It is week seven of moving to London. I have had quite a number of follow on requests (proof of life requests) from people. So, this is my proof of life update – number two.

This continues to not be an easy journey and I am as honest and authentic about that as possible when people ask. Would I recommend it, no. But I also would not recommend a low carbohydrate diet and people have had remarkable success.

One thing I must start off with is the horrendous and disgusting humidity. Hair straighteners are utterly pointless in London, re-purpose it as a cheese toasted sandwich maker.

Good shoes are critical, comfort is your number one priority – think Green Cross or Dischem. Everyone in London however wears strictly only white shoes, the filthy looking type are even better.

The green spaces in London are vast and everywhere, this is what makes the city quite exceptional in my opinion and I have never quite appreciated this before when only visiting. Having Richmond Park on my doorstep is an absolute treat and the deer are overly aggressive I hear. Impalas are much more amicable.

People work HARD here, not just work wise but adult life hard, all the time and brutally non-stop.

Walking fifteen billion steps a day is completely normal. Putting out the 19 bins and chopping a carrot simultaneously whilst recycling, vacuuming the stairs and looking after three children (often not even their own), organising a package holiday and parking permits, shopping in TK Maxx for £3 candles that smell like Christmas, and listening to a podcast whilst writing a novel and doing an online Ocado shop is considered a pretty standard stream of activity flow.

Londoners are so efficient and fast; they are city ninjas. I have heard legends of Londoners who can type at four thousand words per minute with one hand, and that they can see in the dark and they think in calligraphy. I overheard a conversation the other day about a Londoner that fought off an angry fox outside a pub, using only a kindle (the limited edition mind you, the kindle, not the fox)

I am slow and have not got my hang of all the bins (SO MANY BLASTED BINS). In South Africa we have two bins, 1. a big bin, and 2. a small bin. There is no difference re contents, other than small things and bigger things or lots of small things. Sometimes the big bins get stolen so we just use small bins.

London is SO doggo friendly, there are dogs, dogs, dogs everywhere. Dogs in pubs, dogs in shops, dogs on trains, dogs in coffee shops, dogs on coffee shops, dogs on buses, dogs in buses and I love, love, love that. Dog allergies? agh shem. I hear that Canada is a lekker place.

I could go on and list so many different things, but it would make this less of an article and just more of a list, which may stop my readership from continuing (and I do not want either of you to stop reading)

I am homesick for so many things and smells and people and familiar comforts, my doggy and husband are still not here; 3 weeks and counting though. Our move cube is arriving in 10 days, and I cannot wait to have a can opener, a TV, a set of pots and my fridge magnets. That isn’t all that I have shipped but those are just the things I day dream about a lot.

People continue to be exceptionally kind, and I have already been to braais with fellow South Africans (and they stood around a cooler box), I have had a walk in the park with a lovely dog called Boris, I have dinners booked and I have had dinners cooked and I have even had overnight visitors that came with a sleeping bag.

In summary, this is a treacherous journey that needs wellington boots and not easy at all, but “no rain and no flowers”…. Thank you to everyone who has reached out and to everyone who continue/s to entertain me whether you intend to or not, near and far. X