Cod bless ya

27 Aug, 2026

[All between July 25 and August 27, 2026, a rainy Thursday]
*Recommendation for the background is My Endeavour which I heard in a coffee shop as I wrote this.

Data

Days in London: 42
Movies watched: 8
Average daily distance: 10km

A library is a temple for atheists

Every morning Ru wakes up hours before I do, getting a head start on his day and focussing entirely on work. By the time I crawl into the dining table in the kitchen, his coffee glass is stained and he is prepping to head out. On most mornings, he proceeds to Senate House to indulge in an educational environment and conduct his studies. He repeats this visit, day after day, week after week. He recognises the people who work there, he understand the comings and goings better with each visit. I am quite the opposite. I try to limit my frequency to places, and while I could come to recognise someone behind the counter, I am yet to be recognised. The only thing that holds me back from visiting the same set of libraries and reading rooms, back to back, is the requirement of trying new places that travel necessitates. Well, that and Rhea tormenting me to never repeat places (I listen to this 50% of the times).

Travel gives the opportunity to look around and be detached from self, and similar to be isolated enough and dig deeper inside. Places can prompt this. Never repeating a place is inherently a bad idea. In frequency, there is rhythm and release, a state can be achieved to reduce ”looking around” and begin ”looking inwards”.

I can conclusively say that this is the core difference between living somewhere and traveling, even slow traveling as we do. I can visit a place I love over and over, even for chunks in a day. With each visit I am more familiarised and more detached. I can manage “a flow state”. But repeating brings the danger of reduced exposure. The pursuit to see something new is continuous. It can be taken a break from but it is the foundation of experiencing a city.

Fitbit's readiness score as of starting to write this: 15
Fitbit's readiness score as of finishing this: 68

The cafes, food places, shops and walkways are interchangeable. A few places are my magnets, I am going there more frequently and relying on them routinely. Like Ru in Senate House, I like the Wellcome Collection Reading Room (they have abundant coloured pencils there and books on drawing). Like Ru in The Salisbury Pub (a pint), I go to Dillons at Waterstones (a flatwhite). Like Ru grabbing a cold lunch at The Queens Larder, I go to Dapur for Malay curry rice.

When I see an old church, lettering that tells me it was established in 1600s, I try and comprehend the sense of gravity the neighbouring residents felt towards that one location. Time is a circle, especially when one can bring forth an imaginary person with an active imagination. When I will it, I can see someone right next to me, look up and feel like they could step in and dedicate time for meaning. They could find an answer to trepidation, or rest for their concerns, or be quiet without being questioned. Me, however, in front of an old church am merely amused. Out side a library though, one I am about to enter, I am feeling much the same as the ones I imagine. So I have come to understand my lifelong admiration of libraries, dilapidated or modern, brick or glass, any kind. It is essentially my church.

To atheists that we are, and different in our psychological pursuits, in libraries we unite. They are our temples, our places of worship and dedication. They are sites of resting mental faculties. Most of all, they are places where I see a young me and an old me, looped into the same moment, same time, wanting the same things; a pen, paper, to draw, to be wanted nothing from and to be left alone.

So help me cod

Life in London as it flows:

• We took a trip to Cornwall. It was Rh, her flatmate and I. It was three days old driving, hiking. Each day had more steps than the day before. My desire to go to Cornwall came entirely from Ru and his long interest in that region. And it was well worth my time.
  • Daphne Du Maurier lived and wrote in Cornwall. Rebecca is based in that place and Jamaica Inn in particular is based on a hotel in Bodmin. Rebecca (published in 1938) is my favourite gothic novel and I was day dreaming endlessly of the isolation and insecurity that Cornwall breeds in people, one that du Maurier experienced or empathised with so well that she captured it brilliant. It was a bit trippy to be in the region that inspired her, and it was reassuring to lean further into my gothic inner self. I have come to enjoy this, how I can be a person that can hold feelings of jubilance and ominous in both hands.
• I got in a queue online To book tickets for BFI IMAX. As Nolan released a film to precisely overlap with my visit, and as BFI (due to popular demand) released more shows to accommodate my schedule, it was essential I do the legwork to acquire the tickets. I got two. Show is in September.¹
• Met Rh’s old friend a beau. Each time I meet her, she gets more fashionable and fabulous.
• Had a Sunday roast with Ru. He continues to not choose pork or chicken for his roasts and never admits he prefers what comes on my plate more than his own.
• Finished work on a small project that was mentally draining me and my creativity.
• Watched two musicals: The Book of Mormon which was wildly funny, comically and acceptably cringe and The Lion King which was beautiful and a bit too familiar to a woman who had seen the animated movie countless times and knows it beat by beat.²
• Ru, Rh and Ta went for dinner to a Greek restaurant in Camden (which is abundant with Greek restaurants) and had a gala time. The wine was flowing, the laughter was plentiful, and portions were packed for later.
• Met Ru’s old colleague Ja and her partner Ju. We were prepared for 2-3 hours of engagement, as one expects when you meet relative strangers. But 6 hours later we all said heartfelt goodbyes to each other as they cycled away to meet friends. Beautiful day to remember. There was also incredible pizza to eat.
• Sat with a new friend and took all compliments on my journal’s art, my best performance so far.
• Went on the Seven Sisters hike with Gur and his friends. Long day of trains, walking up the step sister hill (I christened her such) and then making our way through all the seven cliffs. I also dipped in the sea and swam in chilly and delicious water. Spirits got higher as clothes remained damp.
• Did a lot of the classics. Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St. James Park, some of these became rather routine to see on bus routes and while walking to and fro.
• Played tennis.
• Took a Karl Marx walking tour. It allowed me to walk deeper into Soho with more context. I really love walking tours. Rh had the audacity to say he does not do walking tours…
• Struggled as any other Londener or tourist to find toilets in the city.
• Fell absolutely in love with the Barbican. I had to read all about brutalism again just to satisfy the urge to rent an apartment in The Barbican.
• Bought art supplies.

• On art stores:

  By no means do I feel like I am the authority on art stores, but I do understand a store’s intended mood well enough to assess it. Cass Art was a brilliant store that seems to be made for people to access art. With the same intention, I went to visit the London Graphic Centre. It’s overtly brand centric attitude, lack of interest in providing economical options and general disinterest in creating a range that feels accessible whilst occupying a large space had me outraged. No sir, you may not make a stationary store that feels soulless and expect me to shell out any money. Make art stores for artists, not collectors.
• My focus on a brand for shopping any necessity here is Primark. Have not even stepped into a Uniqlo or Muji to see their collections. This iS a big enough deal.
• Went for a canal side walk in Camden, and ended up in Little Venice. Realised how boring the rich neighbourhoods get at night. I adore Camden for how routinely entertaining and lively it is.
• Visited Oxford and went from awe to laughable disdain. The entire pursuit of the university has been to make sure its history is held up and applauded. That self importance, wealth from colonisation that built this beautiful college town, the brilliant long term branding exercise… For that I endlessly admire it.³
• Places I have spent time doodling and decompressing, Reading Room at Wellcome Collection, British Library, Dillons Cafe, The Cafe at Foyles, Gills Cafe
• Had several picnics in Regent’s Park, two of which was Rh-Ra’s poetry picnics.
• Saw autumn. Saw London in a drought.
• Rh took us for a whole Southbank walk, where we crossed bridges and explored the old old old parts of the riverside. Places exist here that have no business hanging around. London essentially refuses to die.
• Met some beautiful people, which were most people I met. I have to think more about this.
• Have lost count of the kinds of beer I have had.
• I rely in on Onitsuka Tigers more than the average joe. I wear them almost daily and as I have averaged out 15k steps per day since my last weeknote, I am vary that these shoes will soon reach its limits.
• Did a hike in Epping Forest (the oak trail).
• Ate and elaborate Ethiopian meal. Paid too much for a gift but small hamburger. Ate chorizo Ate cheese bought at Borough market. Ate many cinnamon rolls and croissants.

• On coffee:

  I am back on the coffee bandwagon. It is incredibly hard to spend time as long as I do out and about in the city without having a fixture in the day to step into a cafe and make a purchase. Food is seldom as it should be, so with Diet Coke (at pubs) and oat flat whites (at cafes) I am able to rest, read, draw and get back to wandering. I am limiting to one coffee a day. So far it has not damaged my gut, with which I can conclude that the break I took was healing. I plan to resume this when back home in Goa including a whole period off alcohol. This will be short lived, I will be enamoured by all the Christmas morale and make more than one batch of red wine (an notoriou enemy of my healthy stomach bacteria).
• Not all is well, as there is increased agitation on some aspects of my relationships. The most frustrating area is the lack of control I feel I have over my time, and I am resentful of my attitude to willingly prioritise other people’s needs. It is Ru and Rh who have repeatedly told me to guard my time, and they assist in that. Yet, slip ups happen and repeat, a week goes by and I see an empty page in my sketchbook, a date with myself in a museum moved forward on the calendar, and my frustration peaks. I am hoping in a few days I can aggressively comeback to prioritising my time and enrichment.

Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again. ― Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca

Culture

Books

I have been reading books by John Boyne, his Elements series. I am done with two elements, Water and Earth. Fire is tough to get through, and I am taking a break with Rachel Cusk and Enshitification.

Cinema

• In honour of my time in UK, I am rewatching “The Crown”. I also watched The Young Victoria
• For Cornwall fascination, I watched Sleepy Hollow. And I remembered why for years I was enamoured by Johnny Depp. It was the knowledge of his cheekbones, soft manner of speaking and no knowledge about his personality.
• For light entertainment, I watched Rush Hour, Palm Springs.
• One day when I did not want to feel any feelings, and wanted to be amused, I watched The Drive.
• While folding clothes I watched Sliding Doors, and The Dink. I know now I have a deep love for the character of Nick Miller that he’s long as Jake Johnson plays a character remotely similar, I will watch it. This is my third Jake Johnson film of this year alone. Man does not even do that many movies!
• I do not know why I watched Over Your Dead Body. Only 50% of it was good. The rest was tiresome but alright.
• Ted Lasso is back and I am watching it every Wednesday. I adore it.

More days in London to unfold…

Ending line,
Nats

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