What’s your favourite winter soundtrack? I don’t know if you feel this way, but I think things sound different in winter. Perhaps it’s the crisp morning air which seems to amplify distant sounds, or maybe the bird song is a little more muted than in summer. Lately it has been the sound of rain — cold rain, an abashed drizzly rain that comes in starts and spurts — not the insolent, persistent rain of summer. Perhaps the change is the clomp of boots instead of the clack of sandals, the subtle rustle of canvas umbrellas in the place of rustling leaves.
There is something profoundly, achingly nostalgic about sitting in the quietest nook of a cafe, bundled up in a warm jumper, hands clasped around a steaming mug. Listening to the winter cafe soundtrack. The muffled conversations. The intermittent tapping rain, interrupted by the whirring milk wand. Then the deep blow of the portafilter thuds against the bench. The nostalgia blossoms slowly, like the sun trying to push back the clouds. Yet this is an ache for a place I’ve never been; for memories which I’ve never made. What is it about a cafe in winter that draws out these feelings? Perhaps one day I will know. Until then, I savour the winter melody.
What are your favourite parts of the winter soundtrack?
– The Editor
