London
If I were playing Monopoly and owned all the properties I'd visited in the last couple of days I'd be in an unbeatable position. Adding houses could be a problem, though, considering I can barely afford a cup of tea in this town. Ye-e-e-es, I knew it was expensive before I came, but, hell, until you see it for yourself it's difficult to conceive of a world that asks three times as much for everything in sight. Fortunately, I am travelling with a fellow stingy bastard, so free diversion has been the order of the day.
One surprise has been the variety of languages we've heard spoken since we've been here. I don't think I'd be exaggerating if I said that we've heard as much English here as we heard in Tokyo. Where are the English folk? (Oh, hang on, they're clogging up the Australian bars and beaches. I'd forgotten for a moment.)
There are a couple of myths I'd like to discuss before I close here today:
1.) The English are extremely polite.
Ummm... no. Quite the opposite. "Rather fucking rude" is the suggestion I'd like to put out there.
2.) London is filthy.
Absolutely. If you added up all the vomit I've seen in my 35 years and compared it to that which I've seen here over the past three days I'm not sure which would be the greater volume. Although, having eaten here for three days perhaps I can understand it.
3.) The Tate Modern is innovative and impressive.
Ya-a-a-awn. Sorry, but I think these artworks deserve a little more respect than is afforded by this pretentious and obnoxious institution. And so do the patrons.
The balance of the mythology will have to wait for another day. Jetlag is a great excuse for getting out of anything.
8 February 2005
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2 comments:
Well, I see that London hasn't changed much since 1993. However, I still kind of got a kick out of the place. I liked the museums more than the galleries, with the exception perhaps of the National Gallery. Some of the pubs were pretty awesome.
Clearly, you've seen a lot of vomit in your 35 years.
And, I think you might have made a mistake. It's the Canadians who are extremely polite. Brits are extremely uptight.
My visit to the British Museum since making this post has softened my otherwise jaundiced view of the city. Viewing a few all-time favorites such as the contents of the Sutton Hoo find were truly magical. The building itself was pretty special as well. The museum has such a wealth of Egyptian cloth that I was given the opportunity to handle a fine section of 5000 year-old linen, as well as a piece of ceramic covered in cuneform. You don't get to do that in Brisbane!
Uptight... can't argue with that. I'd like to hope it's just the strain of living in such a big city. (I'm famous for my blind optimism.)
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