They say home is where the heart is and I'm lucky enough to call London my home. Along
with eight million other people. My itchy feet have taken me all over the world and
yet I've always needed to return. London has been the constant in my life, the place from
which I can make sense of the world and my place in it. It's been my playground, my school
and my home. So let me take you on a journey. London in ten words. London is a city of villages
and there is no village I love more than Primrose Hill. It's one of the most charming and affluent
parts of the city with its colourful houses and beautiful green park I've spent many happy
summer afternoons here. Affluent is an adjective that means wealthy or rich and charming means
attractive. When I was six I also crashed into one of the trees while sledging down
the hill in the snow but you know! And it has, in my opinion, one of the best views
of London.
Contrast that with Hackney Wick.
Cool, hip, young, the Wick is where the hipsters
hang out. But it's a neighbourhood of two sides. One side is run-down which means it
is in bad condition. While the other side is up and coming which means it will be popular
or successful in the future. With new builds and construction going on everywhere this
is an area changing before my eyes.
Just down the road is trendy Shoreditch. Trendy means fashionable and up to date and Shoreditch
is exactly that. With its cool bars and shops, my nights have often started and ended here.
One thing I'm proudest about is that London is so multicultural. Anyone from anywhere
is accepted here and nowhere is that more evident than central London. Man, on a sunny
Spring evening it's buzzing. Buzzing is an informal adjective that means lively and full
of life. And on evenings like this Soho and Covent Garden are the places to be. But don't
get me wrong, London isn't perfect. Take Leicester Square. It's super touristy. Everything costs
more there and in my opinion you are not getting to experience authentic London but hey what
do I know? People seem to love it.
No trip to London would be complete without an afternoon in Camden Town. It's easily one
of London's most vibrant areas. Vibrant means full of energy and life. It's a synonym of
buzzing. Camden is where I spent most of my teenage years, hanging out in the music venues
and record shops. There's nowhere quite like Camden anywhere in the world.
And so to my final word, leafy. I grew up in an area that had loads of green spaces
and trees lining the streets and that's how you would describe a leafy area. In Spring
the cherry blossoms come out and turn London into a temporary wonderland and nowadays an
Instagram paradise. I hope you've enjoyed this little journey through London and seeing
the city through my eyes. I hope one day you can see it through your eyes too. This is
Tom, the Chief Dreamer, saying goodbye.