193 days

“I may only see you two more times in my lifetime.”

I stood across from my friend as she whipped the creamy scrambled eggs that we were about to eat. Tomorrow was her birthday, and we were having brunch in her kitchen. It was the first time since the beginning of COVID that I had been inside her house (except for the occasional feeding of her two cats, Pablo and Lulu when they were away).

As we discussed the life that had been going on around us and my move back to Australia, she looked up at me and said, “When you go back I may only see you two more times in my lifetime.”

“Noooo. Of course not,” I responded easily. “I’ll be back every couple of years.” But a little voice niggled in the back of my mind, is it? Is it true? Will I really come back every couple of years? The flight from Melbourne to London is looooongggg and since living in London I had only been back to Australia a handful of times.

Having made my home for the last 14 years in London and thinking that I would stay here for the rest of my life, moving back to Australia has been a difficult, but necessary decision. Family is a strong pull. I do wonder now if I will ever feel totally at home in one place ever again.

London is the place that has been my finishing school. Where I learnt about myself. Who I am, what I like, what I believe in, what my values are and the place I learnt to be……me.

It’s the place where I learned to be truly confident in my body. Where I fell in love with my soulmate and had my heart broken but grew strong in a way, I never realised I could. It is the place where I reconnected with friends from high school, made best friends, realised I was a feminist, changed careers, started a business, wrote my first and second book and realised I like cold weather. But best of all, London is the place that I became friends with my sister. Lifelong best friends.

London, when I leave, will I only see you a few more times? Will I again walk-through Covent Garden, visit Kew, swim at the Hampstead Heath ponds, moan about the weather with strangers (and friends)?

These thoughts make me sad. I’m not ready to say goodbye and thankfully I don’t have too yet. Part of me imagines myself in Melbourne and the other part desperately wants to stay here in the place I call home and to deepen my relationship with these friends who have given me so much. These women who I think of more than ‘just’ friends.

193 days to go.

My favourite places for brunch in London are:

Grainger & Co. Kings Cross: There are a few Grainger & Co’s in London, but I love the one in Kings Cross as I remember the area when there was nothing around there and now it is filled with so many wonderful restaurants and cafes. Also, if you are meeting friends from across London it is easy for everyone to access. There are two dishes on the menu I love, although pretty much everything is yum. I love to order the sweet corn fritters, roast tomato, spinach and bacon as it reminds me of a cafe I used to work at when I lived in Brisbane. But if you want something sweet than you can’t go past the ricotta hotcakes, banana and honeycomb butter. Dreamyyyyy…

Lantana, Shoreditch: I’ve only been to this Lantana location, so I can’t comment about the others. You may be seeing a trend here. These are all Australia cafes. It’s what’s familiar and what I love. The vibe here is great and good for a large group. I would recommend the smashed avocado

With bacon on sourdough with poached egg, chilli jam, labne, hazelnut & pistachio dukkah, shaved raw courgette & herb salad.

Dishoom: It doesn’t matter which Dishoom you go to, this dish is delicious in all locations, but be warned you will have to line up, so get there as early as possible. Order the bacon naan roll, as long as you aren’t vegetarian or vegan, you will thank me. Their menu describes it: smoked streaky bacon is matured for two weeks and smoked overnight in the traditional fashion. What the menu doesn’t describe is the pillow softness of the naan, combined with the crisp and salt of the bacon and the softness of the cream cheese and sweetness of the tomato jams makes it a mouthful of heaven. I’m salivating as I write this. Order the homemade baked beans with it and it is more than enough. I’ve also been to Dishoom for dinner and it is very yum, but nothing beats that bacon naan. I dream about it.

A few others that I have been to that are really yummy are: Farm Girl cafe in Notting Hill, Caravan in Exmouth market, Milk Beach in Queens Park and Riding House cafe in Fitzrovia. There are lots more brunch is popular in London, but these are some of my favs.