Referentiality

Well, with 16 days to go I decided that I will entertain you with five of my favourite things about London, one at a time. After that, five of my favourite things about moving to Malta. If you have ever clubbed, you will know this technique as the downer-upper, which is a big no-no. 

Fav 1: Referentiality

It always amazes me that is so easy to find glimpses of London in so many books and movies, places i came to know so well. I come from a small town in Italy and I used to get excited if in a foreign book the closest big city (Milan) would be mentioned, even if in very small type in the footnotes. 

In London you are part of the choreography, people. From Harry Potter to Sherlock Holmes via Bridget Jones, together with The Who, The Clash, Oliver Twist, A Clockwork Orange, Adele, Sex Pistols, My Fair Lady, the Beatles, Peter Pan, The 101 Dalmatians, Jack the Ripper, Cat Stevens, About a Boy, James Bond, A Christmas Carol, Blur, Notting Hill, Amy Winehouse, Pink Floyd, Charlie Chaplin, Led Zeppelin... please stop me. The list goes on, and these are just a few. 

In three occasions yours truly brushed shoulders with the golden people. Once I was with Joey in Camden and Amy Winehouse asked us for a cigarette. I didn't have any. I frantically tried to roll her one but she walked away. Her back looked amazing, it's imprinted in my memory.

Once I spoke with the bass player of the Clash. I was with my good friends, who I am going to call Flamingirl and Flaminguy. Flamingirl and Flaminguy share similar qualities, they both are nice, fair, wise and wiseass at the same time, they are both born & bred in London, which makes of them a rare flamingo breed indeed.  Since the time of the Clash-spotting, Flamingirl became officially my english sister, my brit-benefactor, a never ending dispenser of grammar and swag. Anyway, we were having drinks in a pub in Notting Hill, chatting away and smoking. Flaminguy spotted the bass player of the Clash. I knew and loved the Clash since the tender age of 13, being introduced to them by the older sister of my cooler friend. I could have recited their lyrics by heart, but I had no idea what their names were and how they looked like. Before you judge me, please remember that my generation didn't have Google and we relied on home made tapes. Well, Mr Simonon (as I later found out) was not very pleased. He was trying to light a cigarette while holding Sainsbury's bags, and he practically disappeared when I wasn't looking. Sly puss.

Once i took the picture of my Starbuck's colleague and the drum player of the Queen. I had no idea who he was until my colleague told me, after he left the store. 

If it seems like a lot, I can assure you it's not. Stories like mine are very common, and usually more exciting. Point is, history was and is made here, and you get to be part of it.