"London is not romantic, no, London has the violence of a bolt of lightening ....(where) ...the pulse rises fast and plummets as quickly, things get done and undone in split second...". Agree, agree, agree! The city is a force you contend with. It is a game living in London. No start, no finish. You're plunged in. Who can outwit who first? You or this confounding, ravenous city?

Everything's a snake or ladder, or both. Especially dear old transport. There's a full tube map driven into my head (then again I am a man, that old "men can read maps thing"), just so I can re-route myself out of one dead-end, closed tube station for engineering works, or whatever obstacle it is, and get back on to the open road.

Knowing not just where to sit, but which carriage to aim for when the train pulls in is all part of the game too. But I'm not going to spill the beans on whereabouts to stand on the platform at Holland Park. My secret

The quote is from Agnes Catherine Poirier. Could n't have found anything better to sum up this city that can leave you breathless, infuriated, baffled, and deeply, deeply fond of, in the sweep of a few seconds.