Wednesday 27 February 2013

Day 58 : Old versus new

Thought I'd continue my mission to capture some of the historic views around my work environs before we relocate to a place not so photogenic. To capture this I balanced my camera on the wall protecting the Tower of London from possible invasion. I love the fact that in one image you have the incredibly historic Tower of London with, further into the ’square mile’, the iconic Gherkin (more boringly called the Swiss Re tower) and then the ubiquitous cranes on the horizon helping even more new skyscrapers spring up.

Sadly the Tower of London hasn't remained entirely intact since William the Conquerer started building his huge fortress to “safeguard against the fickleness of the huge and fierce population” and to “bring the Londoners completely to heel”

The picture would have been complete with one of the Tower’s infamous ravens casting a beady eye on all the proceedings. They, however, should be tucked up in bed by now. The legend goes that if the ravens leave, the Tower would fall and then the Kingdom would follow. To ensure the safety of the Kingdom, their ’lifting’ feathers are clipped. I am positive I've seen an escaped Raven on more than one occasion strutting along the edge of the balcony of our old building, a little nearer to the Tower, but this has been strenuously denied by the Beefeaters. And sadly that photo opp has gone forever. Though I’ve since read that one of the gang escaped for a few days in 2010 so maybe I didn't just dream the visit from a very large, shiny, black bird. The legend says that six ravens have to remain at the Tower of London, sensibly they have at least one spare just in case!

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