POCKETS OF BEAUTY
Recently I made another trip down to London. The second visit of the year. I'm extremely lucky that I get to go down to London as often as I do, and the frequency of visits will probably soar sky high come September, when my lil sis makes the big move down there in pursuit of her dream to work on the West End. When I was little, I never imagined that I would one day consider London as being a home of sorts, nor could I imagine that one day I would walk across the scope of the city with a sense of familiarity. That all the roads and landmarks would one day intersect to form a personal map in the depths of my mind. That the hustle and bustle would one day excite, electrify, energise. That I would feel a part of the city, almost like a long lost friend that comes and goes as she pleases. That I would uncover some of its secrets and be able to pass on my new found knowledge to others. That I would be considerably less afraid of catching the tube (though those sliding doors still terrify me). That I would turn away from the typical landmarks and tourist attractions, and instead be filled with the desire and confidence to discover the hidden pockets of beauty, joy, pride. magnificence also dotted across the city.
With big cities like London, I always find that I flit between a state of feeling like I've seen everything there is to see, knowing everything there is to know, and then feeling like I've got that assumption very, very wrong. To feel like I've seen it all, is to feel safe and secure in my knowledge and experience. It's a way of feeling in control, and confident, almost like taming a wild beast I suppose. Or on the converse, it's a way of compressing the sheer magnitude and scale of the city down into a compact portable size that I can just about manage to get my head around. Sometimes, I guess big is too big. Other times though, I realise that if London was a treasure map, and I've been tasked with ticking off the treasures and wonders it beholds one by one, I've only really just gotten started. And it's only then, that I start to realise just how big this city is, and the sheer depths, levels, mechanics comprising it. Sometimes, it feels like the city is never ending, infinite, the beating heart of the world. It's vastness and infinity frightens me, to an extent. Not knowing where one thing ends and another begins. Not knowing the limits, the boundaries, every possible road name, every possible landmark. Not knowing all the key factors listed in the manual to operating one of the biggest cities in the world.
Yet there are times when that vastness intrigues me, captivates me, hooks me in and captures my attention and curiosity. The not knowing is an intoxicating joy, because it gives me this passport to discover and explore as far as the eye can see. I want to find all those secrets. I want to walk down every street and drink in the atmosphere, marvel at its architecture, observe the people living their lives, take note of the little characteristic details, and the different purposes and significance each street assumes for itself. I want to keep walking and walking until my legs give way, because there is just so much to see, appreciate, absorb. So many things that I know already, and are somewhat familiar, and so many things that I don't even know about yet. With a big city like London, it's easy to assume that everything has already been seen, done, appreciated. What I love is the challenge of defying that assumption. Being the one to notice those minor little details that are often overlooked by those that know the city too well, or those that are simply looking in all the wrong places. Being the one to recognise and appreciate the under-appreciated, the overlooked, the forgotten about. It makes me really happy, as does it make the city even more intriguing, creating that pull to want to go back and find out more and more.
Every time I go, I always come back with an archive full of photographs of wonderful little things, moments, scenes, landscapes, that I've noticed, and one of the best parts of the whole experience, is being able to share them with other people. Inspire other people to visit the city and experience it all for themselves. To look with more curious and open eyes. To really take in the world around them and every last detail. To appreciate what a wonderful, amazing, diverse, eclectic city London is. And most importantly, find their own reasons to love and celebrate the city, and what it means to them.
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IN THE CITY...
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