EXCERPT FROM SARA'S
JOURNAL
September 29, 1998
London
"When you’re tired of London, you’re tired of Life"
assumes one’s definition of Life includes crammed sidewalks. We walk through
Kensington Gardens (a welcome relief from the pedestrian highways) and walk directly into
a cloud. London's grey mist hovers, and the bleary fog of our jetlag persists. Beyond the
garden is a sea of commuters and speeding automobiles. The green space is dog friendly
with unfenced fields and waste disposal bins. Dogs run free and sniff each other in the
urban oasis. This lifts my groggy spirits and I long for Emily.
We meet Lisa Hall at The William Goodenough House near Mecklenburgh
Square. Lisa is a student at the University College London, in the midst of a
PhD in Epidemiology. Lisa shows us the Trust where she lives in a tiny room
with an open-element heater. The room is stacked with boxes and books. Later
she takes us down the road to a hole-in-the wall Thai restaurant.
