Take a trip down the Thames of 1959 in this gorgeous old film from the remarkable Look At Life series.
This short portrait of London's great river is from an altogether different age: before the London Eye dominated the South Bank; when the Royal Festival Hall stood, somewhat nakedly neighbour-free next to a shot tower.
This a time when the chimney above what's now the Tate belched smoke; and when Captain Scott's Discovery was moored below a relatively new Waterloo Bridge.
London was a huge international port in 1959, handling one third of all Britain's exports and imports. The Port of London Authority spent £17m a year (£360m in today's money) in services, equipment and maintenance.
Anyone thinking our reliance on overseas foodstuffs is a recent phenomenon might be surprised to hear about the half-a-million tonnes of meat arriving in London each year in the 50s from Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.
Keep watching (the film's around 10 minutes in total), and you'll be rewarded with a glimpse of a youthful Queen Elizabeth enjoying a royal trip on the Thames.
