London.
29/10/2022
“a place of great power and magic /
endless discovery, endless adventure, a city that is always changing, always evolving /
like a novel itself… chapters, scenes, sentences; a series of rooms, doors and passages /
the spirit of this great London which I feel around me /
to walk alone in London is the greatest rest /”
I’m back.
When will I be back…
in London?
My 2022 workation took me to London. Taking up the rhythm of this mega-city, living and working there, "being" there was a great gift to myself. Travelling slowly, arriving, mingling with Londoners, re-sorting work & life, looking over and under the city, mind the gap & look right, feeling five million new synapses under my scalp....
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The vibrant, magical sound of this city? For me it is this: Portico Quartet's album "Monument". I could see and hear these wonderful musicians live in one of the most diverse cultural living rooms of the city: the Barbican. The Barbican! - cheers to you, Jodi & Colin! ; )
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What I brought is a lot and has to be sorted. But first of all it’s a bunch of impressions, a more or less structured report which has to be discussed further and offers itself as a template to be filled and worked out. A story to be continued.
London a new (and old) Sehnsuchts-Ort.
WORKATIONING
What to do in London?
Or: What not to do here?
What did you do in London, I’ve have been asked more than one time.
Sort of a global question, isn’t it? What are you going to do? How will you design your life & work? Whom do you meet, take as a friend? What do you want to take and what to leave? How do I form this way of experiences? Is workationing more about travelling or homefying?
Seems, reflecting on this, planning, working out and even reviewing a workation for me brings up a handful of fundamental questions. And yes, I‘m welcoming these questions. And I did not return with a suitcase full of answers to them.
But let‘s have a look where some of them might hide.
APPROACHING THE ISLAND (AT YOUR OWN PACE)
how to travel. how to not pace. how to keep the moment.
travelling is awaiting.
travelling is expecting and being surprised.
is being open.
is moment, is flowing, is not holding, is leaving and let go.
I decided not to take the plane shooting me from a to b.
I choosed to travel by ship, means travelling to Rotterdam / Hoek van Holland first. What a pleasure to start this first part of my adventure with one of my best friends, Michael, who took me there by car and spent the day with me before I checked in for the ship to Harwich. Over the cannel, smoothly sneaking ober the time zone, loosing the relation to time and place. Letting go. Dark night and sea. Lights of over ships around. Rolling in the water. Where will this end up? Navigating. Falling into sleep.
EVERYDAY SUNSHINE
my home. my home. my london home.
abi and rupert are running a shop, a cafe, a gallery, an art factory and my flat.
dash and dot the kitten. Hasn‘t Queen Victoria‘s dog called dash…?
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LOOK RIGHT! MIND THE GAP! - ROUTES & ROUTINES
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It‘s estounishing how quick new routines are found, how likely ways and walks and rides sketch ones new life at a place! so easy. Just moving outside.
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SUPER DUPER SUPERCYCLEHIGHWAY
A new-old London. By bike. Just riding.
THE LONDON SMELL
ANYTHING ‚NEW’ ABOUT LONDON??
Well, no! Everything said so far, right?
And: Yes! A place with new impressions and challenges everyday.
FOXANDTHECITY
Cycling throught one of the new cycle superhighways in the light of my bike a cat-like animal is crossing my way. or is it a dog? hey, must be be fox. and yes.
There are many foxes living in London, and they can be found in most parts of the city. Foxes are common in urban areas throughout the UK, and they have adapted well to life in the city. In London, foxes can be seen in gardens, parks, and even on the streets. They are mostly active at dawn and dusk, and they are known for their distinctive barking calls. Foxes are omnivorous animals, and they will eat a variety of food including fruit, insects, and small rodents. Despite their reputation for being sly and cunning, foxes are generally timid and will try to avoid contact with humans.
WORKEATSLEEP
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It was Claas who has been staying in London for a time and came up later with a report called „London - workeatsleep“. As I remember, he didn’t get quite a lot sleep. I’d like to reframe it like: Working here, sleeping here feels like having London for dinner. But take care: Don't get eaten by London for dinner!
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TOWORKANDNOTTOWORK
Are you happy while you work? Reminds me to a so titled discussion paper of Alex Bryson & George MacKerron: -
"What’s the work trap? I mean, obviously work is related to money and a lot of us, most of us, if you’re right, are doing jobs we don’t enjoy because we’re trying to make the most money that we can possibly make. What’s the trap there?"
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"Well, the trap is that work is the second most miserable activity*, which shocked me because I had grown up with this idea that work is where you get a lot of your fulfillment and joy and purpose. But of course there’s a question: What do you do with this information? You can’t just not work in modern society."
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What I experienced in terms of working here? You easily can be trapped by working all day in this all day working metropole. On the other hand: London offers such a lot of diverting impressions, that one will soon ask: Where has my work gone?
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extract from: https://www.vox.com/even-better/23338680/instincts-happiness-data-seth-stephens-davidowitz
you may also check: http://www.mappiness.org.uk
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* Alex Bryson & George MacKerron, 2013. "Are You Happy While You Work?," CEP Discussion Papers dp1187, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. https://ideas.repec.org/p/cep/cepdps/dp1187.html
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AFTERWORK
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200,000 people are working in the 'City of London'. What do they do after work? Two real afterwork-guys offered me a place in the lifeboat of London’s working people, called „afterwork“.
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I met Jodi and Colin most sympathic relaxing at the Martini Bar at Barbican Centre.
the selfie
We had an exciting conversation. And they made me think about 'after work'.
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I first recognized this in the Berlin 90s, as I found myself on a party full of people just have been coming from work. What do they say coming home later on? „Hey, my dear, just coming from work!“ Or this one: „Hey my dear, just coming from a party!“ ??
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'After work': just working on? Just smoothly slipping out of work mode into freetime?
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No, seems 'after work' won't work, if you haven't been working before.
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So yes, see you for a Martini in London!
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KINGOFWORK
How about this: What would it mean enjoying afterwork after worklife? Thought about this?
Another London guy made me think about that. He’s called Charles.
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Planning for your old age? You think, at some point, people, I'm not going to be on this hamster wheel any more? You want to put your money back, imagine travelling, finally letting the others work and retiring in the end? You ask yourself, when will that be? In your mid-50s, maybe at 63, 65 or (damn it) not until you're 70?
Then take this: You're almost 74, you've done (you're sure of it!) a real great job for years, rocked every meeting, every business trip, shook 5 million hands... and then this!
The job of a lifetime.
An offer you don't turn down. Now what?
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Okay. Seriously. I often wonder how my own professional life journey will end. I think, does it end at all? Do I want it to end at some point? And why should it?
How are you? What are you looking forward to, how do you want to grow old professionally?
I have a few ideas.
One of these is: Don’t be born as then Prince of Wales!
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Seriously. The Prince became King right at the time of my London workation. And moreover, one Premier Minister turned to another. Careers changing here.
