A short post-it note:

Met up with an ancient friend today. No, he is not actually ancient, but he has been a friend for a very, very long time, since we were both about seven or eight years old, I think.

We were driving across Blackfriars Bridge, when we saw the London Eye in the distance, rimmed in her blue finery. We named the famous icons of the London skyline: the OXO Tower, the Royal Festival Hall, the Waterloo Bridge. Even today, I still find it somewhat hard to believe that I and my peers live and work and breathe in such ancient and historic grounds like the Strand, and walk (or run) past (or on) places such as the Tower Bridge, the London Bridge, the Victoria and Albert Embankments. Each time I pass by a group of tourists snapping photos of themselves against the famous backdrop of the Houses of Parliament or the London Eye, I cannot help but smile a little, because each time, I am reminded just how lucky I am to be here, to see these amazing pieces of architecture and history every single day of my academic year, and years, to come.

As my childhood friend and I drove over the river, naming these icons out loud, like children giving form to clouds in the sky, my friend suddenly turned to me and said: 'This is why I love London. This is my city. I live here.'

And I realised that he was right. This is precisely why I love London, because it is my city, and somehow, no matter where I have been in the world, I have always lived here.

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