The London Bandwagon

Have I just jumped on it?

My family left me at the airport on Saturday night and I had just settled down for a good bout of depression/homesickness before actually getting on the plane when into the little airport bar walked an old friend from Saltus who I haven't seen or spoken to pretty much since I left - about nine years ago. Within about five minutes we had picked up the friendship completely where it left off, most notably when we were reduced to schoolgirl giggles in Gatwick as two heavily, heavily armed security guards strolled towards us. I took it as a good omen.

Granted she's off to do a Masters outside of London, but still. She's nearby. Saltus reunions with other alumni in London are already being planned.

Then, this morning, walking out of res to go meet GS, a voice near the door stopped me in my tracks: "Bermy??"

Only people from SEA or from Queen's ever call me Bermy. I froze, then turned to find myself face to face with Toin - a fringe friend from The North who had been really close friends with several of my really close friends in K-Town. For a second we both stared at each other in utter amazement - I'd never even considered the fact that I might see her again. Filling each other in on the last three years she informed me that another old friend of ours was living in the city centre, while good ol' Shaner was coming in to town from Cambridge next week to visit. (The stories are true, he is doing his PhD at Cambridge. He really is a smart f^*!) I'd never even dreamed of seeing him again either. "I don't even know what campus I'm on right now," she said. "Do you realise that everyone is in London this year? This is the place to be!"

We fell to discussing it, and it's true. People from all areas of my life are either in London or within easy reach of London in a way they never have been before. If only London were on a sub-tropical sea mount about 700 miles from Cape Hatteras, life would be perfect - except then it wouldn't be so close to Europe. Is London really, as Toin said, the place to be?

While we're at it, Literary London is just killing me so far. Wandering down Gray's Inn Road yesterday I found myself at King's Cross, and had to actually refrain myself from going inside to look for platform 9 3/4. Dickens' house is nearby, and also just meandered down Fleet Street. It's all just too much.

If only la familia were here - WAGs!