Blissful Nature

Walking through and around Kensington Gardens has become more than a daily ritual wrought with indifference or mundane triviality - it is truly a compulsive necessity. I find that my breathing becomes easier and deeper as my body passes through the black iron gates of the park, and my mind clears of its clamoring and incessant chatter, to reveal a sense of calm and peacefulness not often acquired in such a large city. The fountains have been turned on in the park - and this has made all the difference. Water shoots up like a geyser from six different points on each of five fountains in the formal garden area - the sound of water both rushing and gently falling, like two contrasting melodies. At one end of the garden, The Serpentine begins and the glassine surface mirrors the hazy grey sky while the branches of sentient willow trees gracefully dip into the pool. In this paradise, swans glide, ducks bob, and a multitude of birds take flight in various games of fancy. It is lovely.

I often become side-tracked in my adventures of the day because I visit this magical place first, and like many days, today - I ended up sitting a long while and writing. I watch a lot of life go by as well and am often struck by the variety I am entertained with. Today I also spent some time with Ms. Austen - as my "mini-me" is currently taken in by Pride and Prejudice, I thought another dance with it might be very well-advised.

I also happened to stop in at one of my old local haunts - JD Wetherspoons - a bar/restaurant on the corner of Edgware Road and Oxford Street. It's fantastically entertaining to trace steps that have come long before and to contemplate how different and similar life is. And because it is London, I was acquainted this evening with a friendly stranger. He mistook me for being Italian - and I'm still attempting to understand the compliment or the affront in his remark - but in any case, it was an enjoyable almost hour where I learned about Cyprus, and worldly news events. I am quite sure he was disgraced to find me so ignorant of the current world events, but at least I was able to remark intelligently on the horrors of Haiti. I think it's absolutely hysterical to meet a stranger on the street and to sit over tea for a chat - and it is ridiculous that we should be so used to isolation and independence, that I would find it hysterical! I rather like the idea of people meeting people. I'm lucky that London is just the place where this societal faux pas happens.