Rediscovering London!

At the end of 1998, I left London to spend Christmas with my Mum in Fiji, with the intention of returning a month later. I never did return. Instead, I got a job, met my husband, moved to New Zealand, moved back to Fiji and then relocated to the Middle East, having six children along the way.

Over time, the UK seemed to fade into the shadows of my former life and I was too caught up in my ever-evolving journey to hark back with any kind of nostalgia. My family visited me, rather than the other way around, with the exception of a five day visit to my hometown of Shrewsbury in 2004, when I stayed with my Dad and caught up with old school friends.

This summer, I arranged a family trip to England, Portugal and Wales, so that the children could feel more connected to their roots on my side of the family. I really didn’t know what to expect of England. Having only spent five days there in the past twenty years, I wondered if it might have changed beyond all recognition and I feared that our international family of eight would feel totally out of place or, worse, unwelcome.

I needn’t have worried. We flew into Heathrow on a glorious July day when the evening sunlight was bathing the fields below us in welcoming hues of orange. I suddenly felt that I was coming home and it unexpectedly filled me with a warm feeling of contentment.

We presumed that it would take us an hour or two to get out of the airport, so we were very pleasantly surprised when an immigration official approached us and said, “I’m not having a big family like yours waiting in this queue,” then ushered us straight to the passport desk! The passport officer beamed a friendly smile, was kind to the children and asked if I was George’s girlfriend, so of course I thought he was the bee's knees! After that, it took us about five minutes to collect our baggage and we were out of Heathrow within fifteen minutes of stepping off the plane. So far, so great!

England was in the throes of World Cup fever and there was a thrilling sense of hopeful anticipation floating in the air. It was also in the grip of a summer heatwave so everyone seemed to be basking in its feel-good effect.

A taxi took us to our rented house in Chiswick and we couldn’t have been happier with our choice. It was an exceptionally charming Victorian terraced house on a beautiful tree lined street, a stone’s throw from all the cafes and shops. Bright, spacious and open plan, with floorboards throughout the downstairs area, it was just the type of London pad that I’d love to call my own.

After we’d put the suitcases in our bedrooms, we took a five minute stroll to Chiswick High Road and ate dinner at Pizza Express. It was indescribably good to be able to enjoy a delicious, gluten free, vegan pizza after a long day of travelling, and we raised a glass to our forthcoming adventures.

The London transport system is so well organised and extremely easy to navigate. Travelling around the city is a piece of cake, even as a group of eight. Whereas going on the tube became exhaustingly mundane when I lived in London, with wide-eyed children in tow it suddenly seemed exciting and fascinating. What surprised me most, however, was how friendly and polite everyone was. If one of the children didn’t have a seat, someone would inevitably offer their own (we usually declined, but we were very grateful for the gesture), and even though it was often crowded, there was never any pushing or competitiveness to get on the train.

The kids loved the buses most, however, and getting the front row on the top deck was like winning the jackpot! It was thrilling for them to take in the sights and sounds of such a vibrant city from their elevated position.

On our first day we walked from Oxford Street to Carnaby Street, to Covent Garden, to Trafalgar Square to Leicester Square. The children couldn’t believe how vast London was; Mia in particular found it hard to believe me when I told her that there was lots more to the city that we hadn’t even seen yet! They loved marvelling at the huge, historical buildings and were suitably impressed by all the shops. They especially loved visiting Nelson’s Column -it’s a much celebrated fact in our family that Nelson is our great, great (times a few) uncle on my father’s side, so we felt a special sense of belonging as we lounged on the lions at the foot of his statue!

The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the day seemed to be endless…it’s amazing how much more you can fit in to your schedule when it doesn’t get dark until past nine pm. We adored it.

The next day was Oscar and Arlo’s birthday and I’d pre-booked tickets for the Harry Potter Studios in Watford. In the morning we enjoyed a Harry Potter themed breakfast before taking a stroll along the river from Chiswick to Hammersmith. It reminded me why I’d always loved Chiswick so much. When I lived in London, my sister and I used to rollerblade along the river from our flat in Hammersmith to the quaint little streets of Chiswick and felt endlessly enamoured by the sweet riverside cottages and charming village-feel to the area. It hadn’t changed at all. We passed beautiful houses, rowers bringing their boats in and people enjoying a drink in the riverside pubs. It’s such a gorgeous area of the city.

Then we got the bus back to Chiswick and enjoyed lunch in the garden before setting off to the studios.

The children had a great time at the Harry Potter Studios. Ivy in particular was marvelling at every exhibit –she describes herself as a 'Potter-Head', so she dressed up with the twins and was as eager as them to get every stamp in her Harry Potter passport and buy a proper Harry Potter wand!

When we eventually arrived back in Chiswick it was very late so we had pizzas at Zizzi’s and sat on a big table next to their open French doors. It was so lovely to feel the warm night air on our faces and have the sounds of the street drift over us. Afterwards we enjoyed a Harry Potter cake back at the house, which was the perfect end to a wonderful day. The twins loved every moment.

Over the next few days we went on some mammoth walks around the city, soaking in as many experiences as we were able. The twins rolled down the grassy bank outside Buckingham Palace, we stumbled into an anti-Trump demonstration (I loved my children seeing freedom of speech in all its glorious action!), we took in the enormity of the Houses of Parliament, I showed everyone my old university halls of residence next to Tower Bridge, we squirmed at the gory history of the Tower of London, mooched around Portobello Market, picnicked in Kensington Gardens, explored the Kings Road, visited Chelsea football ground at Stamford Bridge and delighted in the quirkiness of Camden Town.

When the day came to catch our plane from Gatwick to Portugal, we were all sad to say goodbye to this wonderful city and were really looking forward to spending another week there at the end of our holiday.

That time soon came about, and we found ourselves back in the same reassuringly cosy house. It was raining when we arrived, but we even loved that. There’s something comforting and secure about being dry and warm inside while there's a downpour outside.

Over the next few days we tried to tick off as many experiences on our list as we could. We travelled to Hackney, looked around Spitalfields Market and ambled around all the wonderful stalls and food outlets in Shoreditch. We headed over to St Paul’s Cathedral and took the lift up to the top floor of One New Change, next door, to take in the gorgeous skyline views, before heading to Pudding Lane, which was a dream come true for Mia, Ivy and the twins. They’ve been obsessed about going there ever since learning about the Great Fire of London in school, so they loved being able to see where it all began!

We couldn’t resist a return visit to Portobello Market where we unwittingly found ourselves to be the centre of attention...As we were looking at some rasta hats, a group of stall holders gathered around us to tell us that our family were the talk of the market! One woman was particularly dramatic about it, “I’m going to die from all this beauty!” she loudly declared, with her hand on her heart. “Such a beautiful mix of colours!” “Look at the eyes, the eyes!” Then she slapped me on the bum for a job well done. It was very flattering and amusing, and we all felt extremely touched by their kindness, but it was also a bit overwhelming and in the end we plotted our return walk so we didn’t go back the same way! Even then, as we were looking at the food stalls, one trader told George, “There you are! You know everyone in the market is talking about you and your family?”! As I’m writing about it now, I’m thinking about how marvellous it was to be surrounded by so much positivity and enthusiasm. It’s a wonderful thing when strangers go out of their way to make you feel good about yourself and London’s one of those magical cities that seems to be full of them.

More strolling took us back to Hyde Park and, in subsequent days, to my old university campus in Holborn, to theatre land, back to Covent Garden, Oxford Street and two return trips to Camden, purely for the food!

Now that we're home I love looking through all our photos and reflecting on our time there. These are the things that make London stand out to me as an extraordinarily wonderful city:

1.The diversity. There are people with different colour skin and from different backgrounds everywhere. The air is alive with the delightful hum of different languages being spoken. As a mixed race family with an international background, we didn’t feel exceptional, which is a good thing. In London, everyone fits in.

2. The vibrancy. London feels like a truly international city and very much on the pulse. There’s a distinct sense of excitement which I loved seeing my children caught up in. With endless things to see and do, it’s a place where every dream can be catered to. Lyla’s ambition is to work in musical theatre, so she loved seeing all the theatres and the shows on offer. Mia wants to be a professional footballer, so she was in her element visiting the home of her favourite football club, Chelsea, which has a very successful, inspirational women’s team.

3. The architecture. London is an aesthetic feast of multiple courses. From the pretty, colourful terraced homes in Notting Hill, to the imposing elegance of historical beauties like The Houses of Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, to the ornate bridges, to the elegant Regency style white houses, to the quirky 3D wall designs in Camden, to contemporary architectural marvels, it’s a city that offers fresh delights at every turn.

4. The manners. Politeness seems to be a defining characteristic of the British public and one that I have only truly learnt to appreciate after living overseas for so long. Being surrounded by people who form orderly queues by nature, who hold doors open for each other as a matter of course, who reciprocate profuse apologies regardless of who bumped into who, and who offer their sincere thanks to service providers, often preceded by friendly conversation, makes you realise how much more pleasant and less stressful it is when you’re amongst people with the same sensibilities as you. Experiencing such high levels of basic courtesy and good manners was refreshingly delightful.

5. The wit and eccentricities. Satire, sarcasm and deadpan delivery abound amongst the British public and it truly felt like my humour had found its home. Furthermore, on more than one occasion when I was in a shop and started dancing with my children to a tune we liked, I turned around to find others doing the same. It turns out, I’m not such an odd-ball after all, I’m just British!

6. The friendliness. Surprisingly for such a large city, we found Londoners to be exceptionally amiable. People were enthusiastic about helping when we asked for directions, if we looked a little lost they would ask if we needed any assistance, and throughout our day to day dealings they would often spark up a friendly chat. The children were a great conversation starter, with the twins in particular drawing lots of attention. We were frequently told how beautiful they are; one woman stopped to tell us that she couldn't believe how much fairer than George they were, another asked if they were child models, while someone else stopped me in Tesco to tell me that they looked like 'Mini Greek Gods!' Of course, kind compliments always help put a spring in your step and we loved the positivity.

7. Food. There’s truly a food option to suit all tastes and desires in London. As a vegan, I was overjoyed with the choices available. Every market we went to seemed to offer a variety of vegan food stalls and areas like Shoreditch and Camden were overflowing with vegan eateries. Most standard restaurants seem to cater to their vegan customers too, with high street chains such as Pizza Express, Zizzi's and Pizza Hut offering vegan cheese and desserts. On our last day in Chiswick, we were searching for a place to have a cooked breakfast and every restaurant we looked at had a vegan option. However, eating in is even easier. I was pleasantly shocked by the availability (and price!) of vegan food items in the supermarkets. They seem to have their own-brand ‘free-from’ ranges as well a whole host of other options. We found ourselves stuffing our trolley full of vegan shortbread, vegan pesto, vegan pizzas, vegan meat alternatives, vegan chocolate, vegan ice-cream, vegan cheese (Sainsbury's own brand vegan cheese is amazing!), vegan everything! We were like kids in a sweet shop!

8. TV. It seems a little out of place on this list, with all the wonders that London has to offer, but I have to mention it...I’d forgotten how good British TV is! I’ve hardly watched TV for many years now, but a few times in the UK, at the end of an exhausting day, we’d slump on the sofa in front of the box and, very unusually for me, I’d find myself engrossed with what was on. Dramas, documentaries, soaps and comedies; there was so much quality choice. I think if I lived in the UK I’d probably spend a lot more time eating and watching television!

These are the things that made the biggest impression on us as a family, but there’s so much more I could mention; the free museums, the markets, the galleries, the street performers, the fashion, the twenty four hour amenities. The list goes on and on.

London was everything I remembered it to be and more. Experiencing it through the lens of a mother and an ex-pat of two decades, I see more merit and joy in it now than I probably ever did before. The perfect timing of our visit ensured that the city glowed in its best possible light and I’m so pleased that my children came away thinking that it truly is the remarkable, impressive and exciting metropolis that they expected it to be.

We can’t wait to go again!