London: A Love-Hate Relationship?

‘London: a love-hate relationship?’

While I’m travelling back home from Uni in the tube, I discover myself, again, adding some new issues to the ‘things I love and hate about London’ list on my mind. It may sound crazy but since I moved here last September, and without even noticing, I began a perfectly drafted list of ‘pros and cons’ about living in London in my mind.
Today I have decidedthat list is over, partly because with all the things happening all the time in London it is getting huge and I want to be relieved of that weight in my head, but also because I think we have a clear winner now.

There is nothing new on my hated things list, I think most of us foreigners share the same view about rainy weather, general lack of sun, tube disruptions, and the“wish-to-be-a-radio-personality ” train driver who speaks his own English. I guess you can call yourself a Londoner when you finally understand what on earth he is saying. There are a few more things on my cons list, like ironically tourists, especially those who come from Spain like me, Picadilly Circus, Soho restaurants, Soho clubs, Soho crowds, and I don’t know why, Waterloo.
On the other hand there are also a lot ofthings I love about London, the parks and green areas just beside the busiest places, Islington, my neighbourhood, Indian restaurants, the architecture, the smart suits men wear at the city, the people, politeness... But there is that one thing that definitely tips the scales towards the things-to-love side, and makes this list senseless, and that thing is museums, concerts, galleries, and allkind of cultural events happening all the time.

The cultural offer in London is huge, there is always something going on, and you will find events even if you are not looking for them. It reminds me of what happens with art in Rome; wherever you sit down there, you will find yourself being literally on, in or at an ancient remain. In fact Rome only has two subway lines, A and B, because everytime they dig to build a new one, they find more archaeological remains and art pieces. This same principle applies to London with culture, even if you are not looking for it, you will find exhibitions and concerts everywhere. At least in this sense I agree with Peter Ackroyd when he says “London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action orgesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite” (Ackroyd, P., 2000)

Music, dance, festivals, theatre, museums and art galleries are all over and more importantly for a skint student, most of them are free or have big discounts when showing a student card. As the London Tourist Guide pointed out, British compulsion to collect artefacts madeBritain the museum capital of the world, and here you can find a museum virtually for every taste (London Tourist Guide). From the mummies and pharaohs of the British Museum, which also contains the Rosetta stone and the largest African collection, to the interactive amusement park that is the Albert and Victoria Museum, where you can touch and see everything related to art and design, and where youdefinitely should not miss the fashion and jewellery and the history, periods and styles collections.
There are the more or less common ones, like the Natural History and Science Museum, the Imperial Museum of War, The National Gallery, Sir John Sloane’s Museum, the National Maritime Museum, the Jewish Museum, and there are also the most extraordinary specialized ones like the Museum of GardenHistory, the Handel House Museum, the Transport Museum, the Museum of Brands, Florence Nightingale Museum of nursery, or the Museum of Instruments to name only a few (London Tourist Guide).

If you are somehow more interested in modern and contemporary art you may visit the Tate Modern which holds the largest collection of modern art in Britain (A-Z Guide to London, 67), or just visit some...