Saturday, November 29, 2008

Trafalgar

On a very typical London afternoon a friend and I take the tube (scratch that; tube is down as usual), a bright red double-decker bus towards central London in hopes of a quality bite to 'fill the gap' in our, well yeah, bellies. A typical London afternoon you ask? Well, most of you know where I'm going with this, but for those who are wondering let me attempt to draw out the cliche´. The air is most definitely moist and the sky is filled with this sorta stubborn attitude. London's stubbornness tends to spit down consistent bits of rain on a yearly basis. If it doesn't rain today, there is a good chance it'll rain tomorrow. In the winter, this attitude is coupled with the lack of available sunlight since it's normally known to set by around 4pm (that's at least what we're told since the clouds usually cover any evidence of a setting sun). Some words that I've heard used to describe London's weather are, 'dreary', 'bleak', 'balmy', 'depressing', 'gloomy', 'melancholy', 'somber'... Okay, so I'll stop there, but if you like the sun, London is not the place for you.

However, the optimist in me forces me to take a reflective step back. I mean, over 7 million people do live here and I'd hope that some of them are happy with their meteorological situation. For one, I guess it is a great talking point and most people take advantage of that commonality on a daily basis. It's actually kinda fun to get some aggression out on the weather. "Oh, this bloody weather is really a pain in the nickers!" Hmm. That still doesn't make it worth it for me.

I'll jump to my forced justification. Sometimes you have to look past the drizzle to find the color spectrum. It's always somewhere. And no matter what, it can't rain forever. Even during the worst spells, the sun does come out and when it shines, it shines. You even find yourself stopping in your tracks to fully appreciate and absorb the brief moments.

As we passed Trafalgar Square I quickly started snapping shots from the 2nd floor of the double-decker. This vision formed as we passed the famous London landmark. The rest of the day was very bleak, dark, wet... and promising.

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Update: Took 2nd place in an LSE media photo competition with this one.

5 comments:

  1. That posting made me feel weird on the inside...depressed yet uplifted. Fantastic my good chap!

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  2. Here is my optimist thinking- perhaps it will help you. When I went to Scotland, and saw the forecast for 7 straight days of rain, I had 2 choices. 1. Be pissed that I flew 6 hours and paid $2000 for this shit. or 2. This is what Scotland is SUPPOSED to be like. This is the true definition of authentic. Much like in many sports, in golf you can either sit there and bitch about the weather, or you can suck it up. If you decide to take the high road, you have a leg up on everyone else you are playing against. Same as life- either spend your time bitching and never get ahead, or take what the weather gives you and make an opportunity out of it.

    Just a thought...

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  3. I've always been a fan of the sports analogy. The British Open is boring without the 40 mph gusts, torrential down poor and disastrous last hole blowups by Frenchmen. You're right, it's about authenticity and perspective. Shooting an 80 can be just as rewarding as shooting a 68 depending based on the dependents.

    Thanks for the post.

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  4. The thing about London is... it makes you appreciate the sun and the sunny parts of everything and everyone. It will drive you crazy but surprise you when you least expect it... This post reminds me of that.

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  5. A very humanistic view of the metaphor. Me gusta, Senorita Florencia.

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