London Lunar New Year

The festivals seem to pile up this month.  It’s a good thing: by February, winter’s chill has settled into me as surely as ice between the cobbles in Maastricht.  Absent travel to a warmer port, any excuse for a drink, a dance, and a smile is worth a lot.  A birthday celebration in the City offered an afternoon to explore Chinatown, where the New Year celebrations were in full swing.

The Year of the Sheep augers gentle calm beauty, right?

Fortune in all aspects will fluctuate. So, in career, stick with the current job and work hard. In wealth, be very cautious about any investment or there would be a loss. In relationships, be tolerant of family, friends and colleagues to avoid any conflict.

Expect Good luck and Bad, coming in pairs with wild swings in either direction.

Sounds like lots of abuse to look forward to…  ‘Makes me glad that I already saw 50 Shades (it well exceeded my low expectations).

In any case, the streets near Leicester Square were filled with food stalls and dancers.  Small fireworks popped along the sidewalks; children waved toys and flags: we nibbled spring rolls and bean buns and squeezed through the narrow streets looking for outsized paper dragons.

I’m used to chasing fanciful apparitions, after all.

    

By mid-afternoon, a cold rain began and the paper lanterns started to melt.  Misty grey shades settled in.  ‘A good time to take refuge in a pub, then a gallery, out of the wind and warming the spirits.