London: back in the belly of the beast

Returning to London - albeit briefly - after more than three months evoked a mixture of emotions. Prior to our arrival, we were both excited and eager to get back, see our friends, and to some extent, return "home" for a while. The only issue with the latter is that London is no longer our home.

Everything in London moves at a different pace and we were immediately swept back into the relentless roundabout of pubs, lunches, dinners, catch-ups and, somewhat unexpectedly, the dramas of our circle. The majority of our friends were doing well, but there were enough high-voltage personal crises to virtually eclipse everything else and induce a return from our old bedfellow, stress. Goodbye zen, hello anxiety.

Is there a song called "Post-holiday Apocalyptic Blues"? There's definitely one called "We Gotta Get Outa This Place". We were back three days and were ready to leave. This time for good.