Watch the Islington Milkmaids Garland

Well done to the always-on-the-ball Ianvisits, who alerts us to the revival of the Islington Milkmaids Garland tradition by all-female Morris troupe New Esperance, who will be on the streets of North London today.


The dancers start at The Compton Arms at around 11.30am, proceeding down Upper Street and dancing outside the King's Head, on Islington Green, at the Steam Passage and finishing at the Camden Head.

For those on the lookout for other traditional May Day ceremonies, the Tired of London, Tired of Life book has a particularly good one on pages 74 & 75, which will also be processing in the City of London today.

For more on the Islington Milkmaids Garland, see http://newesp.org.uk/events.html

_{^Picture © Copyright Robert Lamb and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence^}

Watch the flood forecasting lions

The lions who keep watch along the Thames in Central London, holding mooring rings in their mouths, play an interesting role as a flood warning system for superstitious Londoners, keen to keep an eye on water levels in the Thames.


A rhyme helps to remember how to keep watch on the lions. It is said that...

"When the lions drink, London will sink"
"When it’s up to their manes, we’ll go down the drains"
"When the water is sucked, you can be sure we’re all ... in trouble"

So if the level of the Thames reaches their mouths, we are at risk of a flood. Thankfully, it hasn't yet. The rings were, we are told, designed by Timothy Butler and installed as part of Sir Joseph Bazalgette's Victorian sewage works programme in 1868-70.

For more on superstitious flood-watching, see here.

_{^Picture © Elliott Brown used under Creative Commons^}

Spy Gog and Magog at St Dunstans in the West

On the front of St Dunstans in the West, on Fleet Street, is an interesting clock, with two mannequins who strike the hours and quarters with clubs, and turn their heads. It is thought that the figures might represent Gog and Magog, two mythological giants who are supposedly the guardians of London.


The clock itself dates from 1671, and was famously the first public clock in London to have a minute hand There are numerous literary references to the clock, including in Tom Brown’s Schooldays, the Vicar of Wakefield and a poem by William Cowper.

According to mythology Gog and Magog, who also feature in both the Book of Genesis and the Koran, are the guardians of the City of London, and this is why they have been a traditional part of the Lord Mayor's Show since at least 1554.

For more on St Dunstans, see http://www.stdunstaninthewest.org/

_{^Picture by Brron^}