On a surprisingly snowy Sunday...

(late posting due to internet hiccups)

At the rate I am quaffing down me mugs of Milo, I fear I will DIE once my resources are depleted. *wail* then * fling body over LAST bag of Milo in abject misery*

Before you unsympathetic naysayers tut-tut at my melodramatics, let me jump in by saying - I WILL SURVIVE! Even if it means substituting Milo with le common chocolat chaud (pooh!). I will NOT be coerced into buying Milo here! Nay, never!

And, now that I've managed to break out in cold sweat...

...we be talkin' about the weather again! Yes! It be a fine topic for this continent.

Haven't you heard? It snowed here...in Spring! Gasp!

What next, I hear you whisper. Blizzards in Summer? Heatwaves in Autumn? Snow in the Sahara? Well, why not? The weather's all barmy!

Cheeks enjoying a few minutes of snowplay before church
(And yes, we were a little late.)

Guess which one is Papa Chan? Heh.

Frosty Common

Despite the bizarre weather blip, we were glad it snowed. For obvious reasons.

After church, we adjourned to Fortnum and Mason's as we'd made reservations to have tea there that afternoon. Tea was served at the newly-refurbished St James' Restaurant located on the 4th floor - one of the 5 restaurants housed in F&M's.

We arrived a little early and had to stand in the cold, waiting for the store to open its doors. But it was well worth the wait.

I enjoyed every moment of it. We all did.

Which, in a way, surprised me. Not because I didn't expect to enjoy tea there- I did - but I'd thought it would be a stuffy establishment (dresscode was 'business casual'! Like, excuse me!) with pompous waiters and so quiet an environment, you could hear a pin drop. I was all prepared to talk in hushed tones, make sure I sat 'elegantly', in manner of Mme Carla Bruni, hold teacup with pinky raised. That sort of thing.

But the service could not be more warm and inviting. Our waitstaff was attentive, smiley, and wonderfully obliging. So despite the elegant surroundings, we were able to relax quite comfortably in our upholstered armchairs, and sip tea from the beautiful bone china teacups.

Dee reminisced over his Lapsang Souchong. He said its smoky smell reminded him of his grandfather's wax umbrella. I know this sounds rather odd but that tea brought back happy childhood memories for him. And I sat there, smiling, listening to him tell me stories of his Ah Gong, even though I've heard them a thousand times.

A friend in her blog likened Sunday's snow experience (indoors), to being in a 'snowglobe'. I couldn't have described it better.

As I gazed out of the window - looking down on the view of Picadilly Circus, snowflakes flittering down onto the pavements - it did feel like I was in a snowglobe. Like the white particles had recently been churned to create the 'snow' effect, and I was one of the tiny figurines residing in the transparent orb.

If God was watching from where He was, He'd see insignificant little me, warm and toasty in a restaurant, enjoying finger sandwiches, buttery scones served with rich, thick clotted cream, lovely pastries, and Royal Tea. He would see me smile, and thank Him for this opportunity, this blessing...

After tea, we popped over to the Royal Academy of Arts. This was yet another spur of the moment decision as we didn't know F&M's was located so close to the Museum. We paid the entrance fee to visit the 'From Russia' exhibition.

Our decision to drop in for the exhibition was spurred on by the works of Monet and Renoir, some of which were being showcased. I had recently introduced both painters to Cheeks through the book 'Katie meets the Impressionists' by James Mayhew. I borrowed it from the library and it's one of her favourites. The story centres around Katie's imaginary journeys into the paintings she sees at the art gallery. It's a very creative book and it helps introduce children to famous artists/paintings. I highly recommend it.

Although the paintings featured in that book were not included in this exhibition, I was still able to interest Cheeks for some time with other Monet and Renoir paintings. I described the paintings to her, then in turn, asked her to tell me what she saw, and what she would do if she could enter the pictureframe. That way, the visit was kept interactive for her. Besides the 2 painters, I was also able to point out others like Cezanne and Gauguin, as well as other important Impressionists.

Of course, after awhile, all this proved too tiring for the little one. Still, I was glad for some 'exposure'.

Hubs and I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition and walked out a little more 'enriched'. We both like Matisse's 'Harmony in Red' and are thinking of acquiring a print replica of it for our house.

Admittedly though, Art remains very subjective. Some art I enjoy - like those produced during the Impressionist period - some remain a mystery. Some I get, some I don't. Like this one:

Black Square by Kazimir Malevich

I be simple minded. I be uncultured. Pundits call this 'the turning point in the development of Russian avant-garde'.

I say - whatever. I (still) catch no ball, or square, in this case.