England expects....

I went on a type of pilgrimage today, up to London to watch the re-enactment of Nelson's funeral flottilla on the Thames. I joined a large crowd waiting by Tower Bridge just across from HMS Belfast and got into conversation with another pilgrim, an older lady from Billericay who like me just wanted to do something to mark the occasion and remember Nelson and his 'few' who saved Britain from invasion as effectivily (and as sacrificially) as the RAF at the Battle of Britain.

We waited a long time in an increasingly cold wind but it was well worth it. There were about 50 boats altogether coming in a long line up from Greenwich and under Tower Bridge. What I liked was its motley nature: historic boats and ceremonial barges from the city livery companies, a couple of narrow boats, looking rather precarious on the choppy full tide of the Thames, various tugs and family motor boats and even what looked like a huge wooden single canoe. The tourist cruisers and passenger ferries joined in alongside as they came under Tower Bridge and they all headed off down towards Waterloo pier, like a football crowd heading home after a match.

The oared boats and livery barges came last. With the rising tide behind them they were doing a fair speed but as each one came out from under Tower Bridge they stopped and raised oars in salute. Then the guns on the Belfast opened up - wow! They fired something like a 20 gun salute, each blast a great punch of sound you felt in your gut and not just your ears. It made you wonder what it sounded like in a real sea battle with not just all Belfast's guns going but others too, and what about in Trafalgar with all the cannon going off. It's a wonder they weren't all deafened for life.

Afterwards with the sun out and a free afternoon ahead I followed them upriver: London Bridge and Southwark to Waterloo and then onto Westminster. The whole riverside city seemed to have spilled out in the sun to watch the show, almost every ship and quay had a party going on and the poor lunchtime joggers were having a hard time just getting through. The tide was one of the highest I've seen recently, lapping over the stairs by Cleopatra's needle and making the moored ships along the embankment look like they were riding on the wall. Maybe it's New Orleans in my mind but for the first time I think I really appreciated the huge amount of water that comes in on the Thames tide. Hmm. Sort of scary.

Ended up walking on all the way to Millbank and went to the Joshua Reynolds exhibition at Tate Britain. Usual long slog home on the tube. The girls and I went to the noodle bar for supper as there was no one else home and then a couple of hours of Rossini at choir practice.
All in all, a very nice day. Goodnight all.