My Profound Thoughts

An excerpt from My London Diaries

It was a long day attending a state-of-the-art meeting with scientific experts on Immune Thrombocytopenia at the Cavendish conference centre. I met many people from different areas of healthcare and research there who shared their experiences.

A lovely person, Margaret from Leicester, with whom I spent most of the day, joined me in walking to the Oxford Street station. Even though she could catch her Tube a few stops before King’s Cross, she kindly joined me to offer company, which I didn’t deny either. Indeed our world is not evil as there are still kind people around.

Margaret and I parted our ways at London Kings Cross after saying our goodbyes. I didn’t know if ever will I meet her again, but what I had learned in life so far was enough to understand nothing was impossible. I knew my husband was there waiting for me for the rest of the evening. My plans were simple, a stroll in London and a dinner date with my other half.

…London…the city that befriended me since the day I landed in Heathrow 11 years ago. The place stood beside me as I drafted my path to where I am today. The journey wasn’t any more straightforward as it might appear to many from the other side. But thank God, I dare not complain about any of it, as nothing but His grace continually bestowed upon me all my way.

Though I moved out of the city a few years later, my affinity for the place grew, and I never seized any opportunity that brought me back. Strolling by the Tower Bridge on a Saturday evening was not a bad idea after all; my mind was taken aback years behind.

As we walked along, I stopped to take in the beauty of the River Thames and the distinguished structures on the other end. The wind was strong, and the water rippled, hitting the barriers, persistently pleading to remove all constraints and let it flow.

The Shard of glass stayed high and mighty, overlooking the city like a guardian angel. Nothing has changed; the heavy traffic, the usual hustles and bustles, amid everything, people ‘lives’ here in harmony. Indeed the city that I fell for, the one that never ceased to amaze me. I didn’t realise how the time had passed so quickly.

We moved on to find a bus to take us to the Tower Tandoori; funny enough that we walked a long way to find the bus stop, only to travel a few stops to get down to this fine restaurant with a Mughal decorum. Though a bit busy and noisy because of the hour we chose, the food was delicious.

It was already half-past nine in the evening when we took our bus to Holborn. At least that’s what we believed ‘the Holborn part’, only to realise a few minutes later that we had caught the bus in the opposite direction. In the years I lived in this city, I learned that you never get lost in London. We hopped down the next stop at Bermondsey to catch the Tube to London Bridge and followed the City Thameslink to Kings Cross.

My hubby gripped my hands as we crossed the road to our hotel, of course he knew better than me to guide me safely. I embraced the feeling of my soul dancing in delight, all refreshed and relaxed.

And I whispered, “Thank you, London”.

Much love ❤️

~ Chinchu Gibu

#london #towerbridge #strollinlondonstreets #theshardofglass #riverthames