It’s a strange irony that I have recently found myself actually enjoying heading into the big metropolis that is London when many people would do anything to avoid it! It’s not something I do often so the opportunity, when it arises, to venture into the city is one I now relish.
I know I feel this way because I’m not a regular commuter compelled to travel into London for work. Had this been my daily grind, no doubt I would have tired of it and found it monotonous and exhausting. However, the purpose of being in London these days is purely for pleasure and this is exactly what my sisters and I managed to seek and achieve a couple of weeks ago.
Having left all our respective responsibilities (and even worries) behind, we set off to spend much-needed respite time together. There was no clandestine plan – just the need to remove ourselves from the humdrum realities of work and home. For those few hours we were liberated souls unattached to everyone and everything.
Arriving at London Bridge station around 9am, we took a leisurely walk all the way across the bridge itself, into the Square Mile. Here, we reflected on how the City has changed so much since we were young. Back then, the streets would have had throngs of business people all dressed to perfection and yet seemingly miserable in their stuffy clothes. Today, suits and stilletoes have been replaced by jeans and trainers and the workplace is so much more relaxed. Then there is the conspicuous absence of office workers anyway! We didn’t have to vy for a space on the pavement, competing with over-zealous stony-faced robots moving at a frenetic pace all because they are anxious to climb the career ladder. Clearly, the trend lately is for many people to work hybrid or completely remotely. These factors have lead to such a welcome change in the ambience of the city that it was actually pleasant to be there.
Being in the city as older people and not as young commuters, gave us the chance to appreciate the history which can be found in so many street corners and buildings. We had the time to relax and take it all in. One could be forgiven for thinking we were tourists given we were observing so much around us.
Having sauntered through the financial district, we headed on to Brick Lane where we stopped off for a real desi (Indian-style) breakfast. This was an equally wonderful experience knowing that we could savour both the time and the food at once. No appointment in the diary to keep and an occasion where food was served to us. It is these kind of small pleasures that bring an ineffable glee to the heart.
Our last stop was Whitechapel market where we made a few small purchases and then retraced our steps back to London Bridge taking in all the sights, sounds and smells along the way. Though our itinerary may not have been anything special, it wasn’t about that per se. What was special was the chance to be with my sisters – the people who I can be myself around more than anyone else in this world and who would understand me without any words needed to be spoken. We laughed together unanimously and shared memories, thoughts and ideas knowing that we understood and were perfectly understood by one another in our conversations. It’s these kind of moments and days that I have come to cherish most in life. Time together is priceless.
We were also helped by the weather that day which was so blissfully sunny and comfortably warm. The cerulean sky was the perfect host for our sojourn. In total, we saw London, our hometown, through a different lens that day. We were there as ladies of leisure and had the luxury to take as long as we wished in each place. Not surprisingly, out time was tinged with a slight sadness in knowing that this city has always been in our blood and so we have many countless memories of it as much younger people. So, it was that we found ourselves reminiscing on past times. However, even those sporadic recollections failed to dampen our spirits.
After all, it was a day to rejoice in being able to come together in a carefree way and celebrate being alive and still able to make memories at this stage of our lives. For that and more, I am truly grateful, Alhamdulillah. I now look forward to days out like this again before circumstances change and we regret not grabbing the opportunities when they were within reach.
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