In praise of the modern world

IKEA, grocery stores, and routers

Dear Friends, I just spent ten minutes drinking an oat flat white and playing on my phone. I would be tempted to feel guilty for this, haunted by the looming belief that scrolling on one’s phone is almost always a deleterious activity for the human soul. However, I’m pleased to report that, on the whole, my few minutes of scrolling was very edifying. I watched a few recipe videos that gave me ideas for the upcoming weeks, watched a video of a flower arranger, read the newsletters of a few writers I follow, and scrolled through pictures on my phone of the past week. All in all, a pleasant and relaxing few minutes. It is a good reminder to me that sometimes we ascribe things as bad just because they’re new or modern or assumed to be bad, but really the question should be what effect is this having on my soul? My life? After all, I wouldn’t know all of you if it weren’t for the world wide web, phones, and laptops. (Not that you’re reading my Substack is definitely a good thing for your soul, but I like to hope it is). But then, perhaps I’m just feeling unusually pro-modern life because of the past week that I’ve had.

Which brings me to some exciting news: I’m moving to London!

I know I shared a few weeks ago about the impending move, but I couldn’t remember if I said where (and don’t think I did). I have worked at King’s College London since January 2023, but have lived in Scotland because my husband’s job was in Scotland and it was easier/cheaper for us to live in Scotland than London. My husband, however, recently got a new job based in London, so off to London we go! The move itself has been a somewhat drawn-out process— it turns out it is difficult to secure housing in London (shocking, I know)! And while there are still many loose ends still yet to be tied up (say a prayer for them, please, if you think of it) this week we got keys for our new place in London! We’re settling in East London for now, for an abundance of reasons (cost being one of them!). I’m already enjoying the rich history and exciting things to do in this area, which I hope to share with you all one day, but this week was mostly practical matters.

Sun setting on the Thames in London

Our first task was a trek out to IKEA in search of a bed. I will confess, I felt a little giddy strolling along the banks of the Thames, as the sunset over the water and people made their way from work into inviting pubs along the riverbank. We are embarking on a totally new adventure. Of course, I’ve been in London often over the past years, sometimes once a week, but to make it our own, to get to know its nooks and crannies and special secrets… the prospect sparks something fresh and glad inside of me. Of course, the move comes with a little trepidation. I have never actually lived in a big city, unless you count Orange County, California (which I don’t). Somehow, most of my life has been spent in small metropolises, and really, more accurately than that, in suburbia or small towns. I will confess a small sense of wide-eyed nervousness about city-life— it all seems a bit new, and sometimes frightening. Perhaps it’s a bit silly I have traveled many places in the world, and to many big cities. But the nervousness, I have discovered, is mostly when I think about London in the abstract as a Big City. When I am there, actually on the Tube, wondering around, or at work, I am not overwhelmed.

The Trafalgar Tavern, with a statue of Nelson himself!

Speaking of being overwhelmed: IKEA. We spent three hours in IKEA, and emerged with exactly nothing, though we did order a bed to be delivered. IKEA is such a phenomenon: overwhelming, impressive, astonishing, practical, imaginative, homey, exhausting. Wondering through the show rooms really is inspiring— I kept wondering, how does one become an IKEA showroom stage setter? There must be something rather wonderful about helping people imagine how, on a budget, they might make their homes welcoming or modern or cheerful— whatever room on the show floor you desire to emulate. We did, about halfway through our IKEA mission become hangry (hungry and thus grumpy), but this led to one of the other great delights of IKEA: indulging in the great satisfaction of snatching a snack from the IKEA café. Thus sustained, we chose one (1) bed, ordered it, and arranged its delivery, in short: we emerged triumphant.

Mission accomplished and seeking dinner, I reflected on my mixed, but overall positive feelings about IKEA. In many ways, it represents many of the things that worry me in the modern world: waste, excess, commerciality rather than craftsmanship. And yet, there is something admirable about IKEA as well— the completeness with which they consider every need you might have when you enter the store, the attractive-enough designs of their furniture, the cosniderable thought that must go into making flat pack furniture work. It should not be undervalued that IKEA makes some lovely things, with designs simple enough that ordinary people can put them together, and cheap enough that many can afford them. (Putting together the bed did take us two hours, but the process was relatively smooth, by which I mean I mostly handed my husband various sizes of screws, only one of which we mistakenly switched for the wrong size). There is an accessibility to good-enough-quality things which I think is a net good, an effort to make things more ecologically sustainable, and a well-crafted business.

Canary Wharf and the O2 across the Thames from Greenwich.

My appreciation for the modern world was once again inspired when we visited a grocery store. Now, you may be thinking, Joy— awe and delight in grocery stores? Isn’t this taking it a bit far? What could be remarkable about a grocery store. My awe has something to do with the slight options available to us in Scotland. We have all the usual grocery suspects, but the pickins’ are often slim and very expensive (all the more so since Brexit came through in 2020). Some things we have to get from the city, and we always look forward to the farmer’s market coming into town. The grocery store we visited this week, however, was larger (almost American size!) and had so many more options, some in bulk— and a range of costs. As I was walking around I was thinking how astonished a medieval peasant— nay! A medieval King!— would be to walk around a modern grocery store, with all the options, the freshness, the abundance. Of course, there is a dark side to the fact that I can get a mango in London in November: the long distances that we fly our food both robs it of nutrients and damages the environment with the long travel. And there are other problems— the highly processed foods, the lack of local produce and supporting local farmers, etc. And yet, there is still something wonderful about the concept of being able to access food, fresh food, for ordinary people. An accessibility which has been unimaginable throughout most of history, and through much of the world today (if you have never heard of them, look up food deserts— there are many even in the USA!).  Do I still love to shop locally, splurge on a nice cheese? Yes. But I am thankful for grocery stores and the accessibility of fresh, healthy food within my reach every day. A privilege not to be gotten over, and never to be taken for granted!

Pondering all this had led me to a feeling of thankfulness and thoughtfulness— I think we often forget how much easier, and more possible, safer, so many aspects of modern life are. And while there are many excesses, wasteful habits that should question and push back against, but we should not throw the baby out with the bathwater: there is much to admire in the efficiency of the modern world, if only we would use our creativity and cleverness toward good ends of care, stewardship, and community. The last miracle of our week: a visit to the shop, a wifi router shipped and plugged in, and voila! connection to the World Wide Web! Magic.

And people say the modern world is disenchanted!

Well, I have rambled long enough. I should sign off and work on completing the introduction to my death book which is coming along surprisingly easily. After that I’ll treat myself to the final episode of season one of the Diplomat on Netflix, which I’m very much enjoying. Do say a prayer, if you think of it, for the full move (which has yet to take place). And before I sign off, I’d love to know: how will you spend your Saturday? And what modern convenience are you thankful for?

I look forward to sharing more with you about London and the move.

Till next time,

joy