Fear and Loathing… in London Town

I'm back in London Town.

Halloween's gone already, the brightly dark most Americanish holiday of the year has passed and we're moving towards winter...

Some Londoners have tried to catch up with this fun spirit of fake fear to get over the real freaky times that made our summer seriously plummet.

Since the beginning of August, London has gone through a wave of downfalls and uprisings, at the same time, and in an almost good way, I would add.

Maybe the city has only followed many other parts of the world, which in 2011 literally metamorphosed. 

Just a striking example: some rioters took the streets of Tottenham, Croydon and Hackney in August. A first since the Thatcher years.

And later this fall, peaceful protesters -  nicknamed “Les Indignés” - took the doorstep of Saint-Paul’s cathedral and other locations around the City, in October, in order to be part of the Occupy the London Stock Exchange movement.

The movement has obviously been inspired by the Occupy Wall Street one launched in New York, USA, late September. 

Adding to those uprisings, Londoners have also got involved in repetitive strikes and demonstrations. Anyone knowing the city very well can notice, it’s been a first in a long time. And for the first time in history, competent authorities have decided to close Saint-Paul Cathedral, one of London’s most visited monuments, because of a settlement of protesters….

Now with the autumn settling deeply and moving towards the winter, it seems nontheless the city is ready to move back into its regular costume. 

It’s end-of-year holiday time. Families have worked on their best Halloween decorations and most are now getting ready for a Christmas mood. Shoppers are back in our streets and peace and togetherness have overcome the uprising mood. Indeed, it even impressed me to see how quickly London has changed its face back into its regular habits. The city with two faces will never stop fascinating me.

After those months of turmoil and energy, we can see that Londoners are now delighted to have a little time to rest, to wrap up, and to warm their home and celebrate - despite the economic crisis, the European depression and all the global and local discontent expressed in this recent British anger. 

And they are probably the same Londoners, some of them at least - they must be - who were protesting and rioting some weeks ago and who these days are looking at shop windows. London has a universal talent for reconciliation and rebirth…

But I guess, now, no one forgets that behind every shopping-loving Londoner a revolutionary citizen might be hiding. And it may be a good thing, even in times of reconciliation and merry winter holidays, as long as Londoners stand together.