Delicious UK - (11)November 2020

T

hisis a yearthathasattimesfelt

liketheChristmasholidayson

repeat– thatis,franticactivities

andanxietyfollowedbyrandomTuesdays,

Wednesdays,whatever-days,watchingold

moviesinpyjamaswhileeatingcheese.

Thisis theyearwhenspendinghours

obsessingaboutfood– wherewemightbuy

it andwhatwe’ddowithit whenwegotit

home– filledthegapswhereoursocial

livesusedtobe.It’stheyearwhenwe ate

ourfeelings,thentookourselves

outonbracing,get-a-gripwalks.

Andduetothewalks,andthe

quiet,andtheslowerpaceoflife

enforceduponus,manyofus

becamemoreattunedtoour

surroundings.Sunsetsand

sunrisesfeltmoreintenseand

dramaticsomehow,perhaps

becausewehadtimetolookatthem.

Oneofmyjoyseachmorningwas

watchingthesparrowsinthelimetrees

inthefrontgarden.I wasquiteovercome

withhappinesswhentheswiftsreturned,

screaming,tonestintheeavesattheback.

I satatmydeskeachdaylookingout

atthebarebranchesofthecherrytree,

then the leaves, then the blossom. When

theblossomfell,therosesstartedtobloom.

SoeventhoughI wasn’tsureif it was

FridayorGoodFriday,inthisangry,quiet

yearI hada greatersenseofthesubtlety

of the seasons changing than ever before.

CELEBRATIONSDENIED

Nowthattheswiftshavegoneforanother

yearandwinteris aheadofus,I’mthinking

abouthowwemarkthistimethisyear,

when so many of our traditional markers

havebeendeniedus.Nobucketsof

sweetsinthehallthisHalloween...

Normallyforme,Novembermeans

bundlingupinmythickscarftogoto

thefootball,housefulsofpeoplefor

raucousFridaynightdrinksorlong

Sundaylunches,nightsatthetheatre,

goingtotalksandlectures(I havenever

quite shrugged off the drive for self-

improvement;I’llbea swottilltheday

I die).It meansparkinandlivelybonfire

parties.Andthisyear,I suppose,not.

Allaroundtheworldatthistimeofyear

therearetraditions,ceremoniesand

ritualsattachedtothepassingofthe

seasons,fromAmericanThanksgiving

(whichbecamesucha massiveholidayin

partbecausethePuritansdidn’tbelievein

celebratingChristmas)totheThaifestival

Loi Krathong,celebratingtheGoddessof

Water,KoreanChuseok(literally,

Autumneve),theMexicanDay

oftheDeadandDiwali.

Whilethesecelebrationsdiffer

enormouslyintheirevolution,

whattheyhaveincommonis

gatheringwithyourlovedones,

rememberingthosewhohave

diedorwhoareotherwise

absent,withspecialfoods,music,lights,

candles,andsometimesfireworks.They

alsooftenshareanelementofshrugging

offoldresentmentsanddisappointments,

oflettinggoandstartingafresh.

Lookingbackonthisyearwillbe

particularlyhardforsomeofus.Many

havelostmuchduringthisstrangetime,

and all of us to a degree have lost our→

Asautumnpreparestogivewaytowinter,DeboraRobertsonreflectsona strange

yearandhow,inthesesociallyrestrictedtimes,wemightbestseeittoitsconclusion.

The secret, she reckons, is to hold on to the little everyday rituals that make life better

Thisyear,I amgoingtostretch

everysinew,everymemoryof

pleasuresandritualspast,tomark

theseason,albeitwithouttheusual

celebrations and gatherings

SIMPLE

PLEASURES

The comfort of

16 deliciousmagazine.co.uk