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RSSA London Visit.
I’ve been living in London for two months or so, being thrown hither and thither in a whirlwind of changes and enjoying myself profusely. Landing an internship was jolly lucky, it’s forced me to completely immerse myself in this ever buzzing city. I couldn’t be more thrilled with my experiences which range from the completely bizarre to the horrendous and exhilarating. So my new life has begun, and Cape Town feels a little far away. Tomorrow afternoon, I greet two friends who saunter up from Africa to this grand old city for a visit. I will meet them at the airport and I will cry and transfer the snot I sniff onto a disgruntled sleeve, but it will not matter because I will be completely and utterly elated to see them. It will be a smidgen strange to have my London life infiltrated by these beings who have only existed in my world back home but this is what it’s all about, right? A somewhat global home.
I wonder what these gals will think of my story here. No longer am I a mere Bachelor of Arts student. Oh no, I am music journalist extraordinaire, walking the streets of London a savvy and empowered woman. Well this is what I like to think, although, in truth, I still feel completely lost and bewildered 95% of the time. But, nevertheless, here I am an adult, doing all those grown up things like paying my electricity bill, hanging clothes on an indoor drying rack, washing dishes, losing keys, finding keys, cooking meals- ah the list is endless but also deliciously liberating - I revel in these seemingly mundane adult things. But it’s not all peaches and cream, Hummingbird Bakery and Monmouth Coffee. I also experience the pain the pound can inflict as well as the difficulty that comes with working for free, gratis, nothing, nada for five days of my week and then having to fill my very sad bank account with weekend minimum wage. Although, my free services do not go unrewarded - I have been attending gigs and events which I would never have ventured to before. The clubbing world has become my oyster and although at first I was drowning in it’s salty, sludgy goo - I have now, slowly but surely, found my way to the oyster’s treasure.
All this blather has distracted me from what is actually on my mind, and that is the London visit. I am so thrilled and there is nothing better than seeing familiar faces which you have adored for a substantial slice of your life. But as their bird has not yet left it’s docking station, I will think instead of the Blitz Party I am attending this evening and adorn myself in make-shift 1940s glamour. Let the Kentish Ale flow and the big bands blow their horns as Shoreditch Studios is transported to yesteryear divinity.
