thefan
Ink Global international editor, U.S.,
CHRISWRIGHT
is toying
with the ideaof launchinghisownLondon tourcompany, tobe
calledWhereAreWe?
jump off and walk the rest of the way, see what hap-
pens.Usually,what happens is that I get lost.And that’s
OK, because sometimes you’ll be looking for one thing
and find another.Sometimes youneed towalk around a
building a couple of times to realize that, hey, there’s a
big stone lion sitting there!
This is how it’s been since I got back, like apermanent
holiday (albeit one that requires I go towork). I’ve even
started to venture farther afield.The other day I tookmy
kid toSt.Albans,a small cityabout25milesoutsideLon-
don,wherewe found a glorious cathedral,parts ofwhich
date back to 1077.But the truly extraordinarymoments
occur here inLondon,when, having taken a left instead
of a right, I’ll encounter a building or a park and half-
remember a dream—or not a dream: an experience.
Thishappened tome recently,as Iwalkedpast a shabby
little courtyard on the Old Brompton Road inWest
London,not far fromwhere I grewup. I knew this place.
Iused toplay in this courtyardwith…ooh…Simon!We
wouldhavebeenabout7yearsold.He livedalonewithhis
dad,who never smiled. I walked into the yard, and there
it was,my friend’s kitchenwindow, and right then I was
rockedby the collisionofmemory and chance.Tobe fair,
Ididn’t really likeSimon thatmuch,but thatwindow still
mademe cry.
I don’t want to get precious here, but there did seem
to be something profound about this, peering at strange
surroundings throughaveil of familiarity,as ifmydayhad
beenplottedby IanMcEwan.Inanyevent,Iwantedmore,
andI spent the restof theafternoon roamingaroundchild-
hoodhaunts,places Iknewanddidn’tknow,trying tohold
on to the delicious ache of Simon’s Courtyard—which
wouldmake a good title for one ofMcEwan’s books.
The lyricismof theoccasionwasdiminished somewhat
by the journey home,whichwasn’t really a journey home
at all.This time,my convolutions tookmedeeper into an
area that promised a different kind of surprise, the kind
that appears out of an alley and takes your phone.Taxi!
As we drove through the dark towardNorthLondon,
I stopped looking out thewindow and started looking at
GoogleMaps.Iwas interested in the routewewere taking,
the decisions that led us to bypass this street in favor of
that, to cut left whenwe couldhave cut right.The driver
definitely seemed to knowwhat he was doing, and for a
moment I sort of enviedhim that.
