A trip to London is not complete without a visit to Harrods. We’d planned to make it there the whole time we’ve been here, but managed to fill our days with other things. With only a couple of days left, today was the day. We’ve done all of our admin, me blogging and Matthew did a little bit of work emails, and we get ourselves together quite late. It’s after 12 before we are on our way toward Harrods.

We are picked up by a Senegalise (Africa) man who is a sweetheart. A gentle soul who has not lost his accent despite living in England for 20 years. We pass a number of iconic sites like Buckingham palace. I love to see the people around there all taking pictures of the incredible building and its surroundings.

I watch outside, as Matthew makes and takes a couple of work calls and see some familiar places including restaurants and pubs I’d visited my last trip here. The traffic is quite epic, but we eventually made it down outside Harrods. We wander around the streets a little before we head in. We find a back street pub for some lunch and settle for a little bit. Outside many people are walking by. This area is particularly affluent so there is no shortage of nice cars and the shops surrounding Harrods represent every brand name imaginable.
Before leaving the pub I hold the door open for a very elderly lady who was walking with a walking stick, and she said ‘oh thank you, everyone is being so kind to me today’ of which I responded ‘people should be kind to you every day’. She went on to tell me she was very grateful for my kindness, as she had a rough day. I was happy enough to put a smile on her face, even for a short time.
We finally make it inside Harrods. Wow. Just wow. I wish that is all I needed to say about it, but oh my goodness. I have never seen such decadence. It was truly an incredible thing to see. The food hall was insane. With everything that you’d get at a local supermarket, but the most perfect of each item on display. From meat to produce, seafood to pastries, I really am not sure I am capable of describing all the things I saw. I am impressed with Matthew’s knowledge of art as we make our way through the gallery. There was interactive digital art pieces to actual Picassos. I particularly loved a piece of art that was 2 digital displays with Mickey and Minnie. Forever the Disney fan.

After wandering around the various floors, we make our way outside to call an Uber, and as we step out to the back street (which interestingly is called Hans Crescent), there is a imported car parked on the pathway. It’s from Bahrain where the level of wealth is insane. They just don’t want to leave their cars at home. We watch as personal chauffeurs drop off and pick up their clients to the private entrance to Harrods. The wealth is in stark contrast to the people begging on the street surrounding the building.

We grab our Uber, and head back toward the apartment, deciding to stop in at The CIty Pride, which is a pub that smells amazing as it also offers wood fired pizzas. Matthew is in his element as the music was the playlist of his life. 90s indie rock.
The trip home is faster and Matthew has a realisation that our trip and the places we’ve visited, might be his last time being there. I cannot imagine how that might feel. While I know he will be back in London, the day to day jaunts will not be frequented as they once were over the last 20 years of him working around Central London.
We head inside and are greeted by the staff. This place is quite busy for a Thursday night. We’ve wandered past a number of times to find that it was closed. I am intrigued by the haphazard nature of the operating hours of the places that are in and around Farringdon. We enjoy a couple of drinks and decide to head back to the apartment to watch a show my dad featured in back in Australia, and to order some food in. Tonight Matthew is looking after the choices and quite happy to go with the flow. I am so proud of my dad and the whole program in fact, as it tackled an issue I have become so incredibly familiar with…..faith and sexuality.

We enjoy our Asian food as finish up the program then decide to head out for some music and dancing. It’s a little later, but knowing our new favourite spot, Piano Works, will still be pumping. 
As we walk in, we already know that the crowd is well and truly on their way. It’s Thursday night and the place is absolutely packed. We laugh as we hear everyone singing loudly along to the songs being played by the band. 

We look around and see a guy wearing a yellow t-shirt with a smiley face on it. He is bringing absolute joy to everyone with his ‘don’t give a shit about what anyone thinks about me’ style of dancing. He and his mate are working the room, trying to get as many people on the dance floor as possible. Matthew manages to steal a dance with him, having us all smiling and having a simply brilliant time. I have always been drawn to people who are comfortable in their own skin, and will encourage those in my world to be unapologetically themselves in all circumstances. 
We meet a couple of ladies who are there for some after work drinks, Rachel and Grace. They are very interested in our story and we talk about a variety of things from work to ‘if you were an animal what would you be?’. Such lovely random encounters. Little did we know our night was not going to end there. 

We also got to chatting to a lady inside as I had spotted her throughout the night and really loved the dress she had on. I had just simply told her so, she was so flattered and then spent some time telling us about her life, her husband and the fact that she would be celebrating her wedding anniversary tomorrow with the love of her life. It’s always so gorgeous to hear stories like that. 
There were work functions happening, girls night’s out, and groups everywhere enjoying the incredible talent and play list that was created for the night, by the countless request that had come from the crowd. One of our favourites was when the band managed to mash together some Metallica with the Proclaimers. 
After a while we decided to leave the crowd to it and head for a final night cap at the bar under our building, we are reminiscing about the holiday as this would be my final night. It’s not long before this bar fills up with the crowd that has spilled out of Piano Works. 
We’d popped outside and made a new friend in Alan. I was drawn to him as he had a gorgeous dog in tow, who he offered me to give her some snacks in exchange for some tricks. Lexi was a cutie, but we were saddened to hear they both lived rough. Each night they try to raise around 40 quid to not have to sleep on the streets.

We enjoy their company for a little bit, and Matthew even takes Lexi off for a wander to grab some cash to help contribute to Alan’s collection. Alan and I chat and I hear about where he showers, his 2 daughters and how he manages day to day. He is so very happy to answer any question I had. Matthew returns and we chat for a short time longer, give Alan a hug and Lexi and pat before they set off on their way.
I’d popped inside to grab a drink for us and saw a friend we’d made earlier in the night, Grace. She, by this point was very very intoxicated, and introduced me to her ‘new friend’, Dan. He did not have a good vibe, and because I can’t stay silent if I believe women are being mistreated or taken advantage of, so I simply say to him “take good care of her Dan”. He is immediately defensive, and the body language I have seen a thousand times before out in bars and clubs. 
Sadly I didn’t see Grace again, but Dan and I crossed paths again, where he confronted me and asked what I had meant by what I said, so I was honest with him about what I had observed. He did not like what he heard, and given he slid away very quietly after that, but not before giving a smug smile, I knew I had not got him wrong at all.
We then chat with a couple of cool guys who were in the film/tv industry. They represented a variety of professions, one an actor and the other a cameraman. It’s incredible the eclectic crowd that we have encountered. We chat with them about life, about work and their plans for the future. The actor, Si, is looking to head to New Zealand in the coming year, and so we exchanged details in case he pops over to Australia for a visit. 

They excuse themselves and as last drinks are called we get to chatting with a guy in a bow tie. His name is James and he tells us he has been to a couple of events that night. One being an LGBTI charity event, which peaked Matthew’s interest. What’s even more interesting is that James goes on to tell us how proud he was of his Grandad, John Wolfenden who had headed up the Wolfenden Committee whose report recommended the decriminalisation of homosexuality. While that connected already sounds so serendipitous, my dad actually knew his grandfather as well.

There are so many reasons to be a stranger enthusiast and this evening was perfect evidence of this. Our interactions different from one to the next, but incredible stories and enlightenment. As Matthew says, ‘every day is a school day’, we should always be learning, and our best teachers are each other. 
Off to bed for the final time in London. Tomorrow will be tough.