25 February – Happy One Month in London Day

I arrived in London one month ago today.  It’s odd, in that I feel as if I’ve always been here and at the same time that I arrived yesterday.  I suppose that’s the way of things.  I also suppose that it’s a sign of how easy and pleasant this transition has been.  I’m not much of a mover.  Barring the first nine-months of life when I lived in Allentown, PA, I have lived in two places – Peabody, MA (18 years) and New York City (14+ years).  I find a place I like, and stay put (to be honest, the staying put in Peabody was more of a family decision than one dependent my own staying-puttness).  Whilst I’ve moved from one apartment to another in New York, for many years, the idea of leaving the city (or my beloved Brooklyn) would have been unthinkable.This is how I now feel about London.  I’m nearly sorted with all the things one must do to set up house, I feel as if I’ve found my feet in my new position, and the rest of it will come with time and exploration.The time warp vibe was given a boost this past Sunday during a visit to Camden Market.   The only constant about NYC is that it is constantly changing.  Shops, restaurants and bars that may have been there for years are gone in an instant.  The odd thing is, the current inhabitant usurps the former in even memory almost instantly.  Names of places of which you were a regular patron fade from your mind like the devil’s first name.  It’s all very The Bar is dead, Long Live the Bar.I assumed the same phenomena would be found in all major cities, which is why I was a bit thrown when I alit from the Tube straight into 1998.  Camden Market has not changed since my last visit there a decade ago:  the same collection of punks and goths and suburban wannabes, the same shops, the same clothes on display, the same music blasting from the stalls.  I went to the market where Billy outfitted himself with the accoutrement of his new romantics/vampire phase.  I walked by the pub where Casey and I imbibed upon his return from Russia – with Casey done up to the nines and tens in his spanking new Ushanka.  I saw the jewelers who owe Suzanne a bit more than thanks for their villas and retirement plans.  I’m fairly certain I saw each of us trudging through the crowds in this piece of the universe that allows us to stay 18 and ever so certain about who we are and where we were going.  I wonder if Camden is really so overcrowded, or is it just that present and living jostle against so many of these ambulatory memories?