Blessing the Thames

A wee moment of anxiety as the clergy from the church of St Magnus the Martyr, which sits on the north side of the river, wait for the clergy from Southwark Cathedral, from the south side of the river, to appear.

The event is the annual blessing of the Thames.  The clergy from each church meet in the middle of the bridge marked by different colour pavers. The bells of each church toll, as a short service takes place blessing everyone who uses the river, for work or recreation.  Those who cross the bridge each day are also blessed, as are those whose lives the Thames has claimed.

A wooden cross is then tossed into the waters, which looked for a moment if it was going to be swallowed up by a passing Thames clipper, but to the delight of the crowd watching, it continued bobbing along the surface of the water heading out to sea.