OLDEST FOOTAGE OF LONDON EVER

FASCINATING THEN AND NOW FOOTAGE of London, courtesy YouTuber Yestervid.



We're relieved to see that so much of the ancient city is still highly recognisable. And that's despite the best (aka worst) efforts of wartime bombers and peacetime developers.

What London needs now - and will surely get - is a widespread electrification of vehicles using the busy streets. The benefits will include a quieter environment, and one that will be massively cleaner.

The change will surely be as transformative as the Clean Air Act of 1956, which ended the days of poisonous smogs, and inspired successive environmentally-aware generations of Londoners.

And of course, the River Thames that winds its way across London is now cleaner than ever. Fish thrive there in large numbers now. Until recent years, most would have been poisoned in minutes from the assorted waste and effluents that were thoughtlessly poured into the waters.

It's not perfectly clean though, as untreated sewage still empties there during very wet weather. Even so, the Thames has been given the International River Foundation prize, which is something of an advance since the days of 'The Great Stink' of 1856.