LONDON (England)
09 June - 12 June 2017
09 June - 12 June 2017
On the 3rd of June 2017, a terrorist vehicle ramming and stabbing took place in London. A van was deliberately driven into pedestrians on London Bridge before crashing. The three occupants of the van then ran to the nearby Borough Market area and started stabbing people in and around restaurants and pubs
Ref: 2017 London Bridge Attack - Wikipedia
The nature of these type of events in Europe and their frequency made them feel, perhaps not like a common event, but maybe, not unexpected. I think consciously the awareness of the possibility of occurrences sat in the mindset of most people in much the same way that you might 'anticipate' an earthquake happening if you lived in a prone area.
Our weekend in London was built on the idea of doing some pre-wedding shopping, that really was the initiator for going there, and also the fact that it was so close to Riga. Additionally, when the both of you are in the best shape of your lives then buying clothes doesn't become an exercise in hiding what you don't want people to see. Also for me it happened to be one of those rare moments in life when everything I tried on seemed to fit. That has just NEVER happened to me! As a kid I was always overweight due to 'good 'ole fashion Yugoslav lovin' expressed through food'. The more I was fed, apparently, the better I was being looked after. Anyway, I do recall one time prior to going to a friends birthday party my mum wanted to buy me a new pair of trousers. So we started in the kids section, but there wasn't a pair that fit. We then entered into the mens section and we went through size, after size, after size. After 5 or 6 tries there was not a pair of trousers that fit me, I was too big, and apparently, at 10 or 11 years of age it was my fault!? How that became the conclusion I'll never know. As an FYI, I wasn't earning an income at 10 years of age, so I wasn't buying my own junk food or stocking the fridge with chocolate biscuits.
London was always going to be an odd location for me. I had an inherent bias against it that I needed to overcome. Since I was a kind, for some reason, my parents were 'anti-English', not overtly but enough for me to believe that there was nothing interesting to be found there. Also, back in 1991 I had a full day experience of London in a rare stopover on the way to Belgrade and formulates the opinion at that point in time that this city had nothing to offer.
I'm happy to say that I was wrong about this city. My mindset wasn't changed so dramatically, it wasn't like I'd just discovered U2 for the first time, but, I was far more impressed by the city that I anticipated. It was, and is, an alpha city of the same type of elk as New York. Attractive in part, quaint and endearing in some areas, I could see how this large capital of Europe (or is it just Britain now) has been at the centre of many economic, social and cultural movements on a global scale.
We stayed in an AirBnB close to Westbourne Green with an older artistic/bohemian/hippie chick who 'apparently' had been or was good friends with Jimmy Page. To me that simply means that she probably shagged him once or twice in a drunken tryst but ok, let the claim stand, for some reason I believe(d) the claim may be legitimate.
The area we were in was punctuated by a cool little location known as Little Venice, a waterway that acted as the intersection of a few canals that flowed off into disparate areas of the city.
Some of my highlights was shopping on Oxford Street and actually being able to find clothes - wondering the streets of SoHo, shopping in Harrods (Knightsbridge), going to the theatre in the West End and walking through Hyde Park. I mean, hey, London was really pleasant, I enjoyed myself more than I expected to and I suspect that Inga did too. Did it capture my heart and mind like a Buenos Aires, New York or Rio would? No, but that's ok, it didn't have to.
On our way to London with Ryan Air - over the North Sea
Near Little Venice - Westbourne Green - London - England
Little Venice - Westbourne Green - London - England
Little Venice - Westbourne Green - London - England
The A5 - near Hyde Park Estate - London - England
Our weekend in London was built on the idea of doing some pre-wedding shopping, that really was the initiator for going there, and also the fact that it was so close to Riga. Additionally, when the both of you are in the best shape of your lives then buying clothes doesn't become an exercise in hiding what you don't want people to see. Also for me it happened to be one of those rare moments in life when everything I tried on seemed to fit. That has just NEVER happened to me! As a kid I was always overweight due to 'good 'ole fashion Yugoslav lovin' expressed through food'. The more I was fed, apparently, the better I was being looked after. Anyway, I do recall one time prior to going to a friends birthday party my mum wanted to buy me a new pair of trousers. So we started in the kids section, but there wasn't a pair that fit. We then entered into the mens section and we went through size, after size, after size. After 5 or 6 tries there was not a pair of trousers that fit me, I was too big, and apparently, at 10 or 11 years of age it was my fault!? How that became the conclusion I'll never know. As an FYI, I wasn't earning an income at 10 years of age, so I wasn't buying my own junk food or stocking the fridge with chocolate biscuits.
Oxford Street - Mayfair - London - England
Oxford Street - Mayfair - London - England
Oxford Street - Mayfair - London - England
The Mall - St. James's - London - England
The Mall - St. James's - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
London was always going to be an odd location for me. I had an inherent bias against it that I needed to overcome. Since I was a kind, for some reason, my parents were 'anti-English', not overtly but enough for me to believe that there was nothing interesting to be found there. Also, back in 1991 I had a full day experience of London in a rare stopover on the way to Belgrade and formulates the opinion at that point in time that this city had nothing to offer.
I'm happy to say that I was wrong about this city. My mindset wasn't changed so dramatically, it wasn't like I'd just discovered U2 for the first time, but, I was far more impressed by the city that I anticipated. It was, and is, an alpha city of the same type of elk as New York. Attractive in part, quaint and endearing in some areas, I could see how this large capital of Europe (or is it just Britain now) has been at the centre of many economic, social and cultural movements on a global scale.
The London Eye - London - England
Big Ben from The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
The London Eye - London - England
We stayed in an AirBnB close to Westbourne Green with an older artistic/bohemian/hippie chick who 'apparently' had been or was good friends with Jimmy Page. To me that simply means that she probably shagged him once or twice in a drunken tryst but ok, let the claim stand, for some reason I believe(d) the claim may be legitimate.
Near Her Majesty's Theatre - Haymarket - St.James's - London - England
Near Her Majesty's Theatre - Haymarket - St.James's - London - England
Phanton of the Opera - Her Majesty's Theatre - Haymarket - St.James's - London - England
Little Venice - Westbourne Green - London - England
Little Venice - Westbourne Green - London - England
Knightsbridge - London - England
Harrod's - Knightsbridge - London - England
Stomp - West End - London - England
West End - London - England
The area we were in was punctuated by a cool little location known as Little Venice, a waterway that acted as the intersection of a few canals that flowed off into disparate areas of the city.
Some of my highlights was shopping on Oxford Street and actually being able to find clothes - wondering the streets of SoHo, shopping in Harrods (Knightsbridge), going to the theatre in the West End and walking through Hyde Park. I mean, hey, London was really pleasant, I enjoyed myself more than I expected to and I suspect that Inga did too. Did it capture my heart and mind like a Buenos Aires, New York or Rio would? No, but that's ok, it didn't have to.
Henry's Cafe Bar - Piccadilly - Mayfair - London - England
Henry's Cafe Bar - Piccadilly - Mayfair - London - England
Thank you London. You did well. Here's to life without terrorism and stupidity!
