the power of snow

snow has a funny affect on people. today in the UK we experienced the most snow for 18 years. i'm old enough to remember the last time we had this amount of snow. it was my 19th birthday, i was living in halls of residence in camden, london. it was my first year at university [college london] and i walked with friends through the eerily quiet streets [no public transport of course] hoping that our restaurant would indeed be open [and warm!]. the bustling chaos of camden town rendered oddly mute. magical.  there was a rare sense of communion and community, the spontaneity of shared played. unsolicited play was palpable. having only recently moved to london from life lived in small towns and villages i was suffering from the seeming hostility and willful anonymity of life on the streets in the big city. suddenly all that was turned on its head. the hundred of images posted online today display that same excitement at the opportunity for a day out of routine. an other invitation for unsolicited play hungrily accepted. it takes so little to move us from our routines and social habits. certainly if the diversion is in the name of time away from work.