Being a fashion blogger in London is truly one of the best things that I have ever done.  The city of London is one of the most diverse and cultural places that I have ever lived, from the museums and art galleries to the varied night life in Central London, right the way down to the cultural pockets that exist of communities in various parts of the city, ranging from the subcontinental Asians from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh in East London, to the vibrancy and colourfulness of China town, however i’ve also noticed…..

London has a massive problem!

People don’t seem to want to talk to each other in London! and when you do attempt to talk to someone, a complete stranger in London, you get looked at like a complete weirdo! 😦  Having lived in Croatia all my life up until a couple of years ago, and having recently gone on a trip to Barcelona, I realised how much of a London problem this was, when I was able to talk to the local people in Barcelona, and have an open and free conversation with them about how they found the city, and what they liked and disliked about it, and, you know, just talk about life in general really.  I thought all hope was lost, until one day.

Something amazing happened:

I was on the last train home and was on the train to go home, sitting on a seat in the carriage, I was minding my own business when a young(ish) couple came and sat down opposite me, they were holding hands, and we exchanged glances, I had nothing else to do and my phone had run out of battery so I took one attempt to speak to this couple, but I thought, let me sound like a complete weirdo, and say “You guys look very much in Love, are you?”

The response could have been from a Hollywood writer, nothing would have prepared me for their love story….

They looked like a regular couple, but the first thing that the guy (Michael) showed me was a necklace that he wore with the name Rob on it, I looked at him completely puzzled.  The girl, Helen then spoke, she said “Rob was my brother, we grew up together in the North of England and did everything together, learning to ride bikes, going to school, drinking in university, we were completely inseparable” she continued, “After my parents divorced, I moved to London, and Rob who was living with my mum at the time called me and asked if he could move in with me, and I told him to come!”.

This love story was really confusing I thought, till I heard some tragic news:

Helen explained, 6 years ago Rob passed away, after a tragic car accident, it turned my world upside down she said, and I just never felt the same about anything again.  She told me how she remembered the day that she went to the hospital after the accident, and Rob was comatose, she remembers speaking to the Doctor who told her that Rob was an organ donor, which she felt indifferent to at the time, the next day he died.  However:

This would trigger another chain of events in this love story

Michael had lived in London all his life, and had been diagnosed with a heart defect at a young age, he got tired doing basic things, and medication helped for a while but the effects were starting to wear off, so he was put on a heart transplant list, days went by, and one day Michael was told that he had a heart, he went to the hospital and had surgery, he woke up a new man.

Slowly this love story was starting to make sense

As Micheal recovered, he wrote a letter to Helen’s family thanking them for the organ donation, and for giving him a second chance at life.  Helen told me how it felt like it was Rob speaking to them, after some time exchanging letters, they agreed to meet in person. He drove up to Manchester to meet Helen and the rest of the family as she had moved back there.  Helen said that initially she felt uncomfortable about it, but her family and boyfriend (at the time) showed Rob around Manchester and admitted that there was some sort of connection.  They agreed to keep in touch over time.

So what happened next??

Helen and Michael saw each other infrequently, and by this time, Helen had broken up with her boyfriend.  After Michael had graduated, he took one last trip to Manchester to see Helen, and she said it was at that time when she realised that she had feelings for him, the rest as they say is history, Helen said it was hard at first, but they soon worked things out and have been together ever since.  The story ended, and I got off the train at my stop (which I almost missed), and remember just feeling so invigorated and alive, what a great story, and a great way to prove that people in London are truly sociable and you can have a conversation with them.

So this got me thinking….

Everyone must have at least one amazing story about love in their life, no matter how big or small something that perhaps you want to share with everyone in the world because it just makes you feel so good about life.  Perhaps you have married your childhood sweetheart, or you are recently in a new relationship, so no matter how big or small your story is, come on London, leave a comment and tell me about it 🙂