I love living in London. This will come as a shock to no-one that knows me, but it’s nights like tonight that make me remember how much I love it.

As I write this, I’m sitting in the cafe at the Royal Festival Hall, where I’ve come to the second in my set of “three artists I must see live before I die” – Diamanda Galas. I’ve already seen Nick Cave, and have yet to see Tom Waits. From here, I’m drinking a coffee while watching the sun set over London – a Waterloo Sunset. Not a perfect view, and the sky’s pretty murky, but it’ll do. I have a need to see one of these every so often, and this’ll tide me over for a while.

Because I knew I had time to kill, (and also knew that if I went to the pub with my friends, I wouldn’t want to leave), I got off the tube a couple of stops early, and walked the rest of the way, down along the river from Embankment to Westminster, over the bridge and back down on the other side, stopping frequently to admire the view. It’s sad that so few Londoners take the time to appreciate their city, which really is the finest city on earth.

A final note, before I get on with something more important – the elderly crew opposite me have just surprised me by complimenting me on my “Jesus hates you and so do I” T-shirt. I’m used the shirt getting compliments from my generation, but from the older one is a little unusual.