Anastasia makes every effort to hide the fact that she absolutely adores Christmas under that icy exterior of hers, concealing it away from the others statues with the help of her wintry spells and chilly personality. As the fearful Queen of their realm, she acts strongly against all things Christmassy and shudders at the thought of tinsel and mince pies, but the truth be known, she secretly loves this special time of year just as much as anyone.
Although Anastasia does not express her joyous feelings about the festive season as much as her statue compatriots. It is in her nature to remain somewhat cool and aloof and underneath her icy exterior beats a heart that glows with optimism and joy, ignited like a kindling fire to generate much needed heat and warmth to an otherwise subzero domain. She understands that the frosty winter months are an extremely important time for the rebirth and renewal of hope and spirit.
Anastasia is the epitome of understated style and glamour. She is truly beautiful and takes time and effort with her appearance, lavishing in cool and trendy outfits offered by some of the independent fashion outlets in Coventry city centre. Alongside so many refreshing stores offering a diverse selection of fashion accessories and outfits in Coventry, such as Craft Culture, GladRags, Wish and Garb. Our Ice Queen wouldn’t be seen dead without her arsenal of make up which she gets from Boots, Superdrug and when she’s feeling indulgent, the beauty counters in Debenhams. She also pays regular visits to her favourite salon, Renaissance, where she treats herself to a massage and manicure. Anastasia appreciates the finer things in life – a Hermes scarf, a Christian Laboutin bag, and some Chanel No.5 would all be on her wish list, but as the statues only get paid a few shillings per performance, to her constant regret, these wonderful items always seem so far out of reach. However, one year, Lottie Sixpence, the most generous hearted of all the statues, gave her a pair of pearl earrings from Francis and Gaye in Cathedral Lanes that looked just like droplets of ice and Anastasia could not help but feel a surge of warmth develop out of such a kind and generous gesture.
She understood that a lot of thought and love had gone into this gift and it gave her a strange sensation of happiness, something she was not entirely used to. Anastasia wears these earrings all the time – you will see them when she performs on stage, and also whilst she slides around at Planet Ice Arena, her favourite hiding place. She loves them as much as if they were made of 100 carat diamonds shimmering in the starlight of a midwinter night.
She is the one who squirrels away all the goodies, away from the inquisitive eyes of Crispin and Lottie as she knows that temptation will get the better of these two if she is not careful. One year, Lottie found a big tin of special toffee from Thornton’s in the eaves of the gingerbread house, and gorged herself to the point where the other statues had to roll her on stage to perform – never again! So now Anastasia locks everything away in her magical snow globe, away from nifty fingers and prying eyes. She is sensible and practical, but like all adults realises there is still the child in all of us, and that Christmas is the one time of year when everyone, young and old, can truly experience and share the joy of what the Festive Season has to offer.
Although Anastasia would be the last to admit it, she is the one statue who ensures that Christmas goes without a hitch in the Spiritus Statua Troupe. But this is done secretly, with months of planning and preparation so as to hide her passion and commitment to such a happy time of year. As you could imagine organising such a magical event on this scale can be quite stressful, and the Snow Queen keeps her cool by hiding away in a corner in Costas in Waterstones, curled up on the sofa with a good book and a coffee – iced of course!