~ An open mind ~

Oh London, how you tempt me with your beauty and decay, your ancient wiles and modern possibility. I hadn't expected to have such a great weekend. I mean, I knew my days with Sas would be full of laughter and connection, but i didn't expect to fall back in love with the city. And when i say back in love I mean rapturously, madly, insanely back in love with old London town. Maybe it was because Sas and I drove across the city on adventures like Thelma and Louise. Maybe it was the sunshine and high energy around the Notting Hill Carnival preparation. I got to see so many of the places I love - Battersea Power Station, the Natural History Museum, Portobello Road, the Barbican, Greenwich Market. I discovered that Chiswick is a place I can see myself living, with my little car (more on that soon) and my portable business. Doing the work i do I can live anywhere, and this weekend I felt my brain expand as i soaked in all the possibilities, stuff i hadn't considered for a very long time. I'm not saying i'm leaving Bath... but now i know i could, and that realisation is going to make the next 12 months a lot more interesting. You only live once, right?

UPDATE: My mum just emailed me, after reading this post, and shared this: 'Just to let you know that your grandad (my dad) assisted in the construction of one of the chimneys on Battersea Power Station - I know it is not called that now, but just a little snippet from the past.' - how freakin' cool is that?!

Comments

[lina]

JUST DO IT!

[Paris Parfait]

Lovely 'roids! I love London and will be there soon, armed with my camera. We used to live in Blackheath, just across the heath from the Greenwich Observatory. I often went to the Greenwich Market. xo

[carla white]

I loved living in Chiswick -- right on Fauconberg road. Say that one fast enough, it sounds a little naughty. London has a vibe that can't be matched anywhere else. If I could afford to live there I would in a heart beat. Go for it! That way I can visit you when I'm in town visiting the family. Awesome pix too btw.

[bella]

A city I am dying to visit!! May you have fun nurturing your dream! xo

[Lu]

it has been such a long time since I visited London and your pictures make me miss the flavor of that city. Lately, I am so filled with thoughts of adventure and possibilities...longing for adventures and, suddenly cupcakes!

[doorways traveler]

i want to sit on that old blue table, wearing a frilly frock and daintily dip my finger into the frosting on one of those cupcakes. then, i want to see each and every one of those lovely places you've captured...

divine.

xoxo lisa

[Ruth]

I love the colorful houses!

[Jennifer R]

ah susannah... if you move back to london i will come be your assistant or your butler. love that last photo of alice's. i remember walking past it on my little trip to london town. alas it was closed. your photo made it come alive for me. :>

[Monica]

I am making plans to move out west to Denver. The Rocky Mountains and the western mentality is calling me. New sights, new places to explore...

Exciting and wonderful that you are open to the possibilities that are calling your heart!

[Pebbledash]

This is like a visual trip down memory lane! I lived in Chiswick for nearly twenty years, and loved it. Go for it if that's where your heart is leading you.

[charlane]

oh, such beautiful shots....to see new possibilities through another's eyes. and i bought myself cupcakes today. life is good.

[Roxanne]

Oh, I loved London too, when I visited. Follow your heart, but not too hastily. Has the reasoning behind your move to Bath now become less relevant? Not to sound like a nay-sayer, but ... do really think about it.

Love the pictures!

[Diane]

Just delurking here to say that I love your blog and the space you have created here. You are one of my favorite places to visit with my cup of tea! I love how you write and I adore your photographs. They inspire me to use my camera more.

Your Canadian reader,
Diane

[sas]

love the battersea shot - you've got all of its concreteness :)
chiswick would love to have you honey.
xxx

[Mel (geordiegirl)]

My main inspiration for wanting to work for myself (apart from needing to create *something*) is that I can do it from anywhere.

Funnily enough, near the top of my list would be Bath ... :)

(Love all the pictures especially the row of houses.)

Mel
x

(fyi - I used to be "mj" - mj art design. Changing identity already!)

[Marisa]

you only live once

[Samosasforone]

Hi Susannah: I'm finally done camping out here. Thank you for all that you have chosen to share with us in this place. There was many a time while I read something you wrote and thought I feel that way too...or I thought I was the only one. Your powerful writing and photographs have helped this one little Indian woman stand a little taller on my journey to claiming who I am. I offer to you a wish that your future is filled with much love, joy, and wisdom to tackle the challenges that life always gives us.

One thing I wanted to ask you was what you have learned from your Unravelling classes? What has it excavated for you that surprised you?

[barbara]

So many memories.... sometimes i day dream and think how would my life had been if i stayed in that beautiful city...who knows maybe life will take me back there...
Yes, yu only live once.... i´m glad you enjoyed it.

[Liz]

oh london how I adore thee... my student days in Paris, taking the overnight train to london to stay in (yes) Chiswick at a friend's flat from art college, I dreamed and dreamed of living in London (so many neighborhoods called to me), and yet never did, just lots of visits... my proposed move from Paris to London ended up changing to Oban, up in the western highlands... funny the turns in the road ahead that you don't see coming when you are dreaming up plans... look forward to your further dreams of london-town

[Marianne @ Zen Peacekeeping]

Just knowing that you could go there and imagining how your life would be there is so delicious - savour it. I know you'll be in London eventually, when your time in Bath is ready to end and I can't wait to play in London-town with you. xx

[Ashbyia]

Delurking, at last. I just want to say that it's really great to see how you've blossomed, to read about where your determination, hope, and love of life has taken you. You're an inspiration to those of us still struggling with stuff. And your photographs are beautiful (she says with more than a soupcon of envy at your skill with a camera).

[megg]

I know - I absolutely love London. It has a real city-soul. Even if someone just dropped you off without knowing where you were, you would know you were in London. I think it is time for me to go again!

Glad you are so replenished!

ox

[Jennifer Evans]

Sigh! Is it weird that I see photos of London and Glos. and feel home sick? I mean really, I only lived there for a summer... but I do. Thank you for sharing a bit of "home."

[moline/yvonne]

Do it! London is also one of my most loved cities on earth and if there is the slicghtest possibility of making a life there and not suffer too much because of the insane rents - just do it. You need the surroundings that embrace and uplift you. And if it is this city - just go for it!
There is a remote chance for us living there in the future and I am sitting and wishing for that here. Sometimes what you are wishing for becomes true!