sunshine at lunchtime

Yesterday I decided to escape the confines of my basement office to lunch in the gardens of the Natural History Museum. It was a blissful London day of sunshine and happy Londoners, thanks to an overdue dose of vitamin D. I found a suitable spot and parked myself in front of the temporary Butterfly Jungle exhibition which is said to be housing iguanas, pythons, scorpions, tarantulas and hundreds of butterflies. I inched myself slightly forward at the sudden thought that there could be a mass escape and I would find myself surrounded by some of the world’s creepiest creatures.
Sitting reading my Lonely Planet magazine while basking in glorious rays of sunlight, I would glance up occasionally as a school child ran past me yelling to disperse flocks of pigeons. As charming as the scene was, I was aware that I was in the firing line and would be forced to spoil fun if one of those pigeons literally did get the poop scared out of it. There was a wonderful buzz in the gardens as passers-by were attracted to a brightly decorated piano in the far end of the garden that teased with the words “play me” scrawled across the front. I quite enjoyed one man’s rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody and just when I began to get lost in my thoughts a six-year-old took his turn and the tune became slightly less melodic and more of a constant thumping. Still, everyone has to start somewhere.
The whole experience left me a bit more in love with this city than I have been of late. For a few moments in my day I was able to block out the noise and busyness of life and just soak up my surroundings which can often be much scarier than the exhibition behind me. It’s a jungle out there.