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Lambeth Bridge - London, England

Posted by Michael Skorulski (Cigel, Slovakia) on 6 March 2008 in Cityscape & Urban and Portfolio.

As we pass under the beautiful expanse of Lambeth Bridge in an amphibious London Duck, our guide, Tony Merrick congratulates all the passengers.

"You are now members of the over and under club," he says. Puzzled, I wonder if this might be the prelude to some bawdy British jest. "You've been over Lambeth Bridge on the road and now under it on the water," he explains innocently.

The ornate architecture of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben shimmer in the sunlight. It's obvious they were originally built to be viewed from the water, perhaps by the royal family on their barge. Across the river, the London Eye, our starting point, presents a more modern image of Britain. Here we spin round.

Our guide points to a spot on the concrete north bank of the river. He tells us that in the late 18th century, the location was known as Millbank Quay. Guards held prisoners there for transportation to Botany Bay in Australia. On the convicts' ragged clothes, were emblazoned the initials, P.O.M.

"That's where the Australian slang term, pom, for an Englishman comes from. It's an acronym for Prisoner of Millbank," Merrick instructs. Having been born in England, next time an Aussie calls me a pom, I'll know the term's origin.

We cruise back to the ramp, where Titania lurches out of liquid like a beached whale. Sam gets back in and we journey past Lambeth Palace, traditional home of the Archbishop of Canterbury, which gave the bridge its name. Florence Nightingale Museum, named after the famous pioneer of modern nursing, grabs our attention on the left.
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