as, I guess, anyone who was born and bred in a city like London, I have a love hate relationship with my city. there's so much to dislike about what it has slowly been turning into, about the people who can afford to buy housing here, about the racist gentrification of areas I used to run around as a kid, about the destruction of venues that I spent the majority of my life in from the age of twelve. but then there are days when I fall in love with it again, where I realise there's nowhere else I could've been made into who I am, where I feel completely at home, where I realise I can turn a corner and trip over a memory or seven, where I can walk through my city and know a story for every part of it I pass. those are the times I cherish, especially knowing that I'm being priced out of this city that has always been my home, that affordable housing will never really actually be affordable, that one day I'll have to say goodbye. I can dream, of course, of rent control and falling house prices, but I don't think that will ever be a reality. but today, I love my city again. and I feel very fortunate to have been born and bred in this place, before it turned into a gentrified shithole full of coffee shops and estate agents. London is my heart, still. I don't think that will ever change ✨🖤 - - - - #londoner #instalondon #igerslondon #londonlife #london_only #balham #tuberoundel #tube #nighttube #afterlight