random observations from Islington

I just slept for eight hours out of the last twelve. Go me? I know better, however, than to be sure that I've vanquished jet lag just yet.

The locals might be dismayed to hear that Islington, where I'm staying, reminds me quite a bit of Newtown in Sydney: lots of small, trendy-ish shops & restaurants, densely packed, on an IDGAF street plan. Islington seems less hippy, though, and it feels as if it's in a bigger city, as it is. There are more people on the streets, and there are men in suits.

But what you won't see in Sydney is a good-sized 18th-century church (St. Mary's) with a "church garden" attached that's essentially a lovely, secluded public park, where people walk their dogs and play with their kids. There are rose bushes on one side, and what look like a few scattered sarcophagi on the other because of course there are. I've heard it said that nothing in London is just one thing, and I've already seen evidence of that.

A note on how to walk in London: Americans walk consistently on the right. Australians walk consistently on the left. Break those rules and you're likely to smack into somebody. Londoners, however, don't display much consistency, at least out on the streets. In the tube stations, though, are signs telling people to keep left, and they do. That's a good thing, because it can get crowded down there, even at 1430 or so.

Speaking of tube stations, King's Cross beats Chatelet in Paris for, you know, getting around; the two seem to handle comparable traffic volumes. The Brits just designed theirs better. Sorry, Frenchies.

random observations from, well, all over London

Late this morning I took my required COVID test at a little clinic at the back of an optician's*. Shepherd's Bush was only 30 minutes by tube instead of the 75 I allotted for it, and this time I got to appreciate just how damn big London is. Shepherd's Bush** is about five miles west of Islington which is in turn a couple of miles north of the City***. The three- and four-story buildings just don't stop the entire way, and big ol' skyscrapers poke out of the ground occasionally too, even that far out.

Funny thing about Shepherd's Bush: it's blacker and browner than further in. When I thought of people of color in London, I used to think of Brixton or the east end, but maybe not so much. I guess I shouldn't be surprised; gentrification has been driving POC out of central Seattle for a couple of decades now, and I'm not sure they were ever very present in Paris proper as opposed to its banlieues.

Because I'm a wisenheimer, I had to get a picture of myself with the Tower Bridge in the background so I could post it on other, lesser social media sites without a caption. I'll post it here sooner or later. I walked over the bridge, sat down on the steplike things on the south bank, and looked across at the Tower. I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing: an honest-to-goodness thousand-year-old castle where a whole lot of Shit Got Real for many centuries.

After I witnessed a security dude telling a hijabi to wear her purse rather than put it in an otherwise empty stroller for – wait for it – security, I walked past a bunch of touristy stuff and over London Bridge. These days it's a no-frills modern job with four lanes for cars, two for bicycles, and nice wide ones for pedestrians. It was almost EOD on a Friday, and it sure looked as if people were commuting across it.

The City, which is the north end of London Bridge, reminds me of nothing so much as Washington, DC: lots of architectural dick-waving. But in London, it isn't quite as homogeneous. It is, however, taller and closer together, lending it a sinister, claustrophobic feel. It looks exactly like a place where people get rich by laundering money. I was just blocks from St. Paul's, but I bagged because my dogs were barking. Tube time.

Fashion observations: a lot of A-line skirts. Londoners are taking advantage of the last week or two this year when they can comfortably wear light fabrics and occasional flip-flops, and show off their bare legs****. I'd describe fashion here as unfussy but not as slobby as Seattle because honestly, nobody out-slobs Seattle. I've gotten a couple of favorable comments about my purple hair.

What am I eating? Anything I can get my hands on, really. I've shopped Sainsbury's and Tesco, both conveniently nearby, for requisite breakfast and salad fixings. The vegan ma po tofu on Islington's Upper Street was pretty good.




*Nothing in London is just one thing, remember?
**Snerk.
***The financial district, a.k.a. the Square Mile, which of course was once the entire city of London as then legally constituted.
****Yeah, you know I approve.