.
A couple of months back I had a little trip up the Thames on the "Alaska."
Well, word has got around and now it seems that all and sundry are enjoying a trip on the steam launch.
.
A team of boatmen called Swan Uppers have the job of corralling, catching and marking the swans on the water between Eton in Berkshire and Abingdon in Oxfordshire every July.
The ceremony used to be a means to provide food for the royal dinner table with some cygnets taken away to be fattened, but nowadays the event is about conservation rather than consumption.
The ceremony dates back to the 12th century when the ownership of all unmarked mute swans in open water in Britain was claimed by the Crown in order to ensure a ready supply for feasts.
From a 50ft steam launch called "Alaska", the Queen watched as the cygnets caught with their parents were weighed on a manicured grassy bank at Bray.
The Queen travelled in style along the Thames to Bray, near her Windsor Castle home, where a family of swans had already been caught by some of her Swan Uppers dressed in their scarlet coats.
Joining the Queen's boatmen were Swan Uppers from the Vintners and Dyers - two City of London livery companies which, over the centuries, have also maintained their rights to own swans.
If the "Alaska" is good enough for her ...it's good enough for me!
.
Fascinating information. The swans seemed quite placid despite all that handling of them
ReplyDeleteThey do. I wouldn't like to try handling a swan like that. They are very strong birds.
ReplyDelete