1
00:00:02,046 --> 00:00:04,996
I've always been fascinated
by the River Thames.

2
00:00:04,996 --> 00:00:07,717
It runs right through the place
where I was born.

3
00:00:07,717 --> 00:00:08,916
London,

4
00:00:08,916 --> 00:00:12,767
where my family have lived
for 300 years.

5
00:00:12,767 --> 00:00:14,166
I'm on the top of the world.

6
00:00:14,166 --> 00:00:17,477
Now I'm going to get to know it
even more intimately,

7
00:00:17,477 --> 00:00:21,807
to find out what makes this one
of the greatest rivers in the world.

8
00:00:23,116 --> 00:00:24,717
I'm walking the Thames,

9
00:00:24,717 --> 00:00:28,046
discovering how it became a gateway
to the world.

10
00:00:28,046 --> 00:00:29,126
Whoa!

11
00:00:29,126 --> 00:00:33,637
I never thought I would be so
impressed by a large amount of sugar.

12
00:00:33,637 --> 00:00:37,527
I didn't realise quite how glorious
it would be.

13
00:00:37,527 --> 00:00:38,607
This way!

14
00:00:38,607 --> 00:00:41,717
I'm meeting people whose lives
revolve around the river.

15
00:00:41,717 --> 00:00:43,437
Do you want to lie down?
THEY LAUGH

16
00:00:44,477 --> 00:00:47,056
I'm a porter, Tony.
Fish porter, man and boy.

17
00:00:47,056 --> 00:00:48,687
Ooh, that's lovely, isn't it?

18
00:00:48,687 --> 00:00:51,407
This was the first police force
in Britain.

19
00:00:51,407 --> 00:00:53,046
We've got an unexploded bomb.

20
00:00:53,046 --> 00:00:55,897
We're going up to have a look at it?
Absolutely. Great.

21
00:01:04,407 --> 00:01:07,717
I'm now on my home turf
in the east end of London,

22
00:01:07,717 --> 00:01:11,647
on the bit of the river that was once
the working powerhouse of the Thames

23
00:01:11,647 --> 00:01:13,407
with its clocks and warehouses.

24
00:01:15,767 --> 00:01:18,796
From here in Wapping,
I'll head on to Canary Wharf,

25
00:01:18,796 --> 00:01:22,277
cross south of the river
to historic Greenwich,

26
00:01:22,277 --> 00:01:26,126
and visit the Thames Barrier,
before finally ending my journey

27
00:01:26,126 --> 00:01:28,236
at the point where the
river becomes the sea.

28
00:01:33,567 --> 00:01:36,717
Imagine that ship
multiplied by 1,000,

29
00:01:36,717 --> 00:01:40,487
and imagine them all parked up
on this stretch of the river.

30
00:01:40,487 --> 00:01:44,176
So many that you could get from
one side of the Thames to the other

31
00:01:44,176 --> 00:01:46,527
just by hopping from deck to deck.

32
00:01:46,527 --> 00:01:48,077
That's what it would have been like.

33
00:01:49,967 --> 00:01:54,006
This section of the river at Wapping
is known as the Pool of London.

34
00:01:54,006 --> 00:01:58,256
At its peak in the 18th and 19th
centuries as a gateway to the world,

35
00:01:58,256 --> 00:02:01,627
it's where all the ships would gather
waiting to unload.

36
00:02:03,587 --> 00:02:06,377
And think about
all the valuable goods

37
00:02:06,377 --> 00:02:09,427
that there would have been
lying around on the decks.

38
00:02:09,427 --> 00:02:12,507
So many that this place
would have acted as a magnet

39
00:02:12,507 --> 00:02:17,297
to every thief and dodgy person
who wanted to slip out at night

40
00:02:17,297 --> 00:02:19,987
and get something
just a little bit nice.

41
00:02:23,016 --> 00:02:25,657
Back then, there were no police.

42
00:02:27,266 --> 00:02:31,076
That is, until 1798,
when things got so bad

43
00:02:31,076 --> 00:02:35,026
that the merchant companies formed
their own uniformed deterrent

44
00:02:35,026 --> 00:02:36,347
on the river.

45
00:02:36,347 --> 00:02:39,747
It was so successful, it led to
the creation of the police force

46
00:02:39,747 --> 00:02:41,337
as we know them today.

47
00:02:42,926 --> 00:02:44,006
Hello, Stuart.

48
00:02:44,006 --> 00:02:46,607
Good afternoon, Tony, and welcome
to the Marine Policing Unit.

49
00:02:46,607 --> 00:02:49,847
Thank you. Are you well? Yeah.
Am I going to get a ride? You are.

50
00:02:49,847 --> 00:02:53,077
I'm going out on patrol
with Inspector Stuart Simpson...

51
00:02:53,077 --> 00:02:54,437
Let's get you on the boat.

52
00:02:55,487 --> 00:02:58,277
...with the thoroughly high-tech
marine police.

53
00:03:00,577 --> 00:03:05,437
We're still in the original
police station from 1798. Really?

54
00:03:05,437 --> 00:03:08,126
Rumour has it some of the
police officers are still there.

55
00:03:08,126 --> 00:03:09,256
TONY LAUGHS

56
00:03:10,287 --> 00:03:12,847
Where we are now,
this is London Pool,

57
00:03:12,847 --> 00:03:15,907
and ships from all round the world
used to come up

58
00:03:15,907 --> 00:03:19,046
and get rid of their cargo into
Wapping and the east end of London.

59
00:03:19,046 --> 00:03:21,697
What used to happen was the people
that used to unload the vessels,

60
00:03:21,697 --> 00:03:23,617
the lumpers and the lightermen,

61
00:03:23,617 --> 00:03:26,647
weren't as honest as they could be,
and they were stealing the gear.

62
00:03:26,647 --> 00:03:29,517
And the Marine Policing Unit,
back then it was called

63
00:03:29,517 --> 00:03:33,077
the West India Dock Merchant
Planters' Marine Policing Unit...

64
00:03:33,077 --> 00:03:34,847
Why did it have such a long name?

65
00:03:34,847 --> 00:03:36,886
West India Dock
was a shipping agent,

66
00:03:36,886 --> 00:03:40,287
and they funded,
4,500 guineas they put up,

67
00:03:40,287 --> 00:03:42,977
in order to secure their product.

68
00:03:42,977 --> 00:03:47,006
So it wasn't originally funded
by the City of London?

69
00:03:47,006 --> 00:03:48,967
Absolutely not,
and it was very different

70
00:03:48,967 --> 00:03:50,717
in that it was
preventative policing.

71
00:03:50,717 --> 00:03:53,256
So it was actually putting
a police officer out there

72
00:03:53,256 --> 00:03:54,437
to stop and prevent.

73
00:03:54,437 --> 00:03:56,847
It's written down in history
that the Marine Policing Unit

74
00:03:56,847 --> 00:03:59,567
is the forerunner to the modern
policing methods.

75
00:04:01,806 --> 00:04:06,657
200 years ago, it's estimated
that of the 33,000 dock workers,

76
00:04:06,657 --> 00:04:09,417
almost a third of them
were on the make.

77
00:04:09,417 --> 00:04:11,056
The creation of a police force

78
00:04:11,056 --> 00:04:13,287
brought a swift end
to the massive losses,

79
00:04:13,287 --> 00:04:16,046
and within a year,
they'd paid for themselves.

80
00:04:16,046 --> 00:04:19,727
But there wouldn't be so much nicking
off the ships now, presumably?

81
00:04:21,046 --> 00:04:23,557
Long, thoughtful pause!

82
00:04:23,557 --> 00:04:26,217
I was going to say, I think
the thieves are still out there.

83
00:04:26,217 --> 00:04:28,857
Does organised crime impact much
on the river?

84
00:04:28,857 --> 00:04:30,577
It does, very much so.

85
00:04:30,577 --> 00:04:34,167
We will use our divers to look at
the underside of vessels

86
00:04:34,167 --> 00:04:38,056
to make sure that no contraband
comes up the gateway into London.

87
00:04:38,056 --> 00:04:39,497
Over the last five or six years,

88
00:04:39,497 --> 00:04:42,247
we've got somewhere in the region
of six tonnes' worth of drugs

89
00:04:42,247 --> 00:04:46,777
which was intended for London
streets as well as UK streets.

90
00:04:46,777 --> 00:04:49,697
Looking round
with your policeman's eyes,

91
00:04:49,697 --> 00:04:51,567
is there anything around here
that you think,

92
00:04:51,567 --> 00:04:55,077
"I'll just give that an extra look
and make sure it's all right"?

93
00:04:55,077 --> 00:04:57,617
I'm always looking
with my policeman's eyes,

94
00:04:57,617 --> 00:04:59,777
and I'm always very inquisitive.

95
00:04:59,777 --> 00:05:01,347
But it's safe to tell you,

96
00:05:01,347 --> 00:05:03,527
I've just had a scan and there's
nothing to look out for

97
00:05:03,527 --> 00:05:05,697
at the minute, we're quite safe.
TONY LAUGHS

98
00:05:05,697 --> 00:05:07,857
SIREN WAILS

99
00:05:07,857 --> 00:05:09,607
I think Stuart spoke too soon.

100
00:05:11,407 --> 00:05:13,647
Right. Do we know what that fuss
is all about?

101
00:05:13,647 --> 00:05:15,337
I don't know, we're just going to
find out.

102
00:05:15,337 --> 00:05:16,597
INDISTINCT SPEECH ON RADIO

103
00:05:16,597 --> 00:05:19,517
My interview's definitely
on the back burner now.

104
00:05:19,517 --> 00:05:21,996
We've got an unexploded bomb
down at Erith

105
00:05:21,996 --> 00:05:25,217
from, we believe, World War ll,
so we're going to make our way.

106
00:05:25,217 --> 00:05:28,697
We're going up to have a look at it?
Absolutely. Great.

107
00:05:28,697 --> 00:05:29,777
Really great.

108
00:05:32,806 --> 00:05:34,437
Do you get that kind of call often?

109
00:05:34,437 --> 00:05:37,967
We do since the Tideway Tunnel
development has started. Yeah.

110
00:05:37,967 --> 00:05:39,487
They are digging deeper
in the Thames

111
00:05:39,487 --> 00:05:41,166
than they've ever built before,

112
00:05:41,166 --> 00:05:44,367
so a lot of the ordnance
has been, er...loosened.

113
00:05:44,367 --> 00:05:49,906
You would have thought it would have
all been dug up or something by now.

114
00:05:49,906 --> 00:05:51,357
THEY LAUGH

115
00:05:51,357 --> 00:05:54,797
Well, it's not often you're allowed
to speed down the Thames.

116
00:05:54,797 --> 00:05:57,956
This RIB can do over 60mph.

117
00:05:57,956 --> 00:05:59,627
At least I'm in safe hands.

118
00:05:59,627 --> 00:06:02,157
Of the 30,000 Metropolitan Police,

119
00:06:02,157 --> 00:06:05,896
only 65 ever make it
to the elite marine unit.

120
00:06:07,337 --> 00:06:10,227
During World War ll,
this area of the Thames

121
00:06:10,227 --> 00:06:13,327
with its docks, warehouses
and shipyards

122
00:06:13,327 --> 00:06:15,896
was a major target for the Luftwaffe.

123
00:06:15,896 --> 00:06:18,097
AIR RAID SIREN BLARES

124
00:06:18,097 --> 00:06:19,816
During the Blitz of 1940,

125
00:06:19,816 --> 00:06:25,527
waves of up to 600 bombers dropped
a total of 30,000 bombs on London,

126
00:06:25,527 --> 00:06:28,587
destroying swathes of the east end.

127
00:06:29,657 --> 00:06:32,297
And some that didn't go off
are still being found.

128
00:06:32,297 --> 00:06:35,707
The police have dealt with
five unexploded bombs

129
00:06:35,707 --> 00:06:37,696
in the last six months.

130
00:06:37,696 --> 00:06:39,946
Have we any idea how it was found?

131
00:06:39,946 --> 00:06:42,627
We believe a member of the public
was walking along the foreshore,

132
00:06:42,627 --> 00:06:45,797
and they've seen what they thought
was a piece of ordnance,

133
00:06:45,797 --> 00:06:49,537
and as a consequence, we called out
our expert colleagues.

134
00:06:49,537 --> 00:06:50,816
Who are these experts?

135
00:06:50,816 --> 00:06:55,427
These are former military guys
who were in bomb disposal.

136
00:06:55,427 --> 00:06:57,146
They now work for
the Metroplitan Police,

137
00:06:57,146 --> 00:06:58,696
and they are based
in central London.

138
00:06:58,696 --> 00:07:00,457
So they respond to
these sorts of calls.

139
00:07:00,457 --> 00:07:02,146
What's the police vessel doing?

140
00:07:02,146 --> 00:07:04,577
The police vessels are putting in
a 100m cordon.

141
00:07:04,577 --> 00:07:06,867
We can't get cops
or put any cordon tape out,

142
00:07:06,867 --> 00:07:08,797
so we have to physically
put a boat in... Yeah.

143
00:07:08,797 --> 00:07:10,547
...to make sure nobody goes in there,

144
00:07:10,547 --> 00:07:12,537
and keeps that area
safe and sterile.

145
00:07:12,537 --> 00:07:13,617
So what happens now?

146
00:07:13,617 --> 00:07:17,307
We've got enough marine cops with us
now who can hold that cordon,

147
00:07:17,307 --> 00:07:19,177
so we're going to head
back into central London

148
00:07:19,177 --> 00:07:21,146
and look after central London.

149
00:07:21,146 --> 00:07:23,337
Oh, so we won't be here
when it explodes.

150
00:07:23,337 --> 00:07:24,437
No, we won't.

151
00:07:24,437 --> 00:07:25,896
I'm so disappointed.

152
00:07:25,896 --> 00:07:28,257
Let's get the hell out of here.
Let's do it.

153
00:07:29,387 --> 00:07:32,016
And with that, I'm whisked back
to Wapping...

154
00:07:33,066 --> 00:07:36,437
...having experienced
a very small part of the daily life

155
00:07:36,437 --> 00:07:38,686
of the historic marine police.

156
00:07:39,946 --> 00:07:42,747
From here, I head on
to Canary Wharf...

157
00:07:46,227 --> 00:07:50,667
...which in the 80s became
London's modern financial district.

158
00:07:50,667 --> 00:07:55,427
Which is ironic, because it occupies
the site of the West India Quay,

159
00:07:55,427 --> 00:07:59,057
part of the clocks that made
London wealthy in the first place.

160
00:08:00,257 --> 00:08:02,797
Harbours like this one
were cut into the bank

161
00:08:02,797 --> 00:08:07,146
all round Wapping and the
Isle of Dogs to provide moorings

162
00:08:07,146 --> 00:08:10,787
for the ships away from the crowded,
hectic tidal river.

163
00:08:12,337 --> 00:08:16,587
The digging out of three inland clocks
here in the early 1800s

164
00:08:16,587 --> 00:08:19,706
allowed 600 ships to be handled
at once,

165
00:08:19,706 --> 00:08:24,667
which decreased unload and load times
from weeks to just days.

166
00:08:24,667 --> 00:08:27,307
And because the new warehouses
were enclosed,

167
00:08:27,307 --> 00:08:31,307
theft was reduced, and that allowed
the price of goods to drop.

168
00:08:31,307 --> 00:08:37,057
Suddenly, luxury items such as wine,
tobacco, tea and exotic fruit

169
00:08:37,057 --> 00:08:40,107
became affordable
to ordinary east enders.

170
00:08:41,467 --> 00:08:45,257
More enclosed clocks were built
along the Thames, and by the 1900s,

171
00:08:45,257 --> 00:08:49,896
London's clocks were the largest
and most successful in the world.

172
00:08:51,747 --> 00:08:53,906
I used to work around here
in the 1960s,

173
00:08:53,906 --> 00:08:55,747
but it was completely different.

174
00:08:55,747 --> 00:08:57,307
You wouldn't recognise it.

175
00:08:57,307 --> 00:09:00,417
Not one of these buildings was here.

176
00:09:00,417 --> 00:09:02,826
In fact, the only thing
that was the same, really,

177
00:09:02,826 --> 00:09:07,826
were these warehouses and the water,
and it was so busy.

178
00:09:07,826 --> 00:09:11,146
This was the centre
of international trade,

179
00:09:11,146 --> 00:09:15,107
and tied up all along here
were Geordie coal boats.

180
00:09:15,107 --> 00:09:18,956
I used to drive up in my little
Austin A40 van

181
00:09:18,956 --> 00:09:23,046
with all my ship's provisions,
and I'd skip along the gangplank,

182
00:09:23,046 --> 00:09:27,486
offload them all, come back,
jump in the van again and drive off.

183
00:09:28,526 --> 00:09:31,795
Coming up, I relive my teenage years
on the river...

184
00:09:31,795 --> 00:09:34,726
That's it.
It's a bit more difficult, this.

185
00:09:34,726 --> 00:09:36,596
...as a working east ender.

186
00:09:36,596 --> 00:09:38,885
I was born in Hackney.
I was born in Hackney.

187
00:09:38,885 --> 00:09:41,606
I'm a porter, Tony.
Fish porter, man and boy.

188
00:09:41,606 --> 00:09:44,795
Here you are, darlin'.
Have a mackerel. Oi!

189
00:09:44,795 --> 00:09:48,246
I discover a ceiling
to rival a Michaelangelo...

190
00:09:48,246 --> 00:09:52,135
I didn't realise
quite how glorious it would be.

191
00:09:52,135 --> 00:09:56,166
...and find out how the river
is once again building London.

192
00:09:56,166 --> 00:09:59,745
Suddenly, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh,
whoosh, all this lot went up.

193
00:09:59,745 --> 00:10:02,286
All that in one person's lifetime.

194
00:10:09,328 --> 00:10:11,528
Early morning on the Thames,

195
00:10:11,528 --> 00:10:14,208
and while most of London's
eight million residents

196
00:10:14,208 --> 00:10:15,717
are still fast asleep...

197
00:10:17,128 --> 00:10:22,558
...there are a few for whom the day
has already begun, including me.

198
00:10:25,198 --> 00:10:28,888
It's 4am, not a time
I'm used to being up nowadays,

199
00:10:28,888 --> 00:10:32,678
but I was when I was a teenager
and used to work down the docks.

200
00:10:32,678 --> 00:10:36,167
A friend of my mum's had
a ship's vitalling company.

201
00:10:36,167 --> 00:10:38,648
Vitalling's not a word
that you hear much nowadays,

202
00:10:38,648 --> 00:10:43,398
but essentially, it means supplying
the ships before they go out to sea.

203
00:10:43,398 --> 00:10:45,618
So, at this time of the morning,

204
00:10:45,618 --> 00:10:53,198
I would be collecting sides of lamb
and enormous tins of beans, and fish,

205
00:10:53,198 --> 00:10:54,717
to take down the docks.

206
00:10:57,847 --> 00:11:01,538
This morning, I'm reliving
my youthful clays on the river

207
00:11:01,538 --> 00:11:03,448
by working as a porter...

208
00:11:03,448 --> 00:11:04,478
Morning. Morning.

209
00:11:04,478 --> 00:11:06,438
...at Billingsgate Fish Market.

210
00:11:06,438 --> 00:11:08,768
It's an opportunity to immerse myself

211
00:11:08,768 --> 00:11:12,998
in one of the last bastions
of a trade that grew from the river.

212
00:11:12,998 --> 00:11:18,608
It's an industry steeped in history,
tradition, and great characters.

213
00:11:18,608 --> 00:11:21,096
Like Laurie, my mentor
for the morning.

214
00:11:22,885 --> 00:11:24,405
Hey, Laurie.

215
00:11:25,475 --> 00:11:28,615
Hello, Tony. Hi, mate.
How are you? All right.

216
00:11:28,615 --> 00:11:30,615
Are you ready to be a fish porter
for the clay?

217
00:11:30,615 --> 00:11:31,895
Yeah, I certainly am.

218
00:11:31,895 --> 00:11:33,125
OK. Would you like a coat?

219
00:11:33,125 --> 00:11:36,075
Yeah, I don't want to stink
for the rest of the day. Here you go.

220
00:11:37,125 --> 00:11:38,844
So, is it all lobsters?

221
00:11:38,844 --> 00:11:40,765
It's going to be crab and lobster.
Yeah.

222
00:11:40,765 --> 00:11:41,895
We also have...

223
00:11:42,964 --> 00:11:45,365
...if you've ever seen these
before...

224
00:11:45,365 --> 00:11:47,195
...these are called razor clams.

225
00:11:47,195 --> 00:11:49,125
Oh, yeah. These are live.

226
00:11:49,125 --> 00:11:50,475
They're still alive.

227
00:11:50,475 --> 00:11:54,405
They're beautiful here. Yeah, these
are Scottish lobsters. Are they?

228
00:11:54,405 --> 00:11:57,435
That one's got a different pigment.
Wonderful creature.

229
00:11:57,435 --> 00:12:00,195
Are we talking all day or are we
doing some work? Let's do some work.

230
00:12:02,485 --> 00:12:05,485
It's a porter's job to collect fish
from the market...

231
00:12:05,485 --> 00:12:06,555
Away YOU 9°-

232
00:12:06,555 --> 00:12:09,125
...and deliver them
to the waiting vans.

233
00:12:09,125 --> 00:12:10,435
Cool. We're out on the river.

234
00:12:10,435 --> 00:12:12,924
There are records of a fish market
by the Thames

235
00:12:12,924 --> 00:12:14,605
as far back as Roman times.

236
00:12:14,605 --> 00:12:16,924
I was born in Hackney.
I was born in Hackney.

237
00:12:16,924 --> 00:12:19,435
It was fate, we were meant to meet,
weren't we?

238
00:12:19,435 --> 00:12:23,854
Billingsgate Market formally
came into existence in 1699,

239
00:12:23,854 --> 00:12:26,365
over 300 years ago.

240
00:12:26,365 --> 00:12:28,335
How about you put that nice
halibut on there?

241
00:12:28,335 --> 00:12:29,565
Ooh, that's lovely, isn't it?

242
00:12:30,565 --> 00:12:32,085
And for part of that time,

243
00:12:32,085 --> 00:12:36,285
it occupied a magnificent
Italian-style riverfront building.

244
00:12:36,285 --> 00:12:37,765
By the early 1900s,

245
00:12:37,765 --> 00:12:40,355
it was the biggest fish market
in the world.

246
00:12:40,355 --> 00:12:43,495
The surrounding streets clogged
with horses and carts

247
00:12:43,495 --> 00:12:48,565
piled high with fish
ready for deliveries across London.

248
00:12:48,565 --> 00:12:49,914
A bit like today.

249
00:12:49,914 --> 00:12:53,485
You can hear them wriggling around
in these little boxes, can't you?

250
00:12:53,485 --> 00:12:56,844
Little claws on polystyrene.
Trying to escape.

251
00:12:56,844 --> 00:12:58,044
Well done.

252
00:12:58,044 --> 00:12:59,255
Back in again?

253
00:12:59,255 --> 00:13:02,555
Back in, that's how it is every
morning, in and out, in and out.

254
00:13:03,615 --> 00:13:08,125
Billingsgate Market relocated to this
new facility next to Canary Wharf

255
00:13:08,125 --> 00:13:09,885
in 1982.

256
00:13:09,885 --> 00:13:15,844
25,000 tonnes of fish generate
a turnover of over £200 million.

257
00:13:15,844 --> 00:13:19,695
Fish come in by road and air
from all over the world.

258
00:13:19,695 --> 00:13:23,365
Back in the day, in the old fish
market in Lower Thames Street,

259
00:13:23,365 --> 00:13:26,044
the boats used to actually come up
the Thames

260
00:13:26,044 --> 00:13:28,794
and moor right by the side
of the market.

261
00:13:28,794 --> 00:13:30,325
The porters used to walk...

262
00:13:31,325 --> 00:13:33,794
...across planks onto the boat...

263
00:13:33,794 --> 00:13:36,765
...and in those days, everything
was carried on your head. Yeah.

264
00:13:36,765 --> 00:13:39,804
I don't know if you have ever seen
a fish porter's hat,

265
00:13:39,804 --> 00:13:42,285
the original hats they used to wear,
the leather hats.

266
00:13:42,285 --> 00:13:44,765
They would what we call "nut it"...

267
00:13:44,765 --> 00:13:47,515
And they'd come in like this,
and they'd go, "doof." Yeah.

268
00:13:47,515 --> 00:13:49,844
Straight onto the stand,
straight off the boats.

269
00:13:51,054 --> 00:13:54,255
Those hats have long been replaced
by a trolley.

270
00:13:54,255 --> 00:13:56,195
It's a bit more difficult, this,
isn't it?

271
00:13:56,195 --> 00:13:57,415
That's it.

272
00:13:57,415 --> 00:14:01,974
But that doesn't mean it's any easier
covering this modern 13-acre site.

273
00:14:01,974 --> 00:14:03,724
Right and then a left.

274
00:14:03,724 --> 00:14:05,615
It's been a busy shift,

275
00:14:05,615 --> 00:14:10,365
but the porters always find time for
a rather special east end character.

276
00:14:10,365 --> 00:14:11,885
OK, we're off to see the seal.

277
00:14:11,885 --> 00:14:13,275
Sammy the seal.

278
00:14:13,275 --> 00:14:15,765
She does get quite well fed, still,
every day. There she is.

279
00:14:15,765 --> 00:14:17,485
Hello, sweetheart.

280
00:14:17,485 --> 00:14:21,734
Sammy's been a happy client of
Billingsgate for the past 16 years.

281
00:14:21,734 --> 00:14:24,205
I feed her every day.
You've got a heart of gold.

282
00:14:24,205 --> 00:14:27,195
Even when I was in Cuba, I made
a phone call to the firm to say,

283
00:14:27,195 --> 00:14:28,854
"Don't forget to feed the seal."

284
00:14:28,854 --> 00:14:30,265
Hello, darlin'.

285
00:14:30,265 --> 00:14:32,685
Can Tony throw one in, please?
Yes, of course.

286
00:14:32,685 --> 00:14:34,235
All right, Tony.

287
00:14:34,235 --> 00:14:37,155
Here you are, darlin',
have a mackerel.

288
00:14:37,155 --> 00:14:40,645
Come on, up, up. Come on, up,
up, oi! Well done, that's it.

289
00:14:41,705 --> 00:14:43,015
What do you do?

290
00:14:43,015 --> 00:14:45,804
I'm a porter, Tony.
Fish porter, man and boy.

291
00:14:45,804 --> 00:14:49,565
About 37 years. Started down
the old market when I was 18. Yeah.

292
00:14:49,565 --> 00:14:50,724
<i>\</i> Little boy. I

293
00:14:50,724 --> 00:14:53,005
Now I'm getting on for 57,
still here.

294
00:14:53,005 --> 00:14:54,854
What's better, the old market
or the new one?

295
00:14:54,854 --> 00:14:56,804
Old market without a doubt.
Because...?

296
00:14:56,804 --> 00:14:59,135
It was proper east end, you know?
Yeah.

297
00:14:59,135 --> 00:15:03,924
I do believe that the only job
the Kray twins had at one time,

298
00:15:03,924 --> 00:15:05,854
they were both porters
down the fish market.

299
00:15:05,854 --> 00:15:08,515
We used to have all the faces,
all the boxers... And Michael Caine.

300
00:15:08,515 --> 00:15:10,205
"Hello, my name is Michael Caine."
Yes.

301
00:15:10,205 --> 00:15:12,844
He worked here for a little while,
down the old market.

302
00:15:12,844 --> 00:15:14,415
How many clays a week do you work?

303
00:15:14,415 --> 00:15:18,405
Five. We work Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday,

304
00:15:18,405 --> 00:15:21,125
and we've never worked
Sunday or Monday.

305
00:15:21,125 --> 00:15:24,044
We don't work Sunday or Monday.
Funny, that, though, isn't it? Yeah.

306
00:15:24,044 --> 00:15:27,575
That's why you should never buy fish
on a Monday, cos it's never fresh.

307
00:15:27,575 --> 00:15:29,804
Yeah, it used to...
I've learned something, haven't I?

308
00:15:29,804 --> 00:15:32,235
Yeah. This walk is now worthwhile.
Yeah.

309
00:15:35,875 --> 00:15:38,794
Left and right. Left and right.
It's always left and right.

310
00:15:39,794 --> 00:15:41,695
Are we all done? There we go.

311
00:15:41,695 --> 00:15:44,054
Oh, thanks a lot, mate,
that was a great day.

312
00:15:44,054 --> 00:15:47,005
You've done a wonderful
morning's work. You're a natural.

313
00:15:47,005 --> 00:15:49,165
Feels like about six in the evening.

314
00:15:49,165 --> 00:15:50,245
THEY CHUCKLE

315
00:15:50,245 --> 00:15:52,885
Yeah, you get used to it.
See you guys.

316
00:15:52,885 --> 00:15:55,245
Thanks very much, Tony, cheers.
Good luck.

317
00:15:56,724 --> 00:16:00,285
From a part of the Thames
steeped in working class tradition,

318
00:16:00,285 --> 00:16:03,794
you cross to the opposite bank
of the river via the foot tunnel,

319
00:16:03,794 --> 00:16:08,445
and find yourself in an area that's
rich in institutional tradition.

320
00:16:08,445 --> 00:16:09,785
Greenwich.

321
00:16:09,785 --> 00:16:15,245
This now World Heritage Site reflects
our maritime prowess in spades.

322
00:16:15,245 --> 00:16:18,245
It's home to the National
Maritime Museum,

323
00:16:18,245 --> 00:16:21,525
the Cutty Sark,
once the fastest ship of its time.

324
00:16:21,525 --> 00:16:23,135
There's the Greenwich Meridian,

325
00:16:23,135 --> 00:16:27,695
that imaginary line that enabled us
to navigate the seas successfully.

326
00:16:27,695 --> 00:16:31,155
And at its heart,
the Old Royal Naval College,

327
00:16:31,155 --> 00:16:32,934
which is where I'm heading.

328
00:16:38,295 --> 00:16:42,565
If you think the precise symmetry
of the architecture is impressive,

329
00:16:42,565 --> 00:16:44,804
well, that's down to
Sir Christopher Wren.

330
00:16:45,965 --> 00:16:48,885
It was originally built
as a hospital for mariners

331
00:16:48,885 --> 00:16:51,054
back in the late 17th century.

332
00:16:52,575 --> 00:16:55,984
Later, it became the Navy's
premier training college

333
00:16:55,984 --> 00:16:58,495
until it closed just 20 years ago.

334
00:16:59,495 --> 00:17:02,525
But for 125 years, this was the place

335
00:17:02,525 --> 00:17:05,775
all British naval officers
received their education.

336
00:17:05,775 --> 00:17:08,924
During the Second World War,
it also trained Wrens,

337
00:17:08,924 --> 00:17:13,575
in total, turning out 35,000
battle-ready graduates.

338
00:17:16,285 --> 00:17:20,165
I've come to see the Painted Hall,
which is under renovation,

339
00:17:20,165 --> 00:17:23,734
so there's a rare opportunity
to get spectacularly close

340
00:17:23,734 --> 00:17:26,245
to a ceiling which tells the story

341
00:17:26,245 --> 00:17:29,975
of Britain's maritime and trading
successes on the Thames.

342
00:17:31,535 --> 00:17:32,655
God, strewth!

343
00:17:32,655 --> 00:17:34,934
I knew that I was coming up here

344
00:17:34,934 --> 00:17:40,095
to have a look
at an elaborately painted ceiling,

345
00:17:40,095 --> 00:17:44,245
but I didn't realise
quite how glorious it would be.

346
00:17:46,215 --> 00:17:50,495
The room was originally designed to
be the dining hall for the hospital,

347
00:17:50,495 --> 00:17:53,604
but with a lot more than
meat and two veg on display.

348
00:17:53,604 --> 00:17:58,335
It's a real essay in naked bodies.

349
00:17:58,335 --> 00:18:00,785
There must have been quite a few
cricked necks

350
00:18:00,785 --> 00:18:02,535
and spilt soup over dinner.

351
00:18:04,734 --> 00:18:07,535
I'm meeting conservation director
Will Palin.

352
00:18:09,165 --> 00:18:13,325
This job that they're doing here
is absolutely massive, isn't it?

353
00:18:14,285 --> 00:18:15,934
What are they doing here?

354
00:18:15,934 --> 00:18:19,804
They're doing a gentle surface clean
with purified water

355
00:18:19,804 --> 00:18:24,085
as part of a massive
conservation project here.

356
00:18:25,614 --> 00:18:27,325
Two and a half years in total,

357
00:18:27,325 --> 00:18:30,375
40,000 square feet of painting
to clean and conserve,

358
00:18:30,375 --> 00:18:33,455
and it has to be done
with great care.

359
00:18:33,455 --> 00:18:36,064
What specifically is it celebrating?

360
00:18:36,064 --> 00:18:40,585
It's all about the power of our navy
underpinned by science,

361
00:18:40,585 --> 00:18:44,175
and in turn, the Navy underpinning
our mercantile prosperity.

362
00:18:44,175 --> 00:18:47,535
So this is actually the language
of the merchants?

363
00:18:47,535 --> 00:18:49,135
I suppose it is.

364
00:18:50,135 --> 00:18:51,225
And of course,

365
00:18:51,225 --> 00:18:54,145
we are at the commanding position
on the River Thames.

366
00:18:54,145 --> 00:18:57,335
Greenwich, of course. The
significance here was traditionally

367
00:18:57,335 --> 00:19:00,814
this was always a place where great
ambassadors or visitors to England

368
00:19:00,814 --> 00:19:04,175
would have had their first
reception, their first welcome.

369
00:19:06,054 --> 00:19:08,015
With its baroque overtones,

370
00:19:08,015 --> 00:19:10,775
this may seem reminiscent
of a Catholic chapel.

371
00:19:10,775 --> 00:19:14,225
But it's really the Protestants
taking the mick out of the Catholics

372
00:19:14,225 --> 00:19:18,455
with King William and Mary at the
centre instead of religious icons.

373
00:19:19,455 --> 00:19:21,245
And at the far end of the room,

374
00:19:21,245 --> 00:19:25,135
there's the story of how the Thames
contributed to Britain's wealth.

375
00:19:27,495 --> 00:19:29,655
Here he is, Old Father Thames.

376
00:19:29,655 --> 00:19:31,215
The old geezer going like this?

377
00:19:31,215 --> 00:19:34,575
So who's the nubile young person
next to him?

378
00:19:34,575 --> 00:19:36,295
That's the River Isis.

379
00:19:36,295 --> 00:19:39,604
Oh, well, the Isis IS the Thames,
isn't it, that bit round Oxford.

380
00:19:39,604 --> 00:19:42,175
Exactly. So why have we got
two Thameses?

381
00:19:42,175 --> 00:19:45,285
She represents the calm,
more beautiful part of the river,

382
00:19:45,285 --> 00:19:46,795
the younger part of the river.

383
00:19:46,795 --> 00:19:48,795
The first two legs of my walk,
actually.

384
00:19:48,795 --> 00:19:51,015
Mine was slightly less erotic
than this,

385
00:19:51,015 --> 00:19:53,934
but it's got that kind of
gentle feeling about it,

386
00:19:53,934 --> 00:19:57,885
and this is the Thames
when it's older and mature and wiser.

387
00:19:57,885 --> 00:19:59,305
And rougher and ruggeder.

388
00:19:59,305 --> 00:20:03,535
The river was quite a sort of
tempestuous entity in that period.

389
00:20:03,535 --> 00:20:07,225
He's stepping on an oar here.
Oh, yeah, I see that oar there.

390
00:20:07,225 --> 00:20:09,505
And there's a sort of upturned urn

391
00:20:09,505 --> 00:20:12,415
with water and eels and fish
coming out, so lots going on.

392
00:20:12,415 --> 00:20:13,495
Wonderful, isn't it?

393
00:20:13,495 --> 00:20:17,905
That's fantastic, that's my
whole walk in a BOO-year-old picture.

394
00:20:18,944 --> 00:20:20,225
From the naval college,

395
00:20:20,225 --> 00:20:23,415
I push on along the river to the tip
of the Greenwich peninsula...

396
00:20:26,415 --> 00:20:29,095
...where it appears
the river is booming

397
00:20:29,095 --> 00:20:32,325
and crawling with 1,000
construction workers.

398
00:20:32,325 --> 00:20:36,145
The peninsula is undergoing
a massive regeneration.

399
00:20:36,145 --> 00:20:42,015
£8.4 billion is being spent
on 1.6 miles of river frontage.

400
00:20:42,015 --> 00:20:45,415
This is Britain's biggest
urban redevelopment project.

401
00:20:46,895 --> 00:20:48,655
To get a view of what's going on,

402
00:20:48,655 --> 00:20:52,305
I'm taking a diversion
onto the roof of the 02 Arena...

403
00:20:54,145 --> 00:20:57,785
...a building that itself became
a symbol for the resurrection

404
00:20:57,785 --> 00:21:00,614
...of this once working heartland
of the river.

405
00:21:08,385 --> 00:21:09,385
Wahey.

406
00:21:11,225 --> 00:21:12,744
I'm on the top of the world.

407
00:21:16,665 --> 00:21:20,415
This whole area is cut off
from the rest of London

408
00:21:20,415 --> 00:21:25,775
by the great loop of the Thames,
which goes all the way round here,

409
00:21:25,775 --> 00:21:30,694
so it was the perfect place
to store the city's armaments.

410
00:21:30,694 --> 00:21:34,704
It became London's arsenal,
hence the Woolwich Arsenal.

411
00:21:34,704 --> 00:21:37,025
The Woolwich Arsenal
had a football team,

412
00:21:37,025 --> 00:21:41,225
and they moved north of the river,
and finally became the Gunners.

413
00:21:41,225 --> 00:21:43,455
But from the Tudor period onwards,

414
00:21:43,455 --> 00:21:47,975
this was the place where they kept
the dynamite and the guns,

415
00:21:47,975 --> 00:21:53,694
and later they made metal boats here,
then those huge transatlantic cables.

416
00:21:53,694 --> 00:21:59,255
In the 1960s, it was the biggest
gasworks in the whole of Europe,

417
00:21:59,255 --> 00:22:02,055
but it fell into complete decline.

418
00:22:02,055 --> 00:22:07,775
Until in 1999, they built this,
now called the 02 Arena,

419
00:22:07,775 --> 00:22:09,595
and a rebirth began.

420
00:22:11,905 --> 00:22:17,175
When this project's finished, it'll
create 15,000 swanky apartments,

421
00:22:17,175 --> 00:22:22,305
4,000 affordable homes,
13,000 jobs, two schools,

422
00:22:22,305 --> 00:22:25,105
and a population of 34,000.

423
00:22:25,105 --> 00:22:28,225
The Thames is again
reinventing itself,

424
00:22:28,225 --> 00:22:31,325
and shaping the communities
of London.

425
00:22:31,325 --> 00:22:34,744
And once again, it's vibrant
and full of life.

426
00:22:36,864 --> 00:22:40,585
From the O2, it's just two miles
further along the river

427
00:22:40,585 --> 00:22:42,135
to the Thames Barrier.

428
00:22:42,135 --> 00:22:46,494
And finally, I've reached the
official end of the Thames Path walk,

429
00:22:46,494 --> 00:22:51,535
a total of 184 miles from where I
started at the source of the river.

430
00:22:53,694 --> 00:22:55,665
This impressive-looking structure

431
00:22:55,665 --> 00:22:59,694
is designed to hold back
dangerously high tides on the Thames

432
00:22:59,694 --> 00:23:03,105
by raising giant gates into the flow.

433
00:23:03,105 --> 00:23:07,814
Each gate is capable of holding back
90,000 tonnes of water.

434
00:23:09,845 --> 00:23:14,665
It was born in response
to North Sea flooding in 1953.

435
00:23:14,665 --> 00:23:19,025
It caused 300 deaths,
32,000 people were evacuated,

436
00:23:19,025 --> 00:23:22,614
and in today's money,
over £1 billion of damage.

437
00:23:23,824 --> 00:23:29,265
Since it was built, it's prevented
London from being flooded 182 times.

438
00:23:30,315 --> 00:23:33,105
I remember watching
the great flood of 1953

439
00:23:33,105 --> 00:23:37,385
on the old black and white telly with
Canvey Island completely under water,

440
00:23:37,385 --> 00:23:40,465
and the Essex coast,
and people drowning.

441
00:23:40,465 --> 00:23:45,105
And I remember in the early 80s,
this weird and wonderful construction

442
00:23:45,105 --> 00:23:48,415
arising out of the Thames,
and thinking for some reason,

443
00:23:48,415 --> 00:23:51,265
"Oh, that's a white elephant,
they'll never need that."

444
00:23:51,265 --> 00:23:56,494
Well, they have, and as sea levels
rise, they will even more.

445
00:23:56,494 --> 00:24:01,415
Which is kind of scary, but also,
in a way, quite reassuring.

446
00:24:04,255 --> 00:24:08,704
Coming up, how the Thames is still
a working gateway to the world.

447
00:24:09,744 --> 00:24:13,055
It's really docking with no effort
at all. It's quite graceful.

448
00:24:14,115 --> 00:24:18,624
I find out how just a spoonful
of sugar can go horribly wrong...

449
00:24:18,624 --> 00:24:19,665
Arghg

450
00:24:20,944 --> 00:24:22,025
This way!

451
00:24:22,025 --> 00:24:25,614
...and discover the secrets of
one of Britain's oldest brands.

452
00:24:25,614 --> 00:24:27,185
Oh, look at this!

453
00:24:27,185 --> 00:24:28,494
Do you want to lie down?

454
00:24:28,494 --> 00:24:29,694
THEY LAUGH

455
00:24:34,956 --> 00:24:39,305
This morning, I have an appointment
with the Port of London Authority

456
00:24:39,305 --> 00:24:42,246
to learn more about the Thames
as a working river.

457
00:24:42,246 --> 00:24:45,176
Their control room is right next
to the barrier.

458
00:24:45,176 --> 00:24:50,866
Tidal information, Silvertown 2.7m,
.4 of a metre above prediction.

459
00:24:50,866 --> 00:24:54,385
It's their job to keep the Thames
as a waterway safe...

460
00:24:55,435 --> 00:24:58,076
...monitoring and tracking
all river traffic

461
00:24:58,076 --> 00:25:01,305
along 95 miles of the tidal Thames.

462
00:25:01,305 --> 00:25:03,596
They make sure
there are no collisions

463
00:25:03,596 --> 00:25:06,565
betweeen everything from rowing boats
to container ships.

464
00:25:06,565 --> 00:25:08,496
End of the broadcast.

465
00:25:13,936 --> 00:25:15,076
Oh, look at that!

466
00:25:15,076 --> 00:25:17,775
There's Tower Bridge,
where we've been,

467
00:25:17,775 --> 00:25:20,206
there's Richmond Lock over there.

468
00:25:21,325 --> 00:25:22,775
A lot of ironwork.

469
00:25:22,775 --> 00:25:26,236
This is Nick, he's one of our
VTS officers. Pleased to meet you.

470
00:25:26,236 --> 00:25:28,006
A VTS officer, what does that mean?

471
00:25:28,006 --> 00:25:31,036
It's basically a vessel traffic
services officer. Yeah.

472
00:25:31,036 --> 00:25:33,645
We actually cover
from Crayford Ness,

473
00:25:33,645 --> 00:25:36,645
which is down at this point of the
river, just up from the QE2 Bridge,

474
00:25:36,645 --> 00:25:38,435
all the way through to Teddington.
Yeah.

475
00:25:38,435 --> 00:25:41,765
And we're responsible for that area.
So this is your manor.

476
00:25:41,765 --> 00:25:43,956
That's our area, yeah,
all the way up to Teddington.

477
00:25:43,956 --> 00:25:45,525
Obviously it's busier
in central London

478
00:25:45,525 --> 00:25:46,806
with a lot of passenger boats,

479
00:25:46,806 --> 00:25:50,445
and the bigger stuff is obviously
in the wider part of the river.

480
00:25:52,136 --> 00:25:57,086
I've timed my visit to coincide with
the arrival of a 50,000 tonne ship

481
00:25:57,086 --> 00:25:59,765
bringing in sugar from El Salvador.

482
00:25:59,765 --> 00:26:03,156
We've been tracking its 6,000-mile
progress for weeks

483
00:26:03,156 --> 00:26:04,886
to make sure I don't miss it.

484
00:26:04,886 --> 00:26:07,395
That's going to be the sugar boat
called the South Wind

485
00:26:07,395 --> 00:26:08,806
who's inward bound at the moment.

486
00:26:08,806 --> 00:26:10,806
She's out in the outer estuary,

487
00:26:10,806 --> 00:26:12,956
due up here about 2:45
this afternoon.

488
00:26:12,956 --> 00:26:14,286
How big's the sugar ship?

489
00:26:14,286 --> 00:26:18,366
170m long, and it's got a draft
of 10m,

490
00:26:18,366 --> 00:26:22,086
so there's 10m of metal below the
waterline that you can't see.

491
00:26:22,086 --> 00:26:26,565
So if you look out the window now,
there's a lot of mud, low water.

492
00:26:26,565 --> 00:26:28,156
We'll be waiting for high water,

493
00:26:28,156 --> 00:26:31,435
which gives her more sea room to
navigate, to turn round. Oh, I see.

494
00:26:31,435 --> 00:26:34,525
So, like, if you arrive
at the estuary

495
00:26:34,525 --> 00:26:37,036
and it's the wrong time of day
and you're a big ship,

496
00:26:37,036 --> 00:26:39,645
you're not going to want to come in
cos you'd get stuck in the mud.

497
00:26:39,645 --> 00:26:40,996
You have to plan your passage

498
00:26:40,996 --> 00:26:43,236
so that there's enough water
underneath you to get up.

499
00:26:43,236 --> 00:26:46,286
It's coming up to this berth
that we can see from here.

500
00:26:46,286 --> 00:26:49,496
Yeah, the one with the two blue
and yellow cranes and the chimneys.

501
00:26:50,575 --> 00:26:54,216
To get a closer look at how
a big ship clocks in the Thames...

502
00:26:54,216 --> 00:26:57,635
Hello, Paul. Hello, Tony.
Nice to meet you. And you.

503
00:26:57,635 --> 00:27:01,236
...Paul Arnold is taking me out
on a patrol boat.

504
00:27:03,116 --> 00:27:04,966
We've got the ship
coming into view now.

505
00:27:04,966 --> 00:27:06,596
Let's have a look.

506
00:27:06,596 --> 00:27:09,086
Cool, yeah. It's a big old thing,
isn't it?

507
00:27:10,856 --> 00:27:12,515
What is it that
we're going to be doing?

508
00:27:12,515 --> 00:27:16,216
We're going to be staying with
the ship inward bound to the berth,

509
00:27:16,216 --> 00:27:20,645
making sure other vessels keep
clear, then the ship will connect up

510
00:27:20,645 --> 00:27:23,315
to the two tugs, and manoeuvre
for the Thames Refinery.

511
00:27:29,686 --> 00:27:33,286
On board, almost 30,000 tonnes
of sugar.

512
00:27:33,286 --> 00:27:37,496
That's the equivalent
of 27 million 1kg bags.

513
00:27:42,525 --> 00:27:46,455
How long will it take this ship
to turn round and get in position?

514
00:27:46,455 --> 00:27:48,936
You're probably looking at
about 20 to 25 minutes

515
00:27:48,936 --> 00:27:50,686
to manouevre the ship alongside.

516
00:27:51,766 --> 00:27:55,286
That's nothing, really, is it,
given its weight and size.

517
00:28:01,806 --> 00:28:04,726
It's really docking
with no effort at all.

518
00:28:05,726 --> 00:28:07,166
It's quite graceful.

519
00:28:11,766 --> 00:28:14,655
This is a picture
of trading on the Thames

520
00:28:14,655 --> 00:28:16,525
that goes back a very long way.

521
00:28:16,525 --> 00:28:19,686
Something Martin Garside
of the Port of London Authority

522
00:28:19,686 --> 00:28:21,206
is keen to point out.

523
00:28:21,206 --> 00:28:24,366
London was, of course,
built around the River Thames.

524
00:28:24,366 --> 00:28:27,936
The first Roman ships that came up
the Thames 2,000 years ago

525
00:28:27,936 --> 00:28:32,126
which the capital Londinium,
then London, grew from,

526
00:28:32,126 --> 00:28:33,086
that has not changed.

527
00:28:33,086 --> 00:28:35,966
We're still bringing in ships

528
00:28:35,966 --> 00:28:39,216
for everything that Londoners
and the population of London needs.

529
00:28:39,216 --> 00:28:42,366
That's everything
from the clothes you're wearing

530
00:28:42,366 --> 00:28:46,376
to the food you eat to the fuel
you put in your car

531
00:28:46,376 --> 00:28:47,616
to the cars themselves.

532
00:28:47,616 --> 00:28:52,376
They're brought in 70, seven-zero,
different port terminals

533
00:28:52,376 --> 00:28:54,126
dotted all along the river.

534
00:29:01,535 --> 00:29:06,166
The terminal where the sugar is being
unloaded belongs to Tate & Lyle.

535
00:29:06,166 --> 00:29:11,046
It's been operating as a sugar
refinery here for 140 years.

536
00:29:11,046 --> 00:29:13,966
Today, they handle sugar
from all over the world.

537
00:29:16,176 --> 00:29:20,806
The smell coming off all these
extraordinary contraptions

538
00:29:20,806 --> 00:29:22,936
is absolutely amazing.

539
00:29:23,886 --> 00:29:26,206
Outside is an impressive bell

540
00:29:26,206 --> 00:29:30,046
that used to be rung to signal
the start of each working day.

541
00:29:30,046 --> 00:29:32,046
I'm here to meet Bob Woods.

542
00:29:32,046 --> 00:29:34,686
Are you Bob? Yes, Tony, yes.

543
00:29:34,686 --> 00:29:36,016
Pleased to meet you.

544
00:29:36,016 --> 00:29:37,376
Nice to meet you.

545
00:29:37,376 --> 00:29:38,886
It's a good bell, this, isn't it?

546
00:29:38,886 --> 00:29:40,366
Rung for every day, it was.

547
00:29:40,366 --> 00:29:43,525
Hung from a special post and rung
at the start of each day's work.

548
00:29:43,525 --> 00:29:46,566
Am I supposed to...? Put your PP on
before we go round the site, please.

549
00:29:48,665 --> 00:29:51,176
Ah! Hey! Wow!

550
00:29:52,415 --> 00:29:54,766
This is a real wow.

551
00:29:56,006 --> 00:30:00,575
This is raw sugar, which is
effectively crushed sugar cane.

552
00:30:00,575 --> 00:30:02,756
It's like the pyramids.

553
00:30:02,756 --> 00:30:05,096
I'm in ancient Egypt.

554
00:30:05,096 --> 00:30:07,296
That's incredible.

555
00:30:07,296 --> 00:30:09,606
How many of these pyramids
do you reckon there are?

556
00:30:09,606 --> 00:30:12,405
There's probably 20 or 30
of these pyramids

557
00:30:12,405 --> 00:30:15,325
right the way through
to the other side. Wow.

558
00:30:15,325 --> 00:30:17,046
And this is all from one ship?

559
00:30:17,046 --> 00:30:18,726
The first three pyramids
we see... Yeah?

560
00:30:18,726 --> 00:30:21,016
...all come from our El Salvador ship
that's on the jetty.

561
00:30:21,016 --> 00:30:22,655
The one we've been following? Yes.

562
00:30:22,655 --> 00:30:24,606
Can l...? Yeah.
Am I allowed to touch it?

563
00:30:24,606 --> 00:30:27,316
And is this how it is
when it comes off the boat? Yes.

564
00:30:27,316 --> 00:30:30,205
This is in the raw form.
Oh, it's like sand.

565
00:30:30,205 --> 00:30:32,486
It doesn't feel like sugar.
Very fine.

566
00:30:32,486 --> 00:30:34,405
Do you ever find things
that shouldn't be there

567
00:30:34,405 --> 00:30:35,756
in these great big piles? Yeah.

568
00:30:35,756 --> 00:30:38,736
The strangest thing I've ever found
is a shoe, flip flop,

569
00:30:38,736 --> 00:30:40,486
off a ship off Swaziland.

570
00:30:40,486 --> 00:30:43,246
You're not going to end up with a
flip flop in your tea. Hopefully not!

571
00:30:43,246 --> 00:30:44,405
BOB LAUGHS

572
00:30:44,405 --> 00:30:46,606
You feel you want to get
the biggest spoon in the world,

573
00:30:46,606 --> 00:30:48,366
and the biggest teacup.

574
00:30:50,176 --> 00:30:51,686
That's our biggest spoon.

575
00:30:51,686 --> 00:30:57,096
The raw sugar will now be refined and
turned into 650 different products...

576
00:30:58,606 --> 00:31:02,296
...ranging from white granulated sugar
to golden syrup.

577
00:31:04,116 --> 00:31:09,016
I never thought I would be so
impressed by a large amount of sugar,

578
00:31:09,016 --> 00:31:11,296
but it's just ridiculous.

579
00:31:13,525 --> 00:31:18,246
This refinery owes its origins
to Henry Tate, who in 1878

580
00:31:18,246 --> 00:31:23,016
bought the patent to make cubed
sugar, then built his factory here

581
00:31:23,016 --> 00:31:27,186
to cash in on easy delivery by river
and the lucrative London market.

582
00:31:29,535 --> 00:31:33,736
Bob also has a history here
that goes back a long way.

583
00:31:35,096 --> 00:31:37,345
How long have you been working here?
38 years.

584
00:31:38,455 --> 00:31:40,686
How d'you get the job in the
first place? Through my dad.

585
00:31:40,686 --> 00:31:43,916
My dad... Was he here too? He worked
here, yeah, done 51 years here.

586
00:31:43,916 --> 00:31:46,886
Met my mum here back in the day.
Really? Yeah, they met.

587
00:31:46,886 --> 00:31:49,325
Two brothers and myself,
so we're all sugar babies, really.

588
00:31:49,325 --> 00:31:51,246
And what about your dad's parents?

589
00:31:51,246 --> 00:31:53,916
Yeah, Grandad worked here,
and me nan, and uncles.

590
00:31:53,916 --> 00:31:56,106
It was all like
an east end thing then.

591
00:31:58,415 --> 00:32:01,556
I'm being taken by Bob
to experience what it's like

592
00:32:01,556 --> 00:32:05,376
to operate the giant sugar spoons
that unload the ships.

593
00:32:07,325 --> 00:32:10,525
I hadn't realised it would be
so high off the deck.

594
00:32:12,405 --> 00:32:13,766
And to your right, Tone.

595
00:32:17,816 --> 00:32:21,465
Wow. You can see what
they're lifting now, can't you?

596
00:32:21,465 --> 00:32:23,486
That must be about two tennis courts,
mustn't it?

597
00:32:23,486 --> 00:32:25,846
Yes, it's about that.
There's five holds on this vessel.

598
00:32:25,846 --> 00:32:28,415
And how deep is each one? About 10m.

599
00:32:28,415 --> 00:32:31,896
Do I go straight in? Yeah, straight
in. Sit into the master chair.

600
00:32:31,896 --> 00:32:33,376
Sit in here? Yep.

601
00:32:33,376 --> 00:32:34,556
Short on the sides.

602
00:32:34,556 --> 00:32:35,766
THEY CHUCKLE

603
00:32:35,766 --> 00:32:36,896
Swing you round.

604
00:32:38,816 --> 00:32:41,455
Fancy me being in charge of a crane.

605
00:32:42,606 --> 00:32:45,256
Right lever.
Feel the force, Tony.

606
00:32:45,256 --> 00:32:46,335
Oh, it's going.

607
00:32:47,696 --> 00:32:48,696
Ooh...

608
00:32:50,285 --> 00:32:52,696
You can go a little bit quicker.
Are you sure? Yeah.

609
00:32:52,696 --> 00:32:54,806
I don't want to go
through the bottom of the boat.

610
00:32:57,556 --> 00:32:59,686
Bring it back towards you. Yeah.

611
00:33:00,776 --> 00:33:01,926
GEARS CREAK

612
00:33:01,926 --> 00:33:03,126
Whoa!

613
00:33:03,126 --> 00:33:05,405
Ha, the old crane starts kicking,
doesn't it?

614
00:33:05,405 --> 00:33:06,696
With the extra weight.

615
00:33:07,766 --> 00:33:09,256
Not going to topple forward, is it?

616
00:33:10,301 --> 00:33:12,433
Go on, my son.

617
00:33:12,433 --> 00:33:16,804
It takes two experience crane drivers
five clays to unload the ship.

618
00:33:16,804 --> 00:33:18,464
Swing it around? Yeah.

619
00:33:18,464 --> 00:33:20,904
A bit longer if I'm at the controls.

620
00:33:20,904 --> 00:33:23,074
Leaking a bit of sugar out the side,
is that all right?

621
00:33:23,074 --> 00:33:24,383
We're OK, no-one's looking.

622
00:33:26,234 --> 00:33:28,104
Now, there is a slight problem,

623
00:33:28,104 --> 00:33:30,754
which is that it's swinging
backwards and forwards.

624
00:33:30,754 --> 00:33:32,794
As you go and swing back in... Yeah.

625
00:33:32,794 --> 00:33:34,954
...send the handle out to the right
and straighten.

626
00:33:34,954 --> 00:33:36,474
There you go. Like that? That's it.

627
00:33:36,474 --> 00:33:37,744
Open up, darlin'.

628
00:33:38,744 --> 00:33:40,114
Arghg

629
00:33:40,114 --> 00:33:41,114
TONY CHUCKLES

630
00:33:42,114 --> 00:33:43,383
That was overconfident.

631
00:33:43,383 --> 00:33:44,874
Ooh!

632
00:33:44,874 --> 00:33:48,234
Only a true crane driver
can get sugar over the hopper.

633
00:33:48,234 --> 00:33:49,954
You're a true crane driver, Tony.

634
00:33:49,954 --> 00:33:52,313
There's a little pile...
We'll sort that out later.

635
00:33:52,313 --> 00:33:54,034
Who, me?
BOB LAUGHS

636
00:33:55,074 --> 00:34:00,513
That was really intoxicating, there's
so much power in those machines.

637
00:34:00,513 --> 00:34:05,754
The grab itself weighs five tonnes,
and come over here, look.

638
00:34:08,034 --> 00:34:12,313
How many bags of sugar
do you reckon I spilt there?

639
00:34:12,313 --> 00:34:15,954
Oh, dear, I just didn't
close the grab... Blimey!

640
00:34:15,954 --> 00:34:17,544
HE CHUCKLES

641
00:34:17,544 --> 00:34:22,804
I just didn't quite close the grab up
tightly enough, and it all went...

642
00:34:22,804 --> 00:34:23,984
...Pete Tong.

643
00:34:24,994 --> 00:34:25,994
Oh, hang on.

644
00:34:29,513 --> 00:34:30,954
I may be some time.

645
00:34:33,984 --> 00:34:38,754
Just a mile along the river is where
the Lyle bit of Tate & Lyle started.

646
00:34:38,754 --> 00:34:41,154
They joined forces in 1921

647
00:34:41,154 --> 00:34:46,834
to market a byproduct created during
the refining of sugar, golden syrup.

648
00:34:46,834 --> 00:34:49,834
The famous gold and green tin
with a lion on it

649
00:34:49,834 --> 00:34:54,164
is acknowledged as the world's oldest
continuous brand packaging.

650
00:34:55,704 --> 00:34:59,114
And that feeling of tradition
permeates the whole factory.

651
00:35:00,624 --> 00:35:03,994
Bear with me, things are about to get
very noisy.

652
00:35:06,624 --> 00:35:10,393
Through this door is machinery
from an era gone by,

653
00:35:10,393 --> 00:35:13,554
but which still makes
all those famous tins.

654
00:35:14,564 --> 00:35:17,554
MACHINERY CLATTERS

655
00:35:57,554 --> 00:36:00,834
This wonderful
Wallace and Gromit-style machine

656
00:36:00,834 --> 00:36:03,604
has been running for over 60 years.

657
00:36:43,393 --> 00:36:44,904
THEY LAUGH

658
00:36:44,904 --> 00:36:47,754
Coming up, I head on downriver

659
00:36:47,754 --> 00:36:50,424
to the place where the Thames
becomes the sea...

660
00:36:50,424 --> 00:36:54,754
It's hard to believe it's the same
river as the one we started at.

661
00:36:54,754 --> 00:36:57,914
...I relive a not-so-fond
childhood memory...

662
00:36:57,914 --> 00:37:00,604
It used to be a real stink
round here.

663
00:37:00,604 --> 00:37:02,594
...and meet the estuary-dwellers

664
00:37:02,594 --> 00:37:05,164
who are reclaiming the Thames
as their home.

665
00:37:05,164 --> 00:37:06,554
Come on, come and say hello.

666
00:37:07,604 --> 00:37:09,544
I wish all clays at the office
were like this.

667
00:37:15,324 --> 00:37:16,884
From here at the barrier,

668
00:37:16,884 --> 00:37:21,033
it's around 30 miles to the point
where the Thames becomes the sea.

669
00:37:22,564 --> 00:37:24,884
Fortunately,
the Port of London Authority

670
00:37:24,884 --> 00:37:26,734
have offered me a lift downriver.

671
00:37:28,734 --> 00:37:32,884
And as we head away from London,
the Thames really begins to change.

672
00:37:34,014 --> 00:37:36,004
It's funny, at its source,

673
00:37:36,004 --> 00:37:40,654
the Thames is so tiny that you
couldn't put any boat on it at all.

674
00:37:40,654 --> 00:37:45,754
Then as you come further down,
you start seeing pleasure craft,

675
00:37:45,754 --> 00:37:49,953
and by the time you get to London,
it's incredibly busy,

676
00:37:49,953 --> 00:37:52,153
and there's all the hurly-burly.

677
00:37:52,153 --> 00:37:55,564
But as you get out
towards the estuary,

678
00:37:55,564 --> 00:38:01,293
it becomes so broad,
so kind of noble.

679
00:38:01,293 --> 00:38:03,874
The water seems so much stiller,

680
00:38:03,874 --> 00:38:08,404
and you've got massive boats
like our sugar ship

681
00:38:08,404 --> 00:38:10,474
going up and down it.

682
00:38:10,474 --> 00:38:14,814
It's hard to believe it's the same
river as the one we started at.

683
00:38:20,014 --> 00:38:23,014
The estuary is seriously spacious,

684
00:38:23,014 --> 00:38:27,213
and just like so much of the Thames,
is seeing a revival of wildlife,

685
00:38:27,213 --> 00:38:29,474
and in particular, seals.

686
00:38:30,534 --> 00:38:33,644
Hey. Hi, Tony, good to see you.
Good to see you, too.

687
00:38:33,644 --> 00:38:35,524
So, there you go,
that goes through there.

688
00:38:35,524 --> 00:38:37,434
I'm going out to get a closer look
at them

689
00:38:37,434 --> 00:38:40,944
with Steven Marsh
of British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

690
00:38:40,944 --> 00:38:42,454
Right, can we go?

691
00:38:42,454 --> 00:38:43,454
We can go.

692
00:38:44,894 --> 00:38:47,684
Steven is the operations manager,

693
00:38:47,684 --> 00:38:50,804
co-ordinating volunteers
on 24-hour call

694
00:38:50,804 --> 00:38:53,314
helping marine mammals
that get into trouble.

695
00:38:53,314 --> 00:38:56,204
For seals, they mainly rescue pups

696
00:38:56,204 --> 00:38:58,404
that have been separated
from their mums.

697
00:38:58,404 --> 00:39:02,293
He knows the area,
and where to find the seals.

698
00:39:02,293 --> 00:39:06,644
I used to come down here for weekends
with my mate when I was a kid,

699
00:39:06,644 --> 00:39:12,934
and the one big difference is that it
used to be a real stink round here.

700
00:39:12,934 --> 00:39:15,124
And it just smells like the sea
to me now.

701
00:39:15,124 --> 00:39:19,644
It is. I mean, walking across
that pathway ten years ago,

702
00:39:19,644 --> 00:39:21,474
it would have stunk
to high heaven then,

703
00:39:21,474 --> 00:39:24,293
but the Thames really has cleaned up
so much in the last few years.

704
00:39:24,293 --> 00:39:27,444
And it's going on, there's still
work going on to clean it further.

705
00:39:27,444 --> 00:39:31,684
So you're getting water that is
of much more interest to fish.

706
00:39:31,684 --> 00:39:36,244
Juvenile sea bass are coming
into the Thames, cod, haddock,

707
00:39:36,244 --> 00:39:37,884
pollock, things like that.

708
00:39:37,884 --> 00:39:39,604
And they're coming back in as well.

709
00:39:39,604 --> 00:39:41,324
Are they?
Yeah, they're coming back in.

710
00:39:41,324 --> 00:39:44,804
We've got seahorses out there as
well, which is quite incredible.

711
00:39:44,804 --> 00:39:46,804
What about this little
fella on your badge?

712
00:39:46,804 --> 00:39:47,963
Ah, this little fella.

713
00:39:47,963 --> 00:39:50,293
Well, we're going to see
some seals today.

714
00:39:50,293 --> 00:39:54,734
In fact, the Thames estuary is now
one of the very few areas in the UK

715
00:39:54,734 --> 00:39:56,833
where we're seeing an increase
in their numbers.

716
00:40:01,754 --> 00:40:04,734
So, there, out on the promontory.
Do you want to have a look? Yeah.

717
00:40:06,083 --> 00:40:08,524
There are two types of seals
in the estuary.

718
00:40:08,524 --> 00:40:11,973
Grey seals and these,
the harbour seal.

719
00:40:11,973 --> 00:40:13,414
There's quite a lot, aren't there?

720
00:40:13,414 --> 00:40:14,694
Yeah, it's looking good.

721
00:40:14,694 --> 00:40:15,764
SHUTTER CLICKS

722
00:40:15,764 --> 00:40:19,124
Harbour seals are the smaller
of the two species,

723
00:40:19,124 --> 00:40:22,884
but can still be almost six foot long
and weigh 16 stone.

724
00:40:23,884 --> 00:40:25,734
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, more here.

725
00:40:25,734 --> 00:40:27,324
Come on, come and say hello.

726
00:40:28,364 --> 00:40:32,254
And like all marine mammals,
they prefer to avoid humans,

727
00:40:32,254 --> 00:40:34,774
so we won't get too close.

728
00:40:34,774 --> 00:40:38,083
You can see some of them are making
that typical banana shape

729
00:40:38,083 --> 00:40:39,804
that seals make, as well.

730
00:40:39,804 --> 00:40:41,204
We get a lot of calls from people

731
00:40:41,204 --> 00:40:43,634
who are really upset because
it's making that weird shape.

732
00:40:43,634 --> 00:40:45,554
We get a lot of problems
with seals on the beach,

733
00:40:45,554 --> 00:40:48,564
people going up to them and saying,
"It's barking at me."

734
00:40:48,564 --> 00:40:51,504
Yeah, it's a wild animal,
it doesn't want you to be close.

735
00:40:51,504 --> 00:40:54,834
So just move away from it
and actually give it a bit of space.

736
00:40:56,034 --> 00:40:58,224
It's such a pleasure when you see

737
00:40:58,224 --> 00:41:00,754
a small triumph like this one,
isn't it?

738
00:41:00,754 --> 00:41:02,284
When my dad...

739
00:41:03,334 --> 00:41:07,884
...was young, the River Lee, one of
the tributaries into the Thames,

740
00:41:07,884 --> 00:41:09,604
they used to call that
the Rainbow River,

741
00:41:09,604 --> 00:41:13,093
because there were so many
different chemicals going into it

742
00:41:13,093 --> 00:41:16,614
that you never knew what colour
it would be in the morning.

743
00:41:16,614 --> 00:41:21,274
And now it's clean enough
to sustain these beautiful creatures.

744
00:41:21,274 --> 00:41:22,604
Result.

745
00:41:24,484 --> 00:41:27,024
I wish all clays at the office
were like this.

746
00:41:28,024 --> 00:41:29,204
It's great, I love it.

747
00:41:32,534 --> 00:41:35,204
Here, walking on the shore
of the Thames,

748
00:41:35,204 --> 00:41:37,614
...with Southend-on-Sea
on the opposite bank...

749
00:41:39,183 --> 00:41:42,604
...I'm sad to say my journey
has come to an end.

750
00:41:43,644 --> 00:41:48,244
At the start of my walk about 200
and odd miles in that direction,

751
00:41:48,244 --> 00:41:51,274
the Thames was a tiny spring.

752
00:41:52,894 --> 00:41:55,043
Then it became a little stream...

753
00:41:56,973 --> 00:41:59,484
...then a river big enough
for boating...

754
00:42:00,564 --> 00:42:03,614
...then the artery
through our country's capital...

755
00:42:05,534 --> 00:42:09,824
...then a mature, meandering
river and estuary...

756
00:42:12,093 --> 00:42:13,614
...and finally,

757
00:42:13,614 --> 00:42:19,324
this gigantically impressive
five-mile-wide river mouth.

758
00:42:26,764 --> 00:42:28,063
But I must admit,

759
00:42:28,063 --> 00:42:32,544
when I've remembered what the Thames
was like when I was a boy,

760
00:42:32,544 --> 00:42:38,904
busy but dirty, crowded but
crumbling, and hideously polluted.

761
00:42:38,904 --> 00:42:40,454
The good news, though,

762
00:42:40,454 --> 00:42:45,134
is that what I've seen
is the start of a new Thames.

763
00:42:45,134 --> 00:42:49,214
A Thames that's full of fish,
where wildlife are cared for,

764
00:42:49,214 --> 00:42:54,384
where there's been investment
in the paths and the pleasure craft.

765
00:42:54,384 --> 00:42:57,334
And my bet is,
as the roads get busier,

766
00:42:57,334 --> 00:43:02,254
as water becomes more precious, we'll
once again begin to see the Thames

767
00:43:02,254 --> 00:43:05,574
as the vital river highway
it once was.

768
00:43:16,284 --> 00:43:19,284
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