The Tower of London

My wife Lyn belongs to a Badminton Club which runs an annual programme of social events similar to Aquarius. I usually get to go along on these trips. The latest one on 16 November was a bit different.

First, we met a chap from 'The Original London Walks' and did the Jack the Ripper tour around the Aldgate and Whitechapel areas of the East End. Absolutely fascinating with tons of facts figures and suspects.

That lasted a couple of hours and then we went up to 'The Tower' to watch The Ceremony of the Keys. This is the longest, continuously running military ceremony in the world. It happens every evening at 10:00pm, 365 days a year. Ironically as a result the audience ends up being locked inside The Tower. They then have to be let out afterwards, which sort of defeats the object really, but there you go!

Our host was the Yeoman Gaoler. He's the Head Beefeater and responsible, amongst other things, for the smooth running of the nightly lock up.

We were met at the West gate by a Yeoman Warder at 9:30pm (precisely) and led down to an area between traitors Gate and The Bloody Tower. There at 9:45 the Yeoman Gaoler marched down to collect his Grenadier Guard escort. Then back up the causeway gates to lock up.

On returning to the Bloody Tower gate the 'escort to the keys' are challenged by the sentry and the ceremony follows through to its conclusion. It concluded at 10:05pm when we were shown to the exit. We then had to be let out of the tower through the postern gates set in the main, locked, gates. At midnight no one can enter or leave The Tower of London without the password. I kid you not ! a password, which is changed every day. This sort of thing might seem a bit outmoded now days but it's a bit of English heritage and well worth seeing.

Late Addition: Thinking that the above might be an enjoyable AQSC social outing I mentioned it to Diana Carpenter. As a result I understand she is making the necessary enquiries with a view to including something similar on this year's social programme.

Mike (Over Easy) Baker