I am leaving London sans Royal Baby memorabilia. "Sans" is French for "without". I am unsure why I have just used it now but I have used it before and I will likely use it again.
The House of Windsor have not yet approved any Royal baby memorabilia so I could not get any Royal Baby George tea towels or stubby holders or mugs to bring back to Singapore with me.
I am disappointed.
I am also a tad disgruntled to be leaving London as it is one of the Great cities of the World. I quite like a lot of Englishness and London is full of it. It is only some of the English who annoy me and who I don't like.
Great Cities have a buzz. New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney Rome, and Paris and there are others as well. Buzz cities. London is one. It is Summer in London and there has been a Royal Baby born so there was an even bigger buzz than normal.
My departure from London is imminent.
My bag is packed and I have checked out of my hotel and I am sitting in the British Airways Business Class Lounge at Terminal Five in Heathrow Airport. There are a lot of people here and they are all on the move.
We are all of us leaving London.
I feel some sadness at leaving. That is an adequate enough descriptor of the emotion. It is not as deep a feeling of sadness that I experience when I leave Sydney or Melbourne or Kathmandu - but it is a sadness nevertheless.
It is melancholy.
I appreciate the architectural and historical glory of London and I love the palaces and the castles and the ancient buildings. I like the beautiful gardens and the well preserved facades and statues and arches and museums. They are everywhere and I will miss them.
I love Harrods and Marks and Spencers and Sainsbury's and Waitroses. I love the pubs with names like the Lamb and Flag and the Barrow and Bush and the Pig and Whistle. They are classic and are very English.
In a nice sort of a way.
I like the Monarchy and all of it's pomp and ceremony and I love the drivers of the London Black Cabs.
I like the word 'pomp.' I enjoy both writing it and saying it. As a general rule I like words that begin and end with the letter 'p'. Pomp. Pimp. Pump. Poop.
Pomp means splendid and magnificent and London is full of it.
I have caught many a Black Cab during my brief week in London. The Black Cabs of London are no longer just black though. The Black Cabs I caught were grey and white and only two were black. Canary Wharf is a fairly isolated place to stay and I had social meetings with friends one night in Shepherds Bush Green and another in Covent Garden. I caught Black Cabs to and fro.
The drivers of all Black Cabs in London are still required to do the Knowledge. This is the test for getting a London Taxi license. Passing the Knowledge is required no matter what color the Black Cab you drive is. It is mandatory and you get a badge and a license to drive when you have completed it.
The Knowledge is regarded as being the most difficult taxi licensing test in the world. The taxi license test that is required in Sydney is far simpler. All that is needed to drive a taxi in Sydney is proof that you can not speak English, you do not know your way around the city, you are a very dangerous driver and you will scream into your mobile telephone the whole time that you will be driving.
It is that easy.
The process of "Taking the Knowledge" was initiated in London in the year 1865 and it has changed little since. The very best can complete it in two years but for others it may take up to a decade. The Knowledge requires that all drivers be able to navigate their way around all of Greater London without consulting a map or using a GPS. It is the ability to recall the location of every street, lane, road, avenue, motorway, expressway, circle and boulevard in London. The Black Cab Drivers of London must be able to know their way around London intimately.
