A Place To Read

A trip to London to visit Roam and Shenny. I think it must be all of two years since I made the journey south to see them in residence. I'm determined this year to catch up on some of the things I'd failed to do in the previous one.

Roam met me at King's Cross, which prompted a visit to the British Library nearby, which I was 'staggered' to discover he'd never seen before. Having been a frequent visitor to the famous round reading room that was formerly situated within the British Museum, I fell in love with the new building when it was opened twenty years ago. The British Library was one of the very first clients of my former company, indeed, the one that basically launched us and paid the bills at the outset. I had written one of the very earliest image databases. The new building presents the most beautiful space for study and research. It has always had the feel of a cathedral to me, a place to pay homage to the written word.
 
It was then a case of having a wander through the city, chatting while we walked, stirring memories of a time when I travelled these streets often. I soon found that it's hard to make eye contact with people in London, and generally much tougher to engage with random strangers on the street. People here have their defences up far more than folk up north. 

Roam lives on the 21st floor of a tower block opposite Wembley Stadium, with an unobstructed view south of the London skyline. He took me for a run in the evening, a jog out to the stadium and then four laps around it. It's amazing that he has this traffic-free, well-lit circuit, right on his doorstep. It's a very long time since we've enjoyed a run together. I hope we can now make this a regular thing. Very proud of my youngest today.