July 4th, 2024
Feels, honestly, like a hollow celebration of “Independence Day” for the USA—given that the thoroughly corrupt US Supreme Court has gone nakedly all-in on imperial Trumpism and its discontents, creating an anti-American new King for literally the worst of all possible candidates since the improbable founding of our nation—but here we are.
Odd, or apropos perhaps, that I am here in the seat of King George III, London England, as I write these reflections—but as fortune would have it, here I’ve been for the last week, managing the complexities of nation states and their border policies by taking an enforced break from the Schengen Area so as not to overstay my 90-day limited welcome over any 180 day period in the Eurozone. I was in Corfu as I was reviewing my options, so my local short list included Albania and Istanbul—but when a couple of friendly acquaintances made kind offers of shelter here in London, I was very happy to accept—and so glad I did!
This past March, I met an Indian man at the New Delhi airport lounge an hour before I left India. Turns out Ashok and I share a common lineage and he lives in South London, and was generous enough to invite me to stay in his home as I arrived. He and his wife and I made the pilgrimage the next day for my first-ever visit to Bhaktivedanta Manor, the estate outside London which George Harrison gifted to his friends the Hare Krishna / ISKCON devotees and which is still a thriving center for life and worship here.
The next day I wrassled the Tube, the London Overground, and negotiated my way to the jewel of my stay here, a comfy top floor flat off of Holland Park Avenue, courtesy of some friends from the brilliant, eclectic and international crowd I’ve met over various summer sojourns in British Colombia this past decade. Smart, funny, inquisitive, kind, and generous—among my very favorite combinations in humans. I landed there and after a welcome lunch promptly got hit with a head cold (tested Covid negative) that knocked me sideways for a couple days, so it was great to have a place to myself where I could rest and wander about the apartment in a daze without having to be polite for anyone else. (I’ve been told I’m not the best patient, and I can only agree.)
Luckily, within a couple days I was back on my feet and able to explore the glories of both western London and the city center. According to my phone, I clocked three straight 8+ mile walking days whilst exploring the city, following my friend and host Teddy’s good counsel on exploring the city in my limited time. I ambled through the Hampstead Heath one afternoon, walking over to the Kenwood House to scope out their amazing library and the original Rembrandt self-portrait and other classics hanging there.
Another day I walked for hours from the edge of Holland Park and Notting Hill through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, making it to Westminster Abbey for evensong—amazing! Westminster Abbey is, astonishingly, even more impressive than one already expects it to be, really. After celebrating Canada Day at evensong with the Lay Vicars, I wandered the neighborhoods of Central London for my first time ever—wow! The array of historical landmarks just didn’t stop: here’s the Parliament building, there the Thames, the Eye, Whitehall Street, Charing Cross, Piccadilly Circus, Saville Row, Grosvenor Square: so many epic buildings and neighborhoods, places sung of in the songs of my youth. Impressive architecture, towering monuments of Empire Past wrought large in stone and metal statuary, iconic places around every corner. Even places I’d never heard of, like Cadogan Square, filled with endless gorgeous buildings—and more Ferraris, Bentleys and Porches than you could shake a stick at. “Not for the faint of heart,” I said to my friend Patrick during our hang time together there the other day. “Not for the faint of wallet!” He replied. Too true. Well played, London–truly impressive.
And I didn’t even get out of town to explore the other gems of the UK—so clearly this is yet another area to return to. And since it’s Schengen-free, perhaps next season will bring me to explore the old heath and heather of the United Kingdom more deeply. But if this is July 4th, then it must be time for me to fly to Berlin, so au revoir London—thanks for the warm welcome!
