ReLondoning

All the pressure is off now. It's delightful. Stuart and I woke up yesterday with every intention of being spontaneous, and the idea that spontaneously occurred to Stuart was a trip to St Paul's. I had heard of it - wasn't it a cute little English church? - so we got on the tube at Earl's Court and made our way to St Paul's Station.

It was funny turning down a little alley and seeing a juggernaut Cathedral staring down at us. London is planned around this church; its streets and buildings defer to it, and even in some cases lean to one side to ensure there are uninterrupted views of it. Now I'm just glad I'm not some anti-religious heathen who thinks that every Church should be deconsecrated and turned into a public secular space - haha, what kind of insufferable bore has *that* for an opinion? - but even so I didn't feel much like going inside a Church again.

My feet were aching and my quota of Christianity was full. Stuart was gorgeously amenable to the prospect of me going to a cafe while he did a tour, so I found a sweet foxhole in Caffe Nero, bought an Oat Cap, and sat down to read a book of poetry I had bought in Berwick. The tour went way overtime, but ultimately it worked out well because I got to decompress a bit, and read a powerful queer book too. Plus, did you know that St Pauls is right next to the London Stock Exchange (God and Mammon are neighbours!) so all the financial types in their tailored suits were walking past or buying coffee, so I got a great perv on all the Tory guys. (I'll disavow them all three times before sunrise, but they do look good in a tailored suit).

After that we went to Covent Garden because Stuart's Dior Sauvage was Dior Boring and he was running out of chances for a really great niche perfume in one of the perfume capitals of the world. After a quick burger, it was back to Bloom Perfumery to see the lovely Sarah, and she got to work trying to target Stuart's taste. It didn't take her long - only fifteen minutes of sampling was enough to get Stuart down to "Vetiver Santal," "Rasputin" or "Liqueur Charnelle." Stuart chose the latter, liking its spiciness and subtle cognac notes. It's a great smell. (I liked something called "Ciel Immobile" but I will not be buying any more perfume until 2047)

Back to The Prime and our luxury Georgian cupboard of a room for a nap before I got on the train to Upton Park to meet my friend Nick at The Boleyn Tavern. I got lost on the way there (tube, cab, tube) and lost on the way back (walk, walk, uber) but at least I got to see a fair tranche of London at night, with a fox roaming quiet streets, a bunch of men in tuxedos outside a fancy hotel, a drunkard dancing, and the lights of a bridge - possibly Waterloo bridge - changing colour beneath the neon magenta of the London Eye.

Even when it's not being special, London is special.Read more