London Calling

Now get this
London calling, yes, I was there, too
An' you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!
London calling at the top of the dial
And after all this, won't you give me a smile?
London Calling
I never felt so much a' like, a' like, a' like...

The Clash, London Calling 1979

We went to London for Thanksgiving to meet Jeanne, who flew in from Florida, and to celebrate with Steph & Andy and Luke's five cousins -- all new citizens of the U.K.

"Lucky," Luke said, bemoaning his own misfortune. He was born in London and descends from a number of Brits, including my grandfather, Fred Burgess, but that's not going to help him on the citizenship front. London's calling, but he'll have to find his own path back one day. [Photo note: Despite Natty's protests, Jeanne and I took pictures of him in his school uniform.]

I went out one night with Paddie and our friend Simon to a Thai restaurant in Chelsea. At the end of dinner, I checked in with Jeff. They were still at Steph's, so I decided to walk back along Fulham Road.

I thought about my first trip to London, summer of 1983, when a college friend, Lisa B., and I were making our way to Poznan, Poland as part of a program at UF. We flew to London via People Express (I loved that airline), spent a few days visiting friends (one we barely knew, the other we'd just met), and then took a long train across Europe to Poland. We were on a very tight budget.

Our London friends introduced us to the Camden Palace, a hard-driving new-new nightclub where the beat ricocheted off the walls right along with the punk rockers. After a few hours I realized I hadn't seen Lisa B. for a while. She was outside crying. "I couldn't find Jesus in there," she said. Neither could I, but I hadn't been looking.

Twenty, twenty, twenty four hours to go

I wanna be sedated

Nothin' to do,

No where to go

I wanna be sedated

Ramones, I Wanna be Sedated, 1978

Later, in the early '90s, during the CME days, we'd go to a club, The Limelight, in an old church in Soho with the TV people from MGM, Warner Bros. etc. Back then, Jeff and I went to the theatre and had dinner at almost midnight, jostling for a place with the other late-nighters filling the city streets.

On this trip the only club we visited was where Josh plays rugby on Sunday mornings. And instead of the Camden Palace, we talked about the Crystal Palace where Ben's been invited to try out for a place on the football team.

We did dance and sing..- with Stephanie and Quentin at his music class one morning.

Let's dance

Put on your red shoes and dance the blues

Let's dance

To the song they're playin' on the radio

David Bowie, Let's Dance, 1983

We tromped around the theatre district in search of fun and found it...at Funland, of course. Who knew there's a multi-level facility right on Picadilly Circus with bowling alleys, pool tables and arcade games to boot? We even heard the Clash... at the 02 arena, speakers blaring, lights flashing, as Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal entered the court to play one of the best matches of the season, maybe of their careers --London calling, reverberating through the dome.

I walked through Chelsea that night and across much of Fulham. I'm not one to wallow in nostalgia, but a panorama of London past, complete with soundtrack, accompanied me along the dark street. Finally, in the distance I saw Jeff and Luke, heading back to the apartment we'd rented for the week. They didn't see me at first, and I watched them, happy, that in a moment, I'd return to my present.

If we took a holiday

Took some time to celebrate

Just one day out of life

It would be, it would be so nice

Madonna, Celebrate, 1983

The rest of the week went by in a rush of seeing friends, old and new, spending time with family, enjoying Thanksgiving together again, and this time with a turkey as well as the Thanksgiving Fish.

As for Luke, he'll find a way back to London. There's a part of him already there.

You can't return to a place you never left.

Deep in the heart

Deep in the heart of this place

Deep in the heart

Deep in the heart of this place

U2, Deep in the Heart, 1987