London and the Thames

I was up in central London delivering a Very Important Document Indeed and took a few minutes after dropping it off to walk by the Thames by London Bridge.

Reading Peter Ackroyd's Thames has really added to my appreciation of the river - even if the language is sometimes over the top and logic is often a stranger to his flights of fancy.

But it is packed full of stories, anecdotes, facts, and curiosities. One such was how the Norwegian Olaf Haraldson sailed to the aid of Ethelred against Danish invaders of London in 1014 but faced the Danes amassed upon the bridge. Olaf achieved victory by fastening ropes around the supporting piles and with the help of the tide tumbled the bridge and its warriors into the water.

Something for the city workers of 2008 to think about as they stroll across checking their Blackberries.