the beating heart of the country
London again; the cats need watering, and my plants need feeding - or something like that - in my mum's absence, so I'm home for the weekend. I was in town during the afternoon with one of my favourite ladeez from University days (undergraduate, that is), and as always, since leaving to live in Cambridge for my Ph.D., I was just struck by the number of people about.
At over 6 million people, London really isn't that populous a place compared to some, but go to even more crowded a metropolis as New York, or LA, or Mexico City, you'll never see crowds like the ones you do here, except on their special occasions. You either love it or hate it. Delhi and Bombay, on the other hand, trump London hands down, but for different reasons. I certainly miss it, though the peace and solitude of my University town is pretty good too; I'm just glad that home is such a short journey away for when I need that fix.
My lungs are black already; amen. I'll head for a swim in the morning (I used to be able to see our pool from my window, but the trees have grown significantly this Spring), tickle the kitties one last time, and turn tail back toward Cambridge. I really feel like I should take a wee bit of holiday at home for once; put my feet up, get in my mother's way, and actually learn to relax again. Have a great weekend!
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: the beating heart of the country.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://stairs.happenchance.com/mt4/mt-tb.cgi/309
No-one's commented yet, so I can't resist. Firstly: isn't it more impressive to mention Greater London as being around 12M people?!!
Secondly: only a real Londoner could entitle a post about London "Beating Heart of the Country". OK, I get the joke - pollution clogging up lungs, and all that, but even so... I could quite happily live out the rest of my days never visiting our capital city again. That's probably very difficult for Londoners to comprehend, though, as don't you all think the Sun shines out of your capital city?
Have I put the cat among the (Trafalgar Sq) pigeons? Or am I just being an awkward northern sod?
NB I admit I'm not sure if it's 'Trafalgar' or 'Trafalger' - and I'm not worried if I'm wrong! Just call me Mr Belligerent! ;-)
Oops, sorry, Stairs - that was meant to be funny, but in retrospect maybe it reads all too harshly. Don't mind me, I'm just trying to pick a fight with the whole world at the moment. Reminder to myself: don't blog when drunk/angry/stressed/tired/...
S'okay, Mr W - it doesn't come across as ill-intended at all; I've just been too busy in the lab to respond or post anything. Still am, but a man needs air to breathe!
You must have had a great time down there; did you come down for the scene or for culture? And alone or with people who know it well? Circumstances can really make or break ones first impressions of a place like London; I don't know if I'd ever judge a place that massive and varied without spending plenty of time there, but I do agree that life does exist aplenty outside of London.
I care more about it simply because it's now my home... and we live in a leafy suburb away from the mess - that helps.
Life? Outside London?! Surely you jest!
I do
:-D
My comments weren't about London as a place, but more about the general attitude of Londoners towards the rest of the country. This is strengthened by Britain's media being so London-centred. I'm actually starting to believe that it's quite simply impossible for most Londoners to start to comprehend that people from other parts of the UK don't actually have London hovering around their thoughts when they think about... well, about anything, really.
Your point about the media is entirely justified, and your first point is pretty fair an observation too, even if I've not seen it amongst those I know. Of course, people usually keep like company, and close-mindedness doesn't much turn me on. Is it, though, fair to generalise like you do in that last instance? I've never come across folks as sorry as that.
If I had to make a generalisation from the other side of the fence, it would be that real Londoners (born and bred) don't have much of an attitude toward the rest of the country at all, outside of acknowledging that it exists... perhaps that's the problem.
Whatever the case may be, while I have entirely rational bouts of terror every time I leave London without passing through Heathrow, I've always enjoyed my experiences out in the "wilds" of the UK ;)
lol