It is weird coming back to London these days. As I walk through the windy streets I look around at the natural landscape, and whilst it all looks familiar it has never felt so distant. This city that I called home for a decade. The streets I called my friend seem to be more like a distant stranger who has no time for me.
One of the beautiful things I always found about London is that each area had its own identity. From the relaxation of the North, the togetherness of the East End, the fashionable West and the ever vibrant South. No matter where I went it was always like embarking on a new adventure, in fact I used to play a game when I was bored and spin the tube map and wherever it was I would travel to on a day off. It was a way that I found many of my dearest treasures here.
Yet with each visit, it seems that London is losing something of its identity. It could be down to the point I am no longer in this exciting hub I once called home, it could also be that it has changed. A large part is that like leaves on an Autumn tree the friends that I once had now have left the mighty oak and have landed wherever the wind has taken them, we all keep in touch but the standard feeling of just calling someone up and arranging a night out have long since vanished.
Of course, London will always be London and with each generation new adventures and experiences will occur. As old buildings are torn down to make way for new so the memories disappear. The laughter of nights I have had are discarded on the wind, once a loud roar now nothing but a mere echo.
I often wonder of the people I met here, those that came into my life for so briefly. Yet each impacted my life during a brief moment in time making my stay the best ten years I ever lived. Thoughts of those crazy Australians and Canadians who seemed to live life in the fast lane enter my mind. If the representation of London has changed for me so dramatically in six months how does it feel for them after a decade? Do they look back at London as a place they just lived in or a city that changed their lives?
As I now put on my coat and walk to the local pub, I feel a slight sadness inside. Though the majority of those I knew have left part of them will always be here in spirit. Those clubs, those pubs may have changed name or even demolished but it is the footprints of their memories that are embedded into my heart.
You can take a person out of London but no matter what people say you cannot remove London from their hearts.
