A Lady in London

The weather in London has been hovering around 0 degrees Celsius for the last week. The trees in Hampstead Heath have lost the last of their leaves. I haven’t seen the sun in days, and if it rains one more time this week I might cry. Ah, winter in London. Such an uplifting time.

In order to keep Seasonal Affect Disorder at bay and remind myself of why I moved to this bone chilling grey-skied paradise, I’m going to make a list of things I love about London. Here they are, in no particular order. Please feel free to leave comments listing all the things I’ve forgotten.

Hampstead Heath
Sunday Roast at the Holly Bush
The V&A
Christmas lights and giant inflatable snowmen in Soho
Mince pies
Mulled wine for the holidays
Borough Market
Big Ben
The Houses of Parliament
Trafalgar Square
Columbia Road Flower Market
The tube
Big red buses
Blue plaques on buildings telling you what famous person used to live there
Signs on the road telling you which way to look for oncoming traffic
Foxes
Figaros
Fancy dress parties
Clubs that stay open past 2am
St. James’s Park in spring
Hyde Park in spring
Any park in spring
Spring in general
Summer in particular (if we get one)
Summer BBQs
Proximity to Europe and ease of travel
Trains
The Eurostar
Pubs
Yorkshire pudding
Bangers and mash
Scottish salmon
Indian food
Harrods’ food halls
Chelsea Physic Garden
The British Museum
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Tower Bridge
The London Eye (even though my fear of heights prohibits me from riding it)
The Gherkin
Dogs
The friendliness of English people after 10 pints at the pub (but usually not before)
Boris Johnson’s hair
Primrose Hill
Camden Markets
Gail’s bakery
The fact that every day a new Pain Quotidien opens somewhere
Marylebone High Street
Spitalfields Market
The Natural History Museum
The Science Museum
The Tate Britain
The Tate Modern
The Globe
Battersea Power Station
Barnes Common
Clapham Common
Richmond Park
Richmond in general
Ridiculous tabloids
Notting Hill
Holland Park
Green Park
Golders Green
Muswell Hill
Crouch End
Gordon Ramsay on Hospital Rd
Bars in Clapham that remind me of college
Mahiki
Mayfair
Gorgeous architecture
St Paul’s Cathedral
Paternoster Square
Temple
Cask ale
Cider
Pubs that were re-built in 1667
Funny street names like “Poultry St” and “Pudding Lane”
Ice skating at Somerset House
Amaya
The few warm, sunny days we get in summer
Gastropubs
Greenwich
The excessive need to explain public works projects on large signs
Royal Mail
Hampstead village
Minding the gap