A Sense of Belonging

                                                                Picture credit: English Heritage 

 “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” - so said Samuel Johnson to his friend and biographer James Boswell in 1777.

A little while ago, my wife and I were in London to celebrate my birthday. We were heading towards the west end for a meal at one of Yotam Ottolenghi's restaurants but, being a Sunday, I also wanted to attend a service at my childhood church. This is the Crown Court Church of Scotland, quietly nestled among the theatres in Covent Garden. As we approached the church, we passed the blue plaque pictured above. Not everyone is a fan of the big city, but I agree with Johnson.

I enjoyed the service very much. It serves as a home from home for Scots in London. As newcomers in the 1960s, my parents attended there, no doubt drawn by the desire for familiarity and the company of fellow Scots. On another day, the service would have been in Gaelic, and they were all set for a ceilidh the following weekend. The service ended with the sharing of a wedding cake sent down from Aberdeen by the happy couple.

Afterwards, as we strolled the short distance to the restaurant, we passed a Swiss church, their service just concluding, a Chinese church and the Australian Hillsong, with members from across the globe. Birds of a feather flock together. Indeed, in London it’s possible to attend a church from almost anywhere in the world. One university advises their students there are Armenian, Assyrian, Belarussian, Chinese Mandarin, Egyptian Coptic, Ethiopian, Greek, Hungarian, Iranian, Italian, Korean, Russian and Slovakian churches. The only surprising thing about this list is that it misses all the others. You may as well just list the entire world, A-Z.

Now to the restaurant. Ottolenghi’s food has its roots in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean traditions but also wins acclaim for his diverse influences and use of elements from around the world. Much like London itself, his food is a melting pot of ingredients and styles. Each of his restaurants has a different menu. I chose this one partly because of the use of an unusual ingredient I’ve never seen on a menu. This was crowdie, described for diners as a cheese made by crofters in the northeast of Scotland. My grandmother was just such a person and made the cheese. She might have made more had she known the price of it in the west end!

My main work in progress is a novel entitled ‘A Sense of Belonging’. Even though I'm a Londoner and just an occasional visitor to the Church of Scotland, I have a strong sense of belonging when I am there. I wonder how many nationalities there are in ACW and how many languages are spoken among us? Is there anything you do or anywhere you go when you want a touch of home? What gives you a sense of belonging?

Let us know in the comments, it would be great to hear.

I wish you a blessed week.