Seeing the Wood for the Trees.

So, do I love London or hate it? I admit, so far, it would seem to be the latter. This makes me feel bad. Guilty. Almost unfaithful. It does have some redeeming features, honest. But when you see something, or someone, every day, it’s easy to dwell on the things that really bug you about it/them and forget why you fell for it/them in the first place. Yes. It’s true. There is a parallel between how I feel about London where I have lived for over 8 years, and how I feel about, dare I say it, my boyfriend of nearly seven years. The two long term relationships of my life. Hmm.
Bear with me on this one; I think I am having an epiphany.
I complain about Him Indoors all the time. But I am at the same time decidedly attached to him. I moan about him never wanting to go out and having to nag him to clean the bathroom PROPERLY, but every now and then he does or says something that makes me think, A-ha! That’s why I haven’t killed him yet!
London is the same. It’s easy to get dragged down by the mundane day to day goings on that will, if you let them, seriously drive you screaming to the nearest train station begging your northern roots for forgiveness. So once in a while it’s important to take time out with your favourite capital and go on a date.
I did that very thing last weekend (and dragged along Him Indoors for good measure). Craving a bit of greenery beyond my little orchard on the terrace I decided to go somewhere I have been meaning to go to for ages and never got round to: Kew Gardens.
It was a beautiful autumn day (good point number two: the weather in the south-east does tend to be better than up north and the west!). It took a while to get across London avoiding the weekend underground closures (not that I’m complaining of course) but when we finally emerged at Kew, I couldn’t help but take a deep breath and exhale with a smile on my face. Aaaaah!
I won’t go into details about what was so great about Kew - you’ll just have to go yourself. But what I will say is that it is worth visiting if you need reminding that London does in fact have some natural beauty, not to mention impressive architecture. And relative peace and quiet, if you can ignore the drone of planes preparing to land at nearby Heathrow.
“I really enjoyed our day out.” Him Indoors, who really does seem to hate London, admitted that evening. “We should do that more often.”
“Yes, we should. How do you fancy a trip to Hampton Court one weekend? It’s supposed to be really good. Or we could go up Monument?”
“Yes, and we really must get to London Dungeon too. Maybe when my parents come to visit next month…”
Before we know it, we’ve got something planned every weekend until the end of the next decade, and more ideas in reserve. Because in London you will never run out of things to do. You just need to make sure you don’t start taking it for granted, and show it a little bit of affection once in a while. It might just show you a little bit of love back.