Downstream

The Royal Artillery Museum.
In the distance, by the Royal
Arsenal Pier, there seems to
be a group of soldiers and it
takes me a while to realise
they’re rather menacing cast-
iron statues. At the pier itself
there’s the usual warning
sign, ‘Danger of injury,
strong currents and deep
water’, but when I look over
the wall the Thames is
motionless and the water
silky.