Friday, September 21, 2012

My glittering London

It's been a bit of an overwhelming week in this part of the world. We've been saying goodbye to our most loved bits of London and the brilliant people who are our London family.

I was in high street Kensington last week, for an unavoidable errand, and had time to spend before meeting a friend in Covent Garden. So errand complete I decided to take a long and leisurely bus ride all that way.

Have I ever told you how in my earliest months in London I would pack myself a sandwich, throw a bottle of water and pack of crisps into my bag and take bus journey after bus journey, terminus to terminus and then back till I had explored every bit of London? Day after day for months. Really.

Well after years of rushing around on the tube and behind a small child at some pace, last week when opportunity to take the bus ride presented itself I grabbed it with both hands. The bus trundled along slowly stopping every few hundred metres to take on and let down people. I sat on the sunny side taking it all in. The beautiful architecture of the Royal Albert Hall and the green throbbing expanse of Hyde Park. The impressive facade of the National Gallery and the the backbone road to Buckingham Palace. And of course the office goers, tourists, mummies with buggies.

And there, in those sun dappled moments, I was thinking about the last decade and how we worked and played and made this city ours. At one time I thought this was it, where we'd live forever, home. But that's a discussion for another post. The sun and subtle beauty of this city was making me think about our decision and more than anything making me nostalgic for this life we are about to move on from.

I know that despite all the hard decisions and changes and upheavals to schedule we have made the right choice for our lives. After an emotional goodbye with one of my dearest friends this afternoon I have no doubt that this has been a brilliant decade in a glittering city. Its time to go but in the words of the cheesy movie, 'We'll be back!'.

1 comment:

  1. Great : ) I have been following your blog for years when I lived in London . I recently moved to Singapore and love it here . Welcome.

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