‘After
the Lord Mayor’s Show.......’
This is
an expression used by Londoners and now spread elsewhere, that goes
to prove that when you reach the top, there is only one direction that you can
go. I will explain further as I go
along...........
Firstly,
let me give you a little background: The ‘City of London’ is
not that which most people consider to be ‘London’. It
is in fact, one square mile on the north bank of the River Thames and has
its own Lord
Mayor, its
own Police Service and
many, many other quirks. Just a quick for
instance: a Freeman
of the City has the right to drove sheep across the river
bridges all of which are also within the jurisdiction
of the City – most
of which, if not in fact all, are outside the square mile.
Confused?......Carry on......
Having
elected a new Lord Mayor,
a parade is held. It is always quite spectacular and takes
place on the second
Saturday in November. It dates
back to 1535 and continued throughout World
War 2. The Mayor rides in a State Coach which was
built in 1757 at the princely cost of £1,065.0s.3p. What the 3p cost was for one can only guess,
but it was probably for a replacement screw or
something similar.
The coach is pulled
by six horses and traditionally they were large Shire horses from Whitbread’s Brewery which
used to be situated on the edge of the city. They were used to deliver beer
throughout London on ordinary days...........
During the parade, the Mayor’s coach is ‘guarded’ by Pike men from
the Honourable
Artillery Company which has its headquarters in City Road just
outside the city. This is the oldest regiment in the British Army and as
a ‘Privileged Regiment’ they
are one of the few that have the ‘right
to march through the square mile with bayonets fixed, colours flying and
drummers drumming’. They are basically a volunteer
force made up generally speaking of city employees who work
mainly in the city banking and insurance sectors.
They are
also flanked by about forty mounted horsemen of I think, the Queen’s Household Cavalry.
They are fabulously dressed in full regalia.
I have
often policed the parade during my police career and one occasion in particular
will always stick out in my mind. I was on duty outside
the main army gate with some Military
Police (Red Caps) as the soldiers arrived in civilian clothes
carrying their uniforms and boots.
On this
particular day, one of the soldiers was running late and bustled his way
through the public crowd who were standing nearby. His
beautifully ‘bulled’ shiny
boots fell from his arms onto the pavement. He swore at the
woman who bumped into him.
Without any
hesitation, one of the Red
Caps stepped forward and took him into custody at the same
time kicking his beautiful boots along the pavement, through the gate and all
the way towards the Guard
Room. I
bet the soldier never swore again in his life.......
I do not know what the
final outcome was in fact but I am certain that it was not
pretty...................
The
military side of the parade leaves the Regimental
H.Q. and makes its way to London
Wall where it forms up with the civilian
section. There are ‘floats’ of
every description extolling the virtues of city
companies. There are several military bands and
representatives from all kinds of groups including the British Legion, the Army in general,
the Navy,
the Air Force and
many, many other groups. In
fact, if one was to stand and watch, it would take
probably two
hours for the entire lot to pass.........
It is a
truly spectacular event and well worth watching. I almost
forgot, there is generally speaking (weather
permitting) also a ‘fly-past’ of
old aircraft –Spitfires,
Wellingtons and many others.
If you were
to watch the parade pass by in its entirety, you would see from where the title
of this post comes. The absolute final person to pass is a little
Corporation road sweeper with what looks like a large wheel barrow and sweeping
brush. He clears
up the horse-dung.................
So you see, the moral of this story is: When you have
reached the top of your game, the pinnacle of your career or other similar
situation, the greatness (the Lord Mayor’s Inauguration for instance) is always
followed by a ‘major let down’ – namely the one who has to clean up
the crap you leave behind you..........
(I am also reminded of an old police piece of wisdom: ‘In this job you are always in the crap – it
is merely the depth that varies).
----------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment