London Calling

On the way back to Spain we have three nights in London to add to the week we spent here last month back at our flat for the first time in eight months. It has been a chance to catch up with friends and family and in particular to celebrate, slightly belatedly, Janet and Neville's wedding. It has also been an opportunity to see PwC's brand spanking new office near Tower Bridge and continue discussions about what I might do for work from September. Nothing concrete to report on that yet, but it is still quite early days. 

Having spent the last few weeks as a tourist wielding a camera at the slightest photo opportunity, it felt like a role reversal this morning.  I was surrounded by visitors enthusiastically snapping away at world class attractions such as Buckingham Palace, Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament while others sat enjoying the sunshine in Trafalgar Square, St James's Park and Covent Garden. 

It was quite pleasant to be able to walk around for once without a map and not be on a schedule to see some sights, quietly ignoring what everyone else around me has spent a fortune to come to see. Get on with it,  I thought, as I had to wait to cross the street for the marching band of some or other regiment to pass by with their smart red uniforms and huge bear-skin headwear. I guess we never appreciate as much the riches that surround us on our own doorstep, but not being in a rush did give me time to stop to offer help with directions to a couple of American tourists. They seemed as grateful as we have been recently for the help of random strangers. 

Wherever we go in the world when asked where we come from it never occurs to either of us to say "Britain", "UK" or "England". A simple "London" or "Londres" always suffices. Indeed London has become such a place in itself that it must be one of the few places in the world where the cosmopolitan-ness of the tourists is exceeded by the even more diverse local population, now drawn from more than 200 countries. 

We don't miss traveling to work on the tube or the unreliable weather.  It is home to the now infamous financial services industry and it is the capital of a country that often lives on it's past glory. The food isn't great, the traffic and pollution can be appalling, the local football teams rarely win anything and it's an eye-wateringly expensive place to live. But we have many great friends here and, after all these centuries of history, it is still the greatest city in the world.