What better time to write a valedictory retirement blog to the place that is now off limits to its fans. That would be me as one of those fans and the place is London, that there London, as I’ve typically described it in these retirement blogs. Like most of the rest of us London has now moved into tier 3 and not before time as far as we Northerners are concerned.
But I do miss it. We usually visit once or twice a year in our retirement lives but my history with the place goes back to my childhood. I’m not quite sure how old I was when I made my first visit. 10 or 11? My mother’s friend had an army chum who lived in Acton, I think. Wherever it was it wasn’t really London but to a boy from Nottingham it was certainly close enough.
We used to take the tube (and I loved that) to see the sights – Madame Tussauds (waxworks), the Tower, Regent’s Park zoo and my favourite – The Imperial War Museum. This worked well for my relationship with my mother’s friend who I wasn’t enthused about otherwise. But we bonded in the Imperial War Museum. He was in it (the war) and I was obsessed with it. Not much I didn’t know about weapons at that age. Calibre, magazine capacity, range, maker, location. Yup, you name it.
Weirdly I still remember much of it now when I can’t remember what we had for tea last night. Hey ho. I certainly impressed the family while watching Die Hard by pointing out that the machine gun one of the baddies was wielding was a Hechler Koch. No, doesn’t ring a bell? Today’s trips version of the war museum is The Churchill War rooms. Anybody would think I had a bellicose disposition (nice word).
And it went from there I suppose my love of the big city. A little older, 16 maybe, my idea of a great holiday was a week in London taking in three football matches – Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea as you ask. West Ham and Wembley a bit later.
The sporting side faded and the cultural bit took over – exhibitions (David Hockney, Lucian Freud), theatre (Hair, Agatha Christie), the Proms, Ronnie Scott’s (much later). And running through this was the thread of the music – pop music, Waterloo Sunset, Georgy Girl. Films – Blow Up, Passport to Pimlico. Kew Gardens, not a film but loved the hothouses / conservatories. You can’t say we’ve not been eclectic.
Probably the most iconic film for me was Billy Liar played by Tom Courtney (as above). Running through the film was the idea that Billy would, along with Julie Christie, escape the grim North, get on the train and seek and find his fortune in London. That’s what we all wanted to do in our teenage years. After art college I made my own attempts after three years in Leeds I applied for a post grad course at The Slade and the Royal College, both quite rightly turned me down. Even teacher training, I tried again, I applied to Goldsmiths (quite rightly rejected again , as I had absolutely no interest in becoming an art teacher) and ended up staying in Leeds along with Billy Liar.
These days our visits, as I say maybe twice a year, pre-Covid, comprise Guardian Masterclasses, staying at The Royal Horseguards hotel on the river, trips on the river usually between Tate Modern and Tate Britain and our favourite restaurant – Veeraswamys and lobster curry when my daughter is paying and maybe a pint at our local (to the hotel) The Ship, a classic old London pub.
So yes, I’m missing it but at least if I can’t go it’s fitting that now nobody else from this part of the country, can go either. As is often said it’s only when you can’t have something that you really want it. Retirement doesn’t make me any less perverse.
And just a quick PS. you know it’s quite difficult to hit the right tone with this retirement blog in these challenging times. I think I will continue to err on the upbeat side even if this does require a certain amount of head burying in sand.