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Back in 1666, in a bakery in Pudding Lane, a fire broke out, which destroyed no less than 80 per cent of the City of London. This came IN THE SAME YEAR as The Great Plague of London, which was the last bubonic plague outbreak which killed an estimated 100,000 Londoners or 25 per cent of its population. In one year, over three-quarters of the city was destroyed along with a quarter of its people and hundreds of thousands left homeless.
Fast forward 300 years and the England football team won the World Cup, with seven million Londoners celebrating at home, in pubs and on the streets. The victory was against West Germany, coming only 25 years after much of the City of London had been laid to waste (once again) by the Luftwaffe in the Second World War.
I can go on with the historic demise of London from recent bombings and terrorism to as far back as 450 AD where the collapse of Roman rule left Londinium abandoned. Before that, its population peaked at a meagre 30,000, the entirety of which could have fit into Ipswich Town’s Portman Road Stadium.
So when I read comments from expat ‘influencers’ claiming that London is finished, I know these people have minimal understanding of what London stands for, its history and its people. Tax and governments come and go, the Right and Left have flip-flopped and argued in predictable fashion for what feels like an eternity and while crime and populations ebb and flow, it is a far cry from the many disasters this city has faced and overcome time and time again.
Last weekend, I watched Arthur Fery in the semi-finals of Wimbledon on a big screen sitting on grass in the sunshine in Canary Wharf surrounded by young, ambitious, friendly, fun-loving Londoners all chasing their hopes and dreams. Tonight, will be no different as England take on Norway and the city comes alive once again.
While London might be burning in 36 degree heat, it is far from finished and if history is anything to go by, we are only just beginning.
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