Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Goodbye Rabbit Hutch

Farewell then, little boxlike apartment.

You may have been tiny. Tinier even than the lying letting agent told us. You may have been painfully expensive. But you did have a great view.
Living in a box is okay when one of the walls is all rooftops and sky

If you squint you can make out the top of the Chrysler, too. Trust me.

Since one of our London flat requirements is a garden, I imagine we'll be living rather closer to the ground than the 14th floor of Rabbit Hutch Towers. I wonder if I'll miss it, all that sky.

I was talking to a New Yorker recently who complained at how small the London sky is. I don't think that's quite true. London has much fewer highrises than New York, especially in the leafy 'burbs but even in relatively central areas like Marylebone, or Belgravia. The tallest buildings in most parts of town are usually five or six stories. So there's plenty of sky.

But the sky in New York is so often that lovely clear, bright, crisp blue. In London a fair amount of cloud cover is the norm. And that blanket of cloud makes the sky seem closer.

Call me crazy but I've missed those grey London skies. I can't wait to get back to them.

4 comments:

  1. Let me be the first to call you crazy for loving the London sky - it's pretty much the number one reason I live in NYC and not London! - but I love what your imminent move has done for your writing ... You're on fire! It's so nice to have a new story to read each day. Wishing you very happy travels. I'm sorry a proper introduction was scuppered by the squidgy Tipsy Parson. Hope to meet again here or across the pond. x

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  3. Ah thank you Pip! I'm so glad you're enjoying the blog. Btw the sky was disappointingly blue when I landed...

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