Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Leaving London Town (soon).

The job decision decided. The London job fell through, at the last moment. My cards played for me. It's off to Hong Kong in five or six weeks. Scary stuff, 'How does one go about emigrating?' I guess this blog will provide the answers over the next few weeks.

It should be exciting, but it feels lonely. I'll be leaving someone who has my heart. I'll be leaving many friends who have my joy. Naturally my first thought was to go and see my heart's harbor. So I popped downstairs, jet bike keys in hand. The engine on my jet bike is broken, so I power it using an assorted collection of happy birthday balloons and a hand held fan. Luckily the wind was with me; the journey shouldn't take too long.

Balloons inflated, fan switched to full – I set off...

Drifting over London's sky line is amazing, I'm not sure whether people have ever landed at Heathrow, it's one of the best plane landings in the world. I float down Kennsington High Street, passed the anti-social police who search the pockets of homeless people, before moving them on. Passed a collection of gaudy and predictable consumer havens. Passed the tube station; which I try to avoid. High above Hyde Park, where I sometimes run circumnavigating the Beautifully Baroque Albert Hall, home to concerts and smiles.

Over Marble Arch, with statues of ripped hero's of old on stallions. Tall Georgian business districts, beautiful but inaccessible, wave to the Queen at The Palace, pass down bustling oxford street, Christmas songs already playing for shoppers (maybe I need some ball bells for my tree). Glass shop windows display what you 'can' have through an impenetrable barrier. The far reaching chimney pot skyline of a beautiful city.

Themes slipping through London to my side. Days of old it delivered money to the banking district, now optical connections do that. Glass monoliths that influence The World. Train lines that go everywhere. Trendy east London, tight jeans and hair cuts, pubs and bars where I often smile and dance with friends. I set the jet bike down in Bethnal Green, lock it to an iron fence painted black, opposite The Buddhist Center.

I ring the door bell, lucky guess the password, take the lift upstairs, heart beating, hands sweaty. Curry ingredients in hand.

I'll miss London Town, but I want to leave happy. I feel my heart will be harbored for eons to come.

5 comments:

  1. Will you really miss London? I hear it’s a dreadful place – dark, gloomy and depressing. Apparently very sun free and cold. My grandparents come from there, so I’d really like to see it one day, but my granddad tells me I’d hate it, as he did :-/

    My friend was over there, and was forced to come back in August, because her work visa expired, she was depressed for a month flat – insisted London was the best place in the world. Took a lot of partying to get her back to normal – amazing what a bit of wine can do mmm?

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  2. Hi Mark,

    Thank you for visiting the blog and leaving a comment.

    Enjoyed reading this post and Just Another Day!

    Haven't (yet) learned how to appreciate poetry. Like the thought of never appreciating a good curry before moving to the UK (from the US), I can't help but think that my inability to 'get' poetry will cause me to miss out on something really good.

    All the best on your move to Hong Kong. Look forward to following your adventure.

    Make sure you take your 'self' with you. Leaving a bit of your heart is probably a good (and unavoidable) thing as it will help comfort others. Leaving your self never is.

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  3. Thanks for the comments. London is great, you just have to know when and where to look (i.e. not between novermeber and march). Thanks for the encouragement too.

    mark

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  4. Mark, I stumbled across your blog and I can't stop reading. I must've clicked the Next Blog button 50 times before here and nothing caught me. But this was captivating, romantic, beautiful.

    Good luck on your trip.

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