"I saw this on YouTube ..."

I had my camera in the office yesterday as I was downloading the photos from the go-karting on Tuesday evening (I still hurt incidentally ...), and as the weather was quite nice I decided to visit the Monument.

The Monument was built between 1671 and 1677 to commemorate the Great Fire of London of 1666, and to celebrate the rebuilding of London (Yep, it was finished 100 years before America was 'born' ...). The fire began in a baker's house in Pudding Lane, on Sunday 2nd September 1666, and was fianlly extinguished on Wednesday 5th September. The fire severely damaged thousands of houses, hundreds of streets, the City gate's, public buildings, churches, and the original St Paul's Cathedral. The only building to survive were those built if stone.

The Monument stands 202 feet tall, and incorporates a cantilevered stone staircase consisting of 311 steps. The height of the Monument is the exact distance between it and the site in Pudding Lane where the fire began.

So that's the history out the way ...

£3 to go in the Monument, which I didn't think was too bad, and then the 311 steps which the day after go-karting were an absolute killer!

But the views made up for the burning in my thighs ..!

Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast (Where Spandau Ballet were holding their press conference to announce their reforming)

My office! (The one with the clock)

Tower 42 (Big building on the left) and 'The Gherkin' (The, um, gherkin shaped building on the right)

Some very brave builders ... It's very windy 160 feet up.

I was about to make my way down the windy-windy steps, only to notice a party of school children coming up so I waited ... The first one (Aged about 7) came out, saw Tower Bridge ahead of him and dejectedly said "Oh .. I saw this on YouTube ..."