flew in from Fes three or so weeks back and I’m grabbing the opportunity to ground and reflect, whilst basking in the motivating energy of the city. All of a sudden, I’m obsessed with seeing as much as I can, keeping myself possibly a little too busy. The visa clock ticks quietly, imbuing a subtle sense of urgency on all there is to do… lots of plays and exhibitions, walking (as always) and slipping easily back into temp work to fund it all.

The sun is, of course, beginning to disappear earlier and earlier, 4:30pm now an evening hour that pulls a crisp quality over the nights. The cold makes Leicester Square pop in a whole different vision of madness; people now huddle closer and once buzzing parks take on a more solitary quality. Southbank is abuzz with festivity, Carnaby Street is impressively adorned and Winter Wonderland all set up in Hyde Park. It’s a whole different city to the summer London I left back in July. But I am very much starting to feel at home.

I’m staying here for two more weeks and then I fly to Germany, a coldness I doubt I’m ready for but I’m unbelievably excited to meet my family in Munich. We’ll be travelling south into Austria, meeting-family friends for Christmas and exploring the Christmas markets there too! We’ll stay in Europe into the New Year and hopefully squeeze some skiing in at some point. I’m grateful to begin 2019 with friends and family… likely the refresher I will need for the next 12 months in the big smoke!