I'm in London still

Life in London has been a bit of a roller coaster ride of late. Over the course of the past month I've experienced some of my lowest moments since I've been away. But two amazing individuals managed to counteract the negatives and made June not only bearable but full of some of my fondest travel memories. Alice and Kara came to stay with us late in June. They are friends of Tess' from back home and were my shining beacon of light amidst the miserable, soul sucking gloom which had settled on 84 Graveney rd a week earlier (I may be exaggerating a little for dramatic effect BUT honestly at the time that's how it felt). Their fresh traveler enthusiasm injected a little life back into all of us.

The main reason I extended my trip by 3 months was so I could attend Arcade Fire's Hyde park gig on June 30th. I could barely contain my excitement in the lead up to the show. I find it hard to put into words how much I love this band. Some music I listen to, to help me sleep. Some to make me wanna dance. I have my happy music. My sad music. My background music. But Arcade is my always music. They're incredible. That's all. Period. I'm listening to them now... ANYWAY the show was worth the extra 3 months worth of cash spent on living expenses. From the very first note played to the final I was totally and completely captivated. Here is a shitty video which in no way translates the sheer awesomeness of my experience but it's all I got.

Other highlights of late include the Kings of Leon gig, Tranny Bingo in Vauxhall, a night of feasting at Jamie's Italian and, of course, MY BIRTHDAY! Or rather the Saturday before my birthday when celebrations took place with all of 84 Graveneys inhabitants, which at the time, was quite a large number of people. We drank at the house, then we drank at Tooting Tram and Social then we drank at the house some more. Apart from Lucy's little sister needing to be escorted home 5 minutes after arriving at the bar (17 yr olds just can't hold their liquor) and the neighbours threatening to call the police every 5 minutes it was a perfect evening.

On my actual birthday I went to Spain. So far it is the only bit of travel which I regret and would prefer not to remember. I'm trying not to let this recent bad experience taint my love of Barcelona which blossomed during my previous stay there. After all it's not Barcelona's fault I had a bad time. It was the miserable, soul sucking gloom which followed me from Graveney. I did have a couple of good days when I managed to get out on my own but overall it was a waste of time and money. As well as Barcelona we went to Bilbao for a music festival which WOULD have been brilliant had I gone with Tess or Lucy or Alice or no one or a mosquito. Alas I wasn't that lucky. I couldn't wait to get home. I got to the airport 5 hours early and just willed time to move faster so I could get back to my family in Tooting. Man oh man was it good to get home. From the second I landed at Stansted things just started to go right again. My flight was 20 minutes early which meant the underground was still running so I could get two trains rather than a million buses. I was bumped to the front of the queue at customs. And all the girls Smiling faces were there to greet me when I arrived home. The miserable soul sucking gloom had finally lifted. For good.

The past week since I've been back has been great! I'm trying to make the most of every moment I have left here. The fact that our time together is coming to an end seems to be at the forefront of everyone's minds. We're practically living in each others pockets. If one person goes into another room the rest follow. It's as if we feel we can create a little store of time together to use at a later date. Like squirrels collecting nuts for the winter. Do squirrels actually do that?? Anyway you get what I mean. The past 4 months of living in a place where everyone's a stranger, or at the very most an acquaintance, these girls have been my family. I can't wait to get home to see my actually blood relatives and friends but it's hard to imagine not seeing Tulla, Lucy and Tess everyday. I think I might be a bit of an emotional wreck when it comes to saying goodbye to them. Oh well. I will try not to think about that until the time comes.

2 weeks to go.
14 days.
The countdown begins.
xx