A whale of a time

A genuine icon of the city, fantastic design, easy to use and fun, fun, fun. There’s not much that can improve on a trip on the Eye. You get into a glass capsule and slowly rotate your way to the top of the wheel, all around you the city is laid out and the view is spectacular. As you climb familiar landmarks take shape and as you go higher, the streets turn into the familiar A-Z representation.

Indeed, the only thing that improves the experience is alcohol. A pity then that when you board the Eye they confiscate the stuff, but there you go. In our capsule we were four in a little group, with a couple of tourists who were no doubt entertained by our drunken ramblings while, in the capsule below, some corporate ho’s got corporate ho’spitality with fizzy wine and no doubt larks’ tongues and swans neck on toast. They, however, were squeeeeeezed into their capsule like sardines.

During our night ride (seemed like a great idea after a few post-work beers, actually WAS a great idea too!) we kept an eye out for the whale. This was the whale that had dominated the news by deciding to swim up the Thames. A crack team of vets had been dispatched to offer assistance and a crack team of sushi chefs were stalking the poor thing, if the worst should come to the worst. Rumours of a Japanese whaling fleet steaming past Tower Bridge were disregarded but I noted that the police were keeping a careful eye on bridge parapets, just in case any whale f**kers might be lurking and awaiting an opportunity.