The London skyline

Normally I would have spent today walking in the Highgate/Hampstead area to orient myself. I don't know North London as well as the south-west though I did flat not far from Hampstead once. But today's mission was to get a SIM card for which I needed to get the tube into the Strand. So once I was central (and because there is another tube strike on Thursday which would make it a good day for walking locally) I decided to blow the long-flight cobwebs away and catch a ferry down the Thames to Greenwich.

One thing that struck me again on the river is how unbeautiful London is. It doesn't have the glistening white symmetry of Paris or the sense of centre that gives many big cities a focus. London sprawls like the joined up series of villages it is and the post-war architecture, which increasingly crowds out the older buildings, is often very ugly. But what makes it exciting is the juxtaposition of new and old - that unlovely hodge-podge that makes the city endlessly fascinating.

The river was a good place from which to view some of these juxtapositions.

Not from the river.

...

The Shard

Not from the river.

The Queen's House, Greenwich

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Expect the unexpected...

The flight from Christchurch to London...expected to chat occasionally to neighbour, read on the iPad, eat, suffer...

Instead, was I stopping off in Singapore? Did I know the airport? Sigh. Brow-wipe. All this from my travel neighbour within a minute of sitting down. As the story unravelled I learned that Liam, 21, from Swansea Wales, was leaving his Welsh girlfriend in Christchurch and flying back home. It became clear that she had encouraged the departure. But Liam was distraught. He'd made the wrong decision, shouldn't have got on the plane, wanted to get off, would buy a return ticket to Christchurch in Singapore. If he had enough money. 

By this time I felt a scam coming on. I was sympathetic but suggested that he go home and wait for his girlfriend to return to UK at the end of the year as planned. Every minute - sigh, made the wrong decision, she loves me, I'm going back, she's talking with another guy.... Liam found out from flight attendants that a return ticket would cost him $2000NZ. He counted out his cash. $600 short. He had a credit card # but no card on him. More  talking with flight attendants. There was a seat available which they were holding.

By this time I was pretty convinced that this was genuine - a young, not very emotionally mature but quite controlling young man who didn't want to hear what his girlfriend (17) was saying (or her father with whom she was living). I was so weary that I offered to go with him on landing to the transfer desk and if necessary, help out with the requisite funds. For the last 30 minutes we were transferred to business class (!) in order to be taken off first and escorted to transfer desk!

Immediately off plane Liam phoned girlfriend. Long conversation with him insisting that he wanted, needed to come back. Long silence in which it was very clear that girlfriend was saying go on to Wales. More heavy persuasion. At this point I lost my patience since I was running the risk of losing my stopover room at the airport. So I said goodbye. Felt bad leaving him alone and distraught but he'd consumed 12 hours of my energy and I'd had enough! 

Very long account but all part of the serendipity of international travel!

Liam in business class

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