Big smoke magic

'Well, London is so ahead of New York when it comes to edginess.'

'Reeeeally? You think so?'

I sat back in my seat, and raised a conspiratorial eyebrow.

I was in a cafe in trendy Shoreditch, East London, having lunch with a fellow student from my art college days, now a successful designer, who I hadn't seen in about a hundred years.

'Oh for sure. Certainly in terms of style and design, anyway.'

'Hmm!' I glanced out of the window while I digested this controversial little nugget, and saw red London buses grinding past, cyclists weaving in and out of the traffic and present-day art students walking past in preposterous outfits.

It felt wonderful to briefly reconnect with the dusty, grimy, gleaming, quirky magic of my old London life.

I found plenty to whinge about while I was at college, but in that moment in the cafe, I felt an overwhelming rush of gratitude- for the wonderful group of people I studied with, for the opportunities we had, for the moments that could only have existed at that time, and for who we have all become.

It sounds clichéd to say that you should strive to appreciate every moment... but it's true. 

Pearl