😎👍Love the idea! Have to take a raincheck: am stuck in Miami. But just a few weeks ago mentioned in a Substack post that I'd love to see a Substack river cruise and now you're doing it!
Replying to my own comment! Anyway, not only have a great time, have a drink to toast Substack, and take pictures to post so we can eat our hearts out! (I have not been to the Thames since 1967 when all of the women were wearing mini- skirts, but also the men still wearing regular business suits, carrying black umbrellas, and black BOWLER hats!)
Thanks, Phyllis. I love the way you have evoked London from the sixties. My own first visit to London and the Thames was in 1972. No bowler hats and I was too young to notice mini skirts 😊
What a glorious investigation, Jeffrey! There's something about a river that can define a place but it seems the Thames is special. I'll be moving near it in a few months, so I'm happy to learn about more of its history and charm. The King George anecdote about the musicians was great. I like the way you give us many numbered thoughts and allusions with a bit of space for the reader to make our own connections.
I used to work in Blackfriars (there's a name) and frequented the South Bank which was an oasis in a stressful working day. Gabriel's Wharf by the Oxo Tower is a delight. I visit part of the stretch from Waterloo Bridge to the Tate Modern every time I visit London.
It seems more civilised than the theme park style attractions in the centre.
Further upstream, on a back road to Oxford, I pay my five pence to go over the toll bridge.
I'd love to revisit the canal barge holiday I took from Abingdon up to the source and back. Life seems better at 3 miles an hour.
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your own experience of the Thames, James. And I'm sure you're right. There's nothing better than messing about on the river at 3mph.
😧Sounds wonderful! I am definitely a proponent of Substacker trips: you plan the one revisiting your old stomping grounds and see, like Jeffrey Streeter, who can join in! No one need travel aline anymore with the idea of impromptu Substack travel groups!
There's a great job for any that like climbing trees: "soot cleaner"! Chimney sweeps can also add to their portfolios! And it's great that where trees help clean the air, people return the favor!
This is wonderful. The Thames estuary has always fascinated me, and I think there are still some Dickensian marshes left? I also truly love the other end of the Thames, much smaller, with kingfishers, from when I lived in Oxfordshire.
Thank you, Emma. Yes, it's a river of huge contrasts, isn't it? And I guess it's hard to imagine kingfishers in London (though they are here in the centre of Tokyo, so why not?).
Love this, and looking forward to more. I grew up on the Mississippi (St. Louis and Hannibal, Missouri, home of Mark Twain) and went as an undergrad went to London (and stayed nearly a decade) where I loved being as close to the Thames as possible. On nights when I splurged for a taxi home, I remember the magic of a sudden turn onto a shining sparkling view of the water reflecting the lights of the city. I felt I'd entered a magical dreamworld ride through time, transporting a Midwestern girl to the place of Shakespeare, Dickens, Woolf, and whatever story I was inhabiting. Your essay reminds me the world's rivers connect us in a powerful shared experience. Thank you for the river reflections.
Thank you for sharing your lovely memories! And I like your point about the world's rivers connecting us. The reason I began this occasional series on rivers is because I realised that rivers had had quite an impact on my life.
Living history around every oxbow curve. We’re lucky enough to be a few minutes walk from the brutalist cultural landmarks on the Southbank and it’s wonderful to see that a city that once turned its back on its river now fully embraces it. Thank you, Jeffrey.
You’rewelcome! What I also did there then was hear the Moody Blues in a club, see a Shakespeare play where we sat in individually separate wooden sections and we were brought either food & drink —or just one if those, can't remember— in exchange for paying cash & a tip at the seat because there were no debit cards back then or credit card use for that. And the next day I saw Shakespeare’s house that I think had a thatched roof.)
Wonderful sketches. I have been part of Simon Haisell's Wolf Hall trilogy and that came much more to mind for me than my meandering mid college wander of England and the Continent in the summer of 1969. Like most young folks, I was woefully unprepared to take advantage of the opportunity that a 10 week wander offered. I've never been back to England since, though of course I thought I would be. Now I'm off to Egypt and the Nile.
I also love the South Bank and specifically the Royal Festival Hall. On the typesetting of The Waste Land, I recently attended a talk on T S Eliot by Toby Faber, the grandson of Faber publishers founder. Fascinating account of T S Eliot and his links with visual artists of the time, and a lot of detail about the publishing side.
Thank you, Linda. I am glad this post worked for you. And thanks for the link to your blog post on The Waste Land, which I really enjoyed. I also had some inspriation moments in liteterure classes at school in the late 70s (though in the opposite corner of the UK, Devon). These influences stay with you, don't they!
😎👍Love the idea! Have to take a raincheck: am stuck in Miami. But just a few weeks ago mentioned in a Substack post that I'd love to see a Substack river cruise and now you're doing it!
Replying to my own comment! Anyway, not only have a great time, have a drink to toast Substack, and take pictures to post so we can eat our hearts out! (I have not been to the Thames since 1967 when all of the women were wearing mini- skirts, but also the men still wearing regular business suits, carrying black umbrellas, and black BOWLER hats!)
Thanks, Phyllis. I love the way you have evoked London from the sixties. My own first visit to London and the Thames was in 1972. No bowler hats and I was too young to notice mini skirts 😊
What a glorious investigation, Jeffrey! There's something about a river that can define a place but it seems the Thames is special. I'll be moving near it in a few months, so I'm happy to learn about more of its history and charm. The King George anecdote about the musicians was great. I like the way you give us many numbered thoughts and allusions with a bit of space for the reader to make our own connections.
Thank you for your kind comments and for sharing, Kate. I'm sure you're going to enjoy exploring the Thames and create memories of your own.
I used to work in Blackfriars (there's a name) and frequented the South Bank which was an oasis in a stressful working day. Gabriel's Wharf by the Oxo Tower is a delight. I visit part of the stretch from Waterloo Bridge to the Tate Modern every time I visit London.
It seems more civilised than the theme park style attractions in the centre.
Further upstream, on a back road to Oxford, I pay my five pence to go over the toll bridge.
I'd love to revisit the canal barge holiday I took from Abingdon up to the source and back. Life seems better at 3 miles an hour.
Thanks for your comment and for sharing your own experience of the Thames, James. And I'm sure you're right. There's nothing better than messing about on the river at 3mph.
😧Sounds wonderful! I am definitely a proponent of Substacker trips: you plan the one revisiting your old stomping grounds and see, like Jeffrey Streeter, who can join in! No one need travel aline anymore with the idea of impromptu Substack travel groups!
Great idea, Phyllis!
Yay for the Clean Air Act! I think I remember you mentioning the sooty tree story in a comment somewhere. Crazy.
Yes, I think I did. You have a great memory! Anyway, I'm glad to say that London's trees don't seem to be sooty these days.
There's a great job for any that like climbing trees: "soot cleaner"! Chimney sweeps can also add to their portfolios! And it's great that where trees help clean the air, people return the favor!
Since I won’t be back in England for a while, I’ve let this post take me there through a satisfying marriage of literature and observation.
Thank you, Rona. Stay as long as you want! 😊
This is wonderful. The Thames estuary has always fascinated me, and I think there are still some Dickensian marshes left? I also truly love the other end of the Thames, much smaller, with kingfishers, from when I lived in Oxfordshire.
Thank you, Emma. Yes, it's a river of huge contrasts, isn't it? And I guess it's hard to imagine kingfishers in London (though they are here in the centre of Tokyo, so why not?).
Lovely and evocative. Thank you, Jeffrey.
Thank you, Mary!
Love this, and looking forward to more. I grew up on the Mississippi (St. Louis and Hannibal, Missouri, home of Mark Twain) and went as an undergrad went to London (and stayed nearly a decade) where I loved being as close to the Thames as possible. On nights when I splurged for a taxi home, I remember the magic of a sudden turn onto a shining sparkling view of the water reflecting the lights of the city. I felt I'd entered a magical dreamworld ride through time, transporting a Midwestern girl to the place of Shakespeare, Dickens, Woolf, and whatever story I was inhabiting. Your essay reminds me the world's rivers connect us in a powerful shared experience. Thank you for the river reflections.
Thank you for sharing your lovely memories! And I like your point about the world's rivers connecting us. The reason I began this occasional series on rivers is because I realised that rivers had had quite an impact on my life.
Living history around every oxbow curve. We’re lucky enough to be a few minutes walk from the brutalist cultural landmarks on the Southbank and it’s wonderful to see that a city that once turned its back on its river now fully embraces it. Thank you, Jeffrey.
Thanks for reading about your neighbourhood from someone who's thousands of miles away! 😊You are lucky to be there indeed!
Ah, I will see the Thames in just 3 weeks and remember your lovely tour as I gaze... 🙂
Enjoy! I hope the weather stays fine for you
Loved this! I also really like the Southbank. It feels like the one bit of tourists' London that locals actually enjoy going to too.
Thanks, Tom. I think you're spot on. The South Bank is for everyone.
You’rewelcome! What I also did there then was hear the Moody Blues in a club, see a Shakespeare play where we sat in individually separate wooden sections and we were brought either food & drink —or just one if those, can't remember— in exchange for paying cash & a tip at the seat because there were no debit cards back then or credit card use for that. And the next day I saw Shakespeare’s house that I think had a thatched roof.)
Wonderful. The Moody Blues in a club? sounds amazing.
Again, sorry for typos even after I thought I caught them!
Wonderful sketches. I have been part of Simon Haisell's Wolf Hall trilogy and that came much more to mind for me than my meandering mid college wander of England and the Continent in the summer of 1969. Like most young folks, I was woefully unprepared to take advantage of the opportunity that a 10 week wander offered. I've never been back to England since, though of course I thought I would be. Now I'm off to Egypt and the Nile.
Thank you, Leslie! I think what Simon is doing is great and I love Wolf Hall.
That summer trip in 1969 sounds like fun! But as you say, we're not always prepared for the wonders that life can present us.
I loved this post! Someone else who feels as I do about the Thames. Back when I was blogging I wrote a post with the title "Sweet Thames run softly".
https://occasionalscotland.blogspot.com/2014/04/sweet-thames-run-softly_8.html?m=1
I also love the South Bank and specifically the Royal Festival Hall. On the typesetting of The Waste Land, I recently attended a talk on T S Eliot by Toby Faber, the grandson of Faber publishers founder. Fascinating account of T S Eliot and his links with visual artists of the time, and a lot of detail about the publishing side.
Thank you, Linda. I am glad this post worked for you. And thanks for the link to your blog post on The Waste Land, which I really enjoyed. I also had some inspriation moments in liteterure classes at school in the late 70s (though in the opposite corner of the UK, Devon). These influences stay with you, don't they!
As a lover of rivers, I loved this piece, Jeffrey. Terrific curation here. ♥️
Thank you, Holly! I had a lot of fun putting this together.
Your reverence for the river Thames is infectious. Wonderful, Jeffrey :)
Thank you, Michael!