Frost 🗞️ Slow News Day #90

Hey,

A couple of weeks ago, when the first frosts really started to hit, I was pitched up in bed with a cup of tea. Pretty sure it was the last Sunday of the Christmas break.

Our house is one link in a terrace of 50-odd Victorian houses. The view across the road is more of the same. It’s cute enough. It’s home.

Our bedroom window faces west and the sun rises over our house, lighting up the roofs opposite.

Opposite us was glistening. Tiny sparkles glitching in the slowly warming light.

Have you ever sat and watched frost melt? It doesn’t just trickle away pitifully, it gets brighter and brighter. A supernova the size of a roof tile. The kind of thing that you watch happen for ages, wondering what the next step will be, only to realise you missed it when you looked away for what felt like a split second.

A warm arc spread across the roof and, little by little, the sparkles faded and all that was left was everything that had been there for however-many-years.

An entire nebula-to-black-hole opera in the space of a few hours. Without overplaying this, it was pretty emotional. I don’t even know how or why or what went on, but can 100% recommend staring at a frosty roof next time you’ve got a morning free.

What a delight.

What a privilege.

Slow down guide

Need a little help moving slower?

Ease your way out of Friday afternoon with this newsletter, a nice cup of something, and a little background music. Steal my setup if you aren't sure where to start.

After I press send, I’ll be eyeing up the bag of Yallah’s El Ruceurdo roast - the latest in their Trust series (“the best of specialty coffee with an impact“). Yallah actually bought the entire harvest from Marcos Florian’s family-run seven hectare farm.

“This is our third year buying his coffee. Each year, we've worked to increase its value. We promised to buy it no matter the outcome, guaranteeing his investment wouldn't be wasted.”

If that doesn’t warm your heart, the coffee will. Thanks to Charlotte for her very kind Christmas gift.

Tune-wise, Little Simz been getting a lot of airtime over the last few weeks. 101 FM has this crazy oriental tune above the beat and she flows really nicely with it all. She’s so, so good. All that needs to be said.

Take it easy,