The Nature of the City

At a certain scale, a map of London looks quite grey, a daunting solid mass. a thick blanket dropped on the southeast. But zoom a little closer and holes begin to appear: first big ones: the parks, squares, farms, allotments, the river and its islands. Then the smaller ones: churchyards, gardens, flower beds, verges, hedgerows.

Every Londoner knows the places, has their favourite. It's what makes London so special. You can round a corner and see meadow flowers amongst the high-rises, even walk past a flock of sheep on the way to the shop. Here in the city you can still find dogroses and elderflower blooming. There is nectar for the bees (whose hives are on rooftops), willow to harvest and people who still know how to make hay. There are leeks growing and raspberries ripening and people to lovingly plant the seeds and tend the ground and look forward to the crop.

This is the true wonderful fabric of London, not at all a solid mass but woven with many holes in which to breathe, rest a while, cultivate something or simply catch the moment.