roll 'em over the bridge

ow do

every now and then i get to do a sort of (kind of) tourist like thing when down in that there London place. mostly, predominantly (or even ostensibly) i am there for concerns of verk, look you see. at the least i am when not being struck by sleeping drivers. whilst not really there to take in the sights, once in a while there is an incidental possibility to do so. 

this very thing happened not so long ago. it was the early (ish) throes of October of this year (2024) when it was so that the only practical way to get somewhere for verk was via the historical site of Tower Bridge. well, not me as such, but my driver, or if you will co-pilot. just to be clear, all images and video (yes, we have got a video) were taken by moi from the safety of the passenger seat. 

had it been, or were it so, that you hoped for some sort of "proper" images and video here, well, no. i opted to use VHS mode for it all. this is how you would have captured the scenes of Tower Bridge if you were reasonably wealthy in the 80s, or at any point in the 90s when VHS cameras, or if you will camcorders, became more affordable. 

when one finds themselves in the south east area of London (innit), be it by choice, misfortune or a direct instruction, they become aware of just how difficult it is to get back across to the northern side of the river, as it is affectionately known, or the Thames. effectively to do this you must pay, be it cash, fines or a lot of time. one could use the celebrated dartford crossing, which costs money as it is a toll and takes you around the M25 to get somewhere. the blackwall tunnel is about to become a toll too, thanks to that awful mayor. an option for regular (as in not commercial) vehicles is something called the rotherhithe tunnel, but cross that in anything but a car and you get a fine. so, tower bridge it is. 

one suspects, if not fears, that restrictions and costs shall some come the way of tower bridge. that it is presently free of such suggests that the mayor has simply forgotten about it. with the heavy traffic on it as it is, and the likely increase in such from 2025 on, undoubtedly it shall soon have "structural damage", needing urgent fines and repairs (in that order). 

for those of you who really, really like moaning about the shocking state of London roads, hold on as there will be a bit more later. right now, though, some of that video which was mentioned. yes, of course it is all VHS mode. did they even do a Betamax camcorder? 

my experience of crossing tower bridge was more or less like that of doing a fairground or theme park ride. there was an hour or so of waiting to go on it (surrounded, of course, by impatient, ignorant and quite often entitled people), the experience of being on it lasts somewhere south of two minutes and one was left wondering if it really was worth the effort. the bridge, i suppose, was slightly cheaper than one of them rides, in coins of money terms at least. sat in that traffic is an hour i am not getting back, and is not really how i would have necessarily expected to spend such time. 

some of the lengthy delay was due to roadworks. these are a never ending thing in that there London. it is almost as if absolutely no one takes them to task, or has any sort of deadline in place. one really cannot blame them doing the work, for left unchecked why would one (anyone) not simply drag it all out forever and ever so as to ensure they perpetually got paid. from experience it is only them what do the actual job they are paid to do that get any attention, and then bewilderingly negative. 

a view of the Thames above, for you, then. this is (of course) off of the left hand side as one travels from south to north. west, i suppose, then. unless there is some backward thing and going south to north in this way meant i was looking to the east. don't think so, but bases covered if so. 

certain other things caused extensive delays to getting to the bridge and crossing it. one such matter was vehicles of a service nature parked here and there. a temptation exists to call them "ignorant, inconsiderate f***heads" and indeed people do this. however, presuming that people want their houses or things in them fixed and want deliveries (to homes or shops) they have to park somewhere, and of course no one has provided any space to do so. sure, some of the parking endeavours were based on pure selfish ignorance, or perhaps even spite, but not all. 

roughly three quarters of a million japanese tourists milling about the bridge certainly didn't help the flow of traffic. as is pretty standard for japanese tourists they all seemed mesmerised (or perhaps even hypnotised) by it all, aimlessly wandering in and out of the road, taking images on all sorts of devices. for all i know this is a rite of passage for japanese people; that they must contribute to the chaos of tower bridge at least once in their life and document such. this would certainly account for the roughly three quarters of a million japanese tourists staying at the same hotel i was in. 

what next for tower bridge? at least so far as vehicles go? i would not be at all surprised if the mayor of London announces a full tilt ban on all "commercial" vehicles, forcing them onto crossings which are well out of the way and are, of course, ones you have to pay to use. undoubtedly he will use his celebrated co-incidental interpretation of "science" to do it, rather than an actual, causal one. it shall not be a surprise if this is where he first introduces the "pay per mile" scheme everyone knows is his dream. a wish of many is that he would care a little less about milking motorists and a great deal more about concerns such as children stabbing each other, but they voted for him.

do i recommend, or suggest, going along to tower bridge? not really. well, if being in an overcrowded place and adding to existing chaotic confusion is your thing, off you go. also apparently if you are a japanese tourist this is a formality. essentially it's a semi-functional bridge and serves that purpose in a vague way, with it being a curiosity that it looks different from others. the actual Tower Of London thing near it is more than likely worth a visit, in particular if you are into history and such. 

by the way, if any sort of soundtrack struck you in the videos, what you are (or were) hearing is (or indeed was) Dead Against It off of David Bowie. should it be so that you've not heard it then i suggest you go and source a copy of the album it is off, The Buddha Of Suburbia, as soon as possible. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!