A friend I had not seen since teenage years messaged me out of the blue. She was coming to London. She would not be in town for long but would like to meet even if it was for just 5 minutes.

In a heartbeat the instinct was either this was something that got buried in the weeds of expectation muddied with time passing us by or I acted quickly. I picked up my phone then caught the end of the message.

A photograph for her family of the two of us was suggested.

I paused. Now it felt not so authentic. I needed a haircut, I wanted a sharp looking coat that could deal with the recent snap of cold weather and even a new lipstick would be good. There wasn’t a lot of time.

I jumped through the hoop and called her, and the first thing she said was that I sounded the same. It was the kindest, sweetest thought. And I realised I’m a lot more than a haircut and a cute lipstick in fact true pals probably don’t notice the style barometer quite so closely.

Then the most recent message was to meet in Camden. It felt like an obvious choice. Cool, busy and entertaining. We would enjoy. She asked me to pick out some things of interest. And the ideas I came up with were so firmly of the past. Amy Winehouse’s legendary appearances, Bowie’s gigs, Cool designs going global from the market and the stables.

We met at the tube station. It felt like the perfect moment and the right time to meet. The time went so fast walking along the high street. I recommend the changing face of Camden as a great place to reconnect with anyone or maybe even yourself.

I feel lucky as I can return there now and it reminds me of continuation of friendship. The stories that unfolded around us as we walked through the stables and along the canal, following the flow of the water, and the people we met as we walked into boutique coffee shops are now the melody of a new chapter beginning.

There’s no place like Camden Town 🙂