City of sound

I'm working from home today, and the sounds I'm hearing through the usual London din right now include: a gentle breeze rustling through the trees, the joyous after-school whooping of children in the street, a distant drone of an aeroplane streaking through the light blue sky, the shrill bells of an ice-cream van playing out the tune of O Sole Mio (or perhaps really, Just One Cornetto), the laughter of a woman on her mobile phone.

What I can also hear: a cacophony of police sirens, the electric grating of a lawnmower, the pounding bass from a car's amplified stereo system, a querulous argument between a man and a woman and the confused crying of the two small children with them.

Sometimes this city gives me pounding headaches, but there are some beautiful sounds to be heard if I care to listen.