My Little Leaving London Love Limerick
Beloved London, 7 years my home. I love your British charm and grace, from the enchanted garden of Cadogan Place, to the city pace, to Soho’s craze. From Downing Street to the House of Lords, to Loulou’s to Daylesford, I adore your old school clubs and gourmet pubs, your formal flairs and your street fairs, your glamour and glitz, your hilarious wits, your Notting Hill brunch, your polo and Pimms punch. I’ve relished at your Royal Opera, your Royal Ascot, your Royal Philharmonic, your Royal Albert Hall, your Royal mania, the Ark ball, the Olympic Beach Volleyball. Your awes from ballet stretched beyond imagination, to art left entirely to interpretation, from Shakespeare in every iteration to Pippa Middleton’s rear evoking global sensation. From the meet and greet at 5 Hertford Street, to precious serendipities, I’ve made exceptional friends and extraordinary acquaintances and followed their successes from OBEs to babies. As a true Londoner would I even rescued a dog from Battersea, who rocks on international TV!
From my cozy Chelsea flat through a global maze, London you’ve been the perfect base. I’ve consulted in 15 cities in 10 countries, coached Lawyers, Bankers, Billionaires and MPs. My charity has helped hundreds of school children in conflict countries with more in line, I’ve dined with tribal leaders, and found myself in remote mountains challenging guerrilla soldiers on their political paradigm. I’ve broadened my horizons in every sense of the word, in almost every part of the world. I’ve pushed through mental barriers, pneumonia, and the financial crisis of the century. I’ve earned another masters degree. I’ve partied like a rock star but dodged the drugs and debauchery. I’ve hosted dinners so eclectic they could shame the UN, I’ve mastered yoga, I’ve reached zen. I’ve had my integrity tested and affirmed, and won the confidence of people who had no trust. I’ve seen through people who had no morals. London, I’ve done everything a Londoner must.
But 10 years ago, in New York, I wrote a future vision. All of the above played part in this rendition. But also… as it is telling, it included a special dwelling. A home that was at the same time by a forest and by a lake and by the sea. Around the corner from my family. Minutes from a city, but surrounded by fields and horse farms and trees. A place for sailing in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter, a place to make new memories…
London, I’m leaving you. But it’s not without a bit of noise and a toast or two….
From the Big Apple, to London City, to apple pie from my own tree… Here’s to Stockholm, the new base for me!
