[I was originally going to use the title “Back Home”, but then somehow this choice had a resonance to it that I liked. (Also reminds me of a lovely Joshua Redman album…)]
An old favourite of mine, the BT tower, taken from near Great Portland Street, London.
So I am back in London, my home town. And since I’ve got 8 hour jet lag, I’m sitting up at 4:00am in a little hotel room, eating rich tea biscuits and drinking tea. It is as though the last 37 years since my undergraduate years never happened. (I was a student at Imperial College, living in a little room in a hall of residence not too much further away from the BT tower you see in the photograph, in a slightly different direction. Late nights with rich tea biscuits were my standard M.O.)
I’ve not been here since 2018, I’m shocked to realize, which is perhaps the longest period of time I’ve been away. Part of the reason is of course that two or more of those years had a Thing happen… you know, a global pandemic, and part of it was the recent arrival to the family, which served to delay any plans I had to do travel this far East away from Los Angeles.
I’m here for both business and personal matters – the best combination for any long trip (more later) – and hope to get some glimpses of the city (and a bit beyond) while I’m here, to see what’s changed and what’s the same, revisiting some old haunts along the way.
-cvj
