Can I actually be homesick for London?
Technically, no. No, I can’t. I did study there, but I’ve never lived there – it was never home, so that surely rules out any homesickness, even if only on semantic grounds.
But I have found myself wanting another trip there after our week in December. And while I will obviously never rule out a trip Up North to Sheffield, it’s London that has been specifically occupying my mind of late.
Perhaps it’s the fact that this used to be my playground – I used to describe London as like being someone else’s kids: lovely to look at, delightful to engage with, but nice to be able to leave behind at some point and go back to real life. It’s probably even more true now. I don’t think I could cope with living there, but visiting… well, apparently, that’s something I need to do again.
Perhaps it’s the fact that there’s always something to do there.
Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.
So said Samuel Johnson back in 1777. And that was even before the London Eye was built (book online to save some £).
Could we have missed something? Well, yes. Lots, I’d guess, but already on the list (before we left, in fact) for next time are the Dangleway and the London Transport Museum.
Continuing with the transport theme, maybe it’s my nerdy side enjoying the amazing underground. And yes, I realise that it’s full of flaws and problems when it’s your daily transport.
But I’m just visiting. Just playing.
Aside from the iconic (and now tearjerking) iconic “Mind The Gap“, there’s such a mix of functionality and history in that network.
Then again, it could be those London bloggers…
The daily photography and opinions of Brian Micklethwait, or the fact-laden postings of Diamond Geezer (both readily available in the blogroll, bottom right) keeping the Big Smoke firmly at the forefront of my otherwise occupied mind.
I’m writing this to acknowledge that the thought is there. I have noted its presence. And now it can go away until I can muster the time and money for another trip to the UK, please.