One last trip.

London is such a mix of of sights smells, such a range of people doing their thing. The tube is like a Jamie Oliver curry, full of colour and odor, full of tired people imagining they are somewhere else with their eyes glued to a book or snapped closed as they listen to their itune. Like gargoyles on a medieval building the people stare at each other, unable to ignore the person opposite yet oblivious to their reality. The hot musty air that swirls around each station with each arriving train, the clunking escalator climbing out of the depths,the people always in a rush running up the escalator whilst we, folk with time on our hands, hug the right hand side and press pause on our journey as we slow to a mechanical status, the speed of the escalator.  Out on the street the noise of the traffic takes over the

environment, the constant wail of sirens the irritated horn barking out its "get out of my way" message, falls away as one turns into the pedestrian zone of Leicester Square. A peace of sorts as one slows, looking for a landmark, a meeting place amongst the chilled out people sitting in the street cafes. The rush of the tube and the awarenesses that one has to practice when crossing the road, falls away as we are delivered into this oasis of eating and drinking, time stands still as the lunch hour turns into three and one is left with the impression that there is no economic crisis and all the gloom published daily in our news papers belongs to another world.
The reunion in progresses, full steam as we catch up on so many years. People we knew, events from the past and the news of today. Time flies and the hours pass in a torrent of conversation, what happened to so and so, where are you going next, how much ? As we push back the chairs and say our farewells the thought of this ever so typical 21st century global interaction, once every ten years strikes me that as we advance in years. What will the next reunion be like. Will we then rather fill the conversation with our  ailments and how this will probably be the last trip !!!