European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 28, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Power boats race Down the River thames. River thames St. Paul s Cathedral is reflected in the dark a a Waters of the thames. Continued from Page 7 and Community groups which is lobbying for better use of the River. The Lra wants the 35 Miles of the thames Between its Mouth and Teddington in West London declared a National Park. It also wants More Public Access to the water including piers Riverside Park s and walkways. The thames has recovered from the terrible pollution which led Benjamin Disraeli to describe it in the hot dry summer of 1858 As Quot a stygian Pool reeking with ineffable and unbearable  a vigorous cleanup including a proper drainage and sewage system has made the thames today one of the cleanest metropolitan Rivers in the world Home to some 110 species of fish according to the port of London authority. A the River still provides unimpeded Access through the heart of the City a Factor exploited by tour boat operators. London commuters however remain largely unconvinced of the viability of water travel and a River taxi service went out of business earlier this year. But a walk along the thames Riverbank today is a trip _ Back to the vanished world of Shakespeare of powerful Kings and Queens British Empire and naval might. Pedestrians can Sample history on Queen s walk opened on the South Bank in 1977 to Mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth in s accession to the throne. A. A. A a a a ,.  begins at Southwark Cathedral the 13th-Century Church wh0e Harvard University founder John Harvard was baptized in the Early 1600s. A Little farther West is the site of William Shakespeare s Globe theater the round wooden playhouse where crowds cheered performances of Romeo and Juliet King Lear Othello Macbeth and other masterpieces. The theater was destroyed in 1613 when two cannons fired during a performance of Henry Viii set the thatched roof on fire. Quickly rebuilt it was closed by the puritans in 1642 and demolished two years later. Reconstruction is again underway. Dominating the Skyline on the other Side of the River is the towering dome of St. Paul s Cathedral designed by sir Christopher Wren and completed in 1710. Across Blac friars Bridge is the Doggett coat and badge pub named for a River race held annually for apprentice watermen. A. The walk passes the National theater where the greats like Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud have performed the Royal festival Hall and Jubilee gardens. Here there is a spectacular View of the Palace of Westminster Britain s parliament with the Tower of big Ben. A a a a a a a \. A a behind it Are the towers of Westminster Abbey burial place of Henry Viii Elizabeth i and Many other monarchs. Geoffrey Chaucer Samuel Jonnson and lord Tennyson Are among those interred in poet s Corner. Queens walk ends at the red Brick Lambeth Palace begun in the 12th Century which is the official residence of the archbishops of Canterbury. The thames once teemed with freighters Dis gorging cargoes of West african Timber Indian Tea australian Wool and South american beef. But As London expanded in victorian times transport took to the land. Then when Container shipping was introduced in the mid-1960s, cargo ships moved of deeper ports like Tilbury to the River s Mouth making Many of the docks upstream redundant. Once hundreds of thousands of tons came in Here yearly and stevedores Laboured to unload up to 50 ships a Day. Today the number of dockers has fallen from More than 25,000 to about 3,500. Maj. Edwin Hunt a Waterman from 1935 to 1990, remembers a Fleet of 7,000 barges carrying cargoes Between ships and wharves helped by hundreds of tugs. Quot we used to be a Community on the water Quot says Hunt now 73. Quot now possibly there Are 100 barges and they mostly just carry household  King Henry Viii and other monarchs went everywhere on the water when they were in London travelling Between Riverside Royal residences such As Hampton court the Tower of London and Windsor Castle. Monarchs were rowed by Royal watermen their colleagues ran passenger boats for  men carried cargoes from ships to Shore on barges and cherries. Handel s water music is a glorious survivor of that tradition. 8 stripes Magazine april 28, 1994