Random early morning patriotism
Sep. 22nd, 2007 10:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annwfynI just stumbled across this via a google search for 'cameras' + 'congestion charge'. It mildly surprised me how many people were ranting about the horribleness of London. I am kinda coming to the conclusion that London is maybe a bit of a marmite city. People seem to either love this place, or loathe it with a fierce and fiery passion.
Personally, I think I'm probably a reluctant member of the 'love it' camp. I never thought I would be. I spent my childhood muttering darkly about my London relatives who seemed to believe that there was no civilisation outside of the M25, and then moved to Edinburgh and cursed London every time I had to travel through it (too big, too crowded, too smokey). I finally took the time to get to know the city after I moved back down south and found myself travelling up to visit people - mostlydavedevil and then ksirafai in those early days.
Since then it's grown on me. I love the Thames - the way it is this constant in the life of the city, and every time I get lost, I know I just need to find my way to the river and it'll take me home. I love standing at the edge of the river, looking out across it and watching this whole other world going on along the length of it. I love the Tower of London - another of the big constants of London - and I love the way a city can be so big and yet still so solidly anchored in its past.
I love my little scruffy house with its equally scruffy garden that I keep hacking at and hoping it'll get better. I love the possibilities of living in London - of waking up on my day off, and knowing that I could be at the British Museum, or the Tate Gallery, or the National Gallery within 45 minutes if I want to be. I love the fact that as a conservation student almost everything I need to see, to experience, is right on my doorstep. I love the opportunities that London offers. Nowhere else would let me feel like I even had a fighting chance of not having to move to get a job in my field. Right now I feel like it's safe to settle, and still have a load of plans for the future. There are professional opportunities here that just don't exist in other cities.
I love the fact that London is a city full of hidden treasures and I like knowing where they are. It's still got surprises - hidden corners containing amazing milkshakes at 5 am, or a park tucked away behind the houses in Peckham, or ancient temples with walls still standing in the centre of town - and I know they are waiting for me, somewhere.
There are things about London I don't like. I miss my ability to walk across Edinburgh. I wish house prices weren't so psycho crazy, and I am praying that Southwark County Council don't start screwing around with rubbish collections, especially as it's pretty random whether we actually have a rubbish bin or have to share our neighbours. But right now I still like this city. And overall (especially with a boyfriend who isn't the healthiest) I am really glad I live in England. It's not a perfect country. It's sometimes little, and shabby, but it's mine.
I don't think everyone should feel the same way as me. At the end of the day, we all have a different idea about what 'home' is. For some people it is big mountains in the distance. For others it is dreaming spires and the bustle of the covered market. For others yet, it is battered grey stone walls rising up above you, and stairs cut into the hillside streets. Everyone has a different home. But right now, I think London is mine.
Personally, I think I'm probably a reluctant member of the 'love it' camp. I never thought I would be. I spent my childhood muttering darkly about my London relatives who seemed to believe that there was no civilisation outside of the M25, and then moved to Edinburgh and cursed London every time I had to travel through it (too big, too crowded, too smokey). I finally took the time to get to know the city after I moved back down south and found myself travelling up to visit people - mostly
davedevil and then ksirafai in those early days. Since then it's grown on me. I love the Thames - the way it is this constant in the life of the city, and every time I get lost, I know I just need to find my way to the river and it'll take me home. I love standing at the edge of the river, looking out across it and watching this whole other world going on along the length of it. I love the Tower of London - another of the big constants of London - and I love the way a city can be so big and yet still so solidly anchored in its past.
I love my little scruffy house with its equally scruffy garden that I keep hacking at and hoping it'll get better. I love the possibilities of living in London - of waking up on my day off, and knowing that I could be at the British Museum, or the Tate Gallery, or the National Gallery within 45 minutes if I want to be. I love the fact that as a conservation student almost everything I need to see, to experience, is right on my doorstep. I love the opportunities that London offers. Nowhere else would let me feel like I even had a fighting chance of not having to move to get a job in my field. Right now I feel like it's safe to settle, and still have a load of plans for the future. There are professional opportunities here that just don't exist in other cities.
I love the fact that London is a city full of hidden treasures and I like knowing where they are. It's still got surprises - hidden corners containing amazing milkshakes at 5 am, or a park tucked away behind the houses in Peckham, or ancient temples with walls still standing in the centre of town - and I know they are waiting for me, somewhere.
There are things about London I don't like. I miss my ability to walk across Edinburgh. I wish house prices weren't so psycho crazy, and I am praying that Southwark County Council don't start screwing around with rubbish collections, especially as it's pretty random whether we actually have a rubbish bin or have to share our neighbours. But right now I still like this city. And overall (especially with a boyfriend who isn't the healthiest) I am really glad I live in England. It's not a perfect country. It's sometimes little, and shabby, but it's mine.
I don't think everyone should feel the same way as me. At the end of the day, we all have a different idea about what 'home' is. For some people it is big mountains in the distance. For others it is dreaming spires and the bustle of the covered market. For others yet, it is battered grey stone walls rising up above you, and stairs cut into the hillside streets. Everyone has a different home. But right now, I think London is mine.
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-22 10:26 am (UTC)But, the more I go in, for games, and visits to people, the more it feels like just a place to travel through.
I still love the place, but I've kind of lost that sense of wonder and history about it. It comes back occasionally, like when I found out about Cuckold's Point, just round the corner from where you used to live, but those moments have become the exception, sadly, and I'd really like to change that.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-22 12:33 pm (UTC)Sometimes I am hit by love for London that's so overwhelming that I start dancing down the street. When you work in Canary Wharf, this leads to some VERY funny looks. :-)
Maybe, having both started from little towns and villages, there's an element of that to it. After all, this city is just a collection of villages linked by a transport system, and I know I feel that. Tiny and local and old, but huge and strange and modern at the same time.