This hasn’t always been my city but it will
always be my city. I first visited when I was 8, visited many times after and
moved here in 2014 (July 31st cos I’m that much of a Harry Potter
nerd). London is my home, where my heart sings with belonging.
London is a world city, we have everyone here,
all the countries and people. It’s where the misfits come to gather. I feel
like I belong here because you don’t need anything to feel like you belong
except to love this city.
Well for the most part at least. We have
our little Londoner rules, stand on the right, don’t make eye contact on public
transport, don’t walk slow, drink lots of tea, always queue. We will get
outraged if you push in whilst someone else is leaving the train, or if you
queue jump. Most of the time we’ll just tut and go ‘really’ and not say
anything.
Yesterday a terrible thing happened and all
our hearts broke for our city, for the people who died and were injured, for
their loved ones.
We do not have small hearts, people rushed
to the aid of those injured, the brave service people of this city. We all worried
about the situation online. I had plenty of friends checking I was ok and
sending love and prayers to those in need.
As with 7/7 and the riots we do not let
hatred bring us down, we tell it to do one and get on with life. We clean up
and grieve and we don’t turn on each other, because it’s what they would want.
I love this city for many reasons. I love
that the most outlandish things can happen and no one will bat an eyelid, that
it gives you the freedom to do outlandish things. I love the fast pace and the
ability to get anywhere in London so easily (well maybe not in the South). The
best way to discover this city is to walk around it, you’ll find gems and you’ll
find a sense of belonging.
My favourite place in the whole of London
is a six storey bookshop, another person’s might be a tiny park or a bustling
pub or a street filled with antique shops. There is something for everyone
here. We have concerts and musicals and plays, sports venues and art galleries
and pop up cafes. You can never be bored, there will always be something you
haven’t seen, there will always be something new and something extremely old.
London just has that feeling, that vibe,
the one that sweeps you off your feet and makes you fall in love with it. Then
plonks you back down on the busy footpath full of smoggy air. It’s alright, we
have plenty of parks.
We are resilient, we are worldly, we will
always stand together and no matter what happens you can guarantee we’ll still
end up drinking tea and moaning about the weather. We are Londoners.
“There's nowhere else like London. Nothing
at all, anywhere”- Vivienne Westwood
Love
ReplyDeleteL.J
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