31/12/12: New Year's Eve in London

New Year's Eve in London

Lundi 31 Décembre 2012

I normally spend one week every year at my mum's house with my family in a small village 40 minutes north of London. Yet this year's New Year's Eve, I made plans to go to Roehampton so I could spent the night with my boyfriend for the last time before going back to Lyon. This was the place we could say goodbye and welcome 2013.

My mum and I went to a small Indian restaurant for lunch and then from Queensbury, I took the tube to Hammersmith where I got the bus to Roehamtpon. I had a bag rather than a small suitcase but my bag was heavier than I had expected, so I had some problems with it. I had to change line because the Jubilee Line didn't stop at Hammersmith, so I changed at Baker Street where I had to walk for a while. Finally, I got to the train that goes to Hammersmith. I had the same feeling I had when I was returning to Roehampton from Lyon the last time I came home, but this time my journey was more frustrating. As I was approaching Hammersmith I looked at the hours for the 72 bus to Roehampton on my phone. It was 10 minutes from Hammersmith Library, and with just one stop left on the tube, I was sure that this was my bus. However, between Goldhawk Road and Hammersmith, the tube stopped and I had to wait a few minutes. It was quite unlikely that I was going to arrive on time to catch the bus. So when I arrived at Hammersmith, I only had one minute, and when I got out of the station, I saw the bus at the traffic lights. I thought it would be impossible to go to the next bus stop before the bus got there because I would have had to cross all the roads and shops. Finally, it was clear that I had missed my bus.

It was fifteen minutes before the next bus came, so to fill the time, I went to Tesco to find something to eat and then I headed to the bus stop where I waited for two minutes for the 72 bus to Roehampton. Fortunately, as always, it wasn't too busy and I was able to get a place to sit for the journey to university. If I had gone to the bus stop near the library, I think I would have missed the bus again.

My arrival in Roehampton from Hammersmith was different to the last time I was there, which was when me and my boyfriend went to watch the Hobbit at midnight. I like to think as Roehampton as a place where I feel safe, but that wasn't the case that night, since as we turned the corner to go to halls, we came across a very serious crime that had happened just seconds before. I don't want to talk about all the details except that there was a gun and money involved, but no one was injured and the gun wasn't used, but I am certain that if we had arrived a few moments earlier that Christmas 2012 would have been very different. We had to wait an hour to talk to the police. But it was a little scary and unexpected. But I know that events like that are very rare and normally, I feel completely safe in Roehampton and the campus has strict security.

Monday came and it was finally New Year's Eve. Me and my boyfriend tried to rest in his bedroom and watch some TV. But because we were together in London, we thought it was a good idea that we went to the centre to watch the fireworks in Westminster. The bad weather didn't really tempt us but there was a chance that the rain would stop by the night. It was hard to go outside for five minutes to top up our Oyster cards because of the weather, but eventually, the rain stopped and I liked the idea of going out.

It was quite warm out but I was told to wear lots of clothes! We were in the kitchen in the middle of getting all of our things ready such as gloves, money for food etc. when I realised that I had forgotten my memory card for my camera. So I went back to the bedroom with the key card to get that one last thing. I closed the door and then I realised that I had left the key card in the room. It wasn't just the key for the room but for the building too!

We called the security team but we were waiting ages for someone to come and help us, so we decided to go into the centre anyway and deal with it when we got home later after midnight.

We had plans to take the 72 bus to Hammersmith or the 265 which went to Puntey and then we could get another bus that went to the centre of London. The first bus that came was the 72 but it was full of people and it didn't stop where we wanted it to, so we took the 265 to Putney where we ate before taking the 14 bus to Picadilly. I love Putney because there are lots of shops and restaurants and last year I spent a lot of time there. It's a pleasant place which isn't too far from Chelsea or Fulham. It was the first time I had been to Putney since I had been back in London, so I was really happy because I originally thought that Hammersmith would have been livelier than Putney.

I love the richer boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and that night, people on the street had bottles of alcohol and were on their way to parties. The bus line was only short because streets in the centre had been blocked for foot passengers and crowds. It was obvious that lots of people wanted to celebrate 2012, and there are lots of reasons to celebrate such an incredible year.

It was nearly 10pm when we arrived in Piccadilly. We didn't want to get there any earlier like other people had because we didn't want ot wait for ages in the rain before midnight. We looked for somewhere we could watch the fireworks from and we finally found Parliament Square. It was impossible to get any closer to the Thames, because those areas were already full of people. We found a space on the grass big enough for two people in the middle of Parliment Square. Because it was raining for the whole day there was lots of mud around so it was pretty disgusting. We had to be careful because it was easy to fall. Before me was Big Ben, and to the right was Westminster Abbey, but our view was a little blocked but it was impossible to find anywhere else. We had to wait for an hour and 30 minutes before 2013. There was a DJ that was playing music but it was terrible, there was lots of Indian music which I hate because it's too much like electronic music and its always the same and the English songs they use are really old. There is a lot of music that could be a symbol of 2012, we only have to watch the opening and closing ceremony of the 2012 Olympics to have an idea of all the iconic music of 2012 in England so I wasn't too happy with the music. Lots of people were drinking there but we thought it was best not too because we couldn't go to the toilet if we needed to.

Finally, Gabby Logan came onto the big screen and started to talk about 2012, with the Queen's Jubilee, the Olympics Games and other sporting achievements. She said thank you to the Game-Makers for the Olympic games which made me smile, and I started to think about my 2012. It was incredible to say the least, it would be impossible to have another like that. The second semester and my second year at Roehampton was perfect. I worked and I got good grades, then I spent a lot of time during the summer between my village and going to the beach with the people I love, before spending two amazing weeks at the Olympics as a Game-maker. I met some really special and interesting people with lots of stories to tell from all over the world, and I liked the feeling of being part of something that was so successful. The country was so proud, and I was too. Like the other Game-makers, I received a letter from the Prime Minister David Cameron. Some people had asked me if I would have preferred to earn money during the summer rather than volunteer and I always say 'no' because experiencing the Olympic Games was precious and it will be impossible to do something like that again. So I was happy without earning money. I would like to say thank you to all the people that I met in the Waterpolo area on the Protocol team.

At the end of summer, I started another adventure as a foreign student in the university of Lyon 2. I learnt a lot by trying to understand the French culture and the language also, I can now appreciate England more after being away from home. I think I am more independent now and I think my character will improve even more in 2013. For me, London was the perfect place to say goodbye to 2012 because I love the city and if I didn't live here, 2012 would have been very different.

The big clock of Big Ben chimed at midnight and suddenly the sky was illuminated with so many colours in such a spectacular way. It was time to welcome 2013 and think about what the next year has to offer and I have to admit that the music during the fireworks was perfect.

Fifteen minutes later, it was all over and all of a sudden everyone started leaving the square, but it was pretty difficult because the crowds were controlled by the police and there were a lot of people. We weren't far from Victoria where there was a bus going back to Roehampton. But the station is really popular and a lot of people wanted to use the station to get a tube or a train. We couldn't walk very quickly and it was more difficult because the cars were returning to the roads. It was really chaotic especially for those people that had drank too much alcohol.

When we found the bus, the journey to Roehampton was pretty simple, but the bus was full of people and the there was a woman who annoyed me because she was quite racist. But one stop before Clapham Junction, lots of people got off so we could get a place to sit. A few moments later, lots of young people got on the bus. They had been celebrating the New Year at Clapham Junction and they were quite drunk and the bus driver wasn't when a lad kept offering him a chip.

Despite the fact that the 170 bus from Victoria goes to Roehampton, the bus couldn't find a suitable place to stop for us to get off, especially at night, so we used an app on my phone to find out whether there was a 493 that was going to Putney Heath after our bus. We were really happy when we found out that the last bus arrived a little bit late so we managed to change onto the number 4 at Putney Heath. Between 23:00 nad 4:00, the buses and public transport is free but there were some stupid people that kept trying to use their Oyster Card!

10 minutes later, we arrived at the university but thanks to me it was impossible to get inside the building because I had left the key card inside of my boyfriend's room and the doors lock automatically. It was now raining quite hard and we had to wait outside for the security guy to arrive. One time last year, I had to wait three hours but fortunately, there was someone in the residence so I just waited in the kitchen chatting with other students. It was ten minutes before the security man arrived and we spoke with him about the crime that had happened a few weeks earlier, we learnt some more about the situation which was reassuring for me and I was curious because there was nothing about it in the newspaper or on the internet. Also, my boyfriend wasn't the first person who needed help from the security team in 2013!

I have always wanted to watch the fireworks in London on New Years Eve. Every year I watch them on the TV. I was really happy that I was there in person for the first time with the man that I love for 2012. Although it was pretty cold so I think I would prefer to stay at home in the warmth. I am happy to say that I have seen the fireworks in London but I am not sure if it is something that I would do again because I don't like big crowds and there was a lot of chaos at the end of the night.

The only thing I have left to say is Happy New Year and Good Health for 2013.

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