A letter to London City

30th August, 2021

Never will you experience your heart getting ripped out of your chest, thrown to the rubbish infested gutter then scooped back up and restored with an unsayable amount of love and warmth in one fluent motion.

On the chance you are physically heading forward but mentally going backwards when a stranger with a brown paper bag of Buckfast stops you in your motion and forwards your mindset into a thankful wealth of feeling grateful for everything you have.

London City.

I have a tonne to thank you for, and even more to slap you on the hand about. I don’t even know where to start. 

I feel I can be as vulnerable as I like, you’ve seen me at my worst, you’ve seen me at my best.

You’ve carried my hungover self, miserable through parks trying to navigate my way home on a Sunday with no wallet.

You’ve lead me to running my first ever ultra marathon.

You’ve fed me top of the line food in Chelsea, and you’ve sold me a mouldy falafel wrap in Hackney.

You witnessed me on the most embarrassing date of my life, and you’ve also taken me on my most successful date of my life.

I’ve sat in your parks in the rain, terrible wet and cold weather yet making me feel as safe and calm as I’ve ever been.

You’ve witnessed my rejection, you carried me to succession.

You’ve taken running in the snow, thunder, summer heat and your pollen infested parks.

You regularly slung me on expeditions into Europe and always made sure I made work the following week.

You’ve kept me up for 40 hours straight and you’ve also put me to sleep for a whole weekend.

You opened my heart, London. And not only did you twist it severely and kick it about the stadium, you were so gentle with it and kept a eye over my shoulder during my whole existence inside you.

You opened my mind too, drastically, and I will forever be thankful.

A place I feel more at home than my own home, 18,435kms apart from each other.

Some of the best friends I could ever want, and the place I met the love of my life.

I started out puzzled, lost and confused - I ended up with everything I could have ever asked for, and more.

Thank you for helping my sort my life out.

Thank you for teaching me that being scared, that meditation, thoughts, feelings, trust, resistance and guilt are all ok.

Thank you for everything, ill always be owing and grateful.

See you again.

SBG