The Tourist

“It is difficult to speak adequately or justly of London.

It is not a pleasant place; it is not agreeable, or cheerful, 

or easy, or exempt from reproach. It is only magnificent.” 

Henry James

“As a cloud crosses the sun, silence falls on London; 

and falls on the mind. Effort ceases. Time flaps on the mast. 

There we stop; there we stand.” 

from Mrs. Dalloway

by Virginia Woolf

A New London Rising ?

“London has the trick of making its past, its long indelible past, 

always a part of its present. And for that reason it will always 

have meaning for the future, because of all it can teach about 

disaster, survival, and redemption. It is all there in the streets. 

It is all there in the books.” 

from Imaged London: A  Tour of the World's Greatest

Fictional City

by Anna Quindlen

"I had rather see the portrait of a dog that I know,

 than all the allegorical paintings they can show me in the world."

Samuel Johnson

Detail of a painting at the National Gallery (London)

So how can you tell me you're lonely, 

And say for you that the sun don't shine? 

Let me take you by the hand and lead you through 

the streets of London

I'll show you something to make you change your mind 

Ralph McTell; Streets of London Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whv7MgepUQQ&list=RDWhv7MgepUQQ

Home again, home from our trip to London. 

"By seeing London, I have seen as much of life 

as the world can show."

Samuel Johnson

"and it occurs to me

that if I were to die at this moment

that picture would accompany me

wherever I am going

for part of the way."

from The Last Picture in The World

by Al Purdy