Cabin Fever
Stuck in the house all day with nothing but homework for company, I tried not to explode until after dinner. I grabbed a purse and marched off toward Hyde Park for some evening air.
There's a lot to be said for the solitude of an outing--something clearly stolen in the form of bikes, dogs, runners and lovers scattered across my path. The pond sparkled in the purple dusk, cloistered from church spires and impeding woods, home to white swans and awkward ducks. It seemed another dimension altogether--another London, upside down, people with confused expressions, suffering much darker weather. I was glad to be in the brighter side.
I followed two women holding hands back down the trail--they noticed I was there and quickly dropped their affection. Not wanting to be a nuisance, I stopped and watched a squirrel digging in the grass until they lost me. He didn't seem to care I was watching. He took a chestnut and thunked it on the ground, looking for a place to bury it. Who knew Dreamworks got this animal so accurately?
So much walking...I had thought to walk the length of the park, or until the next tube station; but I definitely passed Queensway, Bayswater, Lancaster Gate and had nearly made it to Marble Arch station before dark really set in, and I STILL hadn't walked one side of the park. Giving it up, I caught a bus back to Notting Hill. My professors would probably be scandalized at how often I venture out alone at night--but when I have to fight through crowds on Bayswater at ten 0'clock, I struggle to feel remorse. Besides--I like the company.
Stuck in the house all day with nothing but homework for company, I tried not to explode until after dinner. I grabbed a purse and marched off toward Hyde Park for some evening air.
There's a lot to be said for the solitude of an outing--something clearly stolen in the form of bikes, dogs, runners and lovers scattered across my path. The pond sparkled in the purple dusk, cloistered from church spires and impeding woods, home to white swans and awkward ducks. It seemed another dimension altogether--another London, upside down, people with confused expressions, suffering much darker weather. I was glad to be in the brighter side.
I followed two women holding hands back down the trail--they noticed I was there and quickly dropped their affection. Not wanting to be a nuisance, I stopped and watched a squirrel digging in the grass until they lost me. He didn't seem to care I was watching. He took a chestnut and thunked it on the ground, looking for a place to bury it. Who knew Dreamworks got this animal so accurately?
So much walking...I had thought to walk the length of the park, or until the next tube station; but I definitely passed Queensway, Bayswater, Lancaster Gate and had nearly made it to Marble Arch station before dark really set in, and I STILL hadn't walked one side of the park. Giving it up, I caught a bus back to Notting Hill. My professors would probably be scandalized at how often I venture out alone at night--but when I have to fight through crowds on Bayswater at ten 0'clock, I struggle to feel remorse. Besides--I like the company.
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