The Mighty Thames and Its Watery Ways

This weekend was definitely a "London: f*ck yeah!" weekend.

If you don't know what that means, let me break it down for you. There are some days when you just want to say, "really, London? Really?" (like when you want to go on a picnic in Hyde Park but a torrential downpour begins as soon as you get off the tube). But this weekend was not like that. This weekend was basically awesome.

Because this weekend was the Thames Festival. And this might be the greatest thing ever invented (although, I've not yet been to Spain and I hear they throw some pretty great festivals).  The Thames Festival is a weekend of food, drink, and merriment thrown by the mayor of London, along the River Thames. Tons of local artists, craftsmen, bakers, brewers, and all other types of merchants set up booths that stretch through the heart of London along the south shore of the river.

One of my favorite parts of the Thames Festival was the Feast on the Bridge. From noon until 22-00 (that's 10 PM) the Southwark Bridge was shut down to traffic and long tables were set up all along the bridge for people to sit, eat, drink, chat, and otherwise enjoy themselves. It was definitely one of those things you had to experience for yourself to understand, but it was amazing to say the least. Picture for a second, if you will, that you've just bought the best smelling sausage and onion sandwich cooked fresh, and a half-pint of award-winning Welsh cider (which is kind of like a cross between beer and soda, but with more alcohol) in the other hand, and you are sitting at a huge table with complete strangers in the middle of the River Thames, but it doesn't matter that you're eating with strangers, because you're all there for the same purpose, to enjoy good food and to enjoy the life source of the city (the river), and you're all Londoners.

That is not all that was great about the Feast on the Bridge, though. At 7 PM everyone gathered in the center of the bridge to raise their glasses and toast the Thames. And the River definitely deserves a toast at least once a year, because London would not exist if the Thames were not there. Anyway, it was a nice gesture.

My second favorite part of the Thames Festival was definitely the performance stage in front of the Tate Modern.  This performance stage, one of three at the festival, was called the Lady Luck Jive Stage. And it was swing dancing, from noon to 10 PM on both Saturday and Sunday. There were DJs and live bands playing jive and lindy hop, and an "al fresco ballroom" open to everyone who wanted to swing dance no matter your skill level. I didn't have a partner, so I didn't get out there and dance, but it was so much fun to just watch. I have to say, the old people were the most fun to watch! They were having so much fun--and they weren't half bad. Many people got really dressed up for the event. Women with s-curls in their hair and high-waisted skirts danced with men in fedoras and saddle shoes. I was very impressed.

The weekend concluded with a "night festival" on Sunday night. A parade of beautiful floats, lights, music, costumes, and dancing made its way along both shores of the river and ended with tons of fireworks set off over the river.


Why doesn't New York or San Francisco have a festival like this?! They both could really use one. Maybe I should look into starting it...



I must credit the fabulous Haley Johnston and her beautiful camera for the wonderful pictures.