A global field guide to design, (life)style and secret finds
est. 2007
  1. Goodbye London, hello Sydney

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    Well, it’s an end of an era here at Wee Birdy. I’ve decided to move back to my hometown of Sydney. It was a heart-wrenching decision that I've agonised over for months, and although I'll never tire of this wonderful old town (never, Dr Johnson!), things seem to have come to their natural end. For the time being, anyway.

    So what will this mean for Wee Birdy? Well, not much will change as I have been very busy squirreling away loads of London shop reviews, which I’ll be posting about once I’m settled in Sydney. And eventually I’ll introduce you to some of my favourite Australian shops. I guess Wee Birdy will take on a more global feel in time, and I'm already planning regular trips back to London to 'top up' my posts. 

    In the meantime, I will be posting “The Best Of’ London shop reviews over the next two weeks, before normal blogging will resume.

    But it's goodbye London for now...
    Goodbye riding in the front seat up the top of a double-decker bus
    Goodbye getting mugged
    Goodbye marvellous weekend newspapers
    Goodbye hot air vents on the buses in summer (oh why oh why?)
    Goodbye Tatty Devine, Rob Ryan and Alex Monroe
    Goodbye 2am bagels on Brick Lane
    Goodbye foxes crying like tortured banshees in the middle of the night
    Goodbye proper afternoon tea with clotted cream
    Goodbye Sherlock Holmes tiles at Baker Street tube station
    Goodbye eternal queues at Monmouth coffee
    Goodbye University Challenge and the ever-excitable voice of Roger Tilling
    Goodbye perfectly formed snowflakes that sparkle in the weak morning sun
    Goodbye Central Line, you served me well (most of the time)
    Goodbye narrow lanes and hedgerows in the countryside
    Goodbye Sunday roast dinners with Yorkshire pudding
    Goodbye sugar mice and Parma Violets
    Goodbye brilliant, wonderful Guardian mini mag supplements
    Goodbye wild buttercups growing outside Greenwich park
    Goodbye picking over 400-year old clay pipes on the banks of the Thames
    Goodbye incredible museums and art galleries
    Goodbye Time Out (and thanks for employing me in the middle of a recession!)
    Goodbye lazy Saturday mornings trawling the stalls at Broadway Market
    Goodbye skidding on icy streets because the council couldn’t be arsed to grit
    Goodbye daily repeats of Friends on E4
    Goodbye 'three for a fiver' bunches of flowers at Columbia Road
    Goodbye dusty old bookshops (and rather odd owners) on Charing Cross Road
    Goodbye 4pm darkness in December
    Goodbye glorious Knickerbocker Glory at Fortnum & Mason
    Goodbye pretty little blue tits in the tree outside my window
    Goodbye limescale sludge in my tea
    Goodbye sitting in the bar at the Tate Modern watching the sun go down
    Goodbye walking up Piccadilly in the rain
    Goodbye having ice-creams in Hyde Park on green and white striped deckchairs
    Goodbye robins in the snow
    Goodbye peat bog man at the British Museum
    Goodbye getting lost again in Soho
    Goodbye ring-necked parakeets in Greenwich park
    Goodbye car boot sales
    Goodbye Tunnock's Teacakes, how do they make your marshmallow so soft?
    Goodbye some of the shittiest customer service I’ve ever experienced in my life
    Goodbye installations in the Turbine Hall
    Goodbye Waitrose and M&S ready-made meals
    Goodbye crazy tile mosaics at Tottenham Court Road tube
    Goodbye Selfridges’ Christmas windows
    Goodbye people who don’t move down into the carriage
    Goodbye geese and squirrels in St James’s Park
    Goodbye London sales
    Goodbye coots on Regent’s Canal
    Goodbye Charbonnel et Walker powdery-pink champagne chocolates
    Goodbye shiny mahogany conkers in autumn
    Goodbye pink petal showers in spring
    Goodbye cheese, coffee and cake at Borough Market
    Goodbye grey squirrels - I know I'm not meant to like you, but I do
    Goodbye South Eastern trains coming to a standstill within inches of the platform at London Bridge
    Goodbye to all my wonderful, wonderful London and UK friends, hope you all keep reading… maybe I can treat you to a coffee in Sydney some time?

    Goodbye London, thanks for having me. It’s been a treat and I'll miss you terribly (sob!).