  Was just listening to Cities by Talking Heads. Prompts these meditations. Cities I have lived in: Croydon;Home till age 5. Actually feel quite warm toward this deathly dull dump, perhaps because my family got out and I never had to suffer the worst of it. How I miss the Whitgift centre as it used to be without that overly refined roof. Both homely and supremely naf. Caterham; A town of very little consequence. Neither beautiful nor ugly. I don't feel any real loyalty to where I grew up. Why? Perhaps because I always felt rather alienated from that middle class culture that washed around me. Perhaps because Caterham is so meshed in the south London suburb web that it can't really form a focal point in its own right.
Coventry; now this really is a dump. I only ever went to the centre for shopping, mainly by bike. I was not impressed. Do have some fond memories of the cycle route in however. I thrive on modest doses of solitude in green spaces. Doesn't everybody? Leamington Spa; Hard to fathom that I lived here for three years. Never really gave the place much thought actually.
Far more charm than Coventry, beautiful gardens along the river stand out, but in most respects not that remarkable. Bydgoszcz, Poland; Far more interesting. Location of Mozg, my favorite bar. Memories of friendship, falling snow. Once jogged around the town in the rain on magic mushrooms, curse those devilish Wyndhams! Great park spaces and architecture that is often enough charming in that central European way, but with enough disrepair to stop it feeling showy.
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; A planned socialist dream city. Too open, too shallow rooted in its urban culture, but not without its own charm especially in summer when it comes to life a bit. The traffic and winter coalsmoke are quite hellish. The building site quality of the place is as alarming as it is charming. Welding next to children playing basketball. Showers of sparks on the street below. And lets not forget those dickensian street urchins that lurk on every corner. Tbilisi, Georgia; Not there yet but really looking forward to a new and richer urban environment. Can I cope with the guns and the drinking culture? Not to mention the primitive gender politics. 
