21.01.2008

twelve below zero

i look out of the window of the hotel this morning and it's sunny, in a wintery sort of way. ah, i think, more ice-skating today, fabulous. but then i find out that it is minus 12 degrees outside, right now, here in downtown toronto, and that does not even include the wind-chill factor. heavens.

it has been very cold, and although i have my fabulous puffy coat lent to me by melanie, and my gorgeous cherry-red sheepskin cap lent to me by carolyn, i have still felt it. it tempts one into a sort of hibernatory state, but i've tried not to yield to that, because although toronto is, alas, not new york, it has its own charms.

and one of the main ones is ice-skating. jim and i have been ice-skating twice, before our workshops (as part of our time here back to back theatre have given a workshop, which has run over the last two days) and it has been so much fun. jim is quite good at skating, having been part of an ice-hockey team a long time ago. i am not so good, but a bit of misspent time at the ringwood ice-skating rink in my teens has meant that i can at least skate, move over the ice. i may look a little like a bow-legged flamingo, but i feel good. on the inside. the rink is so lovely. it's outdoor, and right beside the lake, and so there's water and sky and trees all around. and the skating is so freeing, like dancing and flying at the same time. very joyous.

yoga in the hotel room in the morning, ice-skating and then work. not so bad.