A city bursting with darkened clubs, slashed with red, boys who look like girls who look like boys running wild. They sweat attitude from the mouth and nose and every other orpheus you can think of and it works because they’re English. Here too much can never be enough so heels kick holes and the boy on the floor puts the microphone to his pants and rubs it hard.
They told me it would be big and dirty and ugly but they forgot to mention the way the light like cream cake buildings shine against the flat, sodden sky while the brown Thames snakes its way though. The thumping black Audi tastes one exquisite neat red brick suburb after another – each with its own character (but all so terribly English) whipping past. All this refined age!, all this tasteful history! meshed with the modernity of a racing first class city sitting at the top of the world. Their ancient relics are today’s fully utilised contemporary institutions. A million stories, old and new, forgotten and being born, fight for space and cling to the cracks in the curbs.
There is yet another festival on and the streets are alive. The city is big but the communities small and there are familiar faces amongst the throngs. New friends are constantly made. Later on, somewhere on the nightbus (the N11 – bastard brother bus of the N10) three girls are laughing their heads off – although we suspect they lost them hours ago – marveling at the vibrancy and infectious energy of a city who never stops dancing, fucking, fighting, shopping, working, eating and laughing to rest.
We have gone out, no joke, 9 nights in a row. We have had brilliant blue sky weather. We are staying in a Paddington style terrace house where I am now living. I have to find a job soon poo. Such a relief to be in a place where I can speak the language! And the Londeners are much friendlier than other Europeans. A and J were visiting but they’ve left me now, so it’s time to strike out a life on my own. Otherwise, all is well. Hope it is with you too. xo xo PS. Been getting the 411 on the London music scene, added a bunch of links to the sites of new up and comers on the “bands” list to the left, cheers!
