To those of you unfamiliar with the Isle of Dogs, this is the blue bridge on the east side of the island that can be lifted for access of river-faring vehicles to the docks. It has a great view over to the east of the O2 arena and over to the west of the tower blocks in Canary Wharf; nice place for a picture on a sunny day. On three occasions in the past month I encountered something interesting while trying to exit the island using this bridge. Two of these involved the bridge being opened to let ships in/out; perhaps it is a bit naive to be so excited about this but it seems ingenious to me that we can make tools that help us make the most of our surroundings and facilitate our lives. I get equally excited when I see Tower Bridge lifted for the same reason; its not the scale of the operation but the fact that it works at all that interests me.
The other incident was perhaps a little more unusual in that it has nothing to do with the normal function of the bridge. I saw a funeral procession in the street for the first time in my life; on this occasion they were crossing the bridge. I have no idea who was being buried but it was a slow procession led by a man in a top hat and penguin suit. As I wasn't on any urgent business, I found it amusing to watch this happen as I waited to go on my way; it was something that added colour to London life. I am sure some of the other motorists didn't think so.
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