Inspiration.2 - London
Walking around London
Let's start with the cliche...
"No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life," as said by Johnson (Samuel, not Boris) to Boswell.
Every now and again, in search of inspiration in a gallery, or to be energised by the buzz of an international city, I take a day off work and get the early train up to London.
London's history, buildings and culture fascinate me. It is so different from any other city on this island.
Clive James so eloquently described why London can be so inspirational in his 1991 documentary ‘A Postcard from London’:
“London is the city of cities. Only London collects everything from everywhere. London is the world in one place. And if it seems more serious now than when my lot were starting off, perhaps we’re more serious, and London hasn’t changed at all, but is just working its eternal trick of showing the next generation that the possibilities are infinite, and everything has begun again.”
Recently, I meandered from west to east of the city.
Starting with the green open spaces of Hyde Park and the Serpentine; squinting at the international wealth of Porsche filled Mayfair; smiling at bohemian-lite, flat white Soho; looking bemused at the suit adorned, serious looking, ambition fuelled City... and ending up at aroma filled, post-hipster, imminently gentrified Brick Lane.
The variety and the volume of life along this four mile route is why London excites me and makes me keep my camera poised at all times.
Admittedly, I take a deep, contented breath when I arrive home in beautiful Bradford on Avon; but I feel energised and inspired after a day in London.
