Letters from the City of Fog and Opportunity

Dear Reader,

Thanks for choosing to read this letter! I am London, more commonly known as Elizabeth Kirkland, or Ella. Seeing as my schedule's becoming more and more free these days – Cameron and Clegg are doing pretty much everything and have basically made me redundant – I've decided to open my letter box to any letters you might want to send me.

Let's start with a brief biography: I began as a town called Londinium, built by the Roman Empire in AD 43. I don't remember much of that time. Over the next thousand years I was attacked and claimed by the Saxons, then the Vikings and finally the Normans. I was just beginning to prosper when in the mid-fourteenth century I lost half my population during the Black Death, but I bounced back quickly.

During the reign of King Henry VIII and his Reformation, I was the centre of Protestantism. In the reigns of his children, I was a very confused city indeed – Protestant to Catholic to Protestant, my head was spinning! But once that period was over, I settled into my role as one of the most powerful cities in Europe. My human age was about eleven or twelve, I think. My worst trait back then was my xenophobia, my utter fear and suspicion of foreigners. The people of London were cruel to immigrants and foreigners, and many left to live in the Dutch cities instead.

During the English Civil War, I was on the side of the Parliament, but I generally stayed in my house, protected by a huge swathe of servants and guards, lest I fall into the hands of the Cavaliers. Luckily, it never happened. I was a Puritan during the Commonwealth, but once Oliver Cromwell was gone I didn't mind going back to the old ways.

The Great Plague was a bad time for me, and most of it was spent in a fevered haze. I was nursed, but nothing short of the Plague being eradicated would cure me. And the Great Fire did eradicate it, which burned for three days of complete agony. It left scars all over my chest and stomach, which you can still see faintly. But in the long run, it was for the greater good, because the new city was much cleaner, safer and more modern.

During the nineteenth century, I was around fifteen, and I admit, I was rather snobby and haughty when I was in good company. When I was alone, I could feel the pain of the poor, and I suppose that's what kept me from becoming a completely spoilt brat. I was upset when America left, but tried to focus on furthering myself rather than dwelling on him. The first police force, the first railway, and the improved sewage system were built up under the reign of Victoria and Albert, and later Victoria on her own. I comforted her when she mourned her husband.

The 1930s hit me hard, and the 40s harder – I was a wreck during the Blitz, lying comatose for a good part of the Second World War. Luckily by the time the 1950s rolled around, things were looking up – I became a home for many immigrants from Commonwealth countries, making me one of the most diverse cities in Europe, and the culture from Jamaica, India and Bangladesh Pakistan is still strong today. In the last thirty years of the twentieth century, I was a centre of worldwide youth culture, thanks to my great bands – the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to name a couple – and my growing reputation as a fashion capital.

That pretty much leads us up to the present – that took a while to write, and that's just the brief history! These days, my human age is eighteen. I am five feet, five inches tall and my shoe size is 6 (American size 7, Continental size 39). My eyes are green, like Arthur's, but my hair is a bit darker. It's almost his colour on the top layers, but further down it gets darker – the very bottom is a dirty-blonde/light brown. It falls to halfway between my shoulder and my elbow, and I have a straight, heavy fringe. Naturally it curls slightly but usually I straighten it.

I hope I haven't bored you with my background. You can ask me anything - well, nothing too indecent. I look forward to receiving a letter!

Regards,

Elizabeth Kirkland, London

P.S. Apparently I am called the City of Fog. The last few days have had misty mornings I admit, but since the people stopped using coal, I've gotten a lot better!

Ella Kirkland is my OC for London - I'm researching her as hard as possible, to make sure she isn't a... *shudders* Mary-Sue. To send her a letter, PM me! I'll copy and paste it into a new chapter and then write Ella's reply. You can stretch the boundaries of the T rating in your questions, but I don't want explicit M. I hope you send letters :)