Sunday, April 30, 2017

London


London

My Mother might well tell you it started with Peter Pan, and she is probably right.  The nightscape of the city as seen from the Darling’s nursery window was just pure enchantment to me as a child.  I myself think Mary Poppins had a lot to do with it as well.  Following close behind her (“Step lively, now!”)  down Cherry Tree Lane to visit Uncle Albert or to walk through the park was as real to me as anything outside my own front door and much more magical.

Growing up I discovered other parts of the city, each one as captivating as the last. Lady Dedlock and Sherlock Holmes took me down darker streets.  The Schlegel sisters fascinated me.  And my eternal favourite, Clarissa Dalloway, let me through St. James Park on a route I could now walk with my eyes closed. 

 Later I dove into history with abandon, finding, rightly or wrongly, the machinations of the Tudor court infinitely more thrilling than anything that occurred at Lexington or Concord.  Elizabeth I and her doomed Scottish cousin, Henry VIII and his outsized arrogance, Victoria and her grief - I devoured it all with relish. 

I discovered London through books which is, I think, one of the best introductions one could possibly have to the old city.  When I finally placed my own oxfords upon its hallowed ground I was delighted to find precisely what I sought.  The London of books is just as real as air.  Every corner is a revelation, every park an Eden.  It is a magical city, full of wonder and beauty and the ghosts of the past walk beside me, nearly visible, each time I visit, which is as often as I’m able. 

I am on a plane to London tonight.
You are more than welcome to come along with me if you like:

11 comments:

  1. Do enjoy your stay in London Pamela. The weather is set to warm up tomorrow, so perhaps you will enjoy an English Spring.

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  2. I'm a Londoner born and bred, now living in the Peak District. I love reading about your travels in the UK. Have a smashing time, I hope the weather is kind.

    Jean

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  3. Not as grand as Paris, nor as formal as Berlin. It and New York are a collection of villages that welcome strangers and are too worldy wise to know bigotry. They are the only global cities. Friendliness still exists there. Interestingly, the French oil company lady, despite Brexit, has extended her lease on our flat for another year with an option on another. Generations of PONs have played on St.James's Square. Says it all.

    Safe trip.

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  4. "First star to the right and on till morning," said Peter. Have a wonderful trip.

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  5. Safe travel and enjoy! Thank you for the invitation to come along. Now, where is 84 Charing Cross Road?

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  6. Oh, have the grandest time, Pamela!

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  7. Enjoy your journey! I am most definitely following along on Instagram :-)

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  8. I experienced my first visit to London a couple of years ago and it all seemed so familiar and it took me a while to understand why. I too had read the same books as you. I loved trying to find places I had read about.

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  9. that is exactly how I came to be a besotted Anglophile, only I think it was The Secret Garden. That set me on the path to being in the medical field as well as an eternal longing for the other side of the pond. I hope you have a wonderful trip. I do love your writing.

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  10. I absolutely share with you this enchantment with London. But I think it's a pity that now they have a real Le Pen in the government (May) and that they have choose Brexit and look so friendly with your... your... well, this thing you have in the White House (when he is there).

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  11. Love your blog and I fell in love with England the same way that you did, through books. Have a wonderful trip and I'll be looking forward to your report. Sally C

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I love to read your comments! Each and every one! Though I'm always reading your comments, I may not respond in the comment section. If you want to write me directly, you may do so at pamela@pamelaterry.net. Thank you for reading!