Castles in the sky

The scaffolding has reached the highest point of the bridge and workers walk along its many levels, like characters in an Escher drawing. I am reminded of old engravings of London Bridge before the fire, a city suspended above the water with houses, shops and workshops all piled on top of each other.

The imaginative possibilities of this temporary, towering structure are not lost to the construction workers either, who have fixed flags to the top of each turret. They seem proud as clever children as they look up at the England flag waving our team on in the World Cup. A gesture to put all the car pennants in the city in the shade.