Happy New Year, Comfort & Joy!

 

Happy New Year, Comfort & Joy! Good Morning! How are we all feeling? I trust that your Christmases were wonderful - full of laughter, kindness, good food....and great gifts obviously!  I realise that for so many of us this was another festive season that felt somewhat off-kilter, and that exuberance had to be weighed against risk which can feel rather joyless! However, as we move forward we must look to the fact that, as a species, our success over millennia has been based, almost exclusively, on our ability to adapt; we learn fast and alter our behaviour accordingly, so there is much to hope for! And so... it's onwards and upwards in 2022(!), which brings me (rather neatly), to my theme....Happiness! I'm afraid that I do not understand the annual obsession with self-denial that occurs each January. Suddenly everything switches from 'eat, drink and be merry' to 'Dry January/ lose those Christmas lbs / re-join the gym/cut down on spending and screen time' etc.  This makes absolutely no sense to me at all - the winter months are tough enough in the northern hemisphere without compounding the misery! All of those things are more practical and enjoyable to contemplate in the Spring, when longer, warmer days lift our energy levels. Meanwhile, I would suggest that this year we turn our backs on self-flagellation (excuse the pun!) and spend the next couple of months in the warm, passionate embrace of.... indulgence!  It is, more likely than not, snowing/raining outside and, unless you plan to hibernate, a glass of whatever warms your cockles, a box of good chocolate and a feel-good movie are just what the Good Dr ordered! Read or, even better, re-read great books, eat wonderfully warming carbohydrates, cuddle-up with a cup of cocoa, treat yourself to something that will make your toes curl or your heart sing and tune-out anything and anybody that does not bring you joy (I'm having a Maria Kondo moment)!  And so my friends, our New Year's resolution (and the theme of my Newsletters for the next few weeks) should fly in the face of seasonal convention, because now, more than ever, we should make that extra effort to let ourselves be 'happy'. Happy New Year - the clue is in the message! Life is short, so let's banish the blues and live it with a smile - a big one! I thought that I would share our latest art acquisitions, for what is life without art? First, an oil, still-life of flowers for the hall  ( top of the page) and a wood engraving by Clare Leighton (below), my latest discovery and an incredible artist who worked almost exclusively on capturing the men and women that worked the land. She also lived near to us in Sussex for a time before moving to the US where she had an equally stellar career. I am starting my collection with this fantastic portrait of a farmer sowing. As you can see, the shapes that she uses are modernist and remind me of both German and Russian painting and sculpture from the period. But the landscape is very English. Art = joy! And on that note, I wish you all a very Happy, Healthy and Exciting 2022 and look forward to hunkering down and indulging with you next week! I can't wait! Until then, have a smashing w/e ...........now, where did I put that sherry?! Michael x