The Eighth Wonder Of The World

Old Father Thames is 535-metres wide
as it meanders around Woolwich Reach
in search of Gravesend and The Nore sandbank
and the open epicontinental sea beyond.
Standing guard against the threat of storm surges
sit the steel-plated sentinels of The Thames Flood Barrier;
their foundations sunk deep into the London chalk below.
Water levels continue to rise.
The British Isles continue to tilt.
These steel-plated sentinels stand firm. For now.
There are those who have claimed the barrier
to be “The Eighth Wonder Of The World”,
but in truth it faces some pretty stiff opposition
for that much-disputed of titles.
There’s the Acropolis of Athens for one.
And Cambodia’s Angkor Wat temple complex for another.
Then there are the 2,000-year-old Banaue Rice Terraces in The Philippines.
And the monolithic Moai statues of Easter Island.
There’s Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia cathedral.
And the Panama Canal.
And the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
And the Eiffel Tower.
And the Moscow Kremlin.
And the Empire State Building.
And the Sydney Opera House.
And Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi’s vast Terracotta Army.
There’s even the artificial Palm Islands in Dubia
and the Astrodome stadium in Houston Texas to consider.
Not to mention King Kong and WWF wrestler André The Giant.
(Both of whom are now sadly deceased).
However, to my mind, the main problem with
The Thames Barrier’s claim, is that it’s not even
the biggest moveable flood barrier in the world.
No, that particular honour goes to The Maeslantkering
- which is located in the Nieuwe Waterweg waterway in Holland.
Well, that and the fact that The Thames Barrier
would appear to closed to the public on a Bank Holiday.
Even thought the website said it wouldn’t be.