City of Light

It is half past twelve on a week day in Newgate Street. The March sun is unusually warm and those employed in the numerous offices which dominate the locality are perambulating under its benevolent gaze some with the deliberate intent which comes from a clear sense of purpose and importance in life; others are more relaxed realising that the sooner they achieve the objective of their journey, the sooner they will have to return to the sunless office building where they spend the best days and years of their lives.
A large part of life is timing. And a key dimension to timing is contrasts. In these few days of March we experience the upside of a change from cold,grey, dreary, demoralising weather to warm, inspiring, sunny weather. Without changing our daily routines or getting on an aeroplane we are transformed from the bleakness of Hamburg on the Baltic sea with it’s Artic winds and infinite variety of greyness, to Milan or Barcelona, where the sun shines through arches and temporarily blinds those emerging from office bunkers and people chat in pavement cafes. That London can never really imbibe pavement café culture, because the pavements are the wrong size and shape, and attempts to put tables outside look (and are) a contrived attempt to ape our Continental cousins, and that men shiver in their shirtsleeves as they feed they tobacco addiction on street corners, is somehow not the point.
There are no spaces on the benches which face the sun: co-workers get better acquainted as they eat their sandwiches outside. Dedicated runners jog round the City streets. Those handing out free-newspapers smile inwardly as they prepare for the afternoons work, knowing that today at least frostbite is not a concern.
And the splendour of the City is enhanced by Nature. The huge glass towers reflect shimmering light into the street, so that the walker is confused as to where the sun is in the sky. The clear blue sky provides a perfect backdrop to church spires and especially the dome of St Pauls. The many, well maintained green spaces, mainly churchyards, provide an oasis of nature with aged trees thrusting upwards, chasing the towers created by man.
It’s a pain having to be at work on a day like today.