Over the last few weeks I have been spending most of my time in my home town, a quiet little village in the heart of Bedfordshire, so coming back to my little place in London for the night feels strange.
It a nearly midnight and I can hear the continuous sound of traffic; cars, trains and planes alike. I forgot about the hustle and bustle of the city! The drone in the background where I can almost hear taxi drivers swearing at other drivers on the road, lorry drivers beeping incessantly at one another and the tinkle of bike bells as they dodge red traffic lights thinking they own the roads here. And when I wake up in the morning the same sounds will be being made and won't have stopped all night.
In clophill I have been falling asleep to the sounds of wind chimes blowing in the breeze and the continuous flow of water from our waterfall in the garden. The serene sounds that people pay for on a CD (unless they wanted dolphins mating of course) and it has been so peaceful that I have dropped off in minutes but here I am, nearing midnight, still awake feeling like I am a million miles away from home when in fact it's only 45 minutes by car.
It's amazing how the sounds of London are so busy and rushed, people always in a hurry with no time to themselves, angry at those who want to take their time in life. I admit I am one of these londeners at times, yelling in my head at "those bloody tourists, why can't they either walk faster or just damn well move!" so it has been rather wonderful being away from it all soaking in the calmness of the countryside. Being back is a strange feeling, so for one night only I will let the lullaby of London sing me to sleep until I get back to my little piece of stillness tomorrow night. Until tomorrow folks, goodnight!
