Yesterday was, beyond a doubt, a gorgeous day here in London. Seeing blue sky in the country that invented cloud cover is always a treat, to say the least, but there is also something extra special about a crisp, sunny late October afternoon (be it in Montreal, Hangzhou or the UK).
So, on a very non-eventful Hallowe’en, I gladly burst my academic bubble for a few hours and did what any sane individual would do under such enjoyable weather conditions: I went for a walk. I grabbed the tube up to Marble Arch and strolled through the vast expanse of Hyde Park, catching Green Park, Buckingham Palace and St-James’s Park on my way home. I found it frankly amazing to see such greenery in the middle of such a huge, dense city, somewhat similar to the shock I got seeing Central Park in New York.
Hyde Park
More Hyde Park
This area of the city is very spacious and rather monumentally planned, far more so than the London I navigate daily on my way to and from school; I guess we can thank the Royal influence for that. It’s the part of the city that most fits the stereotypical image of the European city: broad tree-lined boulevards intersecting at carefully landscaped monuments to imperial glories past. Heck, there’s even a palace in there.
Wellington Arch
Near Buckingham Palace
The rest of the central city is much more claustrophobic, a proudly anti-grid layout of history piled on top of itself. In much of London, I get the impression of a very gradual evolution of the city’s form, with history not so much erased by the bulldozer (apart from German bombs) but rather built upon, through and over. This city’s physical form really is several hundred years all at once, and that’s definitely part of its charm (but more on that in another post).
The London I’m more familiar with
Walking around yesterday, I realized that the London I have briefly known is far removed from all the stereotypes that have been traditionally heaped on it. I guess somewhere in the recent past things changed a lot: it’s not exactly a grimy city anymore (even down here in South London where I live), and the air is remarkably clean for a city of its size. The roads are quite tame, with lots of dedicated bus lanes and a car congestion level that is almost non-existent compared to places like, yes, Hangzhou (perhaps this has something to do with it). Of course, it is cloudy about 70% of the time (and rainy days come in at only a slightly lower percentage), but that’s just something I have to get used to.
Besides admiring the scenery and getting carried away with urban analysis, I also took a stroll through Speaker’s Corner in the northeast corner of Hyde Park. This is where people stand up on stools and step ladders to rant at the crowds gathered around them about a topic of their choice. What makes it so entertaining is that most of these guys are wildly over the top, preaching (or screaming) about the coming Apocalypse while engaging in heated debate with people in the crowd. A particularly popular issue seemed to be Iraq and the imminent American election. One exchange between speaker and crowd member somehow managed to move from American politics to penis size.
Telling it like it is
London is a fun place on a sunny day.
I like your site, nice observations………… and bookmarked, you write similar to Bill Bryson…comical!