Winter definitely arrived in November, it teased us for a while and then bam – hat, scarf and gloves and winter coats are de rigeur once again. It isn’t all doom and gloom though – the days start getting longer again soon! November has been busy but yet it seems to have stretched out too:
Mr P was away for a fair bit of November – South Africa and Turkey – busy with work but cannily enjoying warmer weather too. I made the most of being home alone and headed off to Dorset to spend the weekend with my good friend Emma. I am quite scared of dogs but Martha is the sweetest – clearly she was top dog as she climbed on my lap and I was happy! 
The weather was miserable and so we postponed our plans of a day in Bath and had a little mooch around Sherbourne in Dorset instead. It has some gorgeous little gift shops. I was really taken by this poem that was in one of the shops we passed – it is a reminder. 
I worked at home a few times during the month – and this was to get lots of work done but also to get some daylight running in. What I hate the most about the winter is leaving the house for work in the dark and getting home in the dark having had very little fresh air or daylight. So I look out for days with fine weather when I can get a run in during the day and still bank a full day of work at home in my pyjamas. They are always the most high-achieving days and are good for my health too! I’ve also just invested in a Lumie alarm clock – it is definitely making waking up less abrupt and I like the sunset setting too, it makes me put my book down. 
One evening in London I had a team meal at Gaucho. That day I actually had steak for lunch and dinner too – the Gaucho steak was definitely a cut above the other. What I particularly liked was the cocktail menu though. Once I had ordered a mojito I stumbled across quotes from Pichín’s ‘The Gallant Bartender’… 
The world was rocked by the barbaric events in Paris – I find it impossible to comprehend. 
There were a few weekends in November when it blew dogs off chains. My favourite place to go on such a day is to Hurst Castle spit. We actually walked from Lymington along the sea wall and out to Hurst. Stormy sea and sky. Thankfully we were back at the car before the heavens opened. The beach looked like it had been snowed on – the sea spume definitely made it look extra wintry. 
And on a rainy day walk with lots of puddles, the big kid in me always comes out to play – Hunters on and jumping in muddy puddles. Normally one wouldn’t get wet doing this, but the wind blew the water back at me – so I did get a tad soggy!
One thing I really enjoy about winter is evenings on the sofa with a glass of red wine, a blanket and a good film. I am working my way through House of Cards on Netflix and the Woman in Gold is a beautiful film – I am now reading the book. Mr P brought back a fair few bottles of wine from South Africa – the best is a Cabernet Franc from Anthonij Rupert, delicious, thankfully we have a few more bottles of it left to enjoy!
When Somerset House gets dressed up for winter suddenly I look forward to my commute through London when I am up in town a couple of times a week. I think it looks gorgeous in the light and dark, but you won’t catch me on the ice (think of me as Bambi).
Friends had a joint 40th birthday party and we had a marvellous evening. I love black tie – it was a real treat to get dressed up (read – buy a new dress from Reiss and spend more than planned) and get together with so many friends. The 40th birthday was for two great friends we’ve both known since at least 2002 and it was great fun to see so many mutual and long-time friends in one place.
The trouble with winter is that it makes sailing jolly cold. Here is the deck covered in ice at 8am – it was bitterly cold. Thankfully a few buckets of salt water over the deck and we were ready to go, but I did have to question my sanity sailing in this!
We did however have a lot of fun. There wasn’t much wind so we didn’t get very powered up, but I love sailing on Desperado as we have good fun whatever the weather.
I was straight off the boat by rib as we came up the river – Mr P met me and we drove straight to Cornwall. A real treat – a couple of days in the West Country together in between some busy work schedules. I’d found us a gorgeous little hotel by the sea with the most incredible view from bed at sunrise.
By the end of the month Christmas definitely felt like it was just around the corner. I had my work away day and Christmas party which included ice-sculpting a snowman followed by supper at Marcus Wareing’s Tredwells restaurant. A great day and evening with colleagues.
