Where I live in London

This is Old Street, the area in Central London I now get to call home.

I am quickly learning to love this area. It has a great buzz and Shoreditch, the wider district, has a lot of cool bars and restaurants making it a pretty fun place to be. I live and work very close to Old Street roundabout, the busiest area of Old Street with Old Street Underground directly underneath it, so my location is great for getting around the whole of London.

In fact, I remember when I first got to London asking for directions to Kings Cross. I was the idiot dragging a whole suitcase onto the tube making my way from City Airport to King’s Cross, and for some reason I got off at this station. I remember the roundabout well and the two people I approached that were just as clueless as I was about the area, ensuring I had a mental breakdown on route. I assume I was just stressed on the tube and wanted to get off a couple stops earlier (Kings Cross is just two stops away from Old Street) and misjudged how long it would take to walk.

Now, I am used to the tube a lot more and not taking such large items with me makes it a lot more tolerable. That and I don’t have to get transport to work as I am a five minute walk away. It really is the dream. I get the tube when I am wanting to visit people or do a little exploring, and with this I can choose to avoid the rush hour.

But saying that, as the advert above states I have found myself tutting at people in London. Not out of a dislike for them but being stuck when all I want is to be as far away from the crowds as possible. The city is filled with tourists wanting to take their time appreciating the sights, it is also filled with workers rushing around trying to get to work on time. It isn’t a good mix and from time to time I try to remind myself that I am both of these people. I am sure I have angered a few Londoners when I swap my suit for a camera and wander around with my eyes on everything other than the path ahead. And I am sure that the impatient bunch in the rush hour annoy the locals when on their own holidays outside of London. It is just the way of the world and it helps to realise that despite being annoyed, we too are just as annoying. We simply don’t see it as much as other people do.

And escaping the crowds is my main focus right now with all of this Coronavirus malarkey affecting the world, crowded places are places I want to avoid. In and around work I am seeing more and more people wearing masks, people from all over the world. I work in a luxury residential building with many nationalities, and if I am honest I am really happy not to be working in a hotel as I was just over a month ago. I am mainly interacting with the same few people daily, and many residents have been told to stay at home until further notice. As with many other countries toilet paper is as valuable as gold and hand sanitizer can only be found on the deep web. That being said the streets are a little quieter, a bonus for sure.

And for those that read my recent post, the lighty-up cone now has a friend. Someone caught onto the idea that you can whack a traffic cone onto a ground light and magic things happen. It is the kind of joy I need in a world full of depressing news.

But I am happy, I am settled and I am now feeling the motivation to blog again. The motivation to do a lot more in general really, I have joined a gym nearby as getting fit is my main priority this year and I am hoping that helps to motivate me further in all kinds of ways.

But tell me about you, has the virus affected you where you are? I know Europe is getting hit pretty hard right now and in fact yesterday most views to my website came from Italy. Due to the lockdown? I would assume so, however if it was just one reader I thank you dearly for making your way through my posts. Stay safe over there! And stay safe wherever you may be.

Love you all, thanks for reading and I will speak to you all soon.