Shard Opening

The official opening of the Shard took place last night with a light and sound show. Well that is the official line. Actually it was the official opening of the outside. The inside is now scheduled to open in February 2013. Hailed by the media and its designers as the tallest building in Europe at 310 metres. Hmm isn't the Eiffel tower 320 metres high?
Let's just settle for the tallest building in England then shall we? The lights were pretty last night, most of us didn't hear the sound part of the show, but hey it wasn't raining for once which was a pretty big plus.

Shard Progress

On schedule to be completed in 2012 in time for the Olympics. I last showed you the Shard in March. I am looking forward to the viewing platform that will enable one to have a 360⁰ view stretching 40 miles. Just the weather to worry about to make that a reality.

Sunday Bridges - Crisp Morning

A chilly morning crossing London Bridge

Courtesy of host Louis La Vache visit other Sunday Bridges

Sunday Bridges - Ancient Rites

An ancient right dating back to the middle ages allowing the freemen of London city to drive sheep over London Bridge free of charge was exercised by the Lime Street Ward Club in aid of the Red Cross on Saturday. All freemen were invited to the special event where this special breed of sheep "stufftus onwheelera lifesizium" crossed the bridge finishing with a race at twightlight. In addition to the fastest sheep awards were also given to best of breed and the highly coveted black sheep award.

Courtesy of host Louis La Vache visit other Sunday Bridges

Naked Bike Ride

The unsuspecting bike rider on the right was rather stunned to suddenly find himself surrounded by naked riders.
Cars were stopped as hundreds of riders taking part in the world naked bike ride cycled over Westminster Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

White Noise Warning

Bricklane is famous for its graffiti, markets and Indian restaurants and this piece is near the western entrance to the lane. I can't help feeling that it's a modern day version of the severed heads that were placed on London bridge in the middle ages as a warning to all those that entered that should they get up to no good this could be their fate!!

But maybe I've just been reading too many London history books lately.

Skywatch Friday - London Bridge

The London Bridge of our times was opened in 1973. Various London Bridges have spanned the Thames on this spot for centuries. Each with its own tales.
The tales of this one? Well amongst them is the collision by the warship HMS Jupiter in 1984 causing substantial damage to both ship and bridge. The commander was later court marshaled.

Take a look at other skywatchers today.

London Bridge

There has been a London Bridge for more than 2000 years. Each with stories and myths surrounding it.

The current one opened in 1973. To ensure the safety of the more than 1 million people who cross it each day it has been heated so ice will never form.

Roller Disco

Everyone was having a heap of fun at this roller disco down in Potters fields. (Beside City Hall). A lot of fancy footwork as well as those who spent time clinging to the edges.

Hokey Tokey

Also known as hokey cokey, hokey pokey, cokey cokey. A lot of effort went into finding a name for this dance, performed, as I understand it, by most English speaking nations around the world. Is that right? Do you know it? Do you have a version in your country?

Actually these red stocking legs are on a more serious outing than that of a frivolous dance. They are pikemen and musketeers. Not a single mickey mouse in sight, these guys form part of the honourable artillery company that dates back to the 1500's. They are to be found leading parades for royalty or heads of state or as on this day, the Lord mayor.
No hokey tokey here.

Sheep Drive on London Bridge

The building of old London Bridge was completed in 1209. Yesterday the current London Bridge was closed to traffic to hold the 8ooth anniversary fayre.
Part of the festivities included a sheep drive. The origins go back to medieval times when the freemen were permitted to drive their sheep across the bridge bringing them into market without having to pay the toll.

The last Frost Fair

As London reels under its worst "snow event" for 18 years, we're bombarded with archive footage of previous worst winters: 1947 and 1962/3 in particular. The most marvellous of London's winter events, however, last happened nearly 200 years ago: the Frost Fairs that would take place on the frozen Thames in the hardest winters have now died out. The last took place in 1814 and changes to the river mean that they will not happen again: they were dependant on the way the narrow arches of old London Bridge kept the river level upstream of the bridge relatively constant, and the large tidal range that affects the upper river since the bridge was replaced by one with wider arches, makes it impossible for the Thames to freeze so solidly.

In the 1860s, John Hodgkin – a retired lawyer, born in 1800, and the younger brother of the pathologist Thomas Hodgkin – was asked by his children to write down some of his early memories. Among them was a recollection of how, half a century before, he and his brother had seen the last Frost Fair:

"In the winter of 1813-14 occurred the great frost. It commenced the day after or the next day but one after Christmas day. It was ushered in by an intense fog which lasted two or three days, & in which an accident befel the carriage of the Prince Regent, which both alarmed him and detained him a considerable time on a journey he was taking to some nobleman's… The frost lasted till about the 8th or 9th of 2nd month [February: as a good Quaker, Hodgkin does not use the customary names for months or days as these are seen as pagan]… 6 weeks & 1 day.

A fair was held for several days on the Thames between Blackfriars & London Bridge. My Brother and I walked there one day from Pentonville & remained a short time on the River close to the Fair. I do not remember many of the details [Hodgkin's background probably meant that the boys looked at the fair from outside rather than exploring it!] but besides the vast crowds & the usual features of a pleasure fair, we saw a fire & also a large broad wheeled waggon on the ice."

Hodgkin's memories of this time also include skaters on the frozen Serpentine and, more prosaically, the nasty cold he got after walking long distances in the snow then standing in the cold when hot and sweaty. Some things never change: the Frost Fairs are gone but sadly the common cold lives on. Hodgkin's memories can be consulted in the Library quoting the reference PP/HO/E/C5; the huge Hodgkin archive, including many more items relating to the Hodgkin brothers and their relatives, can be explored on the Archives department database under the reference PP/HO.