Autumn in London

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 2020 and 2021. Yes, it was a truly awful period. Much has been written and will continue be written about the surreal, haunting and painful time that much of humanity experienced. For that very reason, this post is about finding joys, appreciation and even a small thrill in activities we earlier took for granted.

The time has come to wipe off the cyber cobwebs and bring my blog to life again. What better way to do that than take the reader on a walk through one of my favourite cities - London.

Shortly after my 2nd jab, I took my first flight out and landed in London in the autumn of 2021. Quick alert - there will be a lot of post-covid 'firsts' in this post and the ones to follow.

I felt an inexplicable feeling of novelty in taking a flight and then a taxi, walking in a familiar neighbourhood, watching people hurry back from from work, meeting people I hadn't seen for 18 months. More than ever before I felt fortunate to be able to do this.

In that period of re-discovery, I stumbled upon this whacky neon-lighted exhibition in Canary Wharf.

Back in 2021, the current hullabaloo around AI hadn't become mainstream, ChatGPT was yet to be launched and driverless cars were still failing key tests. 

As a rule, I am fairly pro-technology. Yet, I can't agree more with this sign below. (At least do not trust them completely!)

As I walked along, it was reassuring to have confirmation of my whereabouts. Clearly, me being there was part of some wider plan.....


Armed with this knowledge and my new-found confidence in tackling the post-covid world, I decided to take the Tube to my favourite spots,  only to discover that I was probably one of the five people on the entire London Underground who still thought wearing a mask was sensible (note this was the period between Delta and Omicron waves). Nevertheless, I stuck to masks in closed spaces for the rest of my stay. My philosophy is: do what works for you as long as it doesn't harm anyone.


Later in the week, while browsing through shops in the Docklands area, I joined a friend in what became my first post-covid meal in a public space. This was again unplanned, else we would have chosen a more exotic venue. Despite the mundane location, the potato chips (fries) tasted out-of-this world, proving that home delivery is cool but restaurants are here to stay.

The following day, we got a bit more adventurous and went into Central London to discover a new buzz on New Row.

I had to visit the South Bank, a place with layers of personal memories. I noticed modest queues in front of my favourite eating joints. No one seemed to mind the wait. It was just nice to be out and about.

Another evening, after some more socialising, a friend and I decided to take a quick peek at Borough Market. Most shops had closed for the day but it was nice to wander around.

There were plenty of grey skies but luckily some crisp, blue-sky days too. I don't think I ever captured the London Eye so well in nearly two-decades of being a Londoner. It is also somewhat awkward that, despite having worked a stone's throw away from the London Eye for several years, and even watching it from an old conference room, I have actually never been on it (!) 

Finally, I must end this post with the most yummy-licious home-made meal I had in a while. A vegetarian version of the Hungarian Goulash and some fantastic side dishes created by friend who has been a hidden culinary master long before Covid created new bakers and home chefs.


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Location: London, UK

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