Love To Hate London - The Beginning

I’ve lived in London for over 8 years now. Living here had always appealed to me - the excitement of the big city was very attractive after 21 years of small towns in the Midlands. So on graduating in 2001, I found myself a job here, packed my bags and headed “Daan Saaaf” without a backwards glance. 8 years on, the glamour of the West End and energy of the East have become a little tarnished as the reality of the tube in rush hour and the impatience of everyone who has lived here more than two years (including yours truly) start to penetrate any naïve optimism that life in London is fabulous, darling.
But the Old Smoke hasn’t lost all its charm. There are days when I walk through Soho Square or admire the impressive skyline from a friend’s high-rise shoebox, I take a deep breath of fresh smog and smile to myself as I splutter out fumes from the A1. Because despite its numerous (and often hideous) flaws, London has spunk.
So here starts my record of London life. The highs and lows of sharing the innards of the M25 with about 8 million other people on a day to day basis. To remind me, and everyone else, that although London regularly takes a bite out of you, chews you a bit then spits you out, sometimes you can’t help but fall for its lovable rogue charms. Well, just a little bit, anyway.