life on the 27th floor
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I moved to 2702 in Elephant from London Bridge in early December 2019 so that I can be close to you as well as save money while still living in a cool flat. I had misjudged rent at Pontifex. What was I thinking? Each month was 1K short which I covered from my savings in New Zealand. Covent Garden rental income was for living costs. Was not used to full-time work and made the irreversible mistake of miscalculating my income. I was short-changed. I was earning just over half of what I used to earn as an independent contractor working only 2/3 of the time! Why do people bother working full-time when pay is so little? Anyway, I moved out and all was good.
The 2-bedroom flat in Uncle was half the price of Pontifex Wharf, all on one floor, brand new with unbelievable views and a small balcony. I was hoping you'd now spend a few more nights in the week. To my astonishment you never left. Was it me or the 27th floor? Either way, couldn't be happier:)
In the months of December and January, around 7am after coffee in bed and a couple of energy balls, I taught you a bespoke yoga/core strength sequence; we would lay our mats in the small spare room with the floor to ceiling window. You played a lovely, ambient soothing soundtrack that to this day I hear when you practice:) These daily sessions which lasted approximately 40 minutes were yet another beautiful way for us to connect. They were special and I look back at that time with a deep smile. You took the teaching and made it your own. You found a 'Yoga for Men' book on Amazon and began to create your own variation with cycling to start. You find warming up your muscles with cycling first makes the stretching more effortless.
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After our practice, we would both have a shower and breakfast in the kitchen: scrambled eggs, avocado on toast was our staple. Sometimes porridge in winter. On special occasions, I'd make you a scrambled egg variation using spinach, sun dried tomato, olives, onions and feta which you loved. We would kiss each other goodbye and go to work. You would cycle to Holborn and from August that year to Canary Wharf. I'd take the tube to Tottenham Court Rd. We would meet up again around 7pm.
​During the course of the year our morning ritual would slightly change and would eventually involve us both going down to the gym and later only you cycling before coming up to do your yoga stretching. I couldn't bare the smell of rubber and the muppets who occasionally frequented the gym playing loud TV. It felt like an assault when tying to focus on my practice so I soon chose to remain upstairs.
​One day a week, usually on a Friday, we worked from home. We thought the top floor would be a cool place to work and it was and we often did - you more often than me.
The views were spectacular. Unlike the view from Elephant, there was no foreground and background - it was one vast incredibly detailed 2-dimensional canvas stretching North and West and a little to the East. The moving of the tiny cars, the boats and minuscule trains brought the canvas to life, the night lights flickering like tiny stars we would be gazing down on.
​We loved the newness of the flat, the wooden floorboards even though they were nothing like the ones in Pontifex - the materials used in the flat were overall pretty average - but the bathrooms were great and so were the wardrobes and we always left the ensuite door open looking out at the magnificent view while taking a shower. We could walk naked, we were too high up and far away from anyone except of course the ÜBER muppet next door neighbour, that American with the dreadful furniture who never stopped yapping away to his puppy boyfriend and the many suffering guests. Luckily we rarely bumped in to him.
We could see the Wheel and the Imperial War Museum, the BT Tower and other landmarks but not the Shard as it was obscured by the building on the right which looked like Uncle but they were not related;)
​We had some fine dinners up on the 27th. We hardly went out - no need, our food always tasted so much better. We didn't have a dinning table, we used the kitchen counter and two stools I bought from John Lewis. We had stuffed chicken for New Year's Eve, your favourite chicken Thai quite a few times, mushroom risotto, winter soup mix from the good Health Food shop in Kentish Town - Earth - with potatoes and other veggies, your beautiful Portuguese cod and various fish dishes mainly salmon and cod with your legendary roasted broccolini smothered in anchovies!:P
​You always had a few bags on the go, that store room was a kind of cycling/wardrobe/damping ground - you'd get clothing from Perronet as and when you needed it - you only went back to feed the fish and water the plants. Life for you was on the 27th and I couldn't be happier. So Perronet stayed empty all year round - you wanted to refurbish it before renting it out but it took for ever to find the right traders. In fact, you struggled even when you did - particularly when you did - till Marco came to the rescue from Croatia around August/September. No more PhDs and Masters in Astrophysics required. Just good old fashioned building skills! Was his name Tony? that idiot who managed to cause a leak to the flat downstairs, getting he Council involved resulting in a few sleepless months worrying about having teared the entire wall down separating the hallway from the lounge all these years ago without asking their permission? Who would have thought you needed to get Council approval for renovating the kitchen of the flat you own. Un-be-li-va-ble.
​You began works at Perronet in June and it was not till November when the works were completed which was timed perfectly with us moving in on the 30th.
​In the evenings we often watched old episodes of 'The Rockford Files' on your laptop - we had no TV or video player on the 27th. We watched some good paid movies from the Bfi on my laptop lying in bed or the couch like that psychological British thriller 'Beast' and the beautiful Turkish films by Nuri Bilge Ceylan 'Once upon a time in Anatolia' and 'Winter Sleep'. We watched 'The Wild Pear Tree' but I don't think we liked it as much as the other two. The odd good film on Netflix and several YouTube episodes of 'The streets of San Franscisco'.
​You'd bring some DVDs from home too - you have a fine collection of Arthouse cinema - the excruciating 'Ulysses' Gaze' by Aggelopoulos was not one of your finest yet, flattered for having the work of a Greek film director. Harvey Keitel must be watching himself now and cringe with embarrassment at his abysmal performance.
2702 was our nest where we always returned to after a record year of trips abroad. Croatia several times for you twice for me, Greece several for me twice for you, Hong Kong, New Zealand, California, trips to Devon, Kent, Brighton and Surrey, work trips to Buenos Aires and Copenhagen.
It was also the year of my mother's death and my reconnection to Writing after having to write her obituary. It was a year of incredible contrast, full of life, colour and perspective.
Love you Sweetheart. You are the constant in my life. Warm, beautiful and exciting to be with.
