On the 12th of April I had an unexpected pleasure of visiting London. Honestly, it had been ages. I think I went there around Easter 2019 and didn’t really bother since…and then it was obviously impossible. My journey was classed as essential and secretly I was very glad with my little trip. It was the most freezing day but the weather improved in the afternoon. London seemed so strange and even eerie without the usual (or unusual?) crowds of tourists and City workers. Some streets were virtually empty. I noticed things I would have otherwise overlooked and taken for granted, like an unexpected mix of old and new architecture:
No queues at the Tower of London…
Another old + new combo; it shouldn’t work but somehow it does:
St Dunstan in the East: a victim of influencers and their amateur fashion photo shoots. I sneaked in and snapped a pic of this beautiful window:
The Shard looks cool from any angle…
I never tire of these views:
Something stupid and meaningless pretending to be art 😉 But hey, it’s funny and it phographs well:
I was so pleased to be able to wander around in the sunshine – although wearing a hat and a pair of gloves – and just enjoy the quiet side of London.
The reason for my being there was a mundane one: I had a job interview that very morning. Not long after I updated my blog logo to reflect where in the UK I live, a job came along suddenly and as a result I am now sitting in a rented room in Hertfordshire, missing my home in Chester very much. I had this unpleasant deja vu feeling because all of this had happened before. I had to relocate to Surrey 10 years ago because the jobs in the North West were scarce and paid poorly. Fast forward to 2021 and we have a pandemic, and the jobs in the North West, or indeed anywhere but the Home Counties are scarce and pay poorly. That being said, I would NEVER be able to buy even the smallest, most modest property in the south on a single salary. It appears that the perfect solution is to earn the south east UK wages but remain based in the North, something achievable for sales people, but not possible for me unfortunately because of the nature of my job. I am hoping this is going to change in the not too distant future and I will be able to go back home and work from my own bedroom. I accept this temporary situation as a new experience and a lesson in patience. And my new home from home isn’t too bad either:
Kat in the North 