--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you go to London now, not everything…" description: "\"If you go to London now, not everything is beautiful, but it's amazingly better than it was. And the Thames is certainly a lot better: There are fish i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/freeman-dyson-1435_beautiful_if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-i_2308777.png" --- # If you go to London now, not everything is beautiful, but… ![“If you go to London now, not everything is beautiful, but it's amazingly better than it was. And the Thames is certainly a lot better: There are fish in the Thames.” quote by Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/freeman-dyson-1435_beautiful_if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-i_2308777.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/freeman-dyson-1435_beautiful_if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-i_2308777.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/freeman-dyson-1435_beautiful_if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-i_2308777.png) > “If you go to London now, not everything is beautiful, but it's amazingly better than it was. And the Thames is certainly a lot better: There are fish in the Thames.” [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. London has improved markedly, especially the Thames, now supporting wildlife after years of neglect. **In simple terms:** London got cleaner, fish returned to the Thames. Key Takeaway Appreciate urban environmental recovery. Themes environment urban renewal hope nature change Mood optimistic reflective Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - city planning - environmental activism - tourism - local community initiatives Key Concepts Ecology restoration urban planning Questions to Reflect On - What other signs of renewal have you noticed? - How can citizens support continued improvement? A Different Perspective Progress may be uneven and still faces challenges like pollution and funding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Better Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-fish-1071997/) [Better Thames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-thames-5475734/) [Fish Thames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish-thames-5475735/) [Fishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishes/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london/) [London Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/london-beautiful-3120893/) [Thames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thames/) ## Related quotes > [Without the fog, London would not be a beautiful city. It is fog that gives it its magnificent amplitude...its regular and massive blocks become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/without-the-fog-london-would-not-be-a-beautiful-city-it-is-fog-that/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [London is a beautiful city with many places of interest, but I am a player and it is not easy to fit in too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-lamela/london-is-a-beautiful-city-with-many-places-of-interest-but-i-am-a/) [Erik Lamela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-lamela/) > [They may the better fish in the water when it is troubled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-grafton/they-may-the-better-fish-in-the-water-when-it-is-troubled/) [Richard Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-grafton/) > [To understand what the outside of an aquarium looks like, it's better not to be a fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-malraux/to-understand-what-the-outside-of-an-aquarium-looks-like-it-s-better/) [Andre Malraux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-malraux/) > [Knowledge keeps no better than fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/knowledge-keeps-no-better-than-fish/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Knowledge does not keep any better than fish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/knowledge-does-not-keep-any-better-than-fish/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“I fish better than any fish alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-fish-better-than-any-fish-alive/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [And Thames and all the rivers of the kings Ran into Mississippi and were drowned. They planted England with a stubborn trust But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/and-thames-and-all-the-rivers-of-the-kings-ran-into-mississippi-and/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I've just swum the length of the Thames. I feel quite tired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/i-ve-just-swum-the-length-of-the-thames-i-feel-quite-tired/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [Rupert Grayson manifested a talent for survival: it was said of him that even if - unlikely contingency - he had tried to drown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-massingberd/rupert-grayson-manifested-a-talent-for-survival-it-was-said-of-him/) [Hugh Massingberd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-massingberd/) > [Because of the Thames I have always loved inland waterways - water in general, water sounds - there's music in water. Brooks babbling, fountains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/because-of-the-thames-i-have-always-loved-inland-waterways-water-in/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [I went down to the sewers in London and looked at a campaigning group in London called RATS, Rowers Against Thames Sewage, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-george/i-went-down-to-the-sewers-in-london-and-looked-at-a-campaigning-group/) [Rose George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-george/) > [You absorb 2,000 years of history just by being near the Thames.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/you-absorb-2-000-years-of-history-just-by-being-near-the-thames/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [I was born in Oslo, Norway, but now live in the suburbs of Southwest London, right near the River Thames. It's a lovely part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hanson/i-was-born-in-oslo-norway-but-now-live-in-the-suburbs-of-southwest/) [Alexander Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hanson/) > [I've never been far from the river. I'm sort of like a Thames-nymph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/i-ve-never-been-far-from-the-river-i-m-sort-of-like-a-thames-nymph/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) ## More by Freeman Dyson > [For a physicist mathematics is not just a tool by means of which phenomena can be calculated, it is the main source of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/for-a-physicist-mathematics-is-not-just-a-tool-by-means-of-which/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [“It is impossible to make real progress in technology without gambling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/it-is-impossible-to-make-real-progress-in-technology-without-gambling/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [“Sanity is, in essence, nothing more than the ability to live in harmony with nature's laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/sanity-is-in-essence-nothing-more-than-the-ability-to-live-in-harmony/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [“I do not feel like an alien in this universe. The more I examine the universe and study the details of its architecture, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/i-do-not-feel-like-an-alien-in-this-universe-the-more-i-examine-the/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [It makes very little sense to believe the output of the climate models.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/it-makes-very-little-sense-to-believe-the-output-of-the-climate-models/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [The laws of nature are constructed in such a way as to make the universe as interesting as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/the-laws-of-nature-are-constructed-in-such-a-way-as-to-make-the/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [The history of mathematics is a history of horrendously difficult problems being solved by young people too ignorant to know that they were impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/the-history-of-mathematics-is-a-history-of-horrendously-difficult/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [You ask: what is the meaning or purpose of life? I can only answer with another question: do you think we are wise enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/you-ask-what-is-the-meaning-or-purpose-of-life-i-can-only-answer-with/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [When World War II came along, which was when I was a teenager, we all expected we would have anthrax bombs and this kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/when-world-war-ii-came-along-which-was-when-i-was-a-teenager-we-all/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [It has become part of the accepted wisdom to say that the twentieth century was the century of physics and the twenty-first century will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/it-has-become-part-of-the-accepted-wisdom-to-say-that-the-twentieth/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Lucky individuals in each generation find technology appropriate to their needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/lucky-individuals-in-each-generation-find-technology-appropriate-to/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [A model is done when nothing else can be taken out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/a-model-is-done-when-nothing-else-can-be-taken-out/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [I am hoping that the scientists and politicians who have been blindly demonizing carbon dioxide for 37 years will one day open their eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/i-am-hoping-that-the-scientists-and-politicians-who-have-been-blindly/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Intelligence may indeed be a benign influence creating isolated groups of philosopher-kings far apart in the heavens... On the other hand, intelligence may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/intelligence-may-indeed-be-a-benign-influence-creating-isolated/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Most of the crackpot papers which are submitted to The Physical Review are rejected, not because it is impossible to understand them, but because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/most-of-the-crackpot-papers-which-are-submitted-to-the-physical/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) [Explore all 241 Freeman Dyson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) ## More Beautiful quotes > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Being beautiful comes naturally!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-beautiful-comes-naturally/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) [Tumblr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tumblr/) > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [You're beautiful, cute, pretty, gorgeous, and fuck.. I ran out of words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghib-clitso/you-re-beautiful-cute-pretty-gorgeous-and-fuck-i-ran-out-of-words/) [Raghib Clitso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghib-clitso/) > [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [How could you feel worthless when God has honoured you by creating you and choosing you to be with Him, in this life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/how-could-you-feel-worthless-when-god-has-honoured-you-by-creating/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Sometimes it's about less is more. It's about the seed. Thinking about this gigantic tree that you think is so beautiful but it started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/sometimes-it-s-about-less-is-more-it-s-about-the-seed-thinking-about/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [God's Word does provide life lessons to teach us how to live. And it gives us beautiful poetry that gives voice to our human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rothschild/god-s-word-does-provide-life-lessons-to-teach-us-how-to-live-and-it/) [Jennifer Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rothschild/) [Browse all 17,976 Beautiful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you go to London now, not everything is beautiful, but it's amazingly better than it was. And the Thames is certainly a lot better: There are fish in the Thames.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Freeman Dyson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-is-beautiful-but-it-s/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beautiful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-is-beautiful-but-it-s/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/freeman-dyson-1435_beautiful_if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-i_2308777.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/freeman-dyson-1435_beautiful_if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-i_2308777.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/freeman-dyson-1435_beautiful_if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-i_2308777.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you go to London now, not everything is beautiful, but it's amazingly better than it was. And the Thames…” — Freeman Dyson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Freeman Dyson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you go to London now,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-is-beautiful-but-it-s/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/if-you-go-to-london-now-not-everything-is-beautiful-but-it-s/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```