As December arrives and the nights become bitterly cold, this 200 year old house fulfils its purpose as if it wants to keep you warm inside its walls, like a mother. The late snow is slowly moving towards us, a great enveloping army of white fingers stretching out blind, unsure of its own purpose – is it a beast or a beauty? It can’t help its interminable rolling on, it traps the wildlife, entombs nests, burrows and all manner of dwellings and does it with a soft touch as it caresses you towards a willing death.  There’s nothing you can do as a million snowflakes fall from the sky. They soothe you, make you sleepy, put you in a trance and then you realise you are buried and freezing and cannot move. You have succumbed to the ghostly blanket.

If you do survive its seduction, it makes less friendly advances, taking your feet from under you and breaking your bones. Unforgiving as it conspires with the wind to penetrate your core, slowing you down, blurring your eyes and building drifts like ramparts to stop you getting back to your cosy den. But the house is used to this, it’s had 200 years of these tricks and so the fire inside calls you to its hearth. It sends you messages and aromas of hot soups and herbal teas with sweet honey. It sends you images of soft lighting and beautiful music, books full of magical stories and comfy sofas with furry cushions.

In the morning when you awake and look out of the window,  you cannot believe that something so harsh and painful could become something so inviting and beautiful. A blinding white miracle, a dazzling curtain of light. If you can just be its distant admirer then it will shimmer and dance for you, but if you want to touch it, it will bite your fingers and draw you into all its hazards and snares.

The snow is coming, it will be here in two days and it will arrive silently. We will love it and we will hate it but however we decide to tackle it, we won’t stop it, so we might as well embrace it, let it inspire us, savour its silence, meditate on its mood, immerse ourselves in its atmosphere and trust in the small cloud of our breath floating in front of us in the ice sharp cold air as it guides us home.

Nadine Shah – Love Your Dum And Mad – 2013

St. Vincent – Strange Mercy – 2011

Valerie June – Pushin’ Against A Stone – 2013

Rokia Traoré – Beautiful Africa – 2013

The Mothers Of Invention – Absolutely Free – 1966

The Mothers Of Invention – Ahead Of Their Time – 1968

The Specials – Best Of  – 2008 CD

Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse – Dark Night Of The Soul – 2010

Poliça – Shulasmith – 2013

Kurt Vile – Wakin On A Pretty Daze – 2013

Blind Faith – Blind Faith – 1969

The Doors -1st – 1967

Caravan – 1st – 1968

Fotheringay – 1st – 1970

Phosphorescent – Muchacho – 2013

Genesis – Live – 1973

Genesis – Trespass – 1970

PJ Harvey – Is This Desire? – 1998

PJ Harvey – To Bring You My Love – 1995

PJ Harvey – Rid Of Me – 1993

PJ Harvey – Dry – 1992

Alice Cooper – Killer – 1971

Alice Cooper – Love It To Death – 1971

Alice Cooper – Muscle Of Love – 1973

Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies – 1973

Alice Cooper – School’s Out – 1972

Marmalade – Fine Cuts Collection – 1965 -1972 (2011 CD)

Pink Floyd – Obscured By Clouds – 1972

Pink Floyd – 1969 – More

Zabriskie Point – Various Artists – 1970

Lia Ices – Necima – 2008

Lia Ices – Grown Unknown – 2011

Ballet School – Boys Again EP – 2013

Joni Mitchell – Blue – 1970

Wolf Alice – Blush EP – 2013