A Short History Of London
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I grew up in Kent and would often spend a few weeks of my summer holidays in London where my maternal grandparents lived. This would have been in the 1950s when London suffered from periods of dense smog; the air here is considerably cleaner now still much polluted as in so many major cities.
When I was a boy, my mother would bring me to London on my birthday to see the Christmas lights in Oxford and Regent Streets; in take on a theme and all the major stores would reflect this in their shop window displays. The effect was magical. To this day, I recall how an Aladdin theme took young Roger's breath away, and it must have been a good fifty years ago.
Pollution aside, it is a great place to live, especially if you are rich (which am not) if only for its wealth of art galleries, museums and various historic icons like Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, the Monument and St Paul’s Cathedral as well as newer ones like The Gherkin and The Shard...etc. etc.
I am fortunate to live within a short walking distance of Hampstead Heath and can easily access Green Park via the nearby Regent’s Canal. I sometimes find it hard to believe that I live in the heart of a bustling metropolis. To be honest, it is too bustling these days. London is very overcrowded as anyone who uses its stressful public transport network will confirm.
A SHORT HISTORY OF LONDON
Find love, hate and mystery
(politics of redemption);
zoom lens on a city’s history
No passing hint of jealousy
in its powers of persuasion;
find love, hate and mystery
Mansion and hovel, secretly
writing up its passion;
zoom lens on a city’s history
In darkest prose and poetry
of its tower-prison,
find love, hate and mystery
Feeding on Sam’s feisty diary,
flames of determination;
zoom lens on a city’s history
Come a multicultural century
(cause for celebration)
find love, hate and mystery;
zoom lens on a city’s history
Copyright R. N. Taber 2010
[From: On the Battlefields of Love by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2010; rev. ed. in e-format in preparation.]
I grew up in Kent and would often spend a few weeks of my summer holidays in London where my maternal grandparents lived. This would have been in the 1950s when London suffered from periods of dense smog; the air here is considerably cleaner now still much polluted as in so many major cities.
When I was a boy, my mother would bring me to London on my birthday to see the Christmas lights in Oxford and Regent Streets; in take on a theme and all the major stores would reflect this in their shop window displays. The effect was magical. To this day, I recall how an Aladdin theme took young Roger's breath away, and it must have been a good fifty years ago.
Pollution aside, it is a great place to live, especially if you are rich (which am not) if only for its wealth of art galleries, museums and various historic icons like Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, the Monument and St Paul’s Cathedral as well as newer ones like The Gherkin and The Shard...etc. etc.
I am fortunate to live within a short walking distance of Hampstead Heath and can easily access Green Park via the nearby Regent’s Canal. I sometimes find it hard to believe that I live in the heart of a bustling metropolis. To be honest, it is too bustling these days. London is very overcrowded as anyone who uses its stressful public transport network will confirm.
Photo: The Tower of London
A SHORT HISTORY OF LONDON
Find love, hate and mystery
(politics of redemption);
zoom lens on a city’s history
No passing hint of jealousy
in its powers of persuasion;
find love, hate and mystery
Mansion and hovel, secretly
writing up its passion;
zoom lens on a city’s history
In darkest prose and poetry
of its tower-prison,
find love, hate and mystery
Feeding on Sam’s feisty diary,
flames of determination;
zoom lens on a city’s history
Come a multicultural century
(cause for celebration)
find love, hate and mystery;
zoom lens on a city’s history
Copyright R. N. Taber 2010
[From: On the Battlefields of Love by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2010; rev. ed. in e-format in preparation.]
Labels: death, hate, history, human nature, life, London, love, mind-body-spirit, nature, poetry, political intrigue, politics, posthumous consciousness, relationships, Tower of London
posted by R. N. Taber | 08:33
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