West London Girl

WLG on London’s FOMO

September
15

If Georgia O’Keeffe thought 1920s city life was fast-paced, I wonder what she would make of London in 2016

georgia-okeeffe

‘Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small – we haven’t time – and to see takes time… So I said to myself – I’ll paint what I see – what the flower is to me, but I’ll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking time to look at it – I will even make busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers…’

If Georgia O’Keeffe thought 1920s city life was fast-paced, I wonder what she would make of London in 2016.

Having left a city of 841,186 live-in-the-moment Amsterdammers for a city 8.674 million meticulously organised Londoners, I’m still adjusting. I was too slow to sort out London Fashion Week tickets; I paid £90 for a chance to see Nice Fish (I haven’t a clue what the play is about; who really cares – Mark Rylance is in it) while another friend paid £15 for a better seat just because she’s better at forward planning than me; and even though I saw the Georgia O’Keefe exhibition (on at Tate Modern until 30th October 2016), a friend messaged me later that day saying I should have popped by to see his exhibition at Oxo Tower. Grrr.

You can never escape London’s FOMO effect, it seems. But here are my top tips for staying on top of what’s happening in the capital and ticking off a few things rather than kicking yourself for paying over the odds or missing out completely:

  1. Get on your favourite venues’ mailing lists. It’s a great way to find out what’s happening before everyone else and to get the best seats at the best prices.
  2. Support your local venues. London’s fringe theatre scene is the world’s envy. Excellent current productions in intimate venues include Noel Coward’s Home Chat (now sold out) at Finborough Theatre and Diary of a Madman (some tickets still available) at Gate Theatre. Chelsea jazz venue, 606 Club’s marketing manager recently revealed to me that many locals don’t know about the under-the-radar club, which has been around since 1976.
  3. Support your mates’ invites. Even if it’s not your thing, it’s always fun to experience someone else’s passion for a short time. And you can always spread the word. I recently brought along two huge tennis fans to a talk by FT journalist, William Skidelsky about his book Federer and Me.
  4. A thank you goes a long way. I don’t think anyone expects a thank you card or gift after every invite these days but a text expressing your appreciation makes all the difference.
  5. Forget about it and catch up with your favourite Netflix/Amazon/Sky Q series instead. No booking required!

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