Living in London
It’s been quite a revelatory week for me. It feels like all I have had a rediscovery of my grounding roots. As a student in Sheffield, I never lost sight of these, although granted they were easy to follow loosely. I would shop in my local grocers, bin inspect my local supermarkets and cycle everywhere.
(I stumbled across Phlegm in London!! -->)
Now I live in London in the Notting Hill area. And my closest shops are M&S, Waitrose and Tesco’s all in a row near Notting Hill Gate tube station. My nearest organic farm shop is a lovely shop called Chegworth’s, however the prices in there are enough to make your eyes pop out. So over the last 5 months, I have somewhat struggled to consume according to my beliefs. A silver lining is that I work near a local market and can pop out at lunch time to buy my veg. Unfortunately this is the case in many (especially the affluent) areas of London; we have to go to great lengths to purchase ethically sourced, organic food (and this is a fashion for the well-off, Whole Foods Market darling?).
In most parts of the UK, eating out or a takeaway is a luxury that you may undertake once a week. In London, however, it seems that no one cooks! When visiting flat shares to find somewhere to live, I noticed so many London apartments have cupboard kitchens and on questioning I established that “we hardly ever cook”. How can you monitor your intake? Do you not get sick of preservatives? Hidden ingredients? Don’t you crave fresh food?
Cycling is difficult. My sense of direction is horrendous (Julia is in charge of map reading), numerous times I have found myself literally going in completely the opposite direction to where I intended and thought I was going. Traffic is complicated and dangerous. There have been a series of horrible stories in the recent months of vehicle and cyclist incidents and I do not want to risk an injury this close to lift off. So, hello uncomfortable confines of the London Underground tubes.
The bonuses. London is a fruitful city. Over the last 5 months I have visited markets, museums, expeditions, talks, parks, the theatre, cinemas, cafes, restaurants, art exhibitions and on. I have met people that share my interests and have lent their support to the Forks on Wheels project. In some areas of London I have noticed community parks and cafes, gardens and canals toting beautiful herbaceous boats, so the healthy, considerate lifestyle is there and available if you look hard enough. I guess a note to friends moving to London: think about the luxuries you take for granted and prioritise them when choosing where to live in London. For example, my luxuries are a kitchen, safe cycle roads and local shops. In my experience, Dalston offers these along with a nice selection of bars and the base for Feedback Global!
<-- An image from the exhibition 'Disobedient Objects' at the V&A
A shot from the Electric Cinema where I watched Interstellar -->
Have I enjoyed myself? Yes, of course! But if anything, I have learnt what I want and need from life. To be outdoors, mobile and to have a cosy set up of homemade goodness. It has made me so excited to spread my wings and strip my life down to natural necessities.
I can’t wait to hit the road!
Love from, Beth.
