Monday 22 August 2011

London

The fresh summer breeze was warmer than usual. There were few clouds, and the sky was a clear blue. As usual, there were many tourists in the palace, and out, but it wasn't too bad. I didn't chose to get an audio tour set of headphones - I particularly like looking at things instead of having my thoughts scrambled by someone spout out information I will forget the next day. I like to take things in. The paintings had great detail, and the faces of one portrait in particular (of Victoria and her family) contained a light in their eyes that I usually do not see in other portraits, which I found to be uniquely beautiful. The inside of the palace - all of it! - was accented in an obscene amount of gold! There were vases in the corners of perhaps every hall we were permitted to go to. They were intricately detailed, and I could not help thinking how well my room would look with one of them! The royal treasures glittered in all of the colors of the rainbow, but the most striking ones were all the ones in blue. It was one of the most brilliant blues I have ever laid my eyes upon. The princess's lace Alexander McQueen wedding gown - how enchanting it was! I thought it was the perfect wedding dress. As I looked up, there were more gigantic gold accents on the ceiling. Then, as I left the stuffy palace into the fresh garden air, I was thinking peculiar thoughts as a person who just enjoyed a tour. "Poor Princess Kate - what if she ends up like her predecessor!" was my thought. Considering I'm what you'd call a "conspiracy theorist", I have thought of the theories of Diana's death and I've had not-so-high opinions of the royal family. Perhaps I pondered all of this because I saw how much they flaunted their new princess. I didn't think of this for long - I got seperated from the group, thus I had to return to them. As my family and I reunited, we walked around the front of the palace. I then dawdled to St. James Park, I thought of the realization(s) I had come to earlier that day, before the palace tour, in that very same place - "Is it just me, or is everything around in this city watched? And there are so many police officers around..." I basically get a "V For Vendetta" vibe everytime I visit London, hell even in my own neighborhood. It overtook any enjoyment I had of the pigeons perching on my leg begging for food, and the warm summer breeze, the unusually clear blue sky and hot August sun. It gnawed at me for quite some time - it still does so as I'm typing this! I did not like the cameras and the huge presence of the many police officers. Even as I walked into the enormous train station to find a public restroom (which we had to pay for), I saw the big-brother-esque TV screen parrotting headlines from the puppet news station Sky News, and I saw several posters telling travellers to "report anything suspicious". Maybe I am overthinking this, but the small things always lead to something bigger. My thoughts were immediately arrested, when I realized I had to leave to the bus. Good bye, I said to London. I hope I can see you again!

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