 London's changing skyline I've never understood the rants of some of our older citizens when chiding younger generations. "It's not like it used to be in my day," and " It was so much better then," are usual comments over a game of bridge in the old folks home. Progress is needed, and we can't stay stuck in the past. But today, for once, I'm siding with the blue-rinse brigade.
Getting older and feeling the onset of nostalgia for a past youth, seen through rose-tinted glasses is just part of life, right? I understand that and have allowed myself no such old folks home responses, until today. Last night I stayed up late looking at photographs on the internet of places where I grew up that have now been torn down. Two such places including my old school are now leveled to the ground and being developed in the name of progress. Another one is a military camp that I spent many years at - the history there is important but the state of the buildings demanded they be torn down. So, I get it. Despite feeling the ravages of a well-spent youth and the nostalgia that comes with it, I awoke this morning feeling positive about life. But then I saw it, the latest addition to the London landscape, checked the date to make sure it wasn't 1st April, and knew that I had an old-folks home rant coming on. Trafalgar Square is at the center of London. Its a place visited by millions of tourists each year who come to see whats unique about the United Kingdom; its rich history, beautiful buildings and seat of a monarchy that has lasted over a thousand years. Lord Nelson, Sir Charles Napier, the National Portrait Gallery, the Stone Lions, St. Martin-in-the Fields. Views of Buckingham Palace through Admiralty Arch, and the Houses of Parliament seen along Whitehall. I understand progress, I totally get the need to move forward into a modern age. I like the new Shard building that now dominates the south bank in London. I didn't like the London Eye when it was first built. It looked too much like a fairground attraction next to places like the Houses of Parliament, but its grown on me. I also understand our quirky sense of humor - our willingness for self-deprecation and poking fun at ourselves. But the monstrosity that now sits on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square is just embarrassing. And, at the risk of sounding like a bridge playing resident at the Sunyside retirement home, I tell you now, I hate it, and hope its taken down very soon.
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