Wandering Around London Bridge and Beyond
Unreal City,
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
-T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land
When I lived in London from late 2014 to October 2016, I worked in London Bridge.
I spent a couple of years in London, searching for something I could never quite name.
– Suki Kim, Without You There is No Us
I felt positively unhinged when hearing about what was happening to the city, watching the vision of police cars swarming around the streets that I once walked down every day. Ex-colleagues and good friends were working nearby at the time. Any one of them could have been involved in the incident that happened on the 3rd of June, 2017. None were, thank goodness, although my heart goes out to those who were injured.
As more and more of these sort of events take place, it’s pretty easy to switch off, to become immune to them. This one however, hit a little too close to home.
I don’t want to go on a spiel of “what is happening, world gone mad, etc, etc.” There is a deep, inbred violence and hatred in some people and that’s the way it has been throughout human history. It’s something that many of us will never understand.
On many instances during my time in London, I’d take an hour out of my working day to stretch my legs, get some sort of fresh air and go for a wander around London Bridge (around Borough Market and Southbank), Southwark and often, beyond. Sometimes, I’d take my camera with me.
These are some of the photos I took during those walks around SE1 and as far beyond as my little legs could take me within the confines of a lunch break.
It is not the walls that make the city, but the people who live within them. The walls of London may be battered, but the spirit of the Londoner stands resolute and undismayed.
– King George VI
I like the spirit of this great London, which I feel around me.
– Charlotte Brontë
My Dad says that being a Londoner has nothing to do with where you’re born. He says that there are people who get off a jumbo jet at Heathrow, go through immigration waving any kind of passport, hop on the tube and by the time the train’s pulled into Piccadilly Circus they’ve become a Londoner.
― Ben Aaronovitch, Moon Over Soho
Hi LC,
This was beautiful. Looking at your photos just felt like I was walking around London with you.
When the truck piled into people at the Christmas market in Berlin last December, I felt as unhinged as this must have hit you. I’ve been to that Christmas market again and again over the years, and I could picture everything. It made me feel like they (whoever they is) invaded my city, my space. It’s hard.
Thanks for sharing. Just your photos are a beautiful homage to London.
Oh gosh, I can imagine how horrible that must have been. An invasion of space is exactly what it is.
Thank you for your kind comment, in return!
I’m contemplating a trip to Germany for December because I miss the German Christmas cheer but all I can think of is whether it is safe to go and visit a Christmas market or even travel around Berlin… Then I berate myself for falling into the fear trap. We can’t avoid places only because some people choose to spread a message of hate and see these kinds of acts as justified or glorified martyrdom. But it’s still terrifying. And maybe it’s the new reality we must accept…
Yes, you have to still go! If it’s any consolation, you’re more likely to die in a car accident than a terrorist attack – and many of us climb into our vehicles day after day without thinking twice about it!
Yes, I agree!! But thoughts can be so terrorising, I sometimes wish I could turn my brain off. 😀
I hear ya.
Even though I’ve never been to London Bridge (I know, I know…) just the fact that it (and Manchester) happened in my actual country really did bring the whole thing closer to home. Like, I have friends from Paris and friends from Germany, so I definitely, definitely felt all sorts of emotions when things happened over there. But this, this was something else. It’s exactly like Kati said, they’ve invaded something that’s not theirs. Our safety, our home. It’s horrible.
This was a beautiful, fitting post. It actually sent a fair few shivers down my spine.
Thanks Rhiannon. Was pretty emotional to write! And yeah – events like in Germany and France are sad, but the last couple of weeks have certainly been a slap in the face for many. It just shows that for some people, nothing is sacred and that’s what is so terrifying about it.
Yes, totally sent shivers down my spine, too, Rhiannon!