I...Urban Observations
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007One of the best aspects of my job is that it gets me out of the house a few days each week. I get to commute to work by train, and mix with a variety of London folk. Each day is different, and all these little snippets of experience help to define *my* London life.
A few minutes after leaving my workplace I crossed paths with a woman who looked a lot like Lucy Liu.
Her hair was actually a lot like in that first pic, it cascaded around her face in soft Farah Fawcett waves. She was wearing a leather jacket, dark blue jeans and some calf-length stiletto boots. She was about my height (5ft5/165cm) and she looked a million dollars. It probably wasn’t Ms Liu, but it was a nice moment to store in my memories.
A few minutes later, on the train home, I experienced a moment of clarity. Without any entertainment to distract me, I decided to focus on my surroundings and the sensations I was receiving from around me. These included:
- The sound of pages being turned. Papers being folded.
Metal tracks beneath us screaming against the friction of our travel.
Someone’s phone rings; Gollum’s demented voice drifts around the carriage - My hand holds an orange pole for support; its metal feels so cold and smooth.
The bag on my shoulder causes a slight pressure in my posture; I feel the vertebrae in my spine contracting and rubbing against each other in protest.
The train rumbles beneath my feet. - I observe a guy in a suit wearing a badge celebrating the London 2012 Olympics. I wondered whether he might get attacked for supporting the games so publicly.
Another guy in casual clothing wears a green wrist band, with the words ‘Carling Reading’ sewn into it. I guess the event was some kind of summer festival, but perhaps it’s now time to take it…
A young medical/human biology student studies diagrams of anatomy as we stand on the crowded train. - A blond guy eats a meat pastry. It smells delicious.
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Some other sights I’ve noticed recently on my travels:
On a rainy day I look up from my book and see a man sitting opposite. He is dressed like Count Dracula. His hand is resting on a silver skull, which happens to be the handle of his umbrella.
As I walk along a tube platform I disturb a young couple who are busy snogging. The girl is a cute gothic type. I casually walk by without paying them any attention.
A woman’s shoulder bag. Crocodile-skin style, light purple, but looks rather old. The word ‘envy’ is etched into the zip’s tag’.
As I look out of a train travelling past Vauxhall on a dark evening, I see an otherwise nondescript building bathed in violet light. I don’t mind the nights getting longer when I’m greeted with such splendid sights.
A dishevelled-looking guy appears to be burning a substance using a lighter and some foil, then inhaling the result of his alchemy. On the train. In the daytime.
A couple of alsatians fight each other outside the vet’s office near my house. Their owner shouts at them to stop, but they ignore him. As I walk away from the scene, a man walking towards me stops to survey the spectacle.
On the way to the doctor today, I notice an elderly couple leaving the doctor’s surgery. They are holding hands, the man supporting the woman as they cross the road. The woman is white, the man is black (apart from the white afro atop his head).
10:15 pm on 24-Oct-07
Years ago, on my daily commute from Edgware to Old Street (and back again) on the Northern Line, I often used to see the same people over and over, of whom I still can remember a blind man who got on at Golders Green and used to read Braille books, a woman with Turetts Syndrome (is that how you spell it? I’ve never written it before) who used to hold her Daily Express up in front of her face so no one could see her, a young couple who used to hold hands and giggle at each other, and a woman who invariably would unwrap a tuna sandwich and eat it, presumably her breakfast, and stink the whole carriage out. Never a dull moment on the Northern Line!