Go where we may, rest where we will, Eternal London haunts us still.

Thomas Moore (1779-1852), Rhymes on the Road, The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore

A bad day in London is still better than a good day anywhere else.

Anon

Having a lovely time. Stop. If I ever find you in London, I will break your neck. Stop.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Rathbone, Telegram sent to brutal Schweidnitz POW camp commander, Karl Niemeyer, after Rathbone’s 150 mile escape through Germany into Holland, 1918

I’m always afraid someone’s going to tap me on the shoulder one day and say, ‘Back to North London’.

Alan Parker (1944-2020)

As a Londoner I was able to see how the world of power and money cast its shadow on those who failed.

Peter Ackroyd (b.1949)