Adventures in London and Beyond: The Lord Mayor's Show and a Nice London Weekend

Oarsmen on their way to march in the parade

The British know how to celebrate, and they have many occasions for doing so. Take the Lord Mayor's Show this weekend. It celebrates the first full day of the new Lord Mayor of the City of London, which we saw as a huge parade/procession from Mansion House to the Royal Courts of Justice, where he was sworn in. The procession was 6,500 people strong, with 200 horses, and 150 floats, as well as various conveyances, old and new. It was a remarkable display of British history and pageantry.

Historically, the Lord Mayor's role dates back to the 12th century, when London came to its leadership role as a city of commerce. The Lord Mayor, who swore an oath of allegiance to the monarch, is the official representative of the City and the City of London Corporation. It is largely a ceremonial position, but he acts as business ambassador for the City worldwide, and spends about 3 months per year promoting the City abroad, and does the same nationally, as well.

Are you aware that the City of London is actually quite small? It is (see the map, below)! The City of London is actually marked by dragons along its perimeter. London is actually made up of many boroughs (as is New York City), such as Westminster, Chelsea, Kensington, Greenwich, etc. The City (with a capital "C") is but part of the Greater London area. It's also referred to as The Square Mile.

As I mentioned above, the perimeter is marked by dragons, ten in all. The originals (which are depicted on the City of London coat of arms) were located above the entrance to the Coal Exchange on Lower Thames Street; however, they were moved when this building was demolished in 1963 to Victoria Embankment. The remaining eight others were made as copies of the two originals, and are located at various "gates" around the City of London's perimeter. Here is my photo of one, located near the Royal Courts of Justice (background):

Dragon by the Royal Courts of Justice

Of course, we were really there to see the parade, and it was a spectacle in every imaginable way. There were floats representing all businesses and civic groups that operate within The City, as well as representatives of the various historical guilds. The variety of what we saw was astounding. It's probably best just to show you a bit: