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London was a meeting ground of sorts for us, and perhaps I should first divulge all the key players in this soiree with friends. First of course are the boys (Jamie and Richard) who were spending the week with us but were unfortunately heading home at the end. Next is Litty, who I used to go to high school with and moved to Cambridge University 2 years ago for a PhD scholarship, and came down and spent the first weekend in London with us. Then there was Ross, who was in the grade above me at school and moved to London at the beginning of the year - he took us out for a superbly trashy night in Soho where we danced to suitably trashy music and acted in an equally trashy manner. My old uni friend Anne-Marie who did architecture for just one semester was also travelling around the world - but in the opposite direction - happened to be in London at the same time and met up with us, bringing her friend Robyn who now lives in London also. And finally we met up with Aaron’s mum Anne and his nan/Anne’s mum, who were on a 2 week
holiday in the UK to line up with our timing there.
Phew, that was a mouthful.
Someone up there must have been apologising to us for the torrential downpours we experienced through our two weeks in Vietnam, because London to us was sunny, sunny, sunny. We happened to join our British Motherland during a ‘heatwave’. According to the front pages of national tabloids, the temperatures were reaching a scorching … wait for it … 26 degrees Celcius!!! Phew!! Apparently that had broken the records for the month of May, and boy it was hot (a Brit on the underground tube put it succinctly when he declared that he was “sweating like Michael Jackson on a schoolbus”…).
In all honesty, I had trouble settling down into London at first. It seemed like Sydney but … 10 times bigger. I initially thought the public transport system was utterly confusing - in hindsight I guess its complexities make it such an intricate and integrated network. I thought the people on the streets were pushy and impatient and on such tight deadlines - then I remembered what it was like to work in Sydney and tried to imagine what that would
be like with 8 million people instead of 2. By the end of our week here, I had definitely gotten used to it all and will definitely be back, hopefully sooner than later.
I think what did it for me was seeing a musical midway through the week. We watched Billy Elliot, and the magic and allure of the performance really inspired me I think, in a creative sense. London has hundreds upon hundreds of theatres, cinemas, art galleries and museums spread throughout the city, and the interesting mix of Gothic cathedrals and Classical buildings (some hundreds of years old) standing proud against new avant-garde buildings such as the Gherkin and City Hall make it such a hotpot for culture and creativity.
Being in London was really quite surreal. Even trivial things make us wide-eyed and slack-jawed. Seeing double-decker buses used by locals not just tourists, discovering the names of streets and train stations we once conquered with our little green houses and expensive red hotels in Monopoly, laughing at Vicky Pollard chavvy girls on the tube with their ump-teen babies and that unforgettable accent, even the little red marching soldiers outside Buckingham Palace with their tall black
furry hats looked like little toy soldiers we could pick up and play with.
London for me was a memorable and much needed catch up with friends, and I look forward to future times when we can meet with good company somewhere else in the world. I don’t think I could ever work here (imagine all the heritage issues the architects would have to deal with here!! And we whinge in Sydney!!) but the city is so immensely packed with ever-changing events and shows and exhibitions and festivals that no two visits to this City of Culture would ever be the same.
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Emma
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Awww so nice to see you were able to meet up with so many friends. Photos are awesome. lol at 26 degrees...that's umm so hot. Mum has always said Sydney reminds her of England but can't imagine dealing with london everyday...Sydney is bad enough I miss you like crazy got heaps to tell you!