London '19

Some notes and reflections from around this time last year:

Dec '19

The cafe slowly emptied out and from my small window side table looking out onto a mostly darkened stretch of semi-detached Victorian terraced houses, I noticed it began to rain again. It was only a short walk back to Highbury and Islington Station, but it was late and since I had been reverting to old habits and hours, I found myself drifting back to unanswered messages and scattered notes of former addresses and book shops and general points of interest, mostly close by in Hackney. There were still a few small groups of friends and couples huddled over half-empty cups of cafe au lait seated in the back and away from the blasts of winter air that kept drafting in. But other than those remaining few, most tables had already cleared out. I'd been going back and forth, intermittently reading a secondhand copy of Joseph Roth's Hotel Savoy I brought and returning to the incomplete journal entries on my phone. I began to try and write more, just to let some fleeting thoughts flow.

The barista passed by and asked again in a warm voice if I needed anything extra. Her hair was mostly tied back and a thick dash of dark fringe hung down obscuring her eyes. She looked tired, but hid it well and I could tell she was probably accustomed to a routine of late shifts and minimal sleep. Feeling my own mixture of fatigue and jet lag catching up, I regretted the recent stretch of more or less sleepless nights and I was reminded about a period about eight years earlier when I when I just finished my last stint of reserve duty and also traveled back this same way from Europe and essentially returned to Israel and my small second floor flat in Florentin feeling more like a stranger than I had before. 

By the time I arrived back at Earl's Court it was past midnight and even though I was spent, I took a slight detour and walked an extra block or so down and stopped at the local Co-op to pick up water and a few things before heading back to the hotel. Almost everything else, including the Nandos across the street and the string of fast food chains had just closed, and the high street itself was nearly deserted at that hour, save for the few random passersby who were coming and going, each shielded by an umbrella or hooded parka. The store was largely empty and I waited in the self-service queue behind a young couple who looked to be in their early twenties who I overheard quietly speaking in Polish. 

When I reached the check out counter, the woman who was working on shift came to check my signature and ID. She looked similarly tired and weary, but when noticing my Massachusetts license, she cheerfully mentioned about having relatives of her own in Boston. I added and told her she should come visit during foliage season in autumn if she's never been before. Her eyes were dark and her accent was heavy and I would have guessed it was Albanian or something similarly Balkan. For a moment I thought I saw her glance inquisitively at the Hebrew on both my teudat zehut and miluim ID when I was putting my license back. Not that it mattered. It was more indicative of my mindset when traveling than anything else.

On my way back I saw a message light up on my phone as I passed Earl's Court station again. There were a couple of people hovered around and waiting under the station's small awning that faced the high street. Among the late returning commuters and other stragglers, I also noticed the Polish couple from the store. The girl was leaning back against the wall and taking meticulous care to lick and tighten her thinly rolled cigarette, only glancing up once to make eye contact with her companion, who himself looked disengaged and glued to his phone. After a few minutes they left together and then split and walked off in different directions. I tried to compose a quick reply in front of one of the transit maps, but ended up procrastinating and not sending anything. The crosswalk lights flashed and I trudged across the wet intersection and back towards Hogarth Road where I crashed out nearly as soon as I got home.

Hogarth Road, Earl's Court