London

I was born and grew up in the wank-hole that is Romford, Essex. I savoured any excuse to get out of that place.

When I was younger, London meant going to the January sales with my parents, if I was lucky I got to spend a while in Hamleys looking at toys my parents would never buy me like 10 foot tall teddy bears and £300 remote control cars.

London meant going to Madame Tussauds, the Science Museum, and shit museums I got bored really quick in.

London meant getting up early and just riding public transport with my granddad, get the bus to Hainault, jump on the central line to Bethnal Green to go to the Toy Museum for a bit, then back on the tube to Oxford Circus, get on a Routemaster bus to wherever we felt like, then get to a Central Line and go all the way back to Hainault and a bus back to my house.

London meant going to Streatham to see my cousin where we'd watch crazy shit happen right outside his front door. That place was fucking strange 15 years ago, I try and stay away now.

Once I turned into a teenager, London meant going to the station, deciding I didn't feel like going to school that day and getting a train to London instead of Chelmsford and wandering around Camden stealing shitty grunger tack and then getting £3 noodles that made you hungrier. If I was feeling a bit flush that week I'd nip into Haagen Daaz cafe at Leicster Square on the way home.

London meant going to gigs like Smashing Pumpkins and Green Day then getting the Night Bus home, getting chucked off at Ilford, then walking home for 3 hours because we kept getting lost.

London meant making out with my girlfriend on the overground back from Liverpool St. to Romford.

London meant standing under Tower Bridge on Millenium Eve with about another 1,000,000 people being showered in champagne and watching that really shit line of barges which were supposed to be on fire.

Once I started riding BMX, London meant taking the train to Liverpool St. and then riding to S. Bank and just sitting watching kids session because I thought I was too shit to dare trying anything. I remember the 1st time I did a 180 down the tiny stair-set when there was hardly anyone about and thinking, hmm... maybe I might try riding when there's more people around now.

Once I got older I started going out in London, regular FabricLive sessions, smoking weed on the dancefloor, leaving when everyone else was turning up so we could get the last train home.

More recently I have been on Tunnel Runs in London, early in the morning, hardly anyone about, cars sneaking in when there's least traffic and causing our own brand of mischief and I've enjoyed seeing my favourite locations from a different perspective.

I haven't really headed into town so much in the past 5 years because I've been at uni in Liverpool, but the last few weeks where I've been at home in Romford I've ridden in, once to East beers and other times just to go for a ride and I've remembered how much I loved going in and I love it so much more I can ride in and I don't need to take trains or tubes and everywhere I thought was a bit of a mission is less than an hour away.

That's what London means to me.