There’s nothing wrong with a good old-fashioned touristy day out at the Tower of London.  I’ve lived in Central and Greater London for over ten years, and still get a buzz checking out the Crown Jewels, being mesmerised by the ravens, and eating ice-cream and other stuff that’s not good for me.  That’s exactly what Erin and I did last week.

But as we walked back to Tower Hill Underground, I spotted a change on the horizon.  O.k., hardly spotted, you can’t miss it; but I thought this was an arresting juxtaposition of William the Conqueror’s fortress from the 1080s with what is rapidly becoming Europe’s tallest building: at 1084 feet, the London Bridge Tower, or ‘Shard’.

The Shard’s medieval look at this stage of construction adds to the effect; the end result in 2012 will look more like these mock-ups at the Shard website.  I like the look: good Superman pad.

The original Tower has suffered several near misses over it’s 1000 year life, surviving the Great Fire of London in 1666, another fire in 1841 hot enough to melt cannons, Nazi bombing in the Blitz, and a terrorist bombing of the central White Tower in 1974.

Let’s hope the Shard doesn’t have to endure a similar bashing, not that anyone expects it to be standing in 1000 years.  Do they?