As September gathers pace, so does the sequence of public events in London. This year's vintage Proms season draws to its close next weekend, which is also the Thames Festival, with the Feast on the Bridge, then the Open House Weekend, and the Great River Race at the end of the month. I've posted about most of those before: it's hard to find something new to say about them (though I have found something unusual to do connected with the Thames Festival - watch this space!).

So too with last Sunday's Skyride (what used to be called the London Freewheel and now thoroughly Murdoch-branded, boo! hiss!). I was riding into town that way anyway, and thought I might as well tag along, though not expecting to see anything to add to the last time I posted about it, I'd forgotten to take my camera. As it happens, at least at the time I was riding, there seemed to be thousands more cyclists than in previous years.

Along Tower Hill, there was a striking contrast of future and past. On one side, an almost solid jam of cyclists waited patiently for the chance to inch forward towards the Embankment. On the other, complete with band and banners flying, the British Legion and Merchant Navy Association marched in the opposite direction to the Merchant Navy Memorial for a commemoration.