We asked Londoners what they considered to be London’s ‘little pleasures’.
We often mock London for being too expensive, too rainy and too miserable – but when it comes to it, we’ll defend this place until we die. I gathered the thoughts of various colleagues and friends to compile a list of the little things in life that put a smile on their faces. The highs without the lows. The small reminders that, yes, London really is the best city in the world.
1. “When you know the perfect tube route without having to consult a map or an app.”
2. “When the sun glimmers in the windows of skyscrapers.”
3. “When the rain stops just long enough for you to make your morning commute.”
4. “When you approach an underground station and the wifi actually works.”
5. “Being able to order churros to your house at 12am, while your family has to drive 40 mins to pick up a Chinese in the countryside.”
6. “When you’re walking through town and all the traffic lights turn green.”
7. “When there’s no queue at Dishoom!”
Our Editor Alex swears it has happened to him once.
8. “When you’re walking along the South Bank and the sun peeks through the clouds.”
9. “That moment when you realise the large crowd of men in football shirts is taking the tube south and you’re going north”
10. “Being hammered on the night tube and not falling asleep and ending up in Morden”
We’ve always been told that the only people who go to Morden are the poor drunk souls who fall asleep.
11. “Not having to worry that you’ve missed the last train on a Friday night, because night tube.”
12. “When someone is listening to a funny podcast on the tube and they laugh out loud by accident.”
13. “Dogs on the tube, of course.”
Why deprive yourself of joy? Bookmark this article and you can experience happiness whenever and wherever you want.
14. “When everyone stands on the correct side of the escalators.”
15. “People watching on public transport. Or anywhere, really.”
Alex recounts a particularly wholesome moment on the tube: “This absolutely wasted guy was falling asleep on the guy next to him and properly cuddling up to him, and the whole carriage was silently giggling (including the guy being spooned, who somehow saw the funny side) and it was honestly one of my best memories of the tube.”
16. “When TfL staff remember you and say good morning!”
17. “Crossing any bridge over the Thames. You get to see a great view of London and every time you just think, ‘F*ck, I live in such a fab city’.”
18. “Overtaking slow tourists in street at supersonic speed.”
19. “Drinking in the park when it surpasses 15 degrees.”
20. “That first pub garden beer of the season.”
21. “When the doors open exactly in front of where you’re stood on the platform.”
22. “Not to get too serious but, as someone who has multiple nationalities and isn’t really from anywhere, London is actually one of the places I feel most at home.”
Also published on Medium.
