Hometown Glory: How the SUITCASE Team Spend the Holiday Season

Hometown Glory: How the SUITCASE Team Spend the Holiday Season

2021 is winding down, and we’re all bedding in for a quieter-than-usual holiday season at home. On the cards: wildly beautiful walks in the Surrey Hills, snow racing in Norway, reading, rest and re-runs of The Holiday.



For
those who celebrate, the holidays have long been considered
a time to gather and clink glasses with family and friends. A shaky
December has put a pin in the plans of many and we at SUITCASE are
no different. For most of us, the next few weeks will be spent at
home. What to expect? The dense woodlands of Lincolnshire, Surrey’s
open spaces, a busy kitchen in Bow, the pages of our latest issue,

Vol 35: Celebration
, and, for the Londoners amongst us,
steaming flat whites to-go from the capital’s best coffee
shops
.

Walks, reads, and festive films for the week ahead


The Surrey Hills

“The Surrey Hills is often branded as commuterville or London’s
little sister, but it’s home for me. So, my festive return looks
like rambling in endless green spaces and gulping lungfuls of crisp
British country air. Though I’ve strolled the majority of Surrey’s
lesser-known landscapes, I always find myself running back to the
same spot, Denbies Wine Estate. The vineyard itself is prime
territory for hour-long treks across chalk downland and comes with
rewarding vistas of Box Hill’s famous Olympic cycling route. Truth
be told, my Christmas holidays aren’t as serene as my daily walk.
With two brothers and two sisters, plus plenty of partners and
babies that have joined the fold, there’s never a moment’s silence.
As cliché as it may sound, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Georgina Groom, Editorial Assistant


Lincolnshire

“This year I’ll be heading to the open spaces of Lincolnshire
with the whole family. Between gorging on farm-fresh, home-cooked
meals, you can find me snuggling down by the fire, taking over the
TV with my marathon of must-watch Christmas films (oh yes, I’m that
person, hello Jude Law in The Holiday) and strolling through the
woods with the family pups and a thermos of mulled wine. Of course,
Christmas just isn’t Christmas in our household without the annual
winner-takes-all board game tournament I’ve been practising all
year.”

Layla Pacha, Team Marketing Lead


Bow

“I’ve just moved to Bow in East London, so I’ll be christening
my new home this year by having my family over for Christmas Day.
It’ll be the first time I cook an entire Christmas meal on my own,
so I’ll be suitably flapping in the kitchen before feasting, then
heading out on a Christmas walk around Victoria Park. We’ll pop our
heads into my favourite local – The Coborn – for
a quick mulled wine on our way home before a snooze on the sofa
with mince pies.”

Grace Lee, Editorial Associate


Norway

Christmas this year is spent in Norway at my
parents’ home, and it’s a snowy one (finally)! Despite being here
for weeks, we’ve only gotten around to decorating our tree today,
which was driven over by family members from Denmark. As a family,
we celebrate Christmas on the 25th, and I will be out in the snow
with my boys and their snow racer until the food is ready! Last
year we stayed in London and my eldest (he’s four years old)
distinctly remembers unwrapping presents in the morning – wish me
good luck tomorrow keeping him away from the gifts until after
dinner as that’s a strict rule over here! Merry Christmas and God
jul.

Line Charles, E-Commerce Manager


Dublin

“For me, the holidays always happen in Ireland. I’ll be tucked
in from the coastal chill at my parents’ home in south Dublin
with my sister. Food-wise, it’ll be goose with potato stuffing and
all the trimmings on our table, plus glugs of robust red wine.
Aside from having a few days to rest and catch up on some reading
(currently Redder Days by the inimitable Sue Rainsford),
I’m itching to walk the green trails over Killiney Hill with the
endless shimmering blue of Dublin Bay for company.”

Rachael McKeon, Editor-in-Chief


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